Favourite Albums of 2009

No year is complete without a best of list.

Here are the albums I enjoyed the most this year.

10. Silversun Pickups - Swoon

9. Bat For Lashes - Two Suns

8. Dance Gavin Dance - Happiness

7. Yeah Yeah Yeahs - It's Blitz!

6. Atlas Sound - Logos

5. Wavves - Wavvves

4. Phoenix - Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix

3. Patrick Wolf - The Bachelor
2. Girls - Album 1. Animal Collective - Merriweather Post Pavillion

Hope you all have a great 2010!

When the Sun Goes Down We'll Go Out Again

[photos via]

Last night I went to see Animal Collective at the Enmore Theatre. It was amazing.
Best songs, best sound, best lights, best crowd.
I couldn't have asked for more.

The highlights were Summertime Clothes, My Girls and of course Fireworks... but I loved all of it.

I was dancing and grinning the whole night.

Setlist:
Also Frightened
What Would I Want? Sky
Summertime Clothes
Guys Eyes
Leaf House
Slippi
My Girls
Who Could Win a Rabbit?
Fireworks / Jam
Daily Routine

Encore:
In the Flowers
Bleeding
Brothersport

Let's Go Surfing

Wake up
It's a beautiful morning
Honey, while the sun is still shining
Wake up
Would you like to go with me?
Honey, take a run down to the beach

The Drums are a great new band from Brooklyn. Their debut EP, 'Summertime!' is one of my favourite releases of the year.

As the title suggests, it's fun and Summery. The songs are incredibly catchy with cute lyrics. The Drums are indie-pop at its best and perfect for this Summer.

1. Saddest Summer
2. Let's Go Surfing
3. Make You Mine
4. Don't be a Jerk, Jonny
5. Submarine
6. Down by the Water

Home is wherever I'm with you.

Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros ARE AMAZING. I am absolutely in love with their song 'Home'.
It makes me want to laugh and cry tears of joy. :D
You all need to hear it right now!
Listen here.

“Jade?”
“Alexander?”
“Do you remember that day you fell out of my window?”
“I sure do, you came jumping out after me.”
“Well, you fell on the concrete and nearly broke your ass and you were bleeding all over the place and I rushed you off to the hospital. Do you remember that?”
“Yes, I do.”
“Well, there’s something I never told you about that night.”
“What didn’t you tell me?”
“While you were sitting in the backseat smoking a cigarette you thought was going to be your last, I was falling deep, deeply in love with you and I never told you ‘til just now.”
“Now I know.”

Ahh, Home
Let me come Home
Home is whenever I’m with you
Ahh, Home
Let me come Home
Home is when I’m alone with you

Songs Songs Songs

Songs are another Sydney band with a new album. Their self titled debut (yes, Songs by Songs. Try googling it) is a fun, who-gives-a-shit, indie rock album.

The single Different Light is a highlight.

Nice album cover too.
Probably one of my favourites this year, along with Yeah Yeah Yeahs' It's Blitz.

Here's the tracklist for Songs.

Farmacy
Something To Believe In

Oh No

Retreat

Clouds

Different Light

Out With A Curse

Pain

It's Dry

It Doesn't Exist

Just An Idea

My Number

Blue Skies Are Coming, But I Know That Its Hard

School certificate exams are finally over! I've been studying hard (well, hard for me) for about a week and now I get a well deserved break.
Too bad I'm already getting bored.

I've started working on Christmas presents for my family. Because I'm broke, I've decided to make mix CDs. I'm really excited about it, especially making the cover art.

In other news, I'm really enjoying the band Noah and the Whale. Their most recent album was released back in August and is called The First Days of Spring.
The song Blue Skies is really beautiful and you can listen to it here.

The First Dance

I'm really excited about Bridezilla's debut album The First Dance.
Although it's their debut, the Sydney band have been around for a while and they've been quite hyped up. I think these guys will be big in 2010.

The First Dance is due to be released on the 7th of November, and from what I've heard it sounds great.

Here's the tracklist:

Lunar Eclipse

Beaches

Queen of Hearts

Speaking to Soft Toys

Tailback

Shipping Man

Heart You Hold

Soft Porn

Magnetic Arrest

Lottery Tickets
Western Front

Forth and Fine

White Feather

The Last Dance

Animal Farm

Animal Farm is a classic. Both the book and movie, are frightening and direct and I love them.
It pains me that some people in my english class can't appreciate Animal Farm because they think its childish.
Sure, the idea of talking animals taking over a farm might be strange, if it wasn't an allegory of the Russian Revolution.
(If only you were in my class, Olivia. :D)

Cats in Random Places

I was staying at home with a cold and these photos cheered me up.




All via http://www.catspictures.net/

Remixed!

Here are some of my favourite remixes at the moment. Enjoy!


Empire of the Sun- Walking on a Dream (Kolt13 Remix)



Pheonix- Fences (Friendly Fires Remix)



YACHT- Psychic City (Classixx Remix)


The Temper Trap- Sweet Disposition (Alan Wilkis Remix)

You can listen to them here.

Why?- Eskimo Snow

I remember reading an interview with Why?'s Yoni Wolf a few months back. He said something about how it new album very un-hip hop compared to what he's done before.

And it's true, Eskimo Snow is more laid back and melodic compared to Alopecia.

But that doesn't mean its bad at all. Sure, the album doesn't have any epic build up moment's like The Hollows in Alopecia, but I found this album really sweet, and maybe a bit more optimistic.

And just because he doesn't sing as fast, it doesn't mean the lyrics aren't as awesome.
(I wanna speak at an intimate decibel,
with the precision of an infinite decimal.)

