Januard 7th 2009: Best of 2009 Playlist

Here's the actual playlist I did for my Best of 2009 program. Fun stuff. Due to a sport preemption, I ended up doing this show on a Thursday afternoon (a fill in for DJ Tanner) instead of my usual Wednesday night slot. In case you were wondering, there isn't really an hierarchy to the order, I just played what fit where. Except for the reissues. They're all bunched together in the middle.

song - artist - album - label

1. Invisible Girl - the King Khan and BBQ Show - Invisible Girl - In the Red
2. Teenage Eyes - Spider Bags - Teenage Eyes/Eileen 7" - Odessa
3. Broken Arm - The Shackles - Broken Arm/Funeral Shroud 7" - Sweet Rot
4. 2/11 Don't Forget - Times New Viking - Born Again Revisited - Matador

5. House - Abe Vigoda - Reviver - Post Present Medium
6. Losing Feeling - No Age - Losing Feeling - Sub Pop
7. Black Cloud - Christmas Island - Blackout Summer - In the Red

8. My Time Outside the Womb - Titus Andronicus - The Airing of Grievances - XL
9. Been a Son (Live) - Nirvana - Bleach: 20th Anniversary Reissue - Sub Pop
10. Cool Ice Cream - Eddy Current Suppression Ring - Eddy Current Suppression Ring - Goner
11. Welfare Bread - King Khan & the Shrines - What Is!? - Vice
12. Slipping (Into Something) - The Feelies - The Good Earth - Bar/None
13. Beep - Pylon - Chomp (More) - DFA

14. Half Idiot - Pissed Jeans - King of Jeans - Sub Pop
15. Echonoecho - Mi Ami - Watersports - Quarterstick
16. Easy Answers - These Are Powers - All Aboard Future - Dead Oceans
17. Rough Steez - Fuck Buttons - Tarot Sport - ATP/R
18. Trashed Aircraft Baby - Boston Spaceships - Zero to 99 - Guided by Voices Inc
19. No Seasons - Jacuzzi Boys - No Seasons - Florida's Dying

20. No Home - The Ettes - Do You Want Power - Take Root
21. Die Tonight - Ty Segall - Lemons - Goner
22. Call Me - Reigning Sound - Love and Curses - In the Red
23. Save Me From What I Want - St. Vincent - Actor - 4AD
24. Close Chorus - A Sunny Day in Glasgow - Ashes Grammar - Mis Ojo
25. Suburban Beverage - Real Estate - Suburban Beverage 7" - Underwater Peoples

Best of 2009: Short-Form Achievements

Ah, it's that time of the year again. It's time for us to gather, and share the things we like and berate the things we didn't like. Well, I'll be doing more of the former (I'm trying to keep the negativity to a minimum, but we'll see how long that lasts). I liked some EPs and singles this year, and I would like to share what they were with you. I didn't really decide on any sort of hierarchy, so here's a simple list:

Singles and stuph:

THE SHACKLES - "Broken Arm" b/w "Funeral Shroud"

(Sweet Rot Records)

Five and a half minutes of tight, well crafted power pop split over two songs. A fun and catchy, but, more importantly, promising start from a relatively new Seattle band.

ABE VIGODA - Reviver

(Post-Present Medium)

LA art-punks continue to move toward accessibility. Reviver sounds like an epilogue to their breakout 2008 album Skeleton without simply sounding like a retread of old ideas. It's well-paced, alternating between frenetic and placid, most of the time within the same song. Plus, it has a killer cover of "Wild Heart" by Stevie Nicks.

NO AGE - Losing Feeling

(Sub Pop)

I wasn't much of a No Age fan last year when Nouns dropped, but I'm glad I gave them another shot. For two dudes, they sure get a lot done over the course of four songs. The record is equal parts frenzied punk rock, anthemic psychedelia, and lush, reverb-soaked dream pop. Fun for the whole family. The video to "Losing Feeling" is one of my favorites too.

REAL ESTATE - "Suburban Beverage" 7"

(Underwater Peoples Records)

A meandering mess of reverb and guitars over hushed vocals and a bouncy bassline almost represents Real Estate's mission statement. The A-Side clocks in at six-and-a-half minutes (it runs at 33rpm) and really only has one verse but it exemplifies the early sound of the band. It sounds two beers and a few puffs deep. The two tracks on the b-side, "Black Lake" and "Old Folk" are solid as well.

SPIDER BAGS - "Teenage Eyes" b/w "Eileen" 7"

(Odessa Records)

Twangy garage rock from Chapel Hill (by way of New Jersey?). The best thing from the South to come from the North in a long time. Rowdy without being abrasive, and catchy without being boring. Fun stuff.

Remember to stay tuned for the upcoming "Best Of" lists for albums and compilations/reissues from this year, and the daunting "Best of 2000-2009" list.