Here are some of the other reasons for my decision.

- Spartanedge is a student publication. I haven’t been a student for two years. The blog sort of operates on its own, but for a while I’ve considered hosting the blog on my personal website. That’s where I’ll soon move it to: nickmeador.org.

- Since January of 2007 when this blog started, I’ve only received a total of 29 comments. And since I started logging site traffic in mid 2008, there have only been an average of 4-5 visits per day. The busiest day was last fall, when 600 visits came in from a post about Japandroids being listed on Digg or Reddit. I’m fine doing work that doesn’t gain wide exposure, but the work has to fulfill my true potential. Music writing is only a piece of that.

- The Music Festival boom is over. Rothbury is gone (what the hell were they thinking?!). Lollapalooza is kinda stinky — not just the line-up but also the organization in 2009 (there were much fewer porta-johns and more constrictive walking paths). And I’ll never get a chance to go to Coachella (plus I would miss half the bands I wanna see because they have so much overlap). Personally I think our music culture is undergoing a strange flux and the upcoming decade is going to be much different than the previous one. We’ll see what happens…

- Music writing limits my language and my ability to truly communicate myself. I’ve known this for a while, but I guess once I stopped freelance music writing, it didn’t bother me as much. I was able to write whatever I wanted on this blog — I had total independence. But the price of unabashed individuality is that no one pays attention (either that or you piss people off). Oh well.

- Music writing upholds the capitalist system that created entertainment monopolies and media conglomerates. That’s why Capitol Records and Live Nation even still exist after the onset of p2p networks — because we’re not actually “rebelling” against them. Or I should say, enough of the general population is still willing to listen to Top 40 and MTV artists, even if they claim to be interested in independent music. The point is not that you should listen to unpopular bands; it’s that you should listen to bands that aren’t prostitutes. Anyways, many of the indie bands simply make themselves into media darlings for the likes of Pitchfork (or Pitchfuck, as I like to call them). That’s still prostitution, even if they’re getting paid in “hipster cool points” instead of dollars.

- I fear I’ve acted in the hipster vein too often. By hipster I mean anyone who prefers to build an aura of “cool” instead of facing the difficulties of life, figuring out who they really are, educating themselves, and actually accomplishing something. That’s not to say that I wish I hadn’t written about independent music. It’s that I’ve now totally and officially unplugged from the music media machine. I couldn’t stand being dependent on Pitchfork when I hate everything they represent. Granted, I still see their “best new music” choices, and occasionally check for tour and album announcements on their news feed. But I now look at those things a couple times a month, instead of every day. Furthermore, I don’t intend to make “Best of XXXX” lists anymore. Actually the past few were “My Favorite Albums of XXXX.” I guess I might still do that. But I’m more interested in writing the story of what role that music played in my life.

- Sadly, there’s an element of music and music writing that distracts me from more pressing things going on, like the collapse of the industrialized world. This “distraction” factor is more true with TV and movies (and even books, especially contemporary fiction), or if you’re into pop stars. But even the way I track concerts takes up a lot of my time. Don’t get me wrong — I still love live music. And I think it’s great that, more and more, things are shifting towards electronica the live music scenes. But even at the Flying Lotus show at the Magic Stick on April 1, I kinda wished I hadn’t gone. I had just seem him the Friday before at the Blind Pig, and I was at the Magic Stick by myself. The show was sold out so it was really crowded, and the sound quality was really shitty. FlyLo’s music has a lot of detail that can get lost with poor sound engineering. The worst part is that I could have watched Serena Maneesh downstairs in the Cafe (though I did watch the first 20 min of their set). And Beach House was playing at the Pike Room in Pontiac! I probably would have enjoyed that more.

To anyone who knows me, I’m sure it’s obvious that I won’t stop writing about music altogether. It’ll just be mixed together with other topics, or it’ll take the form of an essay that I can publish on Supraterranean and somewhere else. Thanks to those who have read my posts. I had plenty of fun writing them.

To send things off the right way, here’s a playlist of videos from the Bassnectar & Major Lazer show at the Fillmore Detroit on 4/9/10. Enjoy!

