2009 Playlist

It is three days from 2010? Shouldn’t the apocalypse have occurred by now? Not to be morbid or anything, but, seriously. Twenty-ten. TWENTY-TEN! Jesus.

This year in music has been rather fantastic in my not-so-humble opinion. Granted, my likes tend toward indie rock, which has had a banner year with some incredible new artists, and updated work from some old goodies as well. Every end of December I try to post a playlist of my favorite music from the past year (2008, 2007), and my biggest problem this year was cutting myself off! I finally stopped at 20 songs from 20 of my very favorite bands of the year. If I would’ve just had favorite songs (and not favorite bands as a whole) this list would be in the hundreds, no lie. But I figured you all have more important things to do, like drinking champagne or making resolutions you’ll never keep (why of course I’m going to get over my fear of large boats in 2010!).

So, for your listening pleasure….

A few notes on the bands, in case you care:

Animal Collective – My favorite band of the year, by far. The song featured above was given a five star rating from Pitchfork, a VERY rare occurrence. Honorable mention: My Girls…I jammed out to this little diddy almost daily in early 2009.

Local Natives – Technically this probably shouldn’t be on this list, as the album won’t be out until January of 2010, but I have this song on constant repeat on my iPhone so it made the cut.

Citizen Cope – I know I make a big stink about rap and pop music and what absolute crap it is, but if you listen to this, you’ll understand why. Rap/hip-hop music can be fantastic, so why settle for cheap imitations?

Mutemath – Got into these guys due to their appearance on the 2008 Twilight soundtrack album, and they hooked me. Their 2009 offering was even better.

CSS – First of all, their name in Portuguese means “I’m tired of being sexy” which is just ridiculous awesome. Me too. Secondly, this Brazilian band has probably been in your head all year due to them being featured in iPod commercials…but strangely, I’m not sick of them. That’s quite a feat!

Camera Obscura – This Scottish band sounds like something from another era. And given my obsession with everything vintage, it’s no surprise they are one of this year’s favorites. Honorable mention: French Navy.

The Avett Brothers – I found these guys due to my love of this particular song, which is eternally dedicated to my friend Theresa (of NYC + KC fame), and stuck with them because their music makes me sad and happy at the same time. I’m complicated.

Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros – This is another song that makes me think of a friend (Abbie, I miss you!), but the entire album is so happy and fresh and lovely. Lucy loves these guys too, so that’s a total bonus.

Life Magazine – Trent and I agree on few things, but music is one of those areas where we almost always love the same thing. He loves this song. I do too. Woot.

Grizzly Bear – This is a fav band of 2009 for a zillion reasons. I’ve posted their stuff on Crazybananas before, so I won’t bore you here, but you should look ’em up. For reals. Honorable mention: Slow Life

Bon Iver – Justin Vernon of Bon Iver just kills me. Really, when he sings my heart just bursts. So, thanks Justin, for busting my heart. In a good way. Honorable mention: Re Stacks.

Taken By Trees – This Swedish singer was on my list last year as the female voice in the Peter, Bjorn and John song, Young Folks. She made her current album in Pakistan, and I feel like “East of Eden” is so much better for all of the multicultural influences. Her voice is lovely, the instruments used are unique, but blend together so nicely. Good stuff all around.

Phoenix – This band was on repeat so much this year, Trent is totally sick of them. I sort of am as well, but I couldn’t have a music of 2009 list without them.

The Features – This is a band that I totally found due to my awesome birthday gift, XM radio for my car. Yay for Trent and his great gift ideas!

The Middle East – Ditto, see above.

The Rosebuds – I owe most of my musical growth in 2009 to Miss KT (who is now blogging, wut wut!), and she introduced me to the Rosebuds. I love bands that have male and female leads, and this really is a great one.

Noah and the Whale – Their 2009 offering told the story of a breakup, through each painful stage. There is sadness, anger, resentment, and finally acceptance and the idea of moving on, which is where Blue Skies comes in. It’s a great album to listen to in its entirety.

Band of Skulls – This is one of the many, many featured indie bands on the Twilight New Moon Soundtrack, which gave some amazing exposure to some great indie bands this fall. I mean, come on, Thom Yorke on a soundtrack? Seriously! Honerable mentions: Lykke Li and Black Rebel Motorcycle Club.

Florence and the Machine / The XX – Trent pointed me to the XX earlier this year as one of his new favorites, and when they did a remix of another great new band, Florence and the Machine, it was heavenly.

Thom Yorke – Is a golden god. Enough said. (P.S. I know this album is old…but I discovered it this year, so it’s new to me, which is all that counts. That’s why having your own blog is the best, because you make the rules!)

If you made it this far, congrats! What were your favorite songs/albums of the year?*

*If you say the Black Eyed Peas I may have to unfollow you. Word.