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Okay everybody... people who knew me from my last.fm accound "djre-moon" will probably remember the lot of journals I had written. Actually I was kinda forgetting how much fun it normally was to be writing about the one thing I love (obviously next to my girlfriend): MUSIC!

At the moment I'm listening to one of the best albums of 2009 (Muse's The Resistance. It is absolutely amazing and I love every second of it. It really got me into the whole aMuse me state again. Which is pretty amusing, of course.

Well... the end of the year always makes people sum up what they liked and disliked about it. So do I. To start with in this blog I will make some notes about the albums I liked most during this year. So here's the TOP 10:

1. Tegan and Sara - Sainthood
I just like them so very much. This is not their best album though. I still think So Jealous is.


2. Muse - The Resistance
I kind of already told you why I like this one so much, I guess?


3. The Orion Experience - Cosmicandy
Ever since I found this album December 2008, I've been loving it all the way!


4. Mika - The Boy Who Knew Too Much
Need I say anymore? Okay, I just love the guy!


5. Paramore - Brand New Eyes
They are absolutely amazing, and I think they are getting mature!.. Ignorance is my new best friend anyways...


6. Charlie Winston - Hobo
Okay, some of you are going to say I went a lot more mainstream?


7. She & Him - Volume One
Perfect harmonies, brings me back to the Sixties. Which I never was in...


8. Paolo Nutini - Sunny Side Up
Okay.. he's the new Bob Dylan or something?


9. Arctic Monkeys - Humbug
Okay.. I loved this one.. though I prefer their previous work.


10. Ida Maria - Fortress 'Round My Heart
Okay, she's pretty much just very very amazing!!! :-)


So.. those are the ten who made it into my top 10 of best albums of the year 2009! :-)

More about the ones who didn't make it, soon!...

And more about my favourite songs of the last year too....

I think Florence + The Machine has a very good chance in winning the title of best song of the year 2009. But I haven't really sorted out all the 2009 songs I love. More of that soon.

For now, December Will Be Magic Again!

Albums from four UK acts, four from the US, one Canadian and one French band make up our top ten albums of the year list. Read the full 2009 top ten here.


Radiohead
MuseBloc PartyWilcoThe Dirty ProjectorsThe Leisure SocietyArctic MonkeysThe Flaming Lips

C'est toujours chiant de faire un bilan musical d'une année, un album sorti en début d'année a plus de chance qu'un album sorti à la fin. Ceci dit il ne me faut pas une semaine pour savoir, dans le fond, si un album sera dans le classement.
La grande question est aussi de savoir si on compte les albums sorti fin 2009 qui n'ont pas eu le temps de figurer dans le top 2008, de plus je fais le top aujourd'hui mais l'année est pas finie, bref voici mon top 2009 (et donc, que de 2009) qui pourra être modifié jusqu'au 31.
Cela ne concerne que les albums et les mini-albums, j'exclue les singles et les best-of.
Je m'en suis tenu à 30 Cds, comme le_gritche

. LOST IN TIME - 明日が聞こえ
. ザ・クロマニヨンズ - MONDO ROCCIA
. Indochine - La république des meteors
. Muse - The resistance
. Eiffel - A tout moment
. Sharko - Dance of the beast
. 清春 - madrigal of decadence
. There Will Be Fireworks - There Will Be Fireworks
. ACIDMAN - a beautiful greed
. Grizzly Bear - Veckatimest
. the HIATUS - Trash We'd loved
. 圭 - for a fleeting moment.
. ORANGE RANGE - world world world
. U2 - No line on the horizon
. Sourya - Dawdlewalk
. Ghinzu - Mirror Mirror
. Guillaume Cantillon - Des Ballons Rouges
. Nothing's Carved In Stone - Parallel Lives
. Diving With Andy - Sugar Sugar
. Olivia Ruiz - Miss Météores
. J - STARS FROM THE BROKEN NIGHT
. The Gathering - The West Pole
. B'z - MAGIC
. Kasabian - West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum
. 浅井健一 - Sphinx Rose
. Dragon Ash - FREEDOM
. The Novembers - Paraphillia
. Phoenix - Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix
. Ajisai - Sayonara Terminal
. Arctic Monkeys - Humburg

This year has had some pretty good music. Here's my top albums. I probably forgot a few.