The lyrics are still Why?'s strongest point, and that's what makes this album so enjoyable.

Highlights:
January Twenty Something

This Blackest Purse

500000 Days of Summer

500 Days of Summer is out this friday!

Not much else to say, but I think fuck yeahhhhhhhhhh sums it up.

Also, I didn't notice before, but nice soundtrack.

A Story of Boy Meets Girl- Mychael Danna and Rob Simonsen
Us- Regina Spektor
There Is A Light That Never Goes Out- The Smiths
Bad Kids- Black Lips
Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want- The Smiths
There Goes the Fear- Doves
You Make My Dreams- Hall & Oates
Sweet Disposition- The Temper Trap
Quelqu'un m'a dit- Carla Bruni
Mushaboom- Feist
Hero- Regina Spektor
Bookends- Simon & Garfunkel
Vagabond- Wolfmother
She's Got You High- Mumm-Ra
Here Comes Your Man- Meaghan Smith
Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want- She & Him

California Goths

Wavves makes brilliant music (yes, I am a Wavves lover), but man, does he have the most uncreative album and song titles. And album covers. Jesus.

The guy seems to be obsessed with self-titling, goths, summer goths, surf goths, california goths, beach goths, beach demons, weed demons and beaches.

Thank God his newest song, Cool Jumper, is a little more original (and a great song).

-A few questions about goths. They crop up in your song titles a lot, and so I have to ask: do you consider yourself a goth, know many goths, or have anything against goths? Is California a sort of goth utopia?
-I don't know.

With his previous two albums named Wavves and Wavvves, will we soon see a Wavvvves?
Only time will tell.

Long Time No Post?

News. Atlas S.. fuck I hate this font.
OK. So Atlas Sound's album Logos got leaked. It's good. A lot of people seem to be liking Shelia, but I think Quick Canal's nice.

Hey did facebook just get updated? I like it.

Found a couple of interesting sites:
http://pulloutbros.org/

http://unfollowfriday.com/

I'm doing a music assignment on Ella Fitzgerald and I watched a video of her scat singing. It blew my mind.

Tomorrow I'm watching my brother's school play. It's The Wizard of Oz and my brother is a bug. With a silver face.

And to finish on a viral note, here's a video of Beyonce and Jay Z chillin at a Grizzly Bear show.

Just a touch of oregano and a parsley stem.

Tim, wish you were born a girl
So I could've been your boyfriend
I know it's not possible now
I just never met a girl I like half as much as you

And we could lay around in bed, stay there all day
Or at least until the afternoon
And I could make you spaghetti with tomato sauce
With just a touch of oregano and a parsley stem

And then when you got sick
I could take the day off work
I could've made you chicken soup
And we could watch soap operas
Oh, those TV dramas!
I could catch your cold
And you could take care of me

If I could've met you at school, or met you at work
It would have changed everything
Those years of losing, confusion and insecurity
They would have been shared
They would have been easier

Tim, wish you were born a girl
So I could've been your fiancé
I'm not saying you can't be all these things for me
But it's just not the same because you're a man
And so am I


Just thought I'd share with you guys this song, Tim I Wish You Were Born A Girl by of Montreal.
They're the cutest lyrics I've heard in a while.
I strongly advise you to listen to it.
It made my fall in love with of Montreal all over again.
I was trying to play this on my viola but it didn't really work.
Maybe if i get that ukelele for my birthday...
Yeah it's my birthday soon. :)

The importance of band names.

I've been thinking lately about good/bad band names and how they help bands that are just starting off.

Do interesting band names attract listeners?
What makes a good band name different from a bad one?

Thought I might "analize" a few bands with weird names.

Natalie Portman's Shaved Head- I've never listened to their, but I decided to dislike them after Perez Hilton blogged about them.

!!!- I admit I only decided to listen to their music because of the name, but they are suprisingly good.

The The- Never heard their music, but I've always been thinking to because the name made me laugh so much. [Just googled them, and Johnny Marr from the Smiths is a former member!]

...And You Will Know Us By The Trail of Dead- The name rocks, and the band rocks even harder.

Dananananaykroyd- As in Dan Aykroyd? Gold.

Nickelback- Apparently they got their name because one guy's brother worked at a coffee shop and the coffee costed $1.95 so people who paid $2 got "a nickel back". Amazingly, the band sucks even more than the origin of the name.

Air France- Kinda sucks if a plane with your band name tragically crashes without any survivors. Good music though.

Girl Talk- Girl Talk wins for choosing a name to embarrass the musicians he played with. And who cares how many mainstream tweens listen to his music, I still love it.

Fuck... I'm Dead- Grindcore isn't really my thing and apparently their music sucks, but that name is just hilarious.

Tim and Sam's Tim and the Sam Band with Tim and Sam- Cute name, cute band, cute music.



I know I've listened to a few bands because of their name, I think most people have.

But I guess its probably not extremely important.
Look at Oasis, Korn and Spoon. They seem to be quite popular and their band names suck.

Lion in a coma, lion in a coma

I just moved back to Sydney from Tasmania, and I'm so glad its the weekend, I'm exhausted.

I went to JB hifi last week and bought Animal Collective's Merriweather Post Pavillion (and the cute guy at the counter said it was a great album ;]).

I can't stop listening to it, I love it. I definately reccomend it.

And the cover trips me out.

Also, there are leaked dates of a couple of Animal Collective shows in Australia!

http://www.last.fm/event/1120232+Animal+Collective+at+Enmore+Theatre+on+11+December+2009

I can't wait. They're one of my favourite artists at the moment.

11th of December is too far away.