Top 3 Albums of 2009: 
- Eels – Hombre Lobo: If E is the underrated Ryan Adams, Hombre Lobo is 2009′s overlooked Heartbreaker. If you understood what the hell I just said, this album is for you.
- Jenny Owen Youngs – Transmitter Failure: Bold, outspoken and witty as hell, Transmitter Failure possesses the quirk of a Regina Spektor’s Soviet Kitsch while offering the maturity and depth of Liz Phair’s Whitechocolatespaceegg. I don’t know about you, but in terms of female artists, she could certainly find herself is far worse company.
- Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson – Summer of Fear: I can hear legends when this man opens his mouth. His voice reminds me of Tom Petty or Mark Knopfler. His structures remind me of Bob Dylan. His energy is not to be fucked with. This album is not to be overlooked.
Honorable mention:
- St. Vincent – Actor: Disney movies meets the Polyphonic Spree is worth checking out. It also might be hard to spot listening out.
Worth Downloading:
- Danger Mouse & Sparklehorse – Dark Night of the Soul: Seriously, google it.
Best Show of 2009:
Holy Crap. After seeing like 600 bands play, picking one show is hard. I’m going to aim for three:
- Howie Day – Record Bar, Kansas City (April 28th, 2009): Howie Day , best known for his creative use of loop pedals, got two songs into his set before the power of the bar went down. After a ten minute pause to gauge if there would be a return from the Amish setting, Howie Day returned to the stage, taped a flashlight onto a mic stand, pointed it at his face and played the remainder of his set acoustic. The bar was as quiet as I have ever seen in this completely natural boy and his guitar set.
- Phoenix Myspace Secret Show – Record Bar, Kansas City (June 24, 2009): The venue holds about 200, but they played like there were 20,000 in that room. I’d seen them a few weeks earlier at Bonnaroo and the concept of two different stage sizes for one band was pretty fun to toy with.
- The Swell Season – Uptown Theatre, Kansas City (November 30th, 2009): The moment that Glen Hansard unplugged and stepped out onto the venue monitors, belting to the 2,000 strong crowd, the goosebumps on my arm couldn’t be held back. I was very impressed by their come back in terms of my opinion, after I had written them off following a very boring Austin City Limits showing in 2008.
Most anticipated in 2010:
- Stacy Clark – Connect the Dots: Stacy Clark had the most overlooked album of 2008 in my opinion. If her 2010 release is anywhere near as brilliant, it WILL turn heads.
- Motion City Soundtrack – My Dinosaur Life: Power-pop or not, this band can write moving songs about depression.
- She and Him – Volume 2: Zooey will surely be as wonderful on her follow up as she was on Volume 1. Oh, and there’s that M. Ward guy.
- MGMT – Congratulations: MGMT could be the next generation of The Flaming Lips. They could also be a huge flop. This album will be a good indication of where they’ll land.
Most Overrated in 2009:
- Grizzly Bear -Veckatimest: Don’t get me wrong, this album has some worth. I’ll give you “rainy day album.” I think it is a fine listen when reading a book or cleaning the house too. I don’t however think it is standout to the point of granting covers to non-music magazines or the other senseless hype surrounding them.
- Animal Collective – Merriweather Post Pavilion: Albums in possession of one quality song and a lot of noisy filler bullshit should not be backed with the end of the year hype this album has. Yeah, we’re looking at you Pitchfork.
Favorite Musical Memory of the Decade:
It has to be the feeling of achievement I’ve received in response to running this site. I’ve gotten Christmas cards from Jenny Owen Youngs, shared pizza with Kevin Devine and Mansions, danced at shows with Stacy Clark and shared coffee with Anya Marina. I can’t imagine anything topping their approval of my site.
Although, Bonnaroo 2009 came pretty close.
