There’s the debate. Here’s my oar. No prizes for guessing what I’m about to do.

This list is, believe it or not, comprised of my opinions and my opinions alone. It is also merely a collection of albums I have listened to and, considering I’m a fairly poor excuse of a music blogger (often shunning new releases on little more than gut feeling and unfounded prejudice), there are bound to be stark omissions. The Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ latest album, for example, was a record which, while I thoroughly enjoyed Fever To Tell, I just didn’t really listen to and have no reasonable explanation as to why.

This said, I may well have ‘forgotten’ the odd record; so feel free to leave a comment informing me of my error in however polite a tone you see fit.

I have provided a youtube stream for each artist and each header is a link directing you to somewhere where you can purchase said album.

Almosts:
Bat For Lashes — Two Suns: Daniel is a great song; but the rest of the album doesn’t really live up to it.

Major Lazer — Guns Don’t Kill People, Lazers Do: Same as Two Suns, Pod de Floor is huge, though.

Animal Collective — Merriweather Post Pavilion: Good album but perhaps got hyped too much before I had chance to listen.

Spokes — People Like People Like You: Very promising, though not quite concise enough to break the 20.

20) St Vincent — Actor (4AD)

‘Marrow’

Actor is an adroit album; but what did you expect from a 27-year-old who’s already been in Sufjan Stevens‘ touring band and the Polyphonic Spree (although the latter claim doesn’t exactly put her in a selective group, does it?) I’m not sure it’s quite as good as her debut, 2007’s ironically-titled Marry Me, but this, her second album, is a breath of fresh air — aerating the many fusty, stale offerings from other female perpetrators this year.

19) The Decemberists — The Hazards of Love (Capitol )

‘The Wanting Comes in Waves’

The Hazards of Love is a rock-opera concept-album. It details a medieval love affair between a woman and a shape-shifting forest dweller. Indeed. Frontman Colin Meloy has never been one to cover old ground and, while the opening line of this blurb my put many people off (I really wouldn’t try too hard to disuade them as, if medieval concept rock operas aren’t your thing, it’s probably best to steer clear of this one), his fifth album’s staggering ambitiousness is only matched by its intertwined brilliance.

18) Martyn — Great Lengths (3024)

‘Little Things’

While most of the dubstep community continue to scratch around on the camp-fire-illuminated cave wall with their incessantly-wobbling LFOs and La Roux samples (I’m not saying I don’t enjoy this in a very guilty pleasure sort of way),  artists like Martyn and Dutch impresario 2562 are constantly charting new territory. I wanted to include the latter’s new release, Unbalence, but it has only just come out and I haven’t listened to it enough yet. Martyn’s Great Lengths boldly plots new points on the dubstep map with it’s dubstep-come-spooky-techno lonely rhythms.

17) Copy Haho — Bred for Skills and Magic EP (Big Scary Monsters)

‘Pulling Push Ups’

Okay, so it’s not an album; but as this list reveals itself to you, you will realise (if, by some miracle, you read until its denouement) this ‘rule’ is by no means sacrosanct. Copy Haho are ace, fun, Scottish and possibly many other adjectives, but you get the idea. If you haven’t already, go listen to this as well as many of the other bands Big Scary Monsters records have on their ever-growing roster!

16) Colour — Anthology (Big Scary Monsters)

‘Over the Moon’

The late, great Colour are one of the major artists I regrettably never got to see before they broke up — along with Spy Verses Spy and J.S.Bach. The are survived, however, by this: an anthology of every song they ever recorded in their fleeting existence. As well as personal favorites, songs such as Over the Moon and Chutes, we get to see this accomplished mathy-indie band’s progression through their recording career. A sad loss.

15) Shoes and Socks Off — Hand Reared Suburban Piglet (Big Scary Monsters)

(listen here)

Talking of defunct bands on Big Scary Monsters records, from the ashes of Meet Me in St Louis arose singer, Tobias Hayes’, solo project, Shoes and Socks Off. While his first record, From the Muddy Banks of  Melitzer, was a virtuoso, bedroom-esque one-man-and-his-guitar effort, the follow-up, Hand Reared Suburban Piglet, took the same great songs and embellished them. The revised versions ranged from MPC-fuled hip-hop cross-over to neo-classical serialist violin staggered genius.

14) Junior Boys — Begone Dull Care (Domino)

‘Hazel’

One of the more cultured and considered ‘indie-electro’ outfits of recent times, Junior Boys didn’t disappoint with their third album: a hazy, retro production of slick proportions. While not satisfying some fans’ of their earlier releases (mainly due to allegations of swapping good song writing for good production), there is plenty on offer here. Hazel is a disco gem; a piece of music which, it has been proven by scientists, provokes an irresistible desire to pout like you’re in one of those inescapable-at-this-time-of-year perfume adverts.

13) Samantha Crain and the Midnight Shivers — Songs for the Night (Ramseur)

‘Get the Fever Out’

Samantha Crain is one of the newer arrivals on the US indie-country scene. However, with Songs for the Night, she could easily be receiving the kind of acclaim heaped on Oberst, Adams, and Welch et al. There is many a whistle-friendly tune on this record and it’s the fact her band keep it simple which allows the songs, and perhaps more importantly Crains gorgeous voice, to ring through.