Caribou’s new album Swim arrives in the U.S. on April 20 — but I’ve got a sneak preview for the MusicEdge Blog! Here’s the track “Lalibela”:

I don’t know about you, but I’m pretty excited! It’s quite a departure from Dan Snaith’s earlier work under this name and, previously, as Manitoba. I wasn’t as thrilled by Andorra, his 2007 LP that had everyone in a tizzy.

Actually, if I were to compare this to any Caribou album, it would be 2001’s Start Breaking My Heart. Still, that was IDM with a strong percussion base. Swim is a more disco-centric affair, but with a scope that seems almost futuristic. In that way it’s a progression beyond the apparent influences like DFA and even Erlend Oye.

Snaith himself said it would be dance music that sounded like it was made with water. And look at that exquisite cover design! I couldn’t stop myself from posting it at full size. It’ll likely be among the best album artwork we see in 2010.

Dan Snaith is from Dundas, Ontario, yet somehow Caribou’s current European tour will be followed by a North American tour — that is, a tour that will snake through the U.S., Mexico and Canada — without a single stop in Michigan. It’s sad — Caribou’s live show has, in my mind, always been more interesting than the studio recordings, with two drummers and synchronized animation.

Maybe he’ll show up on the Lollapalooza 2010 line-up, which should be announced by late April or early May!

I don’t get that same feeling in Washtenaw County. The only change I noticed here was a much bigger afternoon crowd at the local coffee shop. Long-time readers of this blog will know that I pay a lot of attention to seasons — or at least, I used to. In a way I feel like people stop honoring seasonal shifts once they finish school. I think this contributes to (or is a reflection of) the zombie adult syndrome that’s widespread in modern society. Back around 2005 I started making seasonal mixtapes, and the tracks on my Spring Mix were arranged to come alive in much the same way that the season does. The first few songs are calm and darker (for cold, rainy days), and the last few are really spunky (for the sunny days that bridge into summer).

…well I just typed a whole post and then lost it when my Internet went out. Apparently Wordpress failed to auto-save a draft. I don’t intend to type it again. Here’s the nickel-and-dime version: The Clientele were on my Spring Mix because they make perfect rainy day music. I saw the Clientele and Field Music perform last night at the Blind Pig. It was a fun show; Field Music was most impressive, and they reminded me of American indie rock/pop circa 2000. The Clientele should bring an acoustic guitar player with them on tour all the time; they had a guy play one for part of the show when I saw them in 2006 and it adds a lot to the music.

Below is a playlist with four clips from the show (two songs are from Field Music’s new album Measure). Use the arrows to switch clips. Enjoy… and get outside in the fresh air! Sorry for the lame post — it’s not my fault!

(Photo above by Julie Falk)

My favorite show, “The Jazz Spectrum,” aired every Monday night from 8pm to midnight. Not only did it help me concentrate on homework, but it opened me up to the wonders of what some call America’s finest art form. But at some point after finishing my MA of journalism in 2008 (I went back to MSU after some time away), the Impact apparently canceled the show. Now their Monday evenings are occupied by “The Asian Invasion.” I only discovered this by accident, when attempting to listen to their online stream on a Monday not too long ago. I couldn’t find any explanation on their website, but I’m assuming that the host of the jazz program must have moved out of the area. To be honest, I was surprised at how long the show ran. I imagine the host might have started as a student, and then managed to stay in the Lansing area after graduation — which is a rare feat these days.

Anyway, I mention this now for a couple reasons, first and foremost as a sort of requiem to the program that first showed me John Coltrane, Miles Davis, Charles Mingus, Thelonius Monk, Art Blakey, Sun Ra, Freddie Hubbard, Dexter Gordon, and on, and on, and on. Of course, the Internet played a role in this as well. Even Allmusic.com was around back then, so I was able to look up the artists and order their used CDs on eBay for pretty cheap. But I miss the comforting feeling of listening to the Jazz Spectrum on a cold Monday evening in the dead of winter.

“Sleeping In A Jar” from Frank Zappa’s 1969 album Uncle Meat

The other reason I bring up the jazz show is because, at the same time, I was starting to listen to many other styles of music, some of which were heavily influenced by jazz. One example is the experimental jazz fusion work of Frank Zappa, mostly contained in a trio of albums: Hot Rats, Waka/Jawaka, and The Grand Wazoo. Hot Rats — the first of the three, released in 1969 — is arguably the most impressive, but all three are wild auditory voyages of the mind.

