Here we go again. Thank you Rachel for kicking off the TGW best-of season with such a great mix. These here are not the songs that got played most, that framework is finished (with a five year old in the house, that would mean way too much Lady Gaga, Taylor Swift, and the Monster Mash). Instead, we present today songs we simply loved throughout the year. It is a problematic list as we are quite quite tired of many of these songs now. But we kept a file that we added to every month which protects early-year crushes from falling off this list. And, happily, if you haven't come across these songs yet, then our project is worth the trouble. Also, as stated in previous years, these are not purely songs released in 2009. Some are actually quite old (Television and Waylon Jennings, among others) but they were just songs we encountered and fell in love with this year. Also, thank you Jeremy and Bryan for four of these entries (two each). It's great to have music geek friends. Oh, and these songs are in no particular order or sequence. Download them, and play them on shuffle or something. Also, there are a several of our favorite songs that appear on mixes from earlier this year–in case you think something is egregiously absent. Ok, download the mixmas here.
1.) Bachelorette – Intergalactic Solitude
2.) Au Revoir Simone – Sad Song
3.) Wave Machine – Keep the lights on
4.) Discovery – Orange Shirt
5.) Here we go magic – Tunnelvision
6.) Madrid – Reply (to everyone)
7.) The National – So far around the bend
8.) Tenagers – Feeling better
9.) Wheat – Half of the time
10.) Yo la tengo – Gentle Hour
11.) Waylon Jennings – Are you sure Hank done it this way?
12.) Animal Collective – Summer Clothes
13.) Think About Life – Havin' my baby
14.) Lady Gaga – Bad Romance
15.) The Antlers – Two
16.) Television – Venus
17.) AA – Suicide Fever
18.) XX – VCR
19.) Gold Panda – Quitters Raga
20.) Yeah Yeah Yeahs – Hysteric
21.) Yeah Yeah Yeahs – Skeletons
22.) Riceboy Sleeps – Happiness
23.) Grizzly Bear – Two weeks
24.) John Talabot – Sunshine
25.) Washed Out – You'll see it
26.) Shine Blockas – Big Boi (feat. Gucci Mane)
Our favorite albums:
(It's becoming harder and harder to have favorite “albums” with the music world so flooded with great songs. But these were albums that for us had the best ratio of great songs/total songs.)
1.) Animal Collective – Merriweather Post Pavillion
2.) Yeah Yeah Yeahs – It's Blitz
3.) Various – Dark was the night
4.) Grizzly Bear – Veckatimist
5.) XX – xx
6.) The Pains of Being Pure at Heart – The Pains of Being Pure at Heart
I'd love to say more about each of the individual songs–and I do have many things to say about them. But it can get so long and tedious. Besides, other sites–including the much maligned pitchfork–have many useful comments for those who care. Not to mention, Sasha Frere Jones article in the New Yorker back in April about the shift in pop music that came this year with Gaga. Also, it's worth embedding this awesome video. Enjoy! And happy holidays y'all.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wbuBN19xakg&feature=related[/youtube]
P.S. Are we at fault as parents for allowing our 5 year old to worship at the temple of Gaga? Discuss.
On the Gaga question: maybe. The vid is interesting for sure, but that song is godawful.
Yay! I love Farrell’s and Trixie’s mixes! (Not just because I got a nod)… I like your system of saving early-year favorites in a file, for the same reasons–because while I lovedlovedloved quite a few of the same songs here just a few months ago, I am sick of many of them as well (I never thought it possible to get sick of that Grizzly Bear song, for instance, and now I cringe when I hear it, which is mostly my own fault, of course, for becoming a little too obsessed with certain songs…) Anyways, thanks!
Man, the pressure mounts on the year-end mix front.
As to Lady Gaga, I’d take the Frank Zappa angle on this one. Let the kids listen to and watch whatever they want. Just be sure that you equip them with the critical thinking skills to be able to recognize, critique, and resist propaganda and ideological subterfuge. Howevs, if William loves Lady Gaga uncritically, that probably means you’re failing him on the latter part. I mean, everyone knows she’s just a Madonnabee!
P.S. What’s wrong with that guy’s jaw?
omg, Farrell, that video is going to give me nightmares. It’s like Leigh Bowery, Michael Jackson’s Thriller zombies, Marilyn Manson, and Madonna (and maybe Matthew Barney) had an orgy in an operating theatre. agh, my eyes…
…not to mention my ears.
“Like a Virgin” seems downright quaint now. Glad to be a child of the 80s.
Hooray for the mix, I am so excited to listen to it. Virtual Farrell and Trix!
I didn’t know much about Lady Gaga accept that she is smoking hot. A few months back, my friend sent me this very video that you guys posted and the following interview with her.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Roaxa9OpEJ4
The video was because of the Russian theme that she enjoyed. The interview was for me, because she knows that to me music and writing are sort of bigger than life itself, also, because I have been working on a major project, which involves both. In her message, my friend wrote, “Love it when she says, “When you’ve become something that’s your destiny, you have to let the rest go… :)”” I sort of experienced that same thing myself, and her interview came as a myriad of revelations, which was pretty cool.
Tim, they are Russian Mafia dudes, who are betting on her. Scars and broken jaws are considered trophies amongst them and the thing (don’t know what it’s called), which supports his broken jaw is made out of gold and that’s because he is filthy rich, like all of them. It’s kind of like golden teeth – a sign of wealth and bad taste.
Thanks for the mix, guys!
Sorry, it should be ” except that she is…”
Scott, yes. godawful the first 18 times you hear it. but wait for number 19! Total breakthrough. Btw, we can’t listen to that Wave Machine song without imagining you singing these lyrics to us. We still love that song. Please come sing it to us sometime.
And Tim, that’s sound parenting advice–you can never go wrong invoking Frank Zappa right? And can’t wait to get your mixmas.
Jeremy and Rachel, thanks for the love. And Rachel, nice description of that video. I promise, your eyes do recover.
Thanks for the great list! It is always fun to stay ahead of the kids by knowing more fun/hip/important/groovy music than they do.
I have to admit that while I haven’t really understood the whole Lady Gaga hype, I really like that video and song! It’s so Rocky Horror for the 21st century.
ok so my technological lag time is like 4 years behind a normal college educated person.
years ago i tried the divshare downloads and it got all fucked up and i forgot about it. but for whatever reason this time it worked, with no hassles. so i’m on the div-sharing scene.
i’m sure this is great, it always is . . . thanks!
the national!
the sunshine at 6:07!