12) Au Revoir Simone — Still Night, Still Night (Moshi Moshi)

‘Shadows’

Another female offering at number 12 really makes me frustrated that most of the ‘girls doing it for themselves’ rhetoric we’ve heard this year has been the product of such uninspiring music (cf Florence and the Machine, Little Boots etc). Luckily, for those privy to this trio’s nuggets of casio greatness, there is salvation at hand. Still Night, Still Night is simultaneously charming and terrifyingly-cool.

11) The xx — xx (Rough Trade)

‘Stars’

The xx are named so because xx, as anyone who studied latin at an Our Lady of the League Tables school knows, is 20 in roman numerals — the average age of the band. Now, I’m not going to launch into some patronising polemic about ‘oohh aren’t they doing well’ and so forth; but xx does show staggering maturity. Just compare it to anything by Symposium for Christ’s sake. The lonely guitar-simmering drums combination works in a kind of naive way (much of the album was recorded while still learning their instruments), but it is the male-female vocal combination which sets this debut from the pack.

10) The Antlers — Hospice (French Kiss)

‘Kettering’

Hospice is a morbid tale of the relationship between a cancer sufferer and an abusive carer. Main man Peter Silberman wrote the record solo in a few lonely years living in Brooklyn, only recruiting Michael Lerner and Darby Cicci much later on. The sombre seclusion felt in Hospice is a testament to this. But doesn’t stop it being a fantastic, fantastic record. Just make sure you lock away the paracetamol and sharp objects before you get stuck in —lest you do a successful ‘Owen Wilson’.

9) Freelance Whales — Weathervanes (French Kiss)

‘Ghosting’

If this was a ’shittest band names’ list, Freelance Whales would be up there with Arctic Monkeys, Papa Roach and The Beatles. Luckily for the Williamsburg quintet, their chirpy, banjo-driven pop is just too irresistible. The vocals maybe too sweet for some — especially in an age where it’s fashionable to sound like you’ve been down a Yorkshire mineshaft all day (cf The Kooks, The Maccabees). However, what the voice may lack in weathered integrity, the music more than makes up for.

Dirty Projectors — Bitte Orca (Domino)

‘Cannibal Resource’

Dirty Projectors have been around for a while. Still, I’m sure I wasn’t alone on hearing Cannibal Resource, the first track on Bitte Orca, and thinking it was quite unlike anything I’d encountered before. While Dave Longstreth clearly pulls the strings, it is the disjointed rhythmical vibe and abstract, parallel vocal harmonies of the whole band which pricks the ears. In a year where Brooklyn, at times, seemed to dominate almost everything interesting going on in Indie music, it speaks volumes of the band that they are so lauded as innovators in the field. Fuck Florence: this is how to make pop music unique without becoming a self-parodying, ostentatious twat.

7) The Very Best  — Warm Heart Of Africa (Moshi Moshi)

‘Warm Heart of Africa’

The self-effacingly-named The Very Best exploded onto the Blogosphere in 2008 with their ‘mixtape’ of remixes. This included M.I.A’s Paper Planes and, bizarrely, The Beatles‘ Birthday. Shortly after this, the song Warm Heart of Africa started doing the rounds on radio. While the guest appearence from Vampire Weekend’s Ezra Koenig (this is the closest he’s getting to this list) had a slightly ‘Paul Simon‘, African-music-made-for-the-West quality about it, this was a big tune — evoking a gleeful, carnival-like quality. The rest of the record is perhaps more authentic to the band’s cultural roots and makes a refreshing change from much of the past tourist-rock based around the continent’s culture.

6) Slow Club — Yeah, So (Moshi Moshi)

‘It doesn’t have to be beautiful’ (starts after 30 seconds)

When I first heard about this album, I thought I’d find it about as enjoyable as having the story of the nativity read to me by a fascist. Happy-happy duo erring on a bash-core vibe? No thanks. However, I listened to it and, after a fair amount of pride swallowing, I fucking loved it. It’s a great record and I think even a more austere misanthrope than this embittered blogger would find it hard to resist it — of which there are many. The harmonies are great, the melodies, even better. There is a definite charm on offer here — as well as oodles of twee. If you’re not humming on of the hooks by the end, I’d break out the chest paddles.

5) Cougar — Patriot (Counter)

‘Stay Famous’

Fans of bands who ‘do vocals’ look away now. Fans of amazing, electronica-influenced, beatsey indie rock, come in, sit down by the fire, meet Cougar. They simultaneously chop up guitars, turning them into epileptic, glitchy entities; and exhume a lost, almost psychedelic richness. Right from the first track, Stay Famous, which slyly decieves you, priming you for a rock assault, only to drop into a trip-hop groove, the album is packed full of instrumental goodness which just about manages to keep on the good side of self-indulgent.

4) Fanfarlo — Resevoir (Canvasback Music)

In a year which saw a curious rise in style-over-substance bow-tied singers and glockenspiel-playing guitarists, Fanfarlo convinced by wearing their twee-indie-garb over a toned physique of great songs. Some saw them as an Anglo-version of the ubiquitous Arcade Fire, but I think a more apt description would be a more upbeat Anathallo. Frontman Simon Balthazar leads from the front, acoustic guitar in hand. And while the mandolines, glockenspiel and trumpets add unique elements (although perhaps not all that unique to anyone who’s heard Beirut), they are never the meat, merely the gravy.

