Thursday, December 17, 2009

The Best Albums, Songs and Shows of 2009






















The 25 Best Shows of 2009
My goal had been to catch 365 live performances in 2009. I'm going to fall just short. That's still a lot of music. Here's the top seven percent.

1. Nas and Damian Marley- Beaumont Club (Same show footage.)

2. Leonard Cohen- Midland Theater (Same show footage.)

3. Esperanza Spalding- Folly Theater (Performance at The White House.)

4. Steve Coleman- Blue Room (Different show.)

5. AC/DC- Sprint Center (Same show footage.)

6. Solange- VooDoo Lounge (On Jools Holland's show.)

7. Mastodon- Uptown Theater (Same show footage.)

8. People's Liberation Big Band- Pistol Social Club (Different show.)

9. Fito Olivares- Crown Center (Different show.)

10. James Christos- Riot Room (Same show footage.)

11. Unearth- Beaumont Club (Different show.)

12. Kris Kristofferson- Uptown Theater (Different show.)

13. Mars Volta- Midland Theater (Same show footage.)

14. Tony Bennett- Midland Theater (Different show.)

15. Blind Pilot- Record Bar (Same show footage.)

16. Lil Wayne- Sprint Center (Same show footage.)

17. The Pogues- The Midland (Same show footage.)

18. Slipknot- Sprint Center (Same show footage.)

19. Cannibal Corpse- Sandstone (Same show footage.)

20. Afinidad- Folly Theater (Incredibly, no video of any kind exists.)

21. Karrin Allyson- Jardine's (Performance at Montreux.)

22. Katie Herzig- Crosstown Station (Different show.)

23. Tech N9ne- Independence Events Center (Same show footage.)

24. Aterciopelados- Beaumont Club (Different show.)

25. Hearts of Darkness- Crosstown Station (Different show.)


The 25 Best Albums of 2009
I also recommend taking a peak at the lists of dozens of Kansas City-area music fans that are compiled at Back To Rockville.

1. Maxwell- BLACKsummers'night
This is the album I hoped Michael would make.

2. P.O.S.- Never Better
A supremely intelligent genre-defying opus.

3. Ron Ron- Skitzofrinik
Kansas City's hip hop scene is on fire. This inventive concept album is simultaneously hilarious and harrowing.

4. Green Day- 21st Century Breakdown
The intersection of punk rock and classic rock.

5. Joe Lovano- Folk Art
Clever and soulful jazz.

6. Cecilia Bartoli- Sacrificium
Underneath the creepiest of concepts lies ravishing music.

7. Steddy P- Style Like Mind
As if Chuck D was born in Kansas City and raised on Tech N9ne.

8. Neko Case- Middle Cyclone
A rose with toxic thorns.

9. Graciela Beltran- La Reina de la Banda
I listened to this album more than any other in 2009. It makes me happy.

10. The Life and Times- Tragic Boogie
The Flaming Lips meet Sonic Youth.

11. Heartless Bastards- The Mountain
Industrial blues.

12. Diverse- Diverse
A throwback to a time when mainstream jazz wasn't self-conscious and insular.

13. Jay-Z- The Blueprint 3
Egotism is attractive.

14. Mac Lethal- Love Potion 5
My neighbor sure is cranky lately.

15. We Were Promised Jet Packs- We Were Promised Jet Packs
Like an agoraphobic Arctic Monkeys.

16. Sugarland- Live On the Inside
Captured in their native habitat.

17. Krizz Kaliko- Genius
Out of Tech N9ne's shadow.

18. XV- Everybody Is Nobody
May become the biggest thing out of Kansas since Dorothy.

19. Speech Debelle- Speech Therapy
Refreshing.

20. Mike Farris- Shout!
I didn't see this one coming.

21. Lee Barber- Thief and Rescue
The Tom Waits of Texas.

22. Kid Cudi- Man On the Moon
Lonely loner.

23. Eilen Jewell- Sea of Tears
Woman out of time.

24. Sachal Vasandani- We Move
A crooner for the new millennium.

25. Jon Hassell- Last Night The Moon Came Dropping Its Clothes In the Street
And it looks good naked.


The 25 Best Songs of 2009
When it comes to singles, I'm truly a man of the people.

1. George Strait- Living For the Night (YouTube)
I've had better years.

2. Kid Cudi- Day 'n' Night (YouTube)
State of the art.

3. Miley Cyrus- Party in The U.S.A. (YouTube)
Like yeah.

4. Jay-Z- D.O.A. (Death of Auto-Tune) (YouTube)
Moment of silence.

5. Soulja Boy- Turn My Swag On (YouTube)
What? Why are you looking at me like that?

6. Lily Allen- The Fear (YouTube)
The zeitgeist in 3:26.

7. The Lonely Island- I'm On a Boat (YouTube)
It never gets old.

8. Regina Spektor- Laughing With (YouTube)
Sobering.

9. Jamey Johnson- High Cost of Living (YouTube)
Waylon lives!

10. Rick Ross- Maybach Music 2 (YouTube)
Even funnier than "I'm On a Boat" and all the better for it.

11. Dirty Projectors- Stillness Is the Move (YouTube)
The cool kids got one right.

12. New Boyz- You're a Jerk (YouTube)
I know.

13. Major Lazer- Hold the Line (YouTube)
Ridiculous.

14. Anthony Hamilton- The Point of It All (YouTube)
Old school.

15. Noisettes- Never Forget You (YouTube)
I'm a sucker for this faux-soul formula.

16. Sick Puppies- You're Going Down (YouTube)
Bring the pain.

17. Dave Matthews Band- Why I Am (YouTube)
A surprising blast of soul.

18. Taking Back Sunday- Sink Into Me (YouTube)
Hey! Hey! Hey!

19. Beyonce- Halo (YouTube)
I surrender.

20. Manchester Orchestra- I've Got Friends (YouTube)
God is great, beer is good and people are crazy. Oh wait- wrong song.

21. Ghostface Killah- Baby (YouTube)
One of the weirdest songs ever.

22. Slaughterhouse- The One (YouTube)
Supergroup sleaze.

23. Melanie Fiona- It Kills Me (YouTube)
Massive.

24. Darius Rucker- Alright (YouTube)
Making the best of it.

25. GS Boyz- Stanky Legg (YouTube)
I can't do it.

(Original image by There Stands the Glass.)

2 comments:

Don't Need Anything said...

that maxwell album falls into my top 5 albums as well. brilliant soul record.

Happy In Bag said...

Yes sir.