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#5-1
This is it! TC's top 40 albums of 2009 comes to an end right here, right now. Here are my top 5 albums of the year...
The Bird and the Bee is a fantastic musical duo from Los Angeles that specializes in indie pop and the mainstay genre on my list this year it seems, synthpop. The two musicians are Irana George, "the bird," and Greg Kurstin, "the bee," who has worked with all kinds of legends, including Red Hot Chili Peppers, Kylie Minogue, Lily Allen, Beck, and The Flaming Lips. The web site Pitchfork best explained their origin, saying, "The Bird and the Bee didn't exactly come out of nowhere so much as evolve organically after George and Kurstin first connected when the latter was enlisted to work on the former's solo debut." They formed in 2006, but I discovered them at the very end of 2008 when their latest album,
Ray Guns Are Not Just The Future, was one of the first albums with the "2009" label that made its way to my iTunes. I was instantly drawn in by Irana's hypnotizing voice and the pulsing synth-powered music behind it. "Diamond Dave," an ode to David Lee Roth of all people, was one of my first favorites off of the album. "Love Letter To Japan" is another fantastic track. The best one, however, is "Polite Dance Song," which starts off with 10 straight seconds of pounding percussion and never lets up. The Bird and the Bee is a project for the ages.
Ray Guns Are Not Just The Future is my #5 album of 2009.
Here we have one of the best bands in the world. U2 have proven themselves as one of the greatest and longest lasting groups, always versatile and ever-evolving as the years go by. Lots of hipster type people like to claim that U2 is so over and they love hating on Bono, but I say to hell with all of them. U2 put out the best straight-up rock album of the year, and all the members of the band are some of the best musicians that modern music has ever seen. We last checked in with U2 at the end of 2004, when
How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb was all the rage. Now they've returned with
No Line On The Horizon, which in my opinion is their best album of the decade and maybe even then some. While the first single "Get On Your Boots" was a questionable choice given all the amazing tracks on the album, the Justice remix of it was mindblowing. I could really run through the entire rest of the album, but I'll pick out a few tracks that I enjoyed the most. "Magnificent" is just that; "Moment Of Surrender" is a beautiful 7-minute track; "I'll Go Crazy If I Don't Go Crazy Tonight" is amazing on the album and even better live; and the best track, "Unknown Caller," blends traditional U2 powerhouse music with a peculiar arrangement of lyrics about technology, electronics, and the Internet. It's so bizarre that it ends up being a veritable work of genius. U2's music remains as powerful and uplifting as ever; the band remains relevant more than 25 years after their first break. It's an amazing feat.
No Line On The Horizon is my #4 album of 2009.
The best Canadian indie rock band this side of anyone, Metric is fronted by Emily Haines, who masters the synthesizer and guitar while adding her own incredible vocals to every track. The band has been one of my favorites since I discovered
Old World Underground, Where Are You Now? in early 2004. Tracks like "Succexy" and "Combat Baby" were perfect for their time and solidified Metric as an incredibly talented band.
Live It Out in 2005 was also a pretty great album, but their newest one,
Fantasies, is easily the best front-to-back album that the band has ever assembled, and they didn't even need a label to do it. Metric self-released the album internationally and it soared to the top of the Canadian charts. As for the actual songs, the bombastic "Help I'm Alive" was the first track we heard in the late winter and got the album off to an unbeatable start. In the middle of the album, the more stripped down and emotional "Gimme Sympathy" is one of the best Metric songs I've ever heard and maybe one of the best songs I've ever heard from any band in recent years, period. At the end of the album, the fabulously glam rock "Stadium Love" ends it all with an incredible bang and then the music ripples away and fades out for a solid minute. Metric just demonstrated they're here to stay and continue making the best music of their career, securing the spot for the excellent
Fantasies as my #3 album of 2009.
Yeah Yeah Yeahs have been on my good list since their debut in 2003, and the song "Maps" defined a generation of music and will go down as one of the best songs of the decade, but it wasn't until this year that the band released their best album. The almost too great for words
It's Blitz! took 2009 by storm back in the early spring. "Zero" blew away everybody; I think that's pretty safe to say. One of the best songs Yeah Yeah Yeahs have ever released right there. The whole album could've kept riding the coattails of "Zero" and it would still be great enough, but they immediately top themselves with "Heads Will Roll." I can't remember the last time I've been so pumped about a song. Freakin' brilliant. But that's not all! Supporting tracks like "Dull Life," "Dragon Queen," and "Hysteric" make sure the album never gets boring and stays top-notch the whole time. If that's not enough, the final track "Little Shadow" is Karen O. at her best and is a showcase for her marvelous vocals. I really can't get over how great this album is. I knew early in the year that it would at least be in my top 5, easily. Turns out it got even better and better as time went by.
It's Blitz! is my #2 album of 2009.
Here it is. The album that turned pop music on its head, from the artist, musician, and performer of the year. Lady Gaga took the reigns and singlehandedly changed the game and challenged our expectations, mesmerizing and mystifying the world with her music, personality, and extravagant performance art.
Before she went by her stage name, Stefani Germanotta learned the piano at a young age and then began playing and singing at small clubs in the Lower East Side of NYC. She began to break out of that scene when she gained the "Lady Gaga" stage name and performed along with another talent, Lady Starlight, at Lollapalooza in 2007. She later built on her foundation of avant-garde electronic music by incorporating the sounds of glam rock and pop melodies, landing her in the niche that began to give her international success. Lady Gaga found a wide audience in countries like Canada and the UK before the rest of the U.S. started taking notice.