3) Burial and Four Tet — Wolf Club/Moth (Text)

Okay, so not technically an album; but it’s my list. This super-group pairing were always going to be good but, on Moth in particular, the talents of both producers copulate and give birth to something magical. It’s not clear what roles each party took in either song — the sleeve is plain black with no liner notes — but Burial’s tradmark beat is evident on Wolf Club, as is Four Tet’s sonic jewelry. Kieron Hebden, the man behind the latter, is renowned for his spiritually-charged performances and one would be surprised if he wasn’t the major perpetrator in Moth’s opening — a low didgeridoo-like drone. What follows is the best nine minutes of electronic music all year.

2) Grizzly Bear — Veckatimest (Warp)

A close second. I honestly don’t think there’s been an album released like this in the last 30 years. Everything from the shared lead vocal duties to the disjointed rhythms mean that it’s never anything approaching forced or contrived. It would be so easy to fuck this album right up; but Grizzly Bear pull it off with stunning élan and vivacity. Never is a note rushed; never one single element over-done. The harmonies are Beach-Boy-crisp and, when the band allow themselves, there is actually a propensity to be up-beat and radio-friendly. A joy.

1) Phoenix — Wolfgang Amadeaus Phoenix (V2)

Everyone likes this record. It works on pretty much every level and that’s why it wins. Emerging from the same scene that produced fellow Galls, Air and Daft Punk, Phoenix were the first ever French chart-topper to chantez en Anglais — and you can see why. The two singles, Lisztomania and 1901, are punchier than a Leona Lewis book signing; although I wouldn’t have liked to have chosen the singles from this release such is the standard of pop-pedigree on offer. As a whole, the nine-song delight is the quintessential indie-album-with-dancing-shoes experience. If you don’t own this record, don’t fret, just right your heinous, heinous wrong. It’s going to be okay.

Jonsi and Alex's "Riceboy Sleeps"

Now, just 10 days remain in the decade, and as such, another top ten list is in order. This time, I am looking at what I think are the ten best albums of the past year.

1. Jonsi and Alex – Riceboy Sleeps

This is one of the finest ambient albums ever made. This album is both enigmatic and idiocyncratic; it really grows on the listener such that it may be true that each time one listens to it, Riceboy Sleeps feels like a whole new album. Despite being produced by Sigur Ros lead singer Jón Þór Birgisson and his boyfriend Alex Somers, this album has a unique quality to it that fans of post-rock should hope continues in the future with Jonsi’s upcoming solo release, Go, which is due out early in 2010

2. Phoenix – Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix

It’s light and poppy; it’s deep and lyrical; it’s Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix. This album is about contradictions and while that might not normally make for a stellar album concept, French rockers Phoenix have really produced a piece on indie-pop gold in this, their fourth full-length studio album.

3. Animal Collective – Merriweather Post Pavilion

Delightfully weird, as one should come to expect from the Animal Collective, Merriweather Post Pavillion is a tour-de-force of the dream-pop scene, which is developing in and around Baltimore of all places.

4. Karen O and the Kids – Where the Wild Things Are

The Soundtrack to Where the Wild Things Are by the Yeah Yeah Yeah’s Karen O and her consortium of friends and band mates is a beautiful tribute to the emotional connection we hold to our inner children, in this sense, it mirrors the film for which it was made.

5. Noah and the Whale – The First Days of Spring

I cannot stop listening to this album (literally); Charlie Fink dug deep into his own emotion to write this album, and to fantastic results. Watch the accompanying film if you have 45 minutes to spare.

6. Fuck Buttons – Tarot Sport

Tarot Sport is not for everyone, but give it a listen. It is minimalist electronica at it’s finest; it remains true to its roots but also has something there for the casual listener, which does not happen often in this genre.

7. The Avett Brothers – I And Love And You

The Avett Brothers beautifully blend bluegrass instrumentation with pop melodies and thoughtful lyrics to create an album that transcends multiple genres and arrives at something close to indie-folk perfection.

8. Grizzly Bear – Veckatimest

Grizzly Bear touches on several genres of the course of the 52 minutes of Veckatimest, expertly crafting an album that is a departure from their earlier work, but still is ultimately a tribute to the music they have been producing since they put out Horn of Plenty in 2004.

9. Phish – Joy

Joy should be considered among the best every for the reformed Vermont-based jam band. Phish proves through this disc that they are not just for hippies.

10. Au Revoir Simone – Still Night, Still Light

Au Revoir Simone, despite using exclusively electronic instruments like keyboards and drum machines, produce something that feels organic and with glorious three-part harmonies evoke something more reminiscent of the 1960s acoustic folk scene, which is fairly unbelievable.

