So we're... blah blah blah... of the way through 2009; what records are worth listening to so far?

1 the-dream - love vs money
2 yeah yeah yeahs - it's blitz
3 dirty projectors - bitte orca
4 ryan leslie
5 ugk - 4 life
6 antony and the johnsons - the crying light
7 neko case - middle cyclone
8 lily allen - it's not me, it's you
9 platinum pied pipers - abundance
10 death - keep on knocking

1 the-dream - love vs money
2 yeah yeah yeahs - it's blitz!
3 phoenix - wolfgang amadeus phoenix
4 junior boys - begone dull care
5 ugk - 4 life
6 ryan leslie - ryan leslie
7 camera obscura - my maudlin career
8 dirty projectors - bitte orca
9 lindstrøm & prins thomas - II
10 the juan maclean - the future will come

i think the new boosie mixtape might slip in there once i listen to it also maybe RAWSE but man its really bored me so far

strong list releases there imo

very permeable list too - i'm strong on the top 3 but everything else is just about even

the long lost 'the long lost' and cortney tidwell's 'boys' are both spectacular. no idea when they are actually released.

lol we listen to the same shit

xpost

the only albums i'd add to my list way up above are the it hugs back (great) and veils (good but patchy) albums..

i was gonna mention the thieves like us album.. i suppose its US release is 2009 so i guess it counts

there's lots of new stuff i haven't caught up with yet though..

Your musical compatibility with k3vin k. is SUPER

right now...

Culoe de Song- The Bright Forest
dOP- The Genius of the Crowd
Randoplh- Ruff & Tuff single
J*Davey
Meanderthals- Desire Lines
Isolee- October Nightingale (this one is a grower, not dancefloor material, but excellent)
Monika Kruse- Don't Come Close (Broombeck mx)

that's mostly stuff from this year. but in terms of old stuff, i've been listening to a shitload of ron trent, fela kuti and this amazing house and garage collection from 93

Randoplh- Ruff & Tuff single

right dude?

Ten I'm pretty sure about:

DJ Koze, Reincarnations: The Remix Chapter 2001-2009 (Get Physical)
Art Brut vs. Satan (Downtown)
Ada, Adaptations: Mixtape #1 (Kompakt)
A-Trak, FabricLive 45 (Fabric)
The Juan MacLean, The Future Will Come (DFA)
Tonight: Franz Ferdinand (Domino)
Henrik Schwarz, Ame & Dixon, The Grandfather Paradox (BBE)
Dan Deacon, Bromst (Carpark)
Afrobutt, Wunderbutt (Electric Minds)
Comet Gain, Broken Record Prayers (What's Your Rupture?)

Two I've only just started playing but probably like as much as anything on that list: Amadou & Mariam and the hourlong radio show posted here: http://www.duttyartz.com/2009/geko-jones-on-moglo-radio/.

that's a fantastic radioshow - thanks!

Top ten of 2009 so far:

Animal Collective - Merriweather Post Pavilion
Bat for Lashes - Two Suns
Doom - Born Like This
The-Dream - Love Vs Money
Fever Ray - Fever Ray
Tim Hecker - An Imaginary Country
The Juan Maclean - The Future Will Come
LSD March - Under Milk Wood
Merzbow - 13 Japanese Birds [series of 13 releases]
UGK - 4 Life

in ABC order ~
akron/family
animal collective
bat for lashes
black dice
boredoms
circle
crippled black phoenix
decemberists
dirty projectors
emeralds
fever ray
grizzly bear
isis
kylesa
mastodon
pink mountaintops
omar rodriguez-lopez
super furry animals
u2
steven wilson
wooden shjips

adding to my list:
11. Wardruna - Runaljod – Gap Var Ginnunga

It's only available on expensive import tho, and i dont know if it will be released in america :(

Wardruna is $9.99 on iTunes and $8.99 for Amazon MP3s. Worth a purchase from either place.

forgot the new Future of the Left up there

Currently top of this years pile...