Yet that same year Zappa released another one of his best known albums, Uncle Meat. The three mostly instrumental fusion albums held my attention thoroughly for many years, but eventually I had to explore more of Zappa’s discography. I kept hearing about Captain Beefheart and the Mothers of Invention, to the point that I could no longer hide from this other work. And Uncle Meat is weird, to say the least — so weird that I didn’t listen to Uncle Meat all the way through until late last fall. But when I got to the 30-second mark of “Sleeping In A Jar” (an oh-so-brief 49-second track), I knew instantly that it had been sampled by a modern artist.

As such, this was different than certain times I’ve become aware of a connection but couldn’t identify the other half (like when I noticed that DJ /rupture sampled the Beatles, for example). Since 2005 I’ve been a huge fan of MF Doom, the slimy yet coarse British MC who now goes by DOOM. It was the Danger Doom album The Mouse and the Mask — with vocals by DOOM and production work by Danger Mouse — that hooked me. (And I hadn’t even become a fan of Adult Swim yet!)

The song “Meat Grinder,” from the 2004 album Madvillainy

DOOM records under a plethora of pseudonyms, a trait he shares with more electronic producers than rappers. One of his most heralded projects was Madvillain, wherein he partnered with Madlib for the 2004 album Madvillainy. This album isn’t as cartoon-y as the Danger Doom one, so its darker contours took longer to grow on me. Then about a year ago I realized that Madlib is an absolutely phenomenal producer. I had snagged a bunch of his Beat Konducta albums, plus I was listening to similar “stoner rap” (though I hate dislike that descriptor) producers like J Dilla and Flying Lotus. But the main realization happened sort of spontaneously, when I found a cheap copy of his 2003 LP Shades of Blue: Madlib Invades Blue Note at the Broadway location of Reckless Records, while visiting Chicago with my girlfriend.

Blue Note, if you’re not familiar with it, is a legendary jazz label. And thus I found out that Madlib is extremely diverse in both his sources of inspiration and the kind of music he produces. I intend to write feature essays on the influence of jazz on various genres today (think electronica, jam bands, hip hop, and experimental rock), but for now it’s enough to point out how f’ing cool it is that Madlib can go from an instrumental album of jazz reworkings, to his own Bean Konducta series of imaginary film soundtracks, to sampling Frank Zappa for a collaboration with DOOM — all while making it sound totally natural.

By the way, Madlib will very likely win my award for Most Prolific Artist of 2010 (Bibio was the winner in 2009), but that’s another story…

People used samples before Soulwax, but the mashing-up wasn’t the central focus before that. It was more to create a background track to rap over, or to add another layer of complexity to the instrumental portion of your music. And in 2010, four years after Girl Talk exploded, I’m wondering if it’s even a legitimate genre anymore. It all feels a bit cliché at this point. Even I tried it out in 2008, though I didn’t really have the training in the software department, nor did I have any necessary equipment like a sampling board. It was still fun, but I’ll get back to that later.

The original track “Paris” by Friendly Fires

In this post I want to discuss what might be the most mashed-up song in recent history: “Paris” by the British indie/electronic band Friendly Fires. Their debut album was released in 2008, and they got to play an early set at Lollapalooza the same year. Sadly, they suffered on stage without the glossy post-production of the album. But that doesn’t matter to mash-up crews!

The Aeroplane remix featuring Au Revoir Simone

The first tweak I found was just a remix, not really a mash-up. It’s by the Balearic disco/house group Aeroplane. I was a huge fan of this remix when I found it on the Paris single. It’s almost eight minutes long and way slowed-down compared to the original. Oh yeah — and the male vocals are replaced with the soft-spoken ladies from Au Revoir Simone. Nice!