The Pains of Being Pure at Heart - The Pains of Being Pure at Heart

Monsters of Folk - Monsters of Folk

Franz Ferdinand - Tonight: Franz Ferdinand

Arctic Monkeys - Humbug

The Dead Weather - Horehound

Atlas Sound - Logos

Phoenix - Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix

Florence + The Machine- Lungs

Tegan and Sara - Sainthood

Band Of Skulls - Baby Darling Doll Face Honey

Yeah Yeah Yeahs - It's Blitz!

Bat for Lashes - Two Suns

Sonic Youth - The Eternal

Pearl Jam - Backspacer

The Big Pink- A Brief History of Love

The xx- xx

Kid Cudi- Man On The Moon: The End Of Day

Grizzly Bear - Veckatimest

White Lies - To Lose My Life...

Ida Maria - Fortress 'Round My Heart

Noah and the Whale- The First Days Of Spring

An Horse - Rearrange Beds

M. Ward- Hold Time

Silversun Pickups - Swoon

The Cribs - Ignore The Ignorant

Girls - Album

EPs:

The Pains of Being Pure at Heart - Higher Than the Stars

The Drums - Summertime!

LW TW WI Artist - Title [Chart History]
=======
07 01 04 Adam Lambert - Time For Miracles [17-16-7-1]
10 02 04 The Swell Season - Low Rising [46-33-10-2]
02 03 08 Dashboard Confessional - Belle Of The Boulevard [23-20-15-12-6-4-2-3]
01 04 07 Florence and The Machine - You've Got The Love [2-2-2-2-1-1-4]
04 05 04 Norah Jones - Chasing Pirates [4-2-4-5]
03 06 04 Lady GaGa - Bad Romance [50-5-3-6]
05 07 05 Pearl Jam - Just Breathe [11-1-3-5-7]
06 08 06 Skunk Anansie - Squander [1-1-3-7-6-8]
09 09 06 Chris Brown - I Can Transform Ya (Featuring Lil' Wayne & Swizz Beatz) [50-40-35-8-9-9]
08 10 06 Rihanna - Russian Roulette [39-37-32-6-8-10]
======
11 11 04 Michael Jackson - This Is It [9-10-11-11]
12 12 08 Beyoncé - Broken-Hearted Girl [9-6-5-5-10-12-12-12]
15 13 09 Miike Snow - Black & Blue [47-7-5-3-3-5-11-15-13]
13 14 05 Robbie Williams - You Know Me [16-15-14-13-14]
19 15 08 Death Cab for Cutie - Meet Me On the Equinox [48-40-30-29-24-20-19-15]
16 16 10 Athlete - Black Swan Song [1-1-3-4-7-7-13-18-16-16]
14 17 08 Snow Patrol - Just Say Yes [24-18-12-8-8-9-14-17]
21 18 04 Stereophonics - Innocent [45-29-21-18]
17 19 04 Lily Allen - Fuck You [14-13-17-19]
28 20 02 David Gray - Full Steam (Featuring Annie Lennox) [28-20]
=======
22 21 08 Foo Fighters - Wheels [16-14-9-9-12-17-22-21]
23 22 07 Paolo Nutini - Pencil full of lead [32-29-27-28-28-23-22]
18 23 11 The Twilight Sad - Seven Years Of Letters [46-20-14-14-10-8-4-7-15-18-23]
20 24 14 Leona Lewis - Happy [3-4-6-8-9-11-1-1-4-6-11-19-20-24]
24 25 09 Nneka - Heartbeat [3-2-3-6-10-16-21-24-25]
35 26 02 John Mayer - Who Says [35-26]
26 27 11 Newton Faulkner - If This Is It [17-14-10-10-9-13-15-22-23-26-27]
27 28 13 David Gray - Fugitive [29-20-11-4-4-4-7-11-14-21-27-27-28]
42 29 02 Biffy Clyro - The Captain [42-29]
31 30 15 Florence and The Machine - Drumming Song [10-10-8-7-6-3-5-6-13-19-24-31-37-31-30]
=======
25 31 08 Kasabian - Underdog [46-38-25-22-20-22-25-31]
36 32 04 Lifehouse - Halfway Gone [42-39-36-32]
30 33 08 Alicia Keys - Doesn't Mean Anything [49-49-45-36-34-32-30-33]
ne 34 01 Lady Antebellum - Need You Now [34]
29 35 09 Arctic Monkeys - Cornerstone [21-17-15-16-18-26-29-35]
33 36 12 Whitney Houston - Million Dollar Bill [49-40-37-34-37-36-26-23-26-30-33-36]
34 37 10 Pearl Jam - The Fixer [49-42-33-25-21-19-23-25-34-37]
47 38 02 Alicia Keys - Try Sleeping with a Broken Heart [47-38]
32 39 10 Placebo - Ashtray Heart [21-9-8-8-10-13-18-24-32-39]
40 40 20 Kelly Clarkson - Already Gone [1-1-1-1-1-4-2-2-1-1-6-8-15-16-20-25-29-35-40-40]
=======
39 41 15 Miley Cyrus - The Climb [7-11-10-11-13-18-23-12-12-17-20-33-38-39-41]
44 42 03 Mika - Rain [46-44-42]
37 43 07 Calvin Harris - Flashback [41-38-32-30-31-37-43]
38 44 14 Skunk Anansie - Because Of You [50-3-3-2-2-2-5-11-14-17-25-34-38-44]
41 45 14 Robbie Williams - Bodies [22-21-19-16-15-18-19-17-18-21-27-36-41-45]
46 46 18 Kasabian - Where Did All the Love Go? [33-18-12-8-1-1-2-3-7-7-13-21-23-28-37-43-46-46]
48 47 13 Paloma Faith - New York [47-44-38-35-32-32-31-33-33-40-44-48-47]
43 48 18 Erik Hassle - Don't Bring Flowers [6-4-3-5-7-9-9-10-13-16-21-23-28-31-36-42-43-48]
ne 49 01 Depeche Mode - Fragile Tension [49]
45 50 20 The Twilight Sad - I Became A Prostitute [33-29-24-20-18-18-18-20-26-31-34-36-38-42-44-41-41-41-45-50]
=======