Babe, Terror - "Weekend"
Emeralds - "What Happened"
Black Dice - "Repo"
Animal Collective - "Merriweather..."
DM Stith - "Heavy Ghost"

Hoping that Sunn O))) record delivers...

Has there been a recent Sunn O))) record that hasn't delivered?

I don't think so.

Best of 2009 so far for me is the first release by Netherlands Black Metallers Irrwisch: bass, drums and . . cello. Weird, but they make it work. Circulated as a demo late last year, official release 2009, so it counts.

the animal collective, grizzly bear and dirty projectors albums have consisted of probably 95% of the new music i've been listening to this year. my best discovery of the year so far has been the bitters (www.myspace.com/bittersband), and favourite local release is either the red mass (www.myspace.com/redmassfce) 12" or the o-voids (www.myspace.com/theovoids) i am in love with every single one of these bands, it's been a wonderful year so far.

I really like the electro outro on one of those songs, but three plays of Franz Ferdinand just isn't doing it for me. Could be a vocals thing. I couldn't get into the Yeah Yeah Yeahs in the store either. I'll give both more chances, though...

I like what I've heard of the new album, Ahora Mismo. . ., but by Puerto Rican sonera Choco Orta, but it's music for people who already like salsa, I'd say, rather than something with any likely crossover appeal.

The SunnO))) album will melt your fucking face.

adding to my list:
11. Wardruna - Runaljod – Gap Var Ginnunga

It's only available on expensive import tho, and i dont know if it will be released in america :(

I think this is the album you're referring to, and it's available on eMusic in the US. Not sure what to make of it from the samples.

The only album that I can wholeheartedly endorse at the moment is the Yeah Yeah Yeahs one. I'm a little surprised it's getting so few memtions, but I suppose the hiperati finished with them an album or two ago. But it's my favorite of the three.

Not moved by Animal Collective. Can't honestly say I enjoy Fever Ray, and although I realize that may be the point, at the moment I'm feeling like liking stuff. Jury still out on Neko and Phoenix. Doves sounds leaden, Gui Boratto sounds too much like last album. Maybe I should listen to the Lily Allen, but she's vanished too far into the black hole of celebrity for me to work up much enthusiasm. Surprisingly enjoying the Lady GaGa album, although maybe that was last year. Who can tell?

SFA, Patrick Wolf, PJ Harvey, Grizzly Bear.

(Not ranked:)

Animal Collective, Merriweather Post Pavilion
Bat for Lashes, Two Suns
Fever Ray, s/t
Grizzly Bear, Veckatimest
Junior Boys, Begone Dull Care
The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, s/t
Phoenix, Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix
PJ Harvey and John Parish, A Woman a Man Walked By
Royksopp, Junior
The Whitest Boy Alive, Rules

still deciding about the lotus plaza album and LOtUSFLOW3R. don't know about the "crimson and clover" cover though

Romulo Fróes - No Chão sem o Chão
Bat for Lashes - Two Suns
Beirut - March of the Zapotec & Realpeople: Holland
PJ Harvey and John Parish - A Woman a Man Walked By
Animal Collective - Merriweather Post Pavilion
Grizzly Bear - Veckatimest
Fever Ray - Fever Ray

Some people ask me about contemporary Brazilian music and, well, this latest Romulo Fróes record is really worth listening. Although some will get disappointed because there's no 'exotic' flavor (which many expect from Brazilian music) in it, he really does a good job of renewing the Caetano Veloso/Jards Macalé late 70s type of songwriting.

He has allowed free download of the full record:

http://umquetenha.blogspot.com/2009/03/romulo-froes-no-chao-sem-o-chao-2009.html

damn that really is good! thanks

so is there any distinction between the two albums, or is it a standard double? my portuguese isn't up to the task of figuring it out

It's a double album, but Fróes says 'first session' is sort of the angry side of the whole work. On his myspace profile says it was recorded live in just one week.

