Dryvetyme Onlyne

Next up, I’d like to present a bunch of albums that I really enjoyed, but weren’t quite good enough to crack The Top Ten. But before we discuss my selections, it’s time for a bit of critical reflection upon the year.

As many of you might note, there are a few records in this list that have received an inordinate amount of hype and attention this year, namely Merriweather Post Pavilion and Veckatimest. Personally, I did enjoy these records, but I feel they pale in comparison to earlier, much greater work from these bands. Yet, there is much good on these records (the two/three lead singles/cuts from each are outstanding), and the national discourse on the state of the music industry/culture was injected with new life because of them.

Moreover, I am of the opinion that Animal Collective and Grizzly Bear received so much adulation outside of typical tastemaking indie rock circles because traditional music outlets finally decided to pay attention to such bands. With so many old-school publications dying, shrinking, and/or going solely online, they had to find new ways to generate interest in their work. Thus, great, inordinately disproportionate attention was paid to recent work from these (and other) indie rock stalwarts – it was as if Feels and Yellow House had never existed in the minds of the major music magazines.

So, it’s understandable that there was a precipitous amount of backlash against these albums and the bands that created them. Some critics were quick to excise and excoriate this music simply because it was being talked about in every possible circle. It’s the familiar philosophy of, “If the majors are talking about it, then it’s not indie anymore, and it’s certainly not cool anymore.” I get that. I understand the impulse to do that, and I’ve certainly fallen prey to it myself. I would just rather acknowledge that these are good records (but not great) that are dealing with, in the course of one year, several years of the hype and accolades that these acts do deserve.

All of that being said, 2009 was an outstanding year for music! Let’s get into it!
Continue reading “Honorable Mentions of 2009″