out this week...
P!nk - I Don't Believe You [39-44-44-46-45-47-47-49]
Lily Allen - 22 [46-8-6-6-5-5-5-12-17-25-29-35-44-49-50-50]

187: U2 - No Line On The Horizon
182: Rammstein - Liebe ist für alle da
173: Blue October - Approaching Normal
140: Muse - The Resistance
50: Rascal Flatts - Unstoppable
49: Deadmau5 - For Lack Of A Better Name
36: Mr Hudson - Straight No Chaser [2009]
35: Brad Paisley - American Saturday Night
24: Kenny Chesney - Greatest Hits II
24: MSTRKRFT - Fist Of God
23: Yeah Yeah Yeahs - It's Blitz!
22: The Prodigy - Invaders Must Die
19: Franz Ferdinand - Tonight: Franz Ferdinand
19: Arctic Monkeys - Humbug
19: The xx - xx
17: Phoenix - Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix

Can't be arsed to write an essay, so here's my baker's dozen in order:

1. The Pains of Being Pure at Heart -The Pains of Being Pure at Heart

My favourite album of the year by quite a sizeable distance.Not seen this in any end-of-year lists so far, but this, for me, has been one of my most played and loved albums of this year. Yeah, it's shameless early MBV/JAMC grave-robbing, but that's the reason I love it. It takes me back to those great times. And for this reason, I'll be eternally grateful to this album for making me feel young again:)) This is Music to fall in love to/with. Frankly, I'm surprised it hasn't been more popular, it's perfect pop. Excellent.

2. Wilco (The Album)-Wilco

Another solid album from Jeff Tweedy and Co. They seem to have got over their 'difficult' period (which was also excellent. YHF is one of my all-time favourites), and seem to have settled into an accessible, dare I say, MOR, radio-friendly sound. That's not a criticism. This album is a pleasure from start to finish. The sound suits them, and they seem fresh and untroubled these days.

