I’ve been working on this list in my head for a few weeks now, and I think there are two funny things about it: 1) there are a lot of pre-2009 records on here, and 2) several of them are so well-known that it’s beyond me why I’ve just now discovered them.

Anyway, here’s the list, in no particular order. By the way, this is a list of best albums, not best music. I’m a huge fan of the album. I know some people think it’s on its way out, but I don’t, or at least I very much hope they’re wrong. Here goes:

Angus and Julia Stone – A Book Like This
Apples in Stereo – Fun Trick Noisemaker
Electrelane – No Shouts, No Calls
The Flaming Lips – Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots and Soft Bulletin
Girl Talk – Feed the Animals (Parental Advisory!)
Matt & Kim – Matt & Kim
The National – Boxer (Parental Advisory!)
The Notwist – Neon Golden
The Rural Alberta Advantage – Hometowns
Sister Suvi – Now I am Champion
Thao with the Get Down Stay Down – We Brave Bee Stings and All (better than her new album, IMHO)
Yo La Tengo – Popular Songs

The two most disappointing new releases of the year were Throw Me the Statue’s Creaturesque and Fanfarlo’s Reservoir, although for different reasons – the TMtS album was horrible, and the Fanfarlo album was just weak when I expected it to be amazing.

So there you go.

Traveling at Godspeed

My best music finds of 2009

Coincidentally, I got the impression that my friend, Knox, also liked the album somewhat in spite of himself. According to him, he tends more towards brooding albums, although he doesn’t seem like much of a brooder (he’s much more positive than I am, really). I avoid brooding albums in favor of music that moves and doesn’t make me feel depressed.

But both of us like the Burning Hell, a group that both broods and moves, although I tend to skip over the slow songs. I like that album because it’s quirky and fun. Knox says he is drawn to are the lyrics. He tends to eschew bands with empty lyrics.

I remember discussing lyrics in college, presumably during late night trips to WaHo. The “deep” question is whether you favor music or lyrics in your favorite songs, and I think the assumption is that most of us would want to favor lyrics but tend to favor the music. I do remember noting that my long-time favorite songs are ones that are lyrically meaningful, but the truth is there are few songs in that category for me.

After the Thao album ended Saturday night, I switched to another of my current favorite albums, by the much less accessible Sister Suvi. I’ve been obsessed by this album for weeks, listening to it almost every time I get in the car and generally rocking out, especially to the soulful songs by the extremely esoteric Merrill Garbus of tUnE-yArDs fame (click at your own discretion). Looking up the lyrics this morning, I am neither surprised nor impressed to read the lyrics of my favorite song on the album, a love/breakup song called “American,” which manages to rhyme “tushy” with “cushy, “mushy,” and “squishy,” which is nothing compared to “You stink you stink like a poo/ And that is why I’m leaving you.”

But I still love it. I just wonder if its lack of deep lyrics will lead me to remember it at all a year from now. After all, I have liked Deerhunter for a while, and one of my favorite Deerhunter songs has this as its chorus:

come for me
you come for me
come for me
comfortably
you cover me
cover me
comfortably
comfortably

Deep, right?

Agoraphobia – Deerhunter

Traveling at Godspeed

Do you care about lyrics?

and

Traveling at Godspeed

Currently listening to