Pitchfork's Top 50 Albums of 2009

Let the debate begin... I personally can't take issue with what's actually on the list (except the somewhat shocking absence of Volcano Choir's Unmap), but the rankings are a bit suspect - and that's putting it nicely. Phoenix's Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix, The Very Best's Warm Heart of Africa, and Real Estate's self-titled album should have all probably been higher; Memory Tapes Seek Magic, Atlas Sound's Logos, and especially Passion Pit's Manners were far too low (#34?!?!). But how about Grizzly Bear's Veckatimest, which was ranked at #6? Only months ago, it was rated as the 42nd best album of the decade by Pitchfork, well ahead of some classics like The Rapture's Echoes (#57), Sufjan Steven's Michigan (#70), The Microphone's The Glow Pt. 2 (#73), The Wren's The Meadowlands (#88), Jay-Z's The Black Album, (#90), Spoon's Girls Can Tell (#92), The National's Boxer (#110), and The Notwist's Neon Golden (#131). It happens to be ranked ahead of the Dirty Projector's Bitte Orca (#56 on the decade list) as well, which is somehow ranked 4 spots ahead of it at #2 on the 2009 list. I know Pitchfork has some kind of complex voting system amongst its entire staff, and that probably accounts for anomalies like this from time to time, but that still just seems a bit ridiculous to me. Also, the top 5 contains 3 albums that are, in my opinion, probably the 3 most overhyped albums of the year: The Flaming Lips Embryonic (#4), the aforementioned Bitte Orca, and Animal Collective's Merriweather Post Pavillion (#1). I actually think Merriweather is a great record, and will be ranking it very highly myself, but I'm definitely not putting it on the same pedestal so many others have this year.

We'll be posting our "Best of 2009" lists next Monday Tuesday, so be sure to check back soon...

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Pitchfork's Top 100 Tracks of 2009

Pitchfork posted the full list of it's top 100 tracks of 2009 today; go check it out here. Can't argue with the top 3, but the list includes songs from Junior Boys, Passion Pit, and Discovery that weren't even the best tracks from the albums they were released on. Where are "Sleepyhead" "Little Secrets", "Hazel", and "So Insane"?!?!?! Also missing: The Raveonettes' "Suicide", Royksopp's "Happy Up Here", and Neko Case's "People Got a Lotta Nerve".

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Dexter Season 4 Finale: The Bomb

Gotten away from the TV on here in recent months, but Dexter shouldn't be lumped in with anything else on the tube anyway. The season 4 finale, which aired last night, was one of the best episodes I've ever seen from any television show. Period. I'm not going to spoil anything for anybody, but it completely caught me off guard. And it wasn't just what happened; my own reaction to it was completely different than I would have expected. Absolutely awesome stuff. Some people are probably upset over it, and I don't know where they're gonna go from here, but with four seasons under their belt, the writers of this show are batting 1.000%. It also set a record: most watched episode of any show ever aired on Showtime. Say it with me: Best...Show...Ever...

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Enter Sandman

SANDMAN: At Your Service (Featurette) from Gatling Pictures on Vimeo.

Don't worry! This has nothing to do with Metallica. It is a preview of the new documentary from Gatling Pictures about the late Morphine frontman Mark Sandman. Sandman died of a heart attack on stage, while performing in Italy with Morphine in 1999. Morphine was an amazing and incredibly original band from Cambridge, Massachusetts in the 1990s. The lineup was Mark Sandman - 2 string bass/singer, Dana Colley - saxophone, and Billy Conway - drums. That's right, NO GUITAR! They had basically 5 studio albums, Cure For Pain being the most widely regarded as their best. It's an album everyone should own, so go buy it now. Well, enjoy the preview, it's about 7 minutes long and if this is your first encounter with Morphine and Mark Sandman, watch it twice.

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Hello Sir!

This is my first ever blog post. I don't really know how it works yet, so bear with me. Anyway, I've been really diggin' the instrumental stuff lately, especially after the new Billy Mahonie, Mercury Program, and Pelican this year. So, I've been on the search for more and I found it. The first is The Bronzed Chorus from Greensboro, NC. Their newest album is "I'm the Spring," pretty groovy stuff. The second is Antarctic from St. Augustine, FL. This album is fantastic! But it is self titled, and when your band is called Antarctic and your album is called the same thing, it becomes very hard to find information on the internet about your band. However, I found some really good information on polar ice caps and whatnot. Check 'em out. Eventually, I'll figure out how to post songs and things but for now...links! They're both on Hello Sir Records, so you can buy here...
http://www.hellosirrecords.com or check them out on Myspace...
http://www.myspace.com/thebronzedchorus
http://www.myspace.com/antarcticsounds

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Julian Casablancas' "11th Dimension"

Lead singer Julian Casablancas is the last member of The Strokes to release a solo album/side project. Definitely worth the wait. Despite the fact that he's constantly flirting with absolute cheesiness (especially with the drum machines), the risks almost always pay off. Bottom line: all 8 tracks that collectively make up Phrazes for the Young have the potential to be stuck in your head when you wake up in the morning. "11th Dimension":

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Atlas Sound's "Walkabout"

Deerhunter's Bradford Cox formed his solo project Atlas Sound so there would be an outlet for his ideas "that I can't make work with a five piece rock band." The result is something that at times sounds and feels a lot like Deerhunter, but with more pop-influenced hooks. Cox's second Sound album, "Logos," was released this week. On a sidenote, the gangly-looking figure on the cover is actually Cox himself. According to Wikipedia, he apparently suffers from Marfan's Syndrome. "Walkabout":

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