The Eridanus mash-up “Fly To Paris For 10 Dollar”

Moving along… I liked the Aeroplane remix so much that in December 2008 I used it in my own rudimentary mash-up. I don’t have the supreme skillz that some of these mash-up artists demonstrate. I was mostly looking for shared characteristics between seemingly unrelated songs, sounds, artists, and genres. I take the songs and pit them against each other without editing the actual track. Think of it like Battle Tops or something. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. I felt that M.I.A.’s song “10 Dollar” from her breakthrough Arular matched pretty well with the Aeroplane remix.

The next point in the connect-the-dot picture was a mix album called Disco Balearica released by MixMag, which I found last fall. It was pretty much the same as the remix from the Paris single, except mixed with a bunch more sexy disco house. So this wasn’t a progression, just a deeper context for the song.

“Lump Sum of Paris” — The Hood Internet crosses Bon Iver’s “Lump Sum” and the Aeroplane remix of “Paris”

A-Trak also used the remix on his Fabriclive.45 mix album released in 2009. He didn’t change much either, except for chopping up the female vocals during the first 15 seconds or so. And that brings me to the final stage. The Hood Internet, a mash-up duo from Chicago (who I mentioned in the last mash-up post) put the Aeroplane remix to use in their Mixtape Volume 4.

Their version, called “Lump Sum of Paris,” is intriguing for a few reasons. First, it’s sped up even faster than the Friendly Fires original — almost to the point that it’s not danceable! You gotta shuffle those feed, boy! The second oddity is the presence of Bon Iver’s vocals. Bon Iver’s debut For Emma, Forever Ago was maybe the farthest thing from electronic dance music released in the past few years. And yet it definitely works! On the mixtape it follows a Rapture mash-up, so you’re already pumped up and accepting of what will come next. Plus, there’s a certain serenity to this mash-up, almost in the same vein as the Field’s first album.

Next I’ll discuss the bigger concepts behind mash-ups, and try to figure out if the music actually fulfills its apparent meaning and purpose — or if it’s just a party soundtrack for people raised on Top 40 music and MTV’s Total Request Live.

(click to enlarge)

It won’t contain every single upcoming show in Michigan, but it will definitely have every concert that I’m even remotely interested in. Most listings outside of Michigan will be music festivals, since people tend to drive up to 10 hours for those things. (Man, typing that reminds me that Rothbury isn’t happening in 2010. That still hasn’t fully hit me yet. What a sad thing though…)

With that out of the way, I thought I would give you something sweet to listen to! The track is called “FUSE” by a dubstep/experimental electronica artist from Glasgow, Scotland, called Hudson Mohawke. I first heard the track on Bleep.com’s 2009 compilation North/South/East/West and it kinda blew me away. It really stands out in a genre that is undergoing major innovation by numerous breakthrough artists. The masses might not catch onto this shit for a few more years! (Then again, Flying Lotus is performing at Coachella in April.) In the meantime, the Bleep.com album is a great starter pack for artists in that general style arc. It includes tracks from a few artists I can’t stop listening to, like Daedelus, Flying Lotus, Headhunter, Rustie and FaltyDL.

Anyway, “FUSE” is also on Hudson Mohawke’s debut album Butter, released in 2009 as well. That’s one of those LPs that passed under my radar until the year-end list was already complete. It’s especially sad because the album art was probably my favorite of the year. Look at those neon iguanas and hawks!

I’m thoroughly tired of all those year and decade lists, and I’m sure you are too. Now it’s time to move onto something else. Back in October 2009 I saw Neon Indian live at the Magic Stick. It was a decent show despite the relatively small audience. Luckily Alan Polomo’s debut under that name hasn’t gotten played out — especially now that I have a copy in lossless audio. With my new super-powered, sound-reducing headphones, it’s a transcendent listening experience!

I’ll include a few low-res videos from the show below, but that’s not what I intend to talk about here. I want to take a look at the current state of mash-ups. I think it’s still a viable way to make music, and it’s fitting for the ongoing proliferation of digitized culture. But most of the best mash-up artists get barely any attention. Girl Talk got so popular that it made the whole idea seem like a fad. Part of the problem is that there isn’t just one way to make a mash-up. Girl Talk’s Gregg Gillis claims he’s “playing his laptop,” as if it were an instrument in itself. What he’s really doing is picking and choosing bits of songs that he cuts up in advance, and the on-stage mixing is done with DJ software.