He was labeled once by the São Paulo press as an 'indie samba' singer, because he said he saw common points in the melancholy of The Cure and some samba oldies but I guess he's not fully happy with being pigeonholed like that.

every year i hate albums a little bit more than the last

Ben Klock - One
Tim Hecker - An Imaginary Country
Martyn - Great Lengths
Fever Ray - S/T
Mastadon - Crack the Skye
Group Bombino - Guitars From Agadez Vol. 2

can't wait to hear the new NOMO

cheval sombre album is really really good
seeland album exceeded my expectations
coloma going to be in my top 5 for sure
dreamdate lp is what slumber party should have kept sounding like

Amadou & Mariam - Welcome to Mali hasn't really shown up yet. It's my favorite by far.

Higamos Hogamos - Higamos Hogamos
Zu - Carboniferous
Herbert Henck - Das Buch Der Klänge
Native Nod - Today Puberty, Tomorrow The World
Lindstrom and Prins Thomas - II
David Toop - Ocean Of Sound CDs
Gino Soccio - Closer
Bad Plus - For All I Care
Death - ...For The Whole World To See
Parliament - Motor Booty Affair

Vol. 5 of the B12 Archive series
Seeland - Tomorrow Today

Tim Hecker - An Imaginary Country

― The Macallan 18 Year

Glad to see someone else mention this record, it's fucking awesome.

i found the seeland album, it's frightfully dull, down to his voice i think, it is just dreadful. the interesting people apparently are still in broadcast.

Amadou & Mariam - Welcome to Mali hasn't really shown up yet. It's my favorite by far.

It's a great album but it's from the last year

Amadou & Miriam came out March 2009 in the U.S.

weird it was reviewed in my local alternative newspaper back in like december, maybe earlier. although they might have purposely coincided the review with the montreal stop of the tour.

also as per records worth listening to: the strange boys' "the strange boys and girls club" and here we go magic's s/t album are both wonderful albums that have gotten way too little attention.

Lindstrom & Solale - Baby I Can’t Stop (Aeroplane Remix)
Javelo - Spleen (Compuphonic Remix)
Lindstrom & Prins Thomas - Rothaus
Doves - Kingdom of Rust (Still Going Remix)
Doves - Kingdom of Rust (Prins Thomas Diskomiks)
Prins Thomas - Fizpatrick
The Droyds - All I Ever Wanted (Prince Language Remix)
Arbeid Adelt - Death Disco (Todd Terje Edit)
Yuksek - Extraball (Pilooski Remix)
WhoMadeWho - The Plot (Discodeine Remix)
Loin Brothers - Heavy Helmet (Mock & Toof Remix)
Capracara - King of the Witches (Rub N Tug Remix)
Free Disco - Left Field Boogie
Den Haan - Release the Beast
Higamos Hogamos - Major Blitzkrieg (Mickey Moonlight Remix)
Sea Skid - Swami
Good Guy Mikesh & Filburt - Someone Told Me
The Private - My Secret Lover (Lifelike Remix)
Bottin - No Static (Club Version)
Zombi - Sapphire (Escort Remix)
House of House - Rushing to Paradise
Simon Baker - Way Out of My Head
Gus da Hoodrat - The Finger Prince, Part 5
Mr. Oizo - Postif (Hoodrat’s Acid Done Ate My Animals Edit)
Cassette Kids - Acrobat (Outlaws Party Mix)

this just might be my album of the year:

*Ata Ebtekar and the Iranian Orchestra For New Music performing works of Alireza Mashayekhi*

on Sub Rosa

if you only buy one album of electronically manipulated Iranian modern classical music this year, make it this one. so friggin' cool and beautiful.

that record is fucking incredible, you are correct

oh, and it does have an actual title too: *Ornamentalism*

(and now i have to hear the persian electronic music disc that sub rosa put out previously.)

Both discs of that are great too. This one is best of both worlds though. He's Bay Area, his recent live sets are already well beyond the records that are coming out now. Cool guy.

zombi
thee oh sees
fredrik nordstrom
kate mann
yagya
U2
neko case
magik markers
fever ray
claro intelecto