3. My Way-Ian Brown

what more needs to be said about this man? One of my heroes from way back. This is perhaps his most solid album. The music is fantastic, and his lyrics are in fine fettle. It sounds a bit like a hip-hop album, which suits his voice, never the best singer in the world, but he seems to have found a style which suits his obvious limitations. Unfortunately, as one review observed, it seems to have an air of finality about it. If so, it's a great way to bow out after an illustrious career.

4. Humbug-Arctic Monkeys

So then, that difficult third album. Mostly produced by Josh Homme, it's pretty dark and moody, as expected, but it's a mature effort. The shoutboxes and forums were awash with 'not as good as the first one' cries. Good. They've moved on, they're not teenagers in Sheffield anymore. Deal with it. Damned if you don't progress, damned if you do, it seems. After multiple listens, it reveals itself to be the equal to its predecessors, but the boo-boys obviously can't get past one listen, such is the limited attention span of the modern music fan. shame, it's a corker.

5. Monsters of Folk-Monsters of Folk

Whoah! A folk supergroup! Sounds very Travelling Wilburys/CSNY, doesn't it? The result of Conor Oberst, M. Ward and Jim James' collaboration is a stellar effort. The first half of the album is faultless, the second half tails off a bit towards the end. But with three of the biggest talents in American music at the moment, not much can go wrong. Excellent.

6. It's Blitz-Yeah Yeah Yeahs

When you've got one of the best guitarists in the business, ditching the guitars in favour of synths is indeed a bold move. But they lost none of their edge as they made a play for the dancefloor. Still one of the most exciting live bands around, this is an excellent addition to their canon. A long time fan, It's probably my favourite by them. That's saying a lot.

7. Dark Night Of The Soul-Danger Mouse and Sparklehorse

Uber producer, danger Mouse and Mark Linkous, essentially Sparklehorse, combine forces for this corker of an album. I've loved Sparklehorse for years, but get this, he hardly even sings on it. Why bother when you've got a guest-list like this?: (deep breath) wayne Coyne, Gruff Rhys, Iggy Pop, Black Francis, Julian Casablancas, james Mercer, jason Lytle, Suzanne Vega, Nina Perssons and Vic Chestnutt. Wow! The album is in three very distinct 'acts' and hangs together perfectly. Awesome stuff. Oh yeah, and David Lynch is involved too.

8. Album-Girls

To be honest, I don't know too much about this band, as I live in China and miss a lot of the hype surrounding bands. But I picked up this by chance, and it's definitely a winner. Of course it was hyped on the internet, but well-deserved I think. Pretty laid-back, they seem to be able to toss off shoegaze-y-meets-Beach Boys melodies with relative ease. A surprising one, then, but a pleasant surprise. Just don't call me a hipster!

9. Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix-Phoenix

Phoenix have been burrowing away now, reasonably unnoticed, for quite a few years, tossing out albums every couple of years. Everyone seems to know them, but they never seem to have got that elusive mainstream support. All that changed with this, their fourth, and best album. It's a joy from start to finish, with no filler. Let's hope they can capitalise on this and get the success they so richly deserve.

10. Merriweather Post Pavilion-Animal Collective

Ok, let's get this out of the way. I didn't want to include this, because it seems to be everyone's number one this year, and doesn't need anymore praise heaped upon it. Then I decided not o be such a churlish twat. It's not my number one, but there's no denying that it's certainly one of the best records of this year, if not, this decade. If we'll still be listening to any of these albums in ten years, it'll probably be this one. From the cover in, it's a full-on, psychedelic treat. Nine albums in and they've struck gold. This is a classic album.

11. Two Dancers-Wild Beasts

A relative newcomer to this band, I missed their first album, and have only recently got into this album. It's eccentric, in the way The Smiths and Morrissey are/were. They're the obvious touchstones, both lyrically and musically. If you can stomach his voice, there's a lot to enjoy here. I predict good things for this band.

12. Primary Colours-The Horrors

I wasn't expecting this. Their first album was a steaming pile of dogshite, and they were just NME-hyped scenesters with more hair than tunes. I wanted to hate this album too, but my mate kept harrassing me through Facebook to listen to 'Sea Within A Sea'. well, I heard that, and I was gobsmacked. They've totally transformed their sound from wannabe goth garage band to a Krautrock/MBV/Joy Division/Psychedelic Furs behemoth of a band. The most unexpected, pleasantly surprising album of the year.