Honorable Mention

Air – Love 2; Ben Harper and Relentless7 – White Lies for Dark Times; David Guetta – One Love; Dirty Projectors – Bitte Orca; El Perro del Mar – Love is not Pop; The Flaming Lips – Embryonic; fun. – Aim and Ignite; Great Lake Swimmers – Lost Channels; Matt and Kim – Grand; Morrissey – Years of Refusal; Mum – Sing Along to Songs You Don’t Know; Regina Spektor – Far; Royksopp – Junior; The Swell Season – Strict Joy; Yeah Yeah Yeahs – It’s Blitz; Yo La Tengo – Popular Songs

-Doug Ray

Doug Ray is the co-host of Saltimbocca & Escargot, Sundays at 8-10 PM Eastern Time on WRBC.

My turn to play amateur music critic…

I’ll admit, I’m influenced by the behemoth that is Pitchfork.com.  I cannot deny this.  When I was younger, the gospel that was Rolling Stone and Spin Magazine, helped lead me to music in the 80’s and 90’s that I would have never heard on my own or heard mentioned by mainstream media.  To a young music adventurist, they acted as a treasure map for my curious mind.  Take Pavement, for instance; my choice for heaven’s house band.  There’s no way in hell I would have found these guys while aimlessly perusing the aisles of record stores, without first being tipped off to their greatness by the good folks at Spin.

Pitchfork now satisfies that role for me.  Granted, being in my mid-30’s, I’m most likely at the outer edge of their demographic, but I would have missed a great deal of worthy music over the last couple of years if not for them.  And they dig much deeper into the musical underground than the aforementioned paper-based predecessors.  They’re like a pastry chef from a far-off, mysterious land, making wonderful batches of new, exotic cookie dough and allowing me to take a nibble.  All I have to do is decide whether or not I want to put the cookies in the oven and make sure they don’t burn.  I’m not even sure that makes sense.  You can tell where my mind is this holiday season.

These are the songs I enjoyed listening to the most throughout the year.  There is no attempt to say these are the best songs of the year, just my personal favorites.  Let me rephrase that slightly…these are my personal favorites right now.  In a couple of weeks, this list could look different, but the brush had to come off the canvas at some point.

#20: Au Revoir Simone “All or Nothing”

#19: The Rural Alberta Advantage “Drain the Blood”

#18: Handsome Furs “All We Want, Baby, is Everything”

#17: Major Lazer “Can’t Stop Now”

#16: Black Moth Super Rainbow “Born on the Day the Sun Didn’t Rise”

#15: Late Of The Pier “Random Firl”

#14: The Thermals “I Let It Go”

#13: Cymbals Eat Guitars “And the Hazy Sea”

#12: Jason Lytle “Brand New Sun”

#11: The xx “Islands”

#10: Radiohead “These are My Twisted Words”
Every town in America has a kid in Little League who is miles ahead of the rest of the league talent-wise.  He can pitch, field, throw, run, and hit better than everyone else.  When he comes up to bat, opposing pitchers tighten up, infielders take step into the outfield grass, and the outfielders back up to the fence.  It does not matter who pitches to them or what type of defense the other team plays, this stud will find a gap or hit a home run damn near every time he comes to bat.  Now, imagine that kid decides to sit out most of the game, but takes just one at-bat to keep his reflexes sharp.  Of course, he hits a long drive to left-center that easily clears the fence.  That is Radiohead with this song.  They are better than every other band currently playing today and they can hit a home run every time they come to bat, even if the only thing they release all year is a single.

#9: Atlas Sound “Walkabout”
I’m not sure whether I like this song so much because Bradford Cox, as Atlas Sound, has finally allowed a bit of fun and whimsy to creep into his solo music, or because it prominently features Noah Lennox, a.k.a. Panda Bear, from Animal Collective.  I think I’ll go with the latter.  This almost sounds like a missing track from Panda Bear’s own solo album Person Pitch album from 2007.

#8: Sonic Youth “Antenna”
During my freshman year in college, the Goo album sucked me into the Sonic forcefield, and they’ve had me locked in their tractor beam ever since.  They’ve released a ton of albums since then, some good, some not so good, but this year’s The Eternal is right up there with the best.  It’s not quite Sister or Daydream Nation, but it’s pretty damn good.  This song is a throwback to that era of Sonic Youth.  It would fit on any album from Sister to Dirty.  It’s that solid.

#7: White Rabbits “Percussion Gun”
I’d never listened to the White Rabbits until this year’s album It’s Frightening. “Percussion Gun” is the first song on the album and it’s fucking great.  I love this song.  I love how they convey a sense of nervous anticipation, I love the wonderful harmonies on the chorus, I love that Britt Daniel from Spoon produced this. The rest of the album is well worth the listen, but this is the keeper of the bunch.

#6: Discovery “Orange Shirt”
Similar to Atlas Sound, this is another song by 2 guys who are members of more popular bands, Ra Ra Riot and Vampire Weekend.  If you get excited over 80’s synth-pop sprinkled with hip-hop, dance, and Jamaican undertones, then this album is for you.  “Orange Shirt” is the best example of how fun this whole album is.  You cannot feel bad after spending 40 minutes with Discovery, and like Neon Neon last year, they have tongue firmly in cheek. “Sleep on the train to Tokyo, Google yourself when you get home” may be the lyric of the year.

