Disclaimer: Years are fairly arbitrary time periods. The only thing that makes a decade is the human conditions’ odometer fetish. Unfortunately, like you, I’m human as well and fall prey to these tendencies. I can’t claim to know everything, I’m just an educated observer; and here are my educated observations. They are not perfect and neither you nor I will completely agree with them in a years time, but that is the fun of lists.
Alright, it took me awhile, but I’ve finally got 2009. Part of me didn’t want to put Animal Collective in the top spots just to do something different, but in the end, it really was the best album of the year. For me, the year was very psychedelic, between Animal Collective, Neon Indian, The Flaming Lips, Black Moth Super Rainbow, & Super Furry Animals, it felt like 1969 rather than 2009.
Make sure you check out the Heath Ledger directed video for Modest Mouse – “King Rat”, Cymbals Eat Guitars doing “Wind Phoenix” on KEXP, and of course, chicago’s own the Smith and Western’s doing “Tonight” on everyone’s favorite public access dance show, Chic-A-Go-Go.
Top 10 Albums of 2009:
10. Handsome Furs – Face Control
9. Super Furry Animals – Dark Nights/Light Years
8. The Future of the Left – Travels With Myself and Another
7. Wild Beasts – Two Dancers
6. Black Moth Super Rainbow – Eating Us
5. Flaming Lips – Embryonic
4. Japandroids – Post-Nothing
3. Phoenix – Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix
2. Neon Indian – Psychic Chasms
1. Animal Collective – Merriweather Post Pavillion
Top 100 Songs of 2009:
100. King Khan & the BBQ Show – I’ll be Loving You (song)
99. CFCF – Crystal Mines (video)
98. The Whitest Boy Alive – Courage
97. Modest Mouse – King Rat (video)
96. Florence & The Machine – Kiss With a Fist (video)
95. Fuck Buttons – Surf Solar (video)
94. The Dead Weather – Treat Me Like Your Mother (video)
93. The Flaming Lips – What Does It Mean?
92. The Pains of Being Pure at Heart – Everything With You (video)
91. Beirut – My Night with a Prostitute From Marseille (song)
90. White Rabbits – Percussion Gun (video)
89. The Boy Least Likely To – A Balloon on a Broken String
88. Peaches – Talk to Me (video)
87. Art Brut – Alcoholics Unanimous (video)
86. Fever Ray – Seven (video)
85. The Galvatrons – Cassandra
84. Super Furry Animals – Inaugural Trams (song)
83. Free Energy – Free Energy (video)
82. Micachu – Lips (video)
81. Classixx – I’ll Get You (video)
80. Raekwon – Surgical Gloves (video)
79. Kings of Convenience – Boat Behind (video)
78. Tesla Boy – Spirit of the Night (song)
77. The Thermals – When We Were Alive
76. Yeah Yeah Yeahs – Heads Will Roll (video)
75. Yacht – The Afterlife
74. Pictureplane – Goth Star (video)
73. Das Racist & Wallpaper – Combination Pizza Hut and Taco Bell (Wallpaper Remix) (video)
72. Franz Ferdinand – Ulysses (video)
71. Handsome Furs – Evangeline (song)
70. Super Furry Animals – Mt (video)
69. Obits – Pine On (video)
68. Crocodiles – Refuse Angels (video)
67. Mannequin Men – Cream Rises (video)
66. Wilco – Wilco the Song (song)
65. Passion Pit – Moth Wings (video)
64. Cage & Aviary – Television Train
63. Mayer Hawthorne – Just Ain’t Gonna Work Out (video)
62. The Juan Maclean – Accusations
61. Smith Westerns – Tonight (video)
60. Black Moth Super Rainbow – Twin of Myself (song)
59. Cymbals Eat Guitars – Wind Phoenix (video)
58. Future of the Left – You Need Satan More Than He Needs You
57. Discovery – Orange Shirt (song)
56. Franz Ferdinand – No You Girls (video)
55. Junior Boys – Parallel Lines (song)
54. Wild Beasts – Hooting and Howling (video)
53. Lily Allen – The Fear (video)
52. Spiral Stairs – Stolen Pills (video)
51. Raekwon – New Wu (video)
50. Handsome Furs – I’m Confused (video)
49. Acid Girls – The Numbers Song (video)
48. Volcano Choir – Island, IS (video)
47. The Flaming Lips – Borderline (video)
46. Here We Go Magic – Tunnelvision (video)
45. Dent May – Howard (video)
44. Pink Mountaintops – Execution (video)
43. Animal Collective – Brothersport (video)
42. Jay Reatard – It Ain’t Gonna Save Me (video)
41. Brwn Bflo – Never Been Gone
40. Cold Cave – Life Magazine (video)
39. The XX – Crystalised (video)
38. Dinosaur Jr. – Over It (video)
37. Kings of Convenience – Mrs. Cold (video)
36. Japandroids – Young Hearts Spark Fire (song)
35. Jarvis Cocker – Further Complications (video)
34. Memory Tapes – Bicycle (song)
33. Micachu – Golden Phone (video)
32. DJ Kaos – Love the Night Away (Tiedye Mix)
31. Neon Indian – Ephemeral Artery (song)
30. Super Furry Animals – Moped Eyes (song)
29. Vitalic – Your Disco Song (video)
28. The Flaming Lips – Watching the Planets (video)
27. Bat For Lashes – Daniel (video)
26. The Boy Least Likely To – I Box Up All the Butterflies
25. Richard Swift – Lady Luck (video)
24. Lily Allen – Not Fair (video)
23. Future of the Left – The Hope that House Built (video)
22. Camera Obscura – French Navy (video)
21. St. Vincent – Actor Out of Work (video)
20. Phoenix – Listzomania (video)
19. Animal Collective – Summertime Clothes (video)
18. The Outrunners – Runaways
17. Black Moth Super Rainbow – Born on a Day the Sun Didn’t Rise (video)
16. Wild Beasts – All The Kings Men (video)
15. Bon Iver – Blood Bank
14. Japandroids – Heart Sweats (video)
13. Lindstrom & Christabelle – Baby Can’t Stop
12. Neon Indian – Deadbeat Summer (video)
11. Yacht – Psychic City (video)
10. Yeah Yeah Yeahs – Zero (video)
9. Beirut – The Concubine (video)
8. Dirty Projectors – Stillness is the Move (video)
7. Passion Pit – The Reeling (video)
6. Wavves – No Hope Kids (video)
5. Girls – Lust For Life (video)
4. Grizzly Bear – Two Weeks (video)
3. Washed Out – Feel It All Around (video)
2. Phoenix – 1901 (video)
1. Animal Collective – My Girls (video)