13. My Maudlin Career-Camera Obscura

I've been a fan of this band for a while now. They've gone from being a poor-man's Belle and Sebastian to, in my opinion, something even better. Their last album was a great record, but they have progressed (slightly), beefed up their sound, and this is a thing of great beauty. Its Spectoresque wall-of-sound approach is exquisitely orchestrated, and Tracyanne Campbell's gorgeous vocals and lyrics envelop you and warms the cockles. It's an album for lovers about love, whether in it or out of it, it's saccharine and bittersweet. It's one of the best albums of the year. Another band who have caught more attention this year. Good look to 'em. They deserve it.

There we have it then. Honourable mentions go to the albums released this year by:

Bat for Lashes, Dinosaur Jr., Bad Lieutenant, M. Ward, Jamie T, Fever Ray, Doves, The xx, Air, Kasabian, Hope Sandoval & The Warm Inventions, The Felice Brothers, Jason Lytle, The Big Pink, Neko Case, Peter Doherty, Julian Casablancas, Soulsavers, Lily Allen, The Raveonettes, Grizzly Bear, White Lies, Richard Hawley, Florence and The Machine, La Roux, The Low Anthem, Lady GaGa, Dizzee Rascal, The Drums and last but not least Super Furry Animals

Sorry if I've missed any. I'm sure I have.

Cheers,

have a good Christmas and New Year.

xx]

01 Brand New “Daisy”
02 Kevin Devine“Brother's Blood”
03 Manchester Orchestra“Mean Everything to Nothing”
04 ROBBERS“Flesh EP”
05 MSTRKRFT “Fist of God”
06 mewithoutYou “It's All Crazy! It's All False! It's All A Dream! It's Alright”
07 Conor Oberst & The Mystic Valley Band“Outer South”
08 Mew “No More Stories Are Told Today...”
09 Dan Auerbach “Keep It Hid”
10 Thrice “Beggars”

11 St Vincent “Actor”
12 PJ Harvey & John Parish“A Woman A Man Walked By”
13 Sonic Youth“The Eternal”
14 John Mayer“Battle Studies”
15 Dan Deacon “Bromst”
16 Iron And Wine “Around The Well”
17 Clark “Totems Flair”
18 Casiotone for the Painfully Alone “Vs Children”
19 Bloc Party “Intimacy Remixed”
20 Black Moth Super Rainbow“Eating Us”

21 Arctic Monkeys”Humbug”
22 Clues “Clues”
23 BLK JKS “Mystery EP”
24 Taking Back Sunday “New Again”
25 Die On Planes “Altitude Sickness”
26 Portugal. The Man “The Satanic Satanist”
27 The Dear Hunter “Act III: Life and Death”
28 The Mars Volta “Octahedron”
29 Dinosaur Jr “Farm”
30 Dethklok “The Dethalbum II”

31 The Dodos “Time To Die”
32 NOFX “Coaster”
33 Isis “Wavering Radiant”
34 Mono “Hymn To The Immortal Wind”
35 The Flaming Lips“Embryonic”
36 Wilco “Wilco”
37 Grizzly Bear “Veckatimest”
38 Au Revoir Simone“Still Night Still Light”
39 Animal Collective “Merriweather Post Pavilion”
40 Telekinesis! “Telekinesis!”

41 Regina Spektor “Far”
42 Sunset Rubdown “Dragonslayer”
43 Tyondai Braxton “Central Market”
44 Tortoise “Beacons Of Ancestorship”
45 White Rabbits “It's Frightening”
46 Vetiver “Tight Knit”
47 Yeah Yeah Yeah's “It's Blitz!”
48 Bat for Lashes “Two Suns”
49 Bell Orchestre”As Seen Through Windows”
50 Thom Yorke“Live at Latitude 2009”

Yes, my list fell out of order as soon as I left the top ten, but I put numbers next to everything for the sake of neatness. I actually rate Tyondai Braxton a lot higher and Taking Back Sunday a bit lower, but I'm not changing it for now. It was enough effort just typing the damn list up!