Just one year ago, Lady Gaga's debut album
The Fame was just beginning to make its rounds. By the time that "Just Dance" broke on U.S. radio in the last days of 2008 and first days of 2009, the story behind Gaga had become muddled. Who was this new pop star, anyway? We would quickly find out that her background was vastly different from most pop stars and she had so much more to offer. Through the success of supporting singles like "Poker Face," "LoveGame," and "Paparazzi," the U.S. and the world began to recognize Lady Gaga as a household name.
Still, though, some casual observers were not yet aware of just how unique of a musician and performer she is. Then, over the summer and fall, it happened. The piano version of "Poker Face." The other videos hitting YouTube of when Gaga was still Stefani. The performance at the VMAs.
The Fame Monster. The video for "Bad Romance." Suddenly, the world saw not just a pop singer, but a musical force to be reckoned with.
It was an impossible, incredible transformation to watch happen throughout the year.
The Fame Monster was the perfect evolution, with "Bad Romance" and its supporting visuals building the elaborate persona of Lady Gaga, and emotional tracks like "Dance In The Dark" and "Speechless" stripping it away, showing us the woman behind the mask (sometimes figuratively, and sometimes literally, given her inexplicable array of costumes).
Lady Gaga's music spans the continuum of pop, electronic, dance, and glam rock. Her live performances and videos represent an atmosphere of theatre that has been sorely missing from pop music. It's truly a
performance and truly
art. Her ever-changing style and personality bewilders us and leaves us guessing. We never know what Lady Gaga is going to do next, which makes her ongoing appearances and performances all the more enthralling.
Whether she goes on to define an entire generation of pop music has yet to be seen, but of all the artists out there right now, Lady Gaga is the only one who could pull it off. Like yin and yang, like Jekyll and Hyde,
The Fame and
The Fame Monster defined 2009 in music. What happens next is anybody's guess, but one thing is certain. Make no mistake about it,
The Fame with
The Fame Monster is my #1 album of 2009.
SINGLES (SUMMER)
Taylor Swift - "You Belong With Me"
Katy Perry - "Waking Up In Vegas"
Regina Spektor - "Laughing With"
Mandy Moore - "...Break Your Heart Any Day Of The Week"
Black Eyed Peas - "I Gotta Feeling"
Jordin Sparks - "Battlefield"
Weird Al Yankovic - "Skipper Dan" / "Craigslist" / "CNR"
Madonna - "Celebration"
Beastie Boys - "Lee Majors Come Again" / "Too Many Rappers"
Jay-Z f/ Rihanna and Kanye West - "Run This Town"
Mindy Smith - "Highs And Lows"
Muse - "Uprising"
Miley Cyrus - "Party In The U.S.A."
Kate Earl - "Melody"
Keri Hilson f/ Kanye West and Ne-Yo - "Knock You Down"
Cobra Starship f/ Leighton Meester - "Good Girls Go Bad"
Ke$ha - "Tik Tok"
SINGLES (FALL)
Carrie Underwood - "Cowboy Casanova"
AFI - "Medicate"
Weezer - "(If You're Wondering If...) I Want You To"
The Guild f/ Felicia Day -" Do You Wanna Date My Avatar"
Natalie Imbruglia - "Want"
Jay-Z f/ Alicia Keys - "Empire State of Mind"
Beyonce - "Sweet Dreams"
Gossip - "Heavy Cross"
Black Eyed Peas - "Meet Me Halfway"
Foo Fighters - "Wheels"
Owl City - "Fireflies"
Leighton Meester f/ Robin Thicke - "Somebody To Love"
Flyleaf - "Beautiful Bride"
Charlotte Gainsbourg f/ Beck - "Heaven Can Wait"
Allison Iraheta - "Friday I'll Be Over U"
Hey Monday - "How You Love Me Now"
Julian Casablancas - "I Wish It Was Christmas Today"
****ed Up - "Do They Know It's Christmas?"
TOP 40 ALBUMS
20. Maria Taylor - LadyLuck
19. Them Crooked Vultures - Them Crooked Vultures
18. Meg & Dia - Here, Here And Here
17. Monsters Of Folk - Monsters Of Folk
16. Kelly Clarkson - All I Ever Wanted
15. Neko Case - Middle Cyclone
14. The Dead Weather - Horehound
13. Shakira - She Wolf
12. Amanda Blank - I Love You
11. Demi Lovato - Here We Go Again
10. Lights - The Listening
9. Tegan And Sara - Sainthood
8. Little Boots - Hands
7. Kate Voegele - A Fine Mess
6. Lykke Li - Youth Novels
5. The Bird And The Bee - Ray Guns Are Not Just The Future
4. U2 - No Line On The Horizon
3. Metric - Fantasies
2. Yeah Yeah Yeahs - It's Blitz!
1. Lady Gaga - The Fame / The Fame Monster
There were all kinds of ups and downs in 2009, but I think we can all agree it was a fabulous year of music. Thank you so much for reading through everything here and supporting my top 40 albums of 2009. It has been such a wonderful way to send off the 2000s. As we enter 2010, I wish you all the very best. Here's to the next decade!