Most mash-ups are actually a cross of just two songs, or clips from two songs — whereas Girl Talk might use a couple dozen songs to create a single mash-up. The other main difference is that Girl Talk makes albums, and most others make songs that they compile together — sometimes as a continuous mix, sometimes as more separated tracks.

The Hood Internet is a mash-up duo from Chicago who fits in both of these “other” categories. They’ve found an audience by making two-song mash-ups arranged into fluid mixes that they offer as free downloads on their website. But still, this topic is more broad that I’ve implied here. There are really no finite boundaries between a mash-up, a live DJ mix, and a studio-recorded remix.

I’ll get into that in a future post. Here I just want to dissect the coolest mash-up track I heard in 2009. It’s called “No Reasons To Like You Better (Amanda Blank vs. VEGA),” from the Hood Internet’s Mixtape Volume 4. I’ll let you hear the source material first. Here’s Amanda Blank’s song “Might Like You Better,” from her debut album I Love You.

Supposedly Blank got her start as a guest for the raunchy rap group Spank Rock, but I hadn’t heard about her or the album until the Hood Internet used her song. It’s not a particularly good song, except that Blank exudes a certain sexiness. Although, the whole voice warping thing is kinda weird (and not in a fantastically weird way, like Karen Dreijer’s vocals for the Knife). Furthermore, the music in the song is — well, it’s terrible. It just sounds like a second-rate, top-40-wannabe production.

Now for source track number two, the song “No Reason” by Vega. Alan Polomo got more press in 2009 for his debut Neon Indian album, Psychic Chasms. But he also released an EP and a single as Vega, and the first track from that Well Known Pleasures EP is stunning (but I’ve already gushed about it here).

See what I mean??? You were dancing in your seat, right? The music is uplifting, conjuring a vision of Alan Polomo standing the size of Godzilla, sprinkling love dust over a city of little happy people… Errr, wait a second. That’s from a Jackson Five music video for the song “Can You Feel It.” (You can watch it on YouTube here. It’s really trippy, with radical Star Wars sound effects.) It was featured in the film Moonwalker, which I saw recently for the first time since the early ’90s. The film is an odd mix of music video anthology, documentary, and a bizarre story about MJ saving some kids from a drug-peddling Joe Pesci. It’s creepy and completely awesome at the same time.

Polomo reminded me of the man in the white glove, as if he had grown up trying to imitate those kick-ass dance moves. Without further blah-blah, here’s the mash-up by the Hood Internet.

Isn’t it incredible?!?! Or at least it’s 100 times better than the original Amanda Blank track. It argues better than anyone ever could with words that she needs to find herself some new producers. And the voice-warping doesn’t sound all that goofy anymore — which is nice, because it no longer distracts from how fuckin’ sexy her voice is.

Too bad she’s a dirty slut. (Or maybe it’s meant in a satirical way, as a sort of social commentary. Who knows.)

Anyway, I should also mention that after this Amanda Blank vs. Vega track, the Hood Internet continue to a mash-up of “Billie Jean” and Ratatat’s “Wildcat.” So clearly they’re reminded of MJ when they hear (or see) Polomo perform as well.

I’ll have at least two more posts on mash-ups in the near future. For now, enjoy these videos from the Neon Indian show.

Terminally Chill:

Deadbeat Summer:

It amazes me how much effort I still put into finding new music. I don’t necessarily spend as much time as back in… say… ‘06 or ‘07. But that’s partly because web technology keeps improving, and it’s now easier for me to track various sources that announce new releases. Just to name a few, I get a weekly email from Allmusic.com, I’ve got Pitchfork and Metacritic in Google Reader, and I listen to Last.fm almost as much as my MP3 collection.

So in the interest of not leaving out those who should have been included in the first place, here are ten albums from 2008 that came to me too late to make that year’s wrap-up. The point is, I’m still listening to these, and you should too!

