Last year I did a list of twenty five albums, and I began to think that the rank ordering no longer meant anything once I hit a certain number. This year I thought I was going to do a top ten with a not so short list of other albums, but then I decided that would be the same thing as a top twenty five.

I feel like I settled in the middle. I was able to narrow 2009 down to fifteen albums, and no short list. These are my favorites.  If you haven’t heard them check out the mp3, and if you like it buy the album…you won’t be disappointed. Cheers.

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The Great Pumpkin’s favorite albums of 2009.

15.) Screaming Females- Power Move

Hearing this record for the first time was like the first time I heard Dinosaur Jr.  Power Move was released by Don Geovanni Records.

[mp3] Screaming Females- “Bell”

• buy it here.
• more on Screaming Females can be found here.

14.) Desolation Wilderness- New Universe

When I saw the cover and title of this album I hoped it would sound like it looked.   And it did.  A shoegaze master piece released by K Records.

[mp3] Desolation Wilderness- “Boardwalk Theme”

• buy it here.
• more on Desolation Wilderness can be found here.

13.) Alex Bleeker and the Freaks- Alex Bleeker and the Freaks

Classic Rock for my generation. This record gets more powerful with each listen. Released via the wonderful Underwater Peoples Records. Their cover of “Animal Tracks” is just as good as the original.

[mp3] Alex Bleeker & The Freaks- “Animal Tracks (Mountain Man cover)”

• buy it here.
• more on Alex Bleeker can be found here.

12.) Sonny and The Sunsets- Tomorrow is Alright

Sonny and the Sunsets made the perfect warm weather pop album that it transcends seasons. I find that even on a morning as cold as today Tomorrow is Alright can make me feel warm inside. Sonny is part of the Endless Nest Collective, and if you know what is good for you should have your eye on the nest…so many great records came out of this group in 2009. Tomorrow is Alright was released by Soft Abuse Records.

[mp3] Sonny and the Sunsets- “Too Young To Burn”

• buy it here (the LP is sold out…maybe get it here?).
• Sonny’s website
• Endless Nest’s website.

11.) Nite Jewel- Good Evening

This is an album of psychedelic dance jams  and not necessarily the dance music you would hear in a club, but more what you want to chill out with at the end of the night.  This record was released by Human Ear Music / Gloriette Records. 

[mp3] Nite Jewel- “Weak for Me”

• buy it here.
• Nite Jewel’s website// myspace

10.) BOAT- Setting the Paces

If there has been one album this year that can bring me out of dark times it is Setting the Paces.   Released by Magic Marker Records.

[mp3] BOAT- “Prince Of Tacoma”

• buy it here.
• more on BOAT can be found here.

9.) Julie Doiron- I Can Wonder What You Did With Your Day

While she is known for her sad songs this album shows her lighter side, and that is something that I really enjoy…and she can totally wail on that guitar too.  Released by  Jagjaguwar Records.

[mp3] Julie Doiron- “Spill Yer Lungs”

• buy it here.
• more on Julie Doiron can be found  here.

8.) Ducktails- Ducktails// Landscapes

As far as I’m concerned these two should have been a double album.  I have a hard time thinking about them separately. Ducktails in a sense gave birth to Real Estate, and possibly this whole thing chillwave thing.  Ducktails came out via Not Not Fun and Lanscapes via Olde English Spelling Bee.

[mp3] Ducktails- “Landrunners” (off of Landscapes)

• buy Ducktails here // buy Landscapes here.
• more on Ducktails can be found here.

7.) Karl Blau- Zebra

This man is a constant inspiration to me.  This record is just one of three albums that he made this year that I fell in love with. Released by K Records.

[mp3] Karl Blau- “Dark Sedan”

• buy it here.
• more on Karl Blau can be found here.

6.) Pains of Being Pure at Heart- Pains of Being Pure at Heart

Like a time machine to the late eighties //early nineties.  Another great album from Slumberland.

[mp3] Pains of Being Pure at Heart- “Come Saturday”

• buy it here.
• more on Pains Of Being Pure at Heart can be found here.

5.) Ganglians- Monster Head Room

The first full length form this Sacramento band, and it was pretty much perfect.  The LP was released by Weird Forest and CD by Woodsist (who will be repressing the LP).

[mp3] Ganglians- “Crying Smoke”

• buy it here.
• more on Ganglians can be found here.

4.) TOM: WFMU’s the Best Show’s Tribute to Paul McCartney’s RAM (various artists)

The Best Show put together the best tribute album ever.  If you are unfamiliar with RAM it is the only album I have ever heard of by Paul McCartney refered to as dirty (and that is a very good thing). Released as a DJ Premium for donating to WFMU… Sad that it was so exclusive.  The moral of this story is…DONATE TO WFMU!

