SayAnything’s Top 10 Albums of the Year & Best of 2009 Mix

Here it is, finally, and just in time: SayAnything’s Top 10 Albums of the Year. I have to say, this year has been filled with great music. My expectations were at times shattered and at times surpassed by this year’s releases. However, only a select few made it onto my list. Remember, this list was compiled according to my own personal taste and an objective critique of the cohesiveness of these albums as a single work so feel free to disagree. However, I hope that you’ll give these albums a listen. They might impact your life in ways too subtle to even imagine. Without further ado:

Honorable Mentions

I present to you the albums that missed the Top 10 by that much.


15. M.O.F.- Monsters of Folk


14. David Gray- Draw the Line


13. Robin Thicke- Sex Therapy


12. Blackstone Heist- EP


11. Animal Collective- Merriweather Post Pavilion

SayAnything’s Top 10 Albums of the Year


10. Magen Melancholy- The Short-Lived Life of Magen Melancholy

I owe my friend Vanessa for introducing me to this gem of an artist. Magen Melancholy’s debut EP blends Hip-Hop, World Music beats, and Electronica among other things into what Medium Troy probably envisioned when they coined the term Bohemian Dub. Melancholy’s sultry voice raps, speaks, and sings over a collection of surprisingly fresh tracks, spreading a message of dissatisfaction with the state of the world that, while melancholy, never borders on the desperate. Trust me guys, this album is the embodiment of the best the indie hip-hop scene has to offer. Don’t be surprised if The Short-Lived Life of Magen Melancholy is rereleased with more fanfare in the near future.


9. Danger Mouse & Sparklehorse- Dark Night of the Soul

Danger Mouse, the reclusive Sparklehorse, and David Lynch. ‘Nuff said, right? Problem is this album may never be released due to a legal dispute with EMI and that’s a damn shame because this album is an experience. Dark Night of the Soul, featuring guest vocals from a variety of artists including the likes of Julian Casablancas, Nina Persson, Vic Chestnutt, and The Flaming Lips, is meant to be paired up with a 100+ page book of photographs by Lynch which is supposed to be a visual narrative of the music. The book is being sold with a blank CD-R and a note saying: ‘For Legal Reasons, enclosed CD-R contains no music. Use it as you will,” clearly encouraging the consumer to obtain the music by any means necessary. This ambitious work has been on display at the OH WOW gallery during Art Basel 2009 and other such places where people have been lucky to experience it. However, don’t let the controversy overshadow the work. This might be Danger Mouse’s most influential album since he turned the Beatles’ White Album and Jay Z’s Black Album into the Grey Album.


8. The Lonely Island- Incredibad

I went on a road trip across the Southern US this year with two of my closest friends and this album was how we started each morning’s drive. The Lonely Island consists of SNL cast member Andy Sandberg and his best buds, SNL writers Akiva Schaffer and Jorma Taccone. Believe me when I say that the title track cements the trio as the heirs to the Beastie Boys in the comedy album realm. Their parodies might be better than the subject of the parodies themselves, but they had help from a variety of guest artists in getting there. I mean, how awesome is it that T-Pain’s best work may just be the parody of his own songs?


7. The xx- xx

If there’s one person I trust when it comes to music, other than my favorite Mexican Cuatita (Under the Counter must come back to the Blogosphere Anita. Trust.), it’s my boy “Captain” Eric Dorman (Check out his Blog Truth. One. Love.). He introduced me to the xx and good lord was he right on the money. This British quartet of 20 somethings (now a trio since the keyboardist quit) that met at Elliot School, which boasts alumni the likes of Four Tet, Burial, and Hot Chip, have put out an album that shows a maturity and musical knowledge well beyond their years. This is a study in restraint and minimalism, from Romy Madley Croft and Oliver Sim’s male/female vocal stylings to the straight forward beats used in the album. xx is a tender yet firm whisper telling us in no uncertain terms that the future of music is incredibly bright now that the xx are involved. Elliot School has no other choice but to boast about this group of alumni as well.


6. Mos Def- The Ecstatic

Well look who’s back. Not since Black on Both Sides has Mos Def shown why he is one of the best MCs we have in the rap game right now. This album is a pan-global collage of music. You have Latin rhythms paired up with jazz, soul, funk, and anything else you can imagine. It’s a special treat to hear him go back and forth with Talib Kweli again; so special in fact that I was screaming for a Black Star reunion. I’m glad to see Mos Def come back as a musical force with the message that hope has its work cut out in a world that needs changing in the most urgent way.


5. Phoenix- Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix

I have a news flash for you guys: French band Phoenix has been around for over a decade. This is not a retro-pop debut album no matter how many car commercials have been using 1901 to sell their wares. While the album is a catchy mofo, it’s the incredible polish and production value that caught my attention. Once you get past the indie pop you’ll realize that Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix has deep pockets full of anthems, instrumentals, and carefully orchestrated melodic structures. I was blown away by just how much more I liked this album on repeat hearings.


4. Pearl Jam- Backspacer

I’m a Pearl Jam guy. For me Tens > Nevermind. So I must say I was pleasantly surprised when my boys from Seattle followed up 2006’s Pearl Jam with an album that not only is heavily influenced by New Wave, pop music, and dare I say it, U2-like guitar riffs, but is also their shortest album to date. Make no mistake about it: This is the funnest Pearl Jam record out there; they finally sound like they enjoy being in a band. After so many years of protest and dissatisfaction, Pearl Jam is cranking out some kick ass rock and roll and it sounds like something you can sink your teeth into.


3. Paolo Nutini- Sunny Side Up

The first time I heard of Paolo Nutini was a few years ago. Rob Thomas was plugging his first single, "New Shoes," on his website. While I enjoyed the song, I didn't really get into his album, "These Streets," at that point in time, though it did grow on me. When Paolo came back with his sophomore effort, "Sunny Side Up," he forced me to recognize the immensity of his talent. This Scottish singer/songwriter of Italian descent has a scratch in his voice that recalls but never imitates greats like Rod Stewart, Ottis Redding, Joe Cocker, and Wilson Pickett. The tracks on this one are not only crafted with tremendous skill, they also make you nostalgic for the music that influenced their creation. There’s no greater tribute than that.


2. Nouvelle Vague- 3

As a karaoke whore I love, love, love covers, and nobody does covers better than Nouvelle Vague. For their third studio effort, Nouvelle Vague expands their skill set a bit by adding bluegrass and country to their bossa nova and reggae interpretations of well beloved classics as well as signing some duets with the original artists. I’m not going to say much more about this album except that Nouvelle Vague has a special gift: They take the songs we care about and make us fall in love with them all over again. It’s what they do.


1. The Swell Season- Strict Joy

Wow. We’ve reached my top album for 2009, and what an album it is. This album means so much to me on so many levels. Watching Once introduced me to Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová and, by proxy, the Frames. The songs from that soundtrack are among my favorites of all time. When I heard that The Swell Season was putting out a new album and that they were coming stateside to tour for that album, I said to hell with it and booked a ticket to Boston for their Berklee Performance Center concert. Real life lovers, Hansard and Irglová told the story of how they came together through their music for the Once soundtrack and in Strict Joy, they tell the story of how they came apart. Strict Joy documents their break up with the bombast of a full backing band courtesy of all the former members of the Frames and the influence of Hansard’s Holy Trinity of Music: Bob Dylan, Leonard Cohen, and Van Morrison. If you’re lucky to get your hands on the two-disc special edition, you will be treated to live performances of The Swell Season’s earlier songs, too. Strict Joy tells the world that love doesn’t end, it evolves into different feelings; that passion and lust can turn into respect and well wishes for the future without caring ever leaving the equation. There’s no greater proof of that than the fact that Hansard and Irglová still tour together, exuding an authenticity that comes through in their performance because they have lived what they now sing. I’m grateful for this album because it delves knee deep into a side of love that doesn’t get that much attention; because every now and then, it’s on my mind.

As a special bonus, I’m putting out my track listing for my end of the year best of mix. Enjoy!


SayAnything’s Best of 2009 Mix

1. Mos Def- Supermagic
2. Magen Melancholy- Divide and Conquer
3. M.O.F.- Dear God (Sincerely M.O.F.)
4. Animal Collective- My Girls
5. Blackstone Heist- Space Debris
6. David Gray- Fugitive
7. Paolo Nutini- Pencil Full of Lead
8. Phoenix- 1901
9. Pearl Jam- The Fixer
10. The Lonely Island- Boombox (feat. Julian Casablancas)
11. Robin Thicke- Meiple (feat. Jay-Z)
12. Camera Obscura- French Navy
13. Nekko Case- This Tornado Loves You
14. Danger Mouse & Sparklehorse- Revenge (feat. Wayne Coyne)
15. The xx- Islands
16. The Swell Season- I Have Loved You Wrong
17. U2- Magnificent
18. Miike Snow- Animal
19. Nouvelle Vague- Blister in the Sun