Tobacco – Fucked Up Friends: As if Pennsylvania’s psychedelic indie rock group Black Moth Super Rainbow wasn’t already loopy enough. This is the first solo album by the band member who goes by Tobacco (they all use freaky weird names), and it seems that he’s a primary force behind BMSR’s sound. I didn’t really pick up on the hip hop influence, but that’s what gets mentioned the most when I read about the album online. I guess that would group this album with some of Bibio’s 2009 work — but to me this is a lot trippier… I mean alternate dimension trippy.

Pretty Lights – Filling Up The City Skies: Definitely the biggest success story of 2009 regarding self-promotion in music. Pretty Lights was a huge hit at Rothbury 2009, partly because they offered their first two albums for free on their website. (In fact, their third album and a NYE 2010 recording from the Vic in Chicago are also available for free. Make sure to donate if you enjoy them!) This two-disc album is part mash-up, part real percussion, giving it a sort of Avalanches feel. The pace picks up consistently as well, so what starts as a chill out session ends as a dance party!

Starkey – Ephemeral Exhibits: I found Starkey early in my dubstep exploration, and I’m glad I did. Not only is he American, but he tends to get overlooked in the more London-centric genre. There’s some really exciting wonky synth work here, and I speak from experience when I say it sounds better blasting through a very powerful stereo.

Zomby – Where Were U in ‘92?I was too young to experience jungle music in its original conception. My only memory of it is the related Detroit techno that edged into the mainstream radio culture. Now it seems like Zomby is the only one doing this kind of throwback, yet it doesn’t appear that he’ll stick with it for long. His two EPs were significantly different, one with a darker dubstep sound, the other with more video game-informed techno. Anyway this is a great way to surprise people when you’re choosing a party soundtrack.

School of Seven Bells – Alpinisms: Ghostly’s latest indie rock/electronic hybrid didn’t impress me all that much when I first heard their album. It kinda felt like they had missed the big shoegaze revival around ‘06 and ‘07. Yet there’s more here than just shoegaze, and they are a wholly original group. The dual female vocals pack a sizeable punch of harmonies, and Benjamin Curtis’s production work is mighty impressive. Then consider the title, which relates to the mountaineering concept (“take only what you need; leave nothing behind”), and you have a record to cherish.

Ciaran Byrne – Nine Lives Causeway: This is an Irish indie electronica artist whom my brother introduced me to a few months back. Very similar to Boards of Canada, Arovane, Tycho, or Milosh — and usually I hesistate to name-drop in artist descriptions, but so few artists are doing this kind of thing today. It kind of makes me thing of the ride inside the geodesic dome at Epcot Center in Orlando. Travel into space, into the future!–from the comfort of your couch.

Nite Jewel – Good Evening: At some point last year I finally caught on to the Italo disco thing. Chromatics provided the main impetus, with Glass Candy helping out as well. Nite Jewel is a solo artist from L.A., and this is her first album. I think I found her on the Rough Trade compilation from 2008. She can’t sing all that well, but that’s sort of the point with Italo disco. It’s got a carefree yet sexy feel that will appeal both to fans of indie pop and electronica.

Truckasauras – Tea Parties, Guns & Valor: Seattle’s Truckasauras make vibrant, unpredictable electronic dance music, yet provide no explanation for why their name ends in “as” instead of “us” (like dinosaur names). Another one of many electronic artists who are infusing the sounds of late-’80s video games into their music (along with Flying Lotus, Crystal Castles, and the abovementioned Zomby), these guys definitely do it well.

Shugo Tokumaru – EXIT: This eclectic Japanese artist wins a lot of comparisons to Sufjan Stevens, which is not to say that their music sounds all that much alike. Tokumaru is prone to using a variety of strange instruments (probably some kids instruments and toys), and while his arrangements can be jarring, his overall sound is soft and sweet. Except for the Japanese lyrics, he would fit quite well in Brooklyn’s quirky indie rock scene.

Max Parallel – Parallax Error Beheads You: Another wacky solo artist, Max Tundra is a Brit who does what he wants whether you like it or not. I saw him open for Junior Boys in early 2009 and he put on quite a show — almost outplaying the headliner, all by his lonesome. His voice recalls certain ’80s pop, but his music is spastic and, somehow, very representative of the randomness of the 2000s. Sadly he’ll probably never get the attention he deserves — or maybe just not until 2020.