I haven’t really listened to Danielson over the past couple albums, but this cover makes me want to rethink that…one of my favorite tracks from this album, and one of the best covers I have heard in a long time.

Danielson- “Monkberry Moon Delight”

• The Best Show// WFMU
• Oh and if you don’t already have it…buy Paul McCartney’s Ram here (or used on LP here).

3.) Mount Eerie- Wind’s Poem

I am a long time fan of Phil Elverum, and on this album he took me to a place I never imagined I’d go.  Dark and beautiful…seeing it performed live gave me the best halloween I’ve had in years.

[mp3] Mount Eerie- “Between Two Mysteries”

• buy it here from P.W. Elverum and Suns.
• more about Mount Eerie  can be found here.

2.) Julian Lynch- Orange You Glad

After this record I will be on the look out for anything Julian Lynch ever releases.  Orange You Glad has moved me. Released on Olde English Spelling Bee.

[mp3] Julian Lynch- “Rancher”

• buy it here.
• more on Julian Lynch (mp3s, video, pictures, reviews, more) can be found here.

1.) So Cow- So Cow

By far the record I listened to most this past year.  The pop catches you, but the guitar and lyrics keep you. I couldn’t have asked for a better introduction to Tic Tac Totally Records.  If you didn’t catch So Cow when they were in the states last year their 2010 American Tour starts in less than two week!  Tour dates can be found here.

[mp3] So Cow- “Casablanca”

• Buy it here.
• more on So Cow (reviews, posters, mp3s, pictures)can be found here.

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Thanks for reading my best of lists.  I’m pretty sure this is the end of it…my goal was to get it up by February 1st, but I ended up one day late…I’m ok with that.

You can find more of mine, and some of my special guests, best of lists here.

It was a little unusual to go to a show and there be no opening band.  The show was billed as Julie Doiron with Herman Dune, and that was exactly what it was.

Even though the Bell House said that Julie would go on at 9:30 the show started a little early.  It was a little strange seeing her on stage by herself…in the past she had always had Fred Squire accompany her (or Squire and Phil Elverum).  Julie was a little more awkward on stage this time being up there by herself, but could not have asked for a more attentive audience.  The Bell House was not sold out, but very full and the crowd was completely attentive during her set.  Julie’s little bit of awkwardness ended up turning into conversation with the crowd, and from there into song requests.

Julie played for almost an hour, and for the most part off of older albums.  For some musicians it is hard to hold their own on stage with just an electric guitar, but Julie does this very well… even though the Bell House is a large venue the show felt extremely intimate.    She played both “Will You Still Love Me In December,” and “Spill Yer Lungs” two of my favorites:

off of the Will You Still Love Me EP. Buy it here.

[mp3] Julie Doiron- “Spill Yer Lungs”

off of I Can Wonder What You Did With Your Day. Buy it here.

At the end of her set she brought Herman Dune up on stage to play a couple songs were her as well…it was nice seeing the three of them on stage together, and it was obvious that the tour had been going really well…they all looked very happy to be there.

I really am looking forward to Julie releasing new music, and after seeing her merch table delving into her back catologue…it’s not to often I got to a show and see a musician that I love have 9 cds that I have never heard…I have lots of catching up to do….but I was able to decipher this one:

from Goodbye Nobody.  buy it here.

If you haven’t heard Julie’s newest album I Can Wonder What You Did With Your Day I highly recommend it.  I feel that it didn’t get the attention it deserved this year, and it is truly a wonderful album.  Pick it up here.

Links:

• more on Julie Doiron here.
• buy music by Julie Doiron here.
• more gprecs video (Dum Dum Girls, Destroyer, Best Coast, Los Campesinos!, and more) here.

End Note: the lighting wasn’t so great for my camera, but I love these songs so much that I still had to post them.  The audio came out really good though…and I’m going to see if I can rip it to an mp3.  I’ll re-post those if it works out.  Cheers.

Halloween is a holiday that always has really high expectations, and typically doesn’t live up to them…so when I heard that Mount Eerie was playing my decision was made for me…Mount Eerie never disappoints.