#5: Phoenix “1901″
There were 3 songs, in particular off the Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix album, that stuck in my head: “Lisztomania”, “Love Like a Sunset”, and “1901″.  Yet, “1901″ is the song that I kept coming back to from an album that got played more and more on my iPod as the year progressed.  From the first time I heard it, it sounded like a thousand songs that I’d heard before.  And I mean that as a tremendous compliment.  It’s on my list of songs that seemed like they were freshly plucked from the branches of a ripe tree bursting with juicy pop gems.

#4: Animal Collective “My Girls”
In 2009, if you listened to music, you had to love Animal Collective, or so I’m told.  So, here is my requisite AC song.  In all seriousness, this song would make any top list over the past 10 years without a problem.  I’ll skip the superlatives with Animal Collective.  They’ve all been used and I’ll end up being accused of plagiarism.  The problem is, all the superlatives are justified, especially for this song, their most accessible and catchy yet.

#3: Girls “Summertime”
As with Animal Collective and the superlatives, I’ll skip the whole back story of Girls leading up to this debut album and just stick to the songs.  “Lust for Life” and “Hellhole Ratrace” seemed to be the critics’ go-to choices from this amazing album called, appropriately enough, Album. They’re amazing tracks in their own right, but my choice is “Summertime”.  Oh man, from the instant I heard this, I knew that I could put this song on at any moment and disappear.  My thoughts fade to a sun-kissed, golden California beach as friends gather in the sand…drink, smoke, get merry, grab a guitar, put your arm around your girl…it’s totally intoxicating.  Then the distortion and fuzzed-out guitar waves crash over you as you’re enveloped in the sound like a warm blanket and slowly, slowly ride it back home.

#2: Jay-Z “Empire State of Mind”
If you’re a filmmaker and you want to have your movie seen for years to come, it’s best to make a Christmas movie.  Even if the movie is so-so, there is a built-in audience of millions every year who’ll watch any halfway decent holiday movie during that month between Thanksgiving and Christmas.  You have the classics, like It’s A Wonderful Life and A Christmas Story; of course those will be on every year.  But you’ll also see Deck the Halls or Surviving Christmas or Christmas With the Kranks every year.  If the subject matter didn’t involve Christmas, these movies would be long forgotten. Instead, they’ll be on TBS for years to come.  Writing a song about a geographic area or location could be the same way, i.e. “Miami” by Will Smith or “All My Ex’s Live in Texas” by George Strait.  The great ones, like “New York, New York” or “I Love L.A.” stand the test of time and would be heard for years even if they weren’t associated with their respective cities.  Add “Empire State of Mind” to that list.  Jay-Z’s ode to his hometown is letter perfect, the beats are right on, and Alicia Keys just kills on the chorus.  It also helped that the Yankees won the World Series as this song reached the peak of its popularity.  Plan on hearing this for the next 50 years.

#1: Grizzly Bear “Two Weeks”
Supposedly, Brian Wilson took 6 months to record his greatest song, “Good Vibrations” in 1966.  Between the multi-part harmonies, countless session musicians, and his crazy paranoia, he created a 3-minute, 30-second masterpiece that 40+ years later still sounds fresh and innovative.  If Grizzly Bear had recorded “Two Weeks” back in 1966, it would have taken them at least 6 months.  It’s such a simple, yet complex song.  It aims for the heavens and, in the process, rockets with ease into outer space.  The vocal arrangements are second-to-none, the musical pacing is just right, but the secret weapon is the drumming (as is usually the case with great songs).  It grows on me the more I listen to it.  I can only hope that I’ll find as much pleasure in this song 40 years from now.

Tonight, Refinery29 and Madewell held a holiday party/shopping event at the Madewell boutique on Broadway and Broome. Refinery29’s editors hand-picked vintage pieces to be sold during the event, proceeds of which will be donated to the Brooklyn Animal Resource Coalition. Shoppers perused the goods for a worthy cause and sipped super-smooth cocktails (to make that pre-holiday splurge a little more agreeable) while serenaded by the DJ set of Au Revoir Simone.

My much-adored editorial superior, Connie Wang, is definitely up to something…

Au Revoir Simone is such a cute band, the songs are sad yet beautiful, they all look exactly the same but also super cool, and they are pretty great live. The Aeroplane remix of Another Likely Story is superb! Check out their myspace too..

Here comes part 3! Click back a few posts for parts 1 and 2. There’s a bit more obvious pop this time around, but a couple of tasty semi-obscurities and treats in there too. All good fun. 2009 has been a pretty good year in pop, I’m starting to think…

Numbers 30 to 21 are behind the clicK…

30. Florence and the Machine – Rabbit Heart (Raise It Up)

In brief: Multi-layered, slickly produced hyper-emoting pop. By some distance my favourite Florence thing so far.
She say: “I would like to work with T.I. because I fancy him. I’d also like to work with Tom Waits, but I don’t really fancy him; he’s just a f**king genius.”
Best Bit: Around 2.21.
See also: The XX’s sublime refit of her otherwise bothersome You’ve Got The Love

29. Busta Rhymes ft. Estelle – World Go Round

In brief: Rather fab collaboration that sees both parties playing to their strengths. Should have been much bigger.
He say: [On poor reception of his latest record] “Sometimes, the measurement can’t even be measured because it supersedes the level of expectation that you have to possibly measure the way you can have your greatness received.” OK then…
See also: DJ Mehdi remix