2009 Albums – Honorable Mentions

I couldn’t narrow it down to 10. Think of it as a game of Blackjack if that helps (as in, top 10 plus 11 honorable mentions).

21. Nosaj Thing – Drift: While not nearly as captivating as his 2006 EP Octopus Views, this is still a noteworthy release when viewed from the perspective of the budding electronic/instrumental hip hop scene in Los Angeles. The dark, futuristic sounds and L.A. stamp always make me think of Blade Runner.
20. Wild Beasts – Two Dancers: I’m no fan of Antony (Antony and the Johnsons, Hercules and Love Affair) and his sexually ambiguous cooing, and I was quick to group Wild Beasts in that same general category. However, I was also quick to admit my folly. This album offers operatic vocals and humid atmospherics, along with hushed guitars and keyboards that fit within the general New York indie rock style of the last decade (though this group is actually from England).

19. Atlas Sound – Logos: Bradford Cox has to be best friends with someone in charge at Pitchfork. They gizz all over the Internet whenever he (as Atlas Sound or with his band Deerhunter) releases so much as a free MP3 on his blog. I’m no obsessive fan, but I thought his solo act was great live, and the Atlas Sound 2008 debut was among my favorites of the decade. This effort was pitched as less of a bedroom recording project, however it feels lopsided and unfinished. Some of the best tracks of the year (“Walkabout” and “Quick Canal,” featuring Noah Lennox and Laetitia Sadler, respectively) are crammed against banal filler (“Attic Lights,” “My Halo”). I’m holding out for album #3.
18. Kings of Convenience – Declaration of Dependence: This Norwegian duo was having some label issues that kept them from putting out another album after 2004’s brilliant Riot on an Empty Street. Luckily they reappear on steady feet here, and this kind of music is relatively sparse now compared to five or six years ago.
17. Bibio – Ambivalence Avenue: I thought Bibio would get more fan attention after how much press he got last year. As I wrote previously, this wasn’t my favorite of his three albums to appear in 2009. This effort was scattershot, but some of the songs are beautiful and heart-wrenching, particularly “Lovers’ Cravings” and “The Palm of Your Wave.” Furthermore, some tracks — like “Sugarette” and “S’vive” — rank with the best electronic/hip hop currently around.
16. Prefuse 73 – Everything She Touched Turned Ampexian: While some may think Prefuse 73 has lost focus, or feel angry that he’s drifting away from more traditional hip hop sounds, I’ve never been more interested in his work. On the other hand, this is no perfect album. There are maybe five to eight fully formed songs on this record, but there’s a consistent feel throughout that is both extraterrestrial and lighthearted. And boy, does it sound good on vinyl!

15. Easy Star All-Stars – Easy Star’s Lonely Hearts Dub Band: I was resistant to this one at first. There was a certain irony to the group’s remakes of Pink Floyd and Radiohead, but the Beatles’ music is much brighter and poppier. In other words, adding a dose of Caribbean sunshine to Sgt. Pepper’s doesn’t change the essence of the songs; it just makes a sweet ass beach soundtrack.
14. Sondre Lerche – Heartbeat Radio: This Norwegian singer/songwriter has already released a career’s worth of noteworthy albums, and he’s probably not even 30 yet. This autumnal set of songs was considered by many critics to be his strongest effort yet. Unfortunately most of the general public has no idea who he is.
13. Japandroids – Post-Nothing: Japandroids really seemed like one of those mid-2000s bands that got too much attention and then faded from existence. They still might disappear, but I can’t deny the pure spastic energy on this record. I’m sure a lot could be said about the youthful exuberance as well. It reminds me of Spring Break in sophomore year of high school, but crossed with the real-world realizations that came around the age of 22 — the sweetness of youth stabbed by adulthood. But it’s not the same effect as Arcade Fire’s Funeral; it’s more of a “fuck you” to the grown-ups, as in, “You can’t categorize me, ass wipe!”
12. Dirty Projectors – Bitte Orca: It seems kind of textbook at this point for a band with a cryptic, inaccessible reputation to “suddenly” release a very easy-to-love record. Of course they’re also taking advantage of the platform built by bands like Vampire Weekend and Animal Collective, so I don