This was my first time hearing Malkuth and Liturgy.  Malkuth went on shortly after we got to Market Hotel, and played for what seemed like forever…and not forever in a bad way, but more like…wow this opening band is playing for over an hour.  I was pretty impressed, but as I soon found out it is hard for any band to share the stage with Liturgy. I haven’t been to a metal show in a couple months, and I really did enjoy it…even klk got into Liturgy, and the metal typically isn’t her thing.  As far as black metal goes I got more out of Liturgy’s performance on Saturday than I did out of Wolves In the Throne Room earlier this year. Liturgy can keep the underlying melodic guitars even during a full blown thrash session.  Totally worth checking out:

[full album] Liturgy- Live on My Castle of Quiet at WFMU (via FMA)

Mount Eerie took the stage in a form that I have yet to see, and this was due to the recent release of Wind’s Poem.  Not only was Elverum on stage, but he was accompanied by both Julia Chirka and Nick Krgovich of No Kids as well as two drummers.  Their set consisted entirely of songs from Wind’s Poem, and Phil let us in on something that I was previously unaware of…Wind’s Poem was written by himself and Nick Krgovich (last time I saw Nick play it was less than exciting, but he redeemed himself on Saturday night).  Mount Eerie sounded thunderous, and the amazing part was that there was only one guitar on stage.  Krgovich and Chirka both played keyboards, and Elverum stood center with the guitar. For me heavier music can sometimes get lost in the wall of sound created by too many guitars, and I think Elverum has found the perfect combination for his live set up to show off both his song writing and vocals.  With only one guitar Elverum was able to shine over the the heaviest music he has ever written.  Mount Eerie’s set was near perfect, and Krgovich even interjected a dance beat into what I consider one of the best songs of the year:

Mount Eerie still have most of their tour to go…I highly recommend catching them…only good things can come of it….tour dates can be found here.

In other Mount Eerie related news….

Julie Doiron, who collaborated with Phil Elverum on last year’s wonderful Lost Wisdom, will be gracing NYC this Thursday, November 5th, accompanied by Herman Dune at the Bell House. Julie released an excellent album this year, I Can Wonder What You Did With Your Day (which will also be making my best of 2009 list), and was great when she played Cake Shop this past spring.  If you are unfamiliar with Julie she used to play in Eric’s Trip, and has been making music on her own since the early 90’s.  Check out one of my favorite tracks from last year’s Lost Wisdom:

[mp3] Mount Eerie w/ Julie Doiron & Fred Squire- “Voice in Headphones” (from Lost Wisdom, buy it here.)

Links:

• more on Mount Eerie and Phil Elverum here.
• buy Mount Eerie and P.W. Elverum and Suns releases here.
• more on Julie Doiron here.
• buy Julie Doiron’s releases here.
• more from the free music archive here.
• more gprecs video (Karl Blau, Dum Dum Girls, Los Campesinos! and More) here.

End Note: There has been a lot going on in my real, non-internet, life this week…so blog posts will be scarce until sometime next week.  My stress will greatly decrease tomorrow, and I am looking forward to enjoying Julie play in one of my favorite venues in Booklyn…beer will be calling my name.

Julie Doiron played Cake Shop this past Friday.  It was an early show, and Julie was even more wonderful and entertaining than her records.  She told charming stories, and was overall really delightful.  I’m really happy that I was able to catch her while she was in New York:

for more on Julie (including mp3s, album info ect) click here, and scroll down.

After Julie finished we hopped on our bikes and headed to Bruar Falls to catch Box Elders (pictures to come later).

Julie Doiron has been making music for many years now, and it all started back in 1990 with Eric’s Trip.  I wish I would have know about Julie back in high school and college, when all those Eric’s Trip 7″s were sitting on the shelf at 52.5…I guess I was too punk rock or hardcore or something to explore it at that time, but I’m glad I found her now.  She has been releasing solo recordings since 1993 (first as Broken Girl, and then as Julie Doiron)

I guess what opened my eyes to Julie Doiron’s beautiful music was her collaboration with Mount Eerie and Fred Squire last year titled Lost Wisdom.  Admittedly I am a really big Phil Elverum fan, and Lost Wisdom almost brings me to tears each time I listen to it.  I have to say that there really couldn’t have been a better way for me to be introduced to Julie Doiron, and he lovely voice.

It was about a month ago that I tracked down Doiron’s newest album I Can Wonder What You Did With Your Day, and I’m so very glad that I did.  I had been told that her previous albums were depressingly beautiful so I wasn’t expecting I Can Wonder… to be a wonderfully up lifting album.  While you get a couple tracks on this album that are mellow with just Julie singing and playing guitar…those tracks are interspersed with really rocking heavier numbers (almost in the vein of Scout Niblett, but less abrasive) that really show how talented and diverse Doiron can be.  I Can Wonder… is a nice counter balance to Lost Wisdom, and I have tended to listen to them back to back…going from depressed to more or less happy in under two hours (manic depressive through music I guess).  It is a wonderful thing for one artist to be able to convey such diverse strong feelings through their music, and this is what Julie Doiron does best.

Other than Mount Eerie, Doiron has collaborated with Calvin Johnson and Herman Dune and many others.