28. Little Boots – Remedy

In brief: Even if Little Boots didn’t fully deliver in 2009, she still produced some solid gold moments – this was the best of the bunch.
She say: “The song is about dancing and music being a remedy to some kind of poison in your life. I wanted to write a dark dance pop song a bit like Britney Spears’ Toxic. The lyrics are not really very personal, I was more imagining a situation.”
Best Bit: 2.30 – chorus done dropout-style. Sweet.
See also: Earthquake; Remedy remixed by Crazy Cousinz

27. Yes Giantess – Tuff ‘n’ Stuff

In brief: Embarrassing title conceals alternating silly and subtle classic in the making from The New MGMT.
They say: “We want someone to make us sound like Kylie Minogue records, that is the goal, whoever knows how to do that the best please call us.”
Best Bit: It really takes until 1.33 to figure out that there is greatness hidden among the chest-beating nonsense of the verse.
See also: Not much yet, but their remix of Little Boots’ Earthquake is pretty swish.

26. Tiesto ft. Tegan & Sara – Feel It In My Bones

In brief: Epic stadium-filling trance + emotional indie twins = really very good indeed.
Best Bit: This one’s a sort of gentle build. As you’d expect. So it just gets better.
See also: Knock You Out, with Emily Haines off of Metric

25. Rex the Dog – Bubblicious

In brief: Video of the year? Also incredible, cheerful bosh that really should be all over the charts.
He say: “We like the 80s but we also like the 90s and the right nows. When we play in clubs and parties, lots of things go into the mix, but the emphasis is on the party.”
Best Bit: Around 2mins, where it goes all breaks-y.
See also: Well, there’s another Rex moment coming up later, so I wouldn’t want to spoil the, ahem, surprise. You must literally be unable to bear the suspense.

24. Au Revoir Simone – Another Likely Story

In brief: First of two tracks that are in here because of a remix. In this case, it’s a joyful, bouncy thing by Aeroplane. The original: a lush, classy indiepop beauty.
They say: [On Fame] “I think if you’re right and we’re totally getting famous and I lose my privileges of wearing my pyjamas anonymously in public then I am gonna be really upset!”
Best Bit: In the original, it’s the moment that irrestistibly lovely verse melody first kicks in – around 0.45.
See also: AEROPLANE MIX – it’s seriously great.

23. Zambri – Easier

In brief: Like Gossip cut loose. Funky, tribal verse gives way to a mighty shoutalong chorus. The remix below ramps it up another gear.
Best Bit: Post-chorus action – 1.23.
See also: Definitive remix by Does it Offend You Yeah? is downloadable here

22. Enrique Iglesias ft. Ciara – Takin’ Back My Love

In brief: If you’re going to do emotional pop, do it properly. A blinding RedOne production featuring the king of over-emoting. Brilliant.
Best Bit: Chorus 1 – 0.55.
See also: I’m struggling here to be honest. Can I link to the Ping Pong Song again? I just did.

21. Basement Jaxx – Raindrops

In brief: The best summer song with rain in the title (feel free to challenge!) and, ultimately, classic Jaxx.
They say: “When we started, we had the unfashionable idea of making deep spiritual American-sounding underground house music. European dance music was horrible at the time – it was all about drugs, it sounded like all the producers were on cocaine with hard Nazi beats, and it didn’t enrich the soul.”
Best Bit: When the chorus kicks back in at 2.26
See also: Doorly remix.

I’ve been reading a couple of articles on the blogsphere about life and such, and it’s been inspiring me to keep updating this blog, so here goes a post. Majority of these blogs I’ve been reading are about New York City, relationships, radical arts, and music of course. The NYC blogs perfectly gets my attention, it helps me picture myself living in the city with an okay job, brand new friends, surviving and making it at the very least. I think the time has come and I finally, truly realized that I’m over California and it’s time to move on and flip the page of my story book.

California, particularly Los Angeles and Long Beach has been a great part of my life. The friends and memories will always be in my heart until the end. The world is too big and it will be a waste for it not to be explored. And so as the saying goes, “Life is too short, live as if it was your last.” The more people finds out about my plan on relocating, the more of them wants to embark the journey with me. This gives greater influenced on me and I am becoming more inspired than ever. The city is calling my, your name, so go and pack your bags for the long haul.

(Hence: I changed the lyrics from Paris to NewYork)

One day we’re gonna live in New York City
I promise
I’m on it
When I’m bringing in the money
I promise
I’m on it
I’m gonna take you out to club showcase
We’re gonna live it up
I promise
Just hold on a little more

And every night we’ll watch the stars
They’ll be out for us
They’ll be out for us
And every night, the city lights
They’ll be out for us
They’ll be out for us

One day we’re gonna live in New York City
I promise
I’m on it
I’ll find you that New York boy,
You’ll find me that New York girl
I promise
I’m on it

So go and pack your bags
For the long haul
We’re gonna lose ourselves
I promise
This time it’s you and me for evermore

And every night we’ll watch the stars
They’ll be out for us
They’ll be out for us
And every night, the city lights
They’ll be out for us
They’ll be out for us

And every night we’ll watch the stars
They’ll be out for us
They’ll be out for us
And every night, the city lights
They’ll be out for us
They’ll be out for us

When I no longer thrill to the first snow of the season, I’ll know I’m growing old.
- Claudia “Lady Bird” Johnson

Snow is indeed on its way to Minnesota. Children are breathing a sigh of relief as Santa’s sleigh will have smooth passage on rooftops, back alleys and rural roads. It’s a magical time of year in the northern hemisphere – a heightened sense of wonder and anticipation fills children and parents alike. While retailers push salvos of envy and anxiety to boost holiday profits, deep down we crave the simplest of things during this awe-inspiring time of year – good health, friendship and family.

Our “Confluence” segment today will celebrate the first significant snowfall with a thoughtful and rambunctious collection of music, including songs from Trip Shakespeare, Au Revoir Simone, Mouthful of Bees, Low, Sufjan Stevens, Over The Rhine, Stan Getz, Sara Bareilles & Ingrid Michaelson and others.

And in Great River Radio’s continuing effort to being you new music before you hear it anywhere else, we’ll have a number of songs from highly anticipated 2010 releases by Laura Veirs, Cold War Kids, Spoon, Frightened Rabbit and Ted Leo & The Pharmacists.

Speaking of good music … In one of our first shows of the new decade, Great River Radio will take a look back at the “Oughts” (2000-2009). We’re digging through our hard drives and doing the research so that we can bring you a full program of the most influential music of the decade. We’ll provide a preview of that effort tonight with music from a couple of Great River Radio “favorite” artists you may be familiar with.

Request: What were some of your most influential (not necessarily the “best” or “favorite”) albums in 2000-2009? Post your selections HERE our website.

Note: Great River Radio’s fourth annual holiday music show will be on Dec. 22. You’ll want to tune in while you’re wrapping gifts or snuggling with your SO beside an open fire.

You can listen to Great River Radio live today from 4-6 p.m. (CST) via the KUST stream: www.kustradio.com
Chat with us during the show via AIM or iChat: kustradio

Be safe and warm out there!

Playlist
Lullaby-Dan Wilson
Stone Love-Ruthie Foster
Snow-Gustavo Santoalalla
Fallen Snow-Au Revoire Simone
Snow Blanket-Mouthful of Bees
Last Snowstorm of the Year-Low
Majesty, Snowbird-Sufjan Stevens
Snow Days-Trip Shakespeare
Snow Angel-Over The Rhine
Snow Angel-Ron Sexsmith
Snow-Jesse Winchester
I Can See your Tracks-Laura Veirs
The Hollywood Sign-Halloween Alaska
Home-Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros
Cause For Alarm-The Heavy
Shelter From The Storm-Cassandra Wilson
Winter Moon-Stan Getz
Winter Song-Sara Bareilles and Ingrid Michaelson
Even Heroes Die-Ted Leo and the Pharmacists
Written In Reverse-Spoon
Audience of One-Cold War Kids
Nothing Like You-Frightened Rabbit
South Philadelphia (Drug Days)-Alec Ounsworth
A Nervous Tic Motion of the Head to the Left-Andrew Bird

The female trio from Williamsburg finally released their first video from their album ’still night still light’ earlier last month. Check out ‘Shadows’.

Au Revoir Simone — Still Night, Still Night (MoshiMoshi, 2009)

‘Shadows’

If you gave Brooklyn synth-pop trio, Au Revior Simone, a stone, they would no-doubt draw a blood-bank’s-worth of type-O-negative, such is the emotion they achieve with such limited raw materials.

Their third release, Still Night, Still Night, uses Casio bleeps, unadorned drum machines, and innocent harmonies. Yet Erika Forster, Annie Hart and Heather D’Angelo achieve a sum far greater than these parts — largely due to an abundance of twee charm and their knack of writing great pop.

Comparisons will inevitably be made with other female-fronted acts such as Pretty Girls Make Graves. Indeed, when the trio first harmonise over “I’m moving on/I hope your coming with me” in Shadows, there’s an eerie resemblance to Brooklyn forbear, Rainer Maria vocalist, Caithlin De Marrais.

The band have also been compared to the sisters from the Virgin Suicides, and it is this quirky mystique — perfectly articulated in Sofia Coppola’s film — mixed with analogue tones and drum hits which works so well.

Although the first song, Another Likely Story, somehow tries too hard with its four-to-the-floor kick drum, Shadows provides the first real moment of melodic beauty and is the standout track.  From here on in, we are treated to a subdued and enchanting journey of nostalgic beats — the kind a cool librarian might make in her spare time.

From the beautifully-simple Take Me as I Am, to the album’s dénouement, Tell Me — a wonderful transition from romantic, electric piano to 1950s surf, there is rarely any waffle.

In year when — with varying degrees of patronisation — women have been lauded for their success in mainstream music, it’s sad the examples thrust forth into the trance-like gaze of the general consumer (Little Boots, La Roux La Roux and Florence and the PR Machine etc) have been so eager to please.

This current class is — with the exception of the wonderful Bat For Lashes — doing a disservice to Au Revoir Simone.

iPod shuffle winner when:
Your lying in a field, your authentic (read Urban Outfitters) flannel shirt entangled with your loved one’s, while you plot to run away in your dad’s car.

iPod shuffle sinner when:
You’re just really not in the bloody mood for three impossibly-cool indie girls from Brookyln (who isn’t from there these days?) displaying this kind of effortless, not-arsed panache. Okay?

1.Okkervil river- Listening to Otis Redding at home During Christmas

Listening to Ottis Redding at home during Christmas

2.Fleet Foxes- White Winter Hymnal

White winter hymnal

3.Beck Winter- Lady

Winter Lady

4.Neko Case Christmas card from a hooker in Minneapolis (Tom Waits Cover)

Christmas card from a hooker in Minneapolis

5.Emmy and the Great and Lightspeed Champion- Christmas in Prison

Christmas in prison

6.Jack white- Christmas time is almost over

Christmas Time is almost over

7.Au Revoir Simone- Fallen Snow

Fallen Snow

8.Belle and Sebastian- Fox in the snow

Fox in the snow

9.Sufjan Stevens- That was the worst christmas ever

That was the worst Christmas Ever

10.Camera Obscura- Happy New Year

Happy new year

11.Band Of Horse-The End’s not near

The ends not near

Baby tell me please
Is this a dream
Spending the night with you
Beneath the cherry trees
Just make a wish and everything comes true

Out the windows of my bedroom
Through the backyards of our neighbors
But I didn’t leave you waiting
There was endless concentration

Then the moon swept down to greet us
It was warm and made of flowers
Into vines that barely reached us
Climbing higher than forever

Baby help me please
In knowing this
‘Cause showing never tells
Was it just a breeze
Was it a kiss
Breathless exquisite chills

Through the backyards and it’s spinning in my head right now.

Au Revoir Simone son un trío neoyorkino (de Brooklyn, ¿Cómo no?) de chicas unidas por su pasión por la música y destinos encontrados en un tren rumbo a NYC. Toman el nombre de una frase de la película de Tim Burton, La Gran Aventura de Pee-Wee y este año han publicado su tercer y excelente disco de estudio, Still Night, Still Light, que está disponible en Spotify.

Escuchando trabajos anteriores del grupo, se podría decir que poco nuevo hay aquí, pero sin embargo acentúan todo lo que ya hacían sentir sus anteriores discos, la frialdad de los teclados vintage junto a la calidez de sus voces forman una antítesis que hace que a pesar de lo melodioso de las voces en ningún momento se acerque al endulzamiento exacerbado. Esto queda perfectamente demostrado en Knight of Wands donde la música va creando una tensión que la voz rebaja. El primer single del álbum fue la genial Shadows con un ritmo electrónico muy pegadizo y ahora están promocionando el primer corte del disco, Another Likely Story para el que han rodado este vídeo por el metro de Nueva York:

Hay que pensar poco para que las comparaciones, una tras otra vengan a la cabeza, Camera Obscura, The Postal Service, (mis adorados) Lali Puna, y es que la fórmula de synthpop melódico ya ha sido explotada por muchos grupos, empezando por las propias Au Revoir Simone, y quizás esto sea lo que tiene más mérito, habiendo escuchado discos anteriores de ellas mismas, todo el mundo sabe a lo que va, pero gusta, y al final, hasta acaba engachando.

Y si sus canciones no os parecen suficientemente buenas, podéis probar con alguno de los remixes que Aeroplane y Neon Indian han hecho para su actual single. Disponibles aquí y aquí.

Myspace de Au Revoir Simone
Página oficial de Au Revoir Simone

I’m a bit behind on this track as I just found it. Nonetheless, it deserves a mention in here as it is indeed an amazing tune. It’s a nu disco number with dreamy vocal that reminds me a lot to Friendly Fire’s Paris which features Au Revoir Simone. It’s been contantly playing on my iTunes’ playlist and I cant get enough of it.

The Golden Filter myspace

The Golden Filter – Solid gold

Aquest és l´ultim video d´Au revoir Simone, grup que vos convide a descobrir ,al llarg del cap de setmana  de tardor que ens ha tocat viure.Dew

Un altre video de Au Revoir Simone

Those wonderful Belgium disco merchants are back. Yes, everyone’s favourite aviation-related DJs, Aeroplane, have returned with a remix of New York’s Au Revoir Simone’s Another Likely Story.

I first heard this on one of Mixmag’s podcasts not so long ago and it is exactly what the doctor ordered for the coming winter months: fun disco, full of ranging synths and feel-good lyrics which feel just as at home in your bedroom as on the dancefloor. I’ve yet to hear Aeroplane make a remixing mistake and long may this continue.

Au Revoir Simone – Another Likely Story (Aeroplane remix) (BN)
Au Revoir Simone – Another Likely Story (Aeroplane remix) (MF)

Here’s another awesome remix they’re done:
Friendly Fires – Paris (Aeroplane remix) (BN)
Friendly Fires – Paris (Aeroplane remix) (MF)

Belgium’s Aeroplane is going to appear in Jakarta soon. In the mean time, check out their remix of Au Revoir Simone’s single Another Likely Story. What makes me fell in love with Aeroplane is ther remix of Friendly Fires’ track Paris which features the vocal of Au Revoir Simone. This remix is along the same line and keeps me wanting for more.

Au Revoir Simone myspace
Aeroplane myspace

Au Revoir Simone – Another Likely Story (Aeroplane remix) | RCRDLBL