Tunes from 2009

It’s been two years since I did a year end music compilation. I think I have enough good stuff saved up now to share some excellent tracks and maybe a new band or two (to you, at least). Also, rather than burn and ship CDs I'm doing the online thing; if you want the CD then download the tracks and burn them yourself.
You can listen to the entire playlist or download the individual tracks below. I encourage you to listen to it in the order that I’ve shown them.

Song	Artist	Album	Notes
Losing Touch	The Killers	Day & Age	Because it does’t suck :-)
The Way I Are	Timbaland	Shock Value	‘I ain’t got no money’ How could I not put this on the list? S.F. is expensive, but in 2009 I gained riches that I only dreamed of.
Growing Old Is Getting Old	Silversun Pickups	Swoon	I’ve loved these guys ever since I first saw them in Seattle. Their latest album is the best one yet. In fact, I listened to their older ones Pikul and Carnavas and it’s gratifying to hear marked improvements in the song writing and sound engineering over the past few years. And I get to see them live again in April 2010. Should be a great show; I'll be the annoying dude singing along to every single song.
Ode to LRC	Band of Horses	Cease to Begin	I honestly can’t remember the first time I heard this album but many of the songs are catchy as hell. I picked Ode to LRC just because I listened to it a bit more than others in 2009 but both of their albums are well worth a listen. I just wish they'd release a new one – it’s been a couple of years now!
Killer B	Low vs Diamond	Low vs Diamond	An old college buddy from the University of Reading told me about LvD during a Facebook exchange. I basically asked ‘what’s worth listening to these days?’ Tim (my buddy) has had excellent taste in music and while I have only stayed in touch with him on and off over the years, I bought the album based on his recommendation. It’s similar to Editors, Interpol, and a handful of other artists that I like so predictably I enjoy this too.
DLZ	TV On The Radio	Dear Science	In the true measure of a bleeding heart liberal, I caught wind of these guys on the NPR show Fresh Air. Masha and I subsequently saw them at Open Lands in Golden Gate Park. Very interesting mix of influences and a dark mood with a driving beat. Good for driving fast around a crowded city.
Map of the Problematique	Muse	Black Holes And Revelations	I’ll be seeing Muse as headliners to the same show where Silversun Pickups are opening. I'm torn on Muse: part of me loves the bombastic approach and crazy over the top guitar sound. But they’re also total Queen wannabees and it can be a little awkward at times just because they try so hard to be over the top. I’ve watched a few of their live show video and it does seem like a great time though. And if you have’nt seen the video to XXXXX then you owe it to yourself to do so. It’s hilarious.
Icky Thump	The White Stripes	Icky Thump Single	Jack White rocks. He is so freaking good at brutal, raw blues guitar that his whiny voice can be forgiven. He’s one of those play-until-his-fingers-bleed guys. Yes!
Blind	Hercules And Love Affair	Hercules And Love Affair	No idea who they are. Masha loves this song and I heard it enough times under duress that I actually started to hate it less. Then I sort of liked it. Then I actually played it when she was’t even around. And finally, it made the 2009 list. Sometimes repetition is the friend of music that you don’t quite get the first (or forty-first) time through.
When Your Minds Made Up	Glen Hansard & Marketa Irglova with Marja Tuhkanen and Bertrand Galen	The Swell Season	You need to see the movie Once. I cannot stand musicals and musical films are almost as bad. But this is different. Watch it and you will understand why I can’t get enough of these duo.
Knocked Up	Kings Of Leon	Because Of The Times	Another one of those artists who I’m in two minds about. Of course they are the hot hot new thing, and that’s nice for them. But that generally just puts me in a contrary mood when it comes to the music. But I cannot argue with this track: nice rolling rhythm that matches the mood of the lyric perfectly. And the light wailing whistle in the background just sends a chill up my spine. Turns out these Southern boys can write!
Reckoner	Radiohead	In Rainbows	Yes, I’m one of those people who actually paid full price for the In Rainbows album even though you could name your own price on the Radiohead website. I like them that much. We saw them live at the inaugural 2008 Outside Lands show and in spite of two power outages they totally rocked the...er...field! Yes, Thom Yorke has the absolute weirest vocal style but he can actually sing when he wants to. And once in a while the mumbling fades in to intelligble lyrics. Whatever - I just love Radiohead.
Just Dance	Lady GaGa & Colby O’Donis	The Fame	Currently the oddest person in pop. These lyrics are like reading my brain during Masha's and my first six months in San Francisco. Obviously we had a totally irresponsible good time checking out the clubs, hot spots, and slightly wackier dives with the host-with-the-most Darin. And this song makes me smile for two reasons: I’m now a father who knows (ahem!) that swaying onto the dance floor comes second to crawling on the floor with Lyra, and that San Francisco is a totally f#@king amazing place to hang with friends.