I was able to see Julie play with Mount Eerie, but now that I am familiar with her solo work I am excited about the upcoming shows this weekend here in New York:

4/24/09- New York, NY @ Cake Shop (Early Show: Julie goes on at 9pm)

4/25/09-Brooklyn, NY @ Union Hall

for other tour dates check out her click here.

[mp3] Julie Doiron- “Spill Yer Lungs”

“Spill Yer Lungs” is possibly my favorite song off of her new album.  Buy I Can Wonder What You Did With Your Day here! If you can make it out to either of these shows I think you will be very happy that you did.  See you at Cake Shop.

One of my indie rock crushes is the K Records head himself, Calvin Johnson, and he will be in our lovely city tonight (and again in a couple weeks).

This time Calvin isn’t doing it by himself …he has a new band, The Hive Dwellers.

I haven’t heard much by the Dwellers yet, except for the track they did for the Merge SCORE! Covers Comp (stream the whole album including the Hive Dwellers track for free for a limited time!), but I’m damn excited.  Gothamist confirmed that this is The Hive Dwellers first official release.

There really is nothing like watching Calvin mesmerize you with his dances on stage while you listen to his baritone voice.  Except the fact that his opening act is Fred Thomas and Ryan Howard’s CITY CENTER, and the headliner is Ian Svenonius’s new band Chain and the Gang.  Which makes these shows even better.

Besides Calvin fronting the Hive Dwellers and Ian fronting Chain and the Gang these two bands share all other members (they just switch it up on the instruments):

Bret Lyman (Bad Thoughts), Brian Weber (Dub Narcotic Sound System), Sarah Pedal, and Fred Thomas (Saturday Looks Good to Me, City Center).  [via TMT]

Yes, that’s right.  Fred Thomas will be playing in all of the bands tonight!

Tonight should prove to be a wonderful evening, and I will leave inspired by Calvin’s dance moves (and hopefully bust some of my own).

If you want to catch the Calvin Johnson and his Hive Dwellers there are two chances in the NYC area:

Apr 17, 2009 – New York City, New York
92Y Tribeca – (as The Hive Dwellers) w/ Chain and The Gang, City Center

Apr 26, 2009 – Brooklyn, New York
Market Hotel – (as The Hive Dwellers) Chain & the Gang , Mahjongg

And if you didn’t notice: Mahjongg (also of K Records) will be opening the Market Hotel show on the 26 of April!

Both of these shows should be super fun, and the line ups can’t get much better.  For the rest of the Hive Dwellers and Chain and the Gang’s tour dates check out the K Records tour page.

Gothamist just did a very entertaining interview with Calvin too…check it out here.

The Hive Dwellers will prove to be more rocking than some of Calvin’s more mellow solo stuff, but I found this recording of Calvin Johnson and Julie Doiron preforming the Halo Benders’ “Lonesome Sundown” and it’s just too good not to post!

[mp3] Calvin Johnson & Julie Doiron- “Lonesome Sundown” (Halo Benders cover) (via Gorilla Vs Bear) (well it’s not really a cover since Calvin sang on the original, but buy the original version here)

[mp3] Calvin Johnson- “I’m Down” (off of Before the Dream Faded) (Buy it!)

On a side note Julie Doiron will be in town next weekend…I should have a post up about her shows on Monday or Tuesday.

Photo of Calvin Johnson by Hillary Harris (via krecs.com).

Last Friday I received a call from Permanent Records.  Marjorie, the owner, was calling to see if I had already found a copy of the Australian/New Zealand tour split 7″ that Grouper had done with Pumice (again a super limited record.  500 copies on Soft Abuse.  You might be able to buy one mail order here).  I had not, and she held a copy for me until I could make it there after I got off work.  The couple copies that the store received were gone by the end of the day. Thanks Marjorie!

I feel a little bad because I haven’t been up to this store quite as much as I would like to in recent weeks.  They are always friendly, and extremely good to their regular customers.  I get calls when ever they get a rare record that they think I might be looking for, and it is typically my normal stop for new releases.

My old routine used to be Greenpoint Coffee House (I haven’t been there in a while either) and then Permanent on Saturday mornings…but I realize that this has kinda stopped since Steph stopped working at the record shop (this is not a direct correlation, but what it comes down to is…We miss you Steph!).  Maybe I need a new routine… Wednesday afternoons…new releases at Permanent and then a growler of beer?

Permanent is just about the only record store in New York City that will special order records for you, and I think I need to give them a call today.  I can’t find a copy of that new Julie Doiron album I Can Wonder What You Did With Your Day anywhere.

Here is a track from the Julie Doiron album I’m looking for:

[mp3] Julie Doiron- “Consolation Prize” (Buy the album here)

I previously wrote about Permanent Records here, and Greenpoint Coffee House here.