Hopefully, by the time you read this, you’ll be finished with
all your holiday shopping. If you need last-minute gift ideas for
someone who likes music, you might find a few here. This is as much a
gift guide as a year in music wrap-up. It was a great year for
music—much better than last year—both locally and
nationally. Much of the big music news was in reissues. The Beatles
remasters topped a lot of Christmas wish lists, and there were also
very cool Nirvana, Neil Young and Nick Cave reissues. And those are
just the coolest reissues beginning with the letter N. (And if you
think that Neil Young should be filed under Y, then you’re still
living in the 20th century—iTunes files him under N, so should
we.)
There was a lot of good new music that came out this year as well.
I’m going to count down my 10 favorite albums of the year, and
then give some shout-outs to a few top-notch local releases.
The top 10 albums of 2009.
These are the 10 best new albums I’ve heard this year. Bear in
mind these are just my current personal favorites, and there’s no
doubt I’ll hear some other great 2009 releases in the next year
or two—stuff that should be on this list. You can never hear it
all, and I’m sure that many readers have favorites that
aren’t here. But I’m pretty obsessive about music, so I
don’t feel like this list is under-researched. If nothing else,
just consider this a recommended listening guide from your friendly
neighborhood music nerd.
10. Polvo: In Prism
This was an especially good year for fans of epic guitars. Dinosaur
Jr., Built to Spill and Mission of Burma all put out excellent
releases. And, like I mentioned earlier, foot-stomping guitar maestro
Neil Young put out a ton of stuff, including a gargantuan vault box set
called Archives, Vol. 1. But In Prism might’ve been
the new guitar wizardry album I cranked most often this year.
9. Yo La Tengo: Popular Songs
This album, like the album to follow on this list, is by a band
I’ve been deeply devoted to since my mid-teens. It’s hard
to be objective about a band that cracked holes in your skull when you
were 17. Yo La Tengo has been putting out great records since I was
still wearing short pants. So does this new record offer anything new?
It’s still the classic Yo La Tengo mix of fuzzy pop and deep-sea
shoegaze, but there’s a strong soul influence in many of the best
songs—“If It’s True” borrows liberally from the
Four Tops’ “I Can’t Help Myself (Sugar Pie, Honey
Bunch)”—a previously subtle influence brought to the
forefront.
8. Sonic Youth: The Eternal
The key to a good Sonic Youth record is when the band finds the
right balance between cool sounds and well-crafted songs. The albums
that focus on exploring the outer limits of noise don’t usually
need to be heard more than once (see the largely unlistenable
Goodbye 20th Century), and some of the albums with more
commercial songs are fairly mediocre (see the mostly boring
Experimental Jet Set, Trash and No Star). This album comes
correct: good songs with crunchy guitars that rock.
7. Sunn O))): Monoliths & Dimensions
It’s just pronounced “Sun.” The “O)))”
is silent, which is good because if it were meant to be pronounced it
would probably be some sort of ridiculously heavy drone. That’s
what these guys specialize in: ridiculously heavy drones—long,
low, distorted guitar tones—accompanied, on this album anyway, by
a surprising diversity of sounds and textures: chiming bells, throat
singing, trombone fanfares and a women’s choir. The overall
effect on the listener is a sort of religious trance. I listened to
this record a couple of weeks ago while walking to work on one of those
foggy mornings after a heavy snow dump. It was like traveling back in
time to some pagan wilderness. This album achieves, to paraphrase Woody
Allen, total heaviosity.
6. Jay-Z: The Blueprint 3
“Empire State of Mind” was the closest thing this year
had to a “Hey Ya!” or “Crazy” or
“SexyBack,” a totally ubiquitous pop song that still sounds
good even after hearing it a thousand times in restaurants, bars, and
coming from passing cars. The rest of the album is pretty damned good,
too.
5. Grizzly Bear: Veckatimest
This is like some great lost Beach Boys album circa 1968, but with
meticulously detailed 21st century production. It’s psychedelic
chamber pop of the highest order, with soaring choirboy harmonies and
arrangements as polished and accessible as they are weird and
jaw-dropping.
4. Death: For the Whole World to See
This isn’t a record by the influential metal band with the
same name. It’s a potent blast of mid 1970s Detroit proto-punk.
It was recorded in 1975 but wasn’t released until this year.
It’s ragged but precise, and great fun if you like garage rock.
Jack White is among the voices singing this record’s praises.
3. Yeah Yeah Yeahs: It’s Blitz!
It’s a little more synthesizer-heavy and dance floor-oriented
than previous Yeah Yeah Yeahs records, but the band uses dancey
post-punk to explore a surprising range of emotions, from the
body-moving ecstasy of “Heads Will Roll” to the delicate
nostalgia of “Skeletons.” Karen O has always been an
exciting frontwoman, but she’s lost some of her hipster
affectations and matured into a great singer. For further proof, check
out her work on the soundtrack of Where the Wild Things Are.
2. Raekwon: Only Built 4 Cuban Linx, Pt. 2
This sequel to the acclaimed rapper’s 1995 album Only Built
4 Cuban Linx is easily my favorite hip-hop record of the year. It
kicked off a major Wu-Tang obsession in my house. The album is centered
on Rae’s street tough narratives over plenty of great, gritty
beats, but many of the highlights come from guest rappers, like fellow
Wu-Tangers Method Man and Ghostface Killah.
1. Animal Collective: Merriweather Post Pavilion
This record is a whole world of sound unto itself. It’s a
sustained series of gorgeous experiences.
2009 was a good year for Reno music as well: Eclectic folksters
Buster Blue put out the immaculately titled This Beard Grows for
Freedom. Weirdo rockers Short Hair released We Buy from the
Children and local anthem machine My Flag is on Fire put out an
excellent split single with Colorado bands Oblio Duo & The Archers.
Fans of acoustic pop are advised to check out Amber Scala’s
And So it Begins. This smattering of selections is just the tip
of the iceberg; there are more bands in Northern Nevada cranking out
more quality recordings than ever before. Many of these local releases
are available at Discology in downtown Reno, or directly from the bands
via Myspace, Facebook or iTunes.
One album that deserves special mention is Hope for the
Holidays, a charity album organized by local producer Tom Gordon to
benefit the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. The album balances
local artists, like songbirds Kate Cotter and Grace Hutchinson, with
national bands like Weezer and Creedence Clearwater Revisited.
If you’ve got other albums to recommend—national
releases or, most especially, local stuff—you know where to find
me. If you
release an album in 2010, feel free to send me a review copy—this
is how we generate much of our music coverage.