Best of 2009: Top 5 Male Albums

While 2009 was a rather subpar year for female solo artists, in my opinion at least, things were a little better on the dude side of things. This years saw great releases from a wide array of male artists, the Top 5 are below.

#5. Del the Funky Homosapien: Funk Man (The Stimulus Package) – Back towards the beginning of the year, D.E.L. released an album via his webpage for the fair price of…nothing. I’ll be real. I expected it to blow. I mean, Del hasn’t really been a reliable source for good music for the last decade; so excuse me for the skepticism when he drops one for free. Surprisingly, however, Funk Man is probably Del’s best album since Both Sides of Da Brain. There’s still some moments on there where you just have to question what the guy’s thinking, but for the most part, the craziness is an acceptable attribute.

#4. Allen Toussaint: The Bright Mississippi – Legendary jazz musician, eh? Well, forgive me but I’m just not that familiar with the genre. I am well-versed in the art of great music, however, and Toussaint has created a brilliant collection of it with The Bright Mississippi. The guy’s over 70 years old at this point and he just won over a 25 year old. That’s rather impressive.

#3. Julian Casablancas: Phrazes for the Young – Initially, I had Patrick Wolf’s The Bachelor in the bottom spot on this list. However, once I got a chance to listen to The Strokes’ singer’s debut as a solo artist, it was clear to me that Casablancas was more deserving of a spot here. While his electronic compositions can get grating from time to time, I have to give the dude credit for doing something that, to me, comes as a complete surprise. It’s a fun listen, and one of the year’s better debuts.

#2. Wallpaper.: Doodoo Face – Gasp! Wallpaper. appears on an Audio Overflow list but isn’t at number one? Crazy right? Well hey, if you really want to hear about my thoughts on Wallpaper’s bitchin’ debut, you can read about that here, here, here, and here. For now, I’ll just acknowledge that someone did it better in ’09 and then get on to talking about that guy.

#1. Loney, Dear: Dear John – That guy is Emil Svanangen, the dude behind Loney, Dear. Emil totally deserves this award because he created what is arguably the most impressive male solo album of the decade. Dear John has it all. It’s got absolutely brilliant compositions layered with guitars, high-pitched vocals, and synths; upbeat songs and complete tearjerkers; and touching lyrics that also happen to be some of the most-honest of recent memory. Let’s be real here. All of Emil’s albums are fantastic. But Dear John outdoes them all. When I reviewed it at the beginning of 2009 I referred to it as his Magnum Opus. I swear, if he’s able to top this one I’ll have no choice but to kneel in his presence. Fortunately (or unfortunately, depending on your perspective), that’s probably not possible.

Best of 2009: Top 10 Party Jams

Let’s say you’re at this party, right? Dude who’s rocking the music has to jet to pick up another case and he takes his iPod with him. This is your moment, your chance to impress every fine lady at that get-together. You take your iPod over to the stereo pick the flyest jam you have and then watch in anticipation as everyone at the party reacts to your choice of….Tone Loc?!?! Don’t worry folks. If you ever get invited to another party, I’ve got you covered with the hottest party jams of ’09! Throw some of these on, and I pretty much guarantee that it’ll go over well. At the very least, they’ll do better than “Funky Cold Medina.”

#10. “Get Yo Shit” by Black Joe Lewis and the Honeybears, from the album, Tell ‘Em What Your Name Is! – A little bit of humor goes a long way, and this song has quite a bit of it. That’s the good news. The bad news is that there’s a lot of talking that people will have to hush up to understand. Still, if you’re at a party in Austin where everybody pretty much already knows the song, you’ll be fine.

#9. “Swing Tree” by Discovery, from the album, LP – “Swing Tree” has the uncanny ability to appeal to a variety of music fans; hip hop, pop, r&b, heck…maybe even reggae. I threw this on one night much to the admiration of one young lady in particular. Hey, that’s one better than I was doing up until that point.

#8. “Get it Right Now” by Del the Funky Homosapien, from the album, Funk Man – Ahh the ultimate party conundrum! People are demanding that someone put on some rap songs – because, well, they’ve been drinking and are therefore more easily susceptible to bad things – but you don’t want to insult your own intelligence by playing a selection from the 99% of rap music that blows. What to do? Throw on some D.E.L. It always goes down smooth.

#7. “A.T.C.” by Lesbian Fist, from the Lesbian Fist EP – Remember that bit about humor going a long way? Well, let’s hope your party has an open sense of humor because Lesbian Fist is going to bring the goods, wrapped up in a nice little pop package. Keep an eye on peoples’ faces as they ask themselves, “Did I really just hear that?” while simultaneously bouncing to one of the catchiest songs of 2009.

#6. “Little Secrets” by Passion Pit, from the album, Manners – Nobody had heard this song the first time I had played it for my friends at a social gathering. Since then, at least a few of them have picked up the CD because of this one. “Little Secrets” may not not pack the universal appeal of other songs on this list, but I’ll be damned if it ain’t a whole lot of fun singing to when you’re a tiny bit inebriated.

#5. “1901” by Phoenix, from the album, Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix – Okay, the car commercial pretty much ruined it for me too, but I’ll be damned if this still isn’t one of the best songs of 2009. That applies to whether you’re listening at a party or at a party of one :(. Honestly, who doesn’t love this song?

#4. “Daylight” by Matt & Kim, from the album, Grand – You would think that this song would be more off-putting to some than it actually is. Come to think of it, I don’t recall ever having to change the song due to someone disliking it. It’s a fun, poppy, piano-driven song that I have yet to tire of despite having listened to it several dozen times over the course of 2009.

#3. “ddd” by Wallpaper., from the album, Doodoo Face – Humor, again, does wonders, and “ddd” certainly packs in its share of one-liners. Sure, there may be one cowardly anonymous commenter on this blog who referred to Wallpaper. as “drivel” (most likely without ever listening to it seriously), but I have yet to introduce this song to anyone who has disliked it. Considering I tend to chill with a bunch of Ryan Adams and Regina Spektor fans, I’d say that’s quite the achievement.

#2. “I’m On a Boat” by The Lonely Island (featuring T-Pain), from the album, Incredibad – Experience, just once, a whole room of people simultaneously singing “I Fucked a Mermaid” and you’ll know why this one is awesome. ‘Nuff said.

#1. “I Got Soul, I’m So Wasted” by Wallpaper., from the album, Doodoo Face – There are few songs in the world that have complete universal appeal. Wallpaper’s first single from Doodoo Face has to come pretty close. Besides the fact that everybody (EVERYBODY) I know personally loves it, I still have yet to read a review of the album or the song that dismisses it as less than it is. Wallpaper’s music is all about letting loose and having a good time and it goes about it in a satirical manner. So even those of us who hate most mainstream pop music can enjoy it. Nobody seriously sings about “throwing up in the bathroom stall” as an achievement, but Ricky Reed does. And if you’ve ever been in that sort of situation (guilty), then you’ll be singing right along (also guilty). For me, this the unquestionable party jam of ’09.

What’s yours?

Reviews – 100 Words or Less

While writing one review a week may seem like an easy feat, the fact of the matter is that it can sometimes get a little tough. Sometimes I want to review an album, but other albums take priority. Other times, the album is just so average that it’s hard for me to devote any amount of time to it – especially when there’s something better waiting in the wings. What follows are a couple of mini-reviews that are past-due. If you’ve been waiting in eager anticipation, fret no more. The time has come!

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Del the Funky Homosapien: Eleventh Hour – To me, Del is one of the most skilled rappers of all time. While other rappers are worried about image and style, Del is rapping about video games or personal hygiene. His latest album, unfortunately doesn’t live up to expectations. There is still great emphasis place on humor and unconventional topics, but these rhymes are nothing extraordinary and the beats, while quality, aren’t interacted with. It just sounds like two tracks, each without regard for the other. Del can definitely do better, but this late into his career, I have doubts about whether he’ll ever get another chance to impress.

Key Tracks:
1. “Raw Sewage”
2. “Slam Dunk”
3. “Foot Down”
4. “Str8t Up and Down”

5 out of 10 Stars
Buy from Amazon | Buy from Insound
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Destroyer: Trouble in Dreams – Dan Bejar’s latest album as “Destroyer” is one of his most peculiar, which for him is actually more familiar than anything else. It starts off strong with the eloquence of “Blue Flower/Blue Flame” and the energy of “Dark Leaves from a Thread” but eventually wears thin with songs that go on for much too long, and are often quite repetitive. Bejar’s unique style may not bode well for first time listeners, but long time fans will undoubtedly find a lot to enjoy here. It’s talent is inarguable. It’s longevity…well.

Key Tracks:
1. “Blue Flower/Blue Flame”
2. “Dark Leaves from a Thread”
3. “The State”
4. “Introducing Angels”
5. “Plaza Trinidad”

6 out of 10 Stars
Buy from Amazon | Buy from Insound
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The Dodos: Visiter – This review never came around simply because by the time I finally heard it, it had already been out for weeks. This is my first time hearing The Dodos, and I’m really impressed. Their music is some strange mix between Animal Collective and Belle and Sebastian, and the end result is actually fairly entertaining. The fact that it’s just two guys making music as deep and enjoyable as this completely blows my mind. There are a few duds on this album, but for the most part Visiter is one of the most uniquely impressive indie rock albums of 2008.

Key Tracks:
1. “Walking”
2. “Red and Purple”
3. “Paint the Rust”
4. “Jodi”
5. “Ashley”

7 out of 10 Stars
Buy from Amazon | Buy from Insound
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The Duke Spirit: Neptune – I was first made aware of The Duke Spirit when an email rolled through my inbox, alerting me to their new album, Neptune. I took a listen to the mp3 that was provided and got pretty excited. However, after listening to this album, and I can pretty much say that there’s not a whole lot that this band has going for them. Somewhere between U2 and powerpop, Neptune just screams of unoriginality and repetitiveness. The only thing that is really welcomed on the album is its ending. Everything else is some of the most boringly upbeat music I’ve heard.

Key Tracks:
1. “Into the Fold”
2. “This Ship Was Built to Last”
3. “Neptune’s Call”

4 out of 10 Stars
Buy from Amazon | Buy from Insound
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I’ll have a freshly written “normal” review ready for your prying eyes next Tuesday. Until then, check out the key tracks to these albums and see if there’s anything that catches your interest. Then let me know what you think by leaving a comment below. Word. Thanks for reading.

Does anyone else think its weird that all of these artists start with the letter “D”? Crazy.

Moods – Antsy

Have you ever just wanted to move? You’ve been sitting at your desk all day, or wasting your Saturday just lounging around. Get up! Go do something! Just move! Me and my restless legs syndrome totally know all about this sensation. Well, as always, I’m here to help you with this most dire of predicaments. Here is a playlist that is almost sure to get you moving. It may make you dance, it may make you bob your head, tap your foot, or defiantly throw a fist in the air. Or it may do all of those. But it will get your antsy ass moving. That’s kinda the point.