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!

Programming Notes:

1. I have placed the entries in alphabetical order, eschewing the need to place any subjective number/place value ranking upon these records (Example: Neko Case would be found under “C,” not “N.”).
2. With each entry, I have provided a link to artist’s website (with preference for an actual site over a MySpace page) along with any review I may have written and/or coverage provided.
3. While many of the records on this list have been reviewed on this site, they have also probably received even greater attention elsewhere in the blogosphere (not to mention in the failing medium of the music magazine). Let me know your thoughts in the comments if you feel I’ve missed anyone or anything.

Honorable Mentions:
After The Fall – Fort Orange
Animal Collective – Merriweather Post Pavilion
Au Revoir Simone – Still Night, Still Light
David Bazan – Curse Your Branches
Ryan Bingham – Roadhouse Sun
Bonnie “Prince” Billy – Beware
A. A. Bondy – When The Devil’s Loose

Neko Case – Middle Cyclone

Dinosaur Jr. – Farm
DJ /Rupture and Matt Shadetek – Solar Life Raft
Doves – Kingdom Of Rust
Grizzly Bear – Veckatimest

Headlights – Wildlife

jj – No 2

Black Joe Lewis and The Honeybears – Tell ‘Em What Your Name Is

Lil Wayne – No Ceilings

listenlisten – Hymns From Rhodesia
Jason Lytle – Yours Truly, The Commuter

Morrissey – Years Of Refusal

Mos Def – The Ecstatic

Stuart Murdoch (and Friends) – God Help The Girl

Tara Jane O’Neill – A Ways Away

Phoenix – Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix

Rock Plaza Central – At The Moment Of Our Most Needing…
Sally Shapiro – My Guilty Pleasure

A Sunny Day In Glasgow – Ashes Grammar

Taken By Trees – East Of Eden
Times New Viking – Born Again Revisited
Tortoise – Beacons Of Ancestorship
UGK – UGK 4 Life
Various Artists – Dark Was The Night
Various Artists – 5 Years Of Hyperdub
The Very Best – Warm Heart Of Africa
The Warlocks – The Mirror Explodes

Wavves – Wavvves

Wilco – Wilco (The Album)

Wild Beasts – Two Dancers
The xx – xx

YACHT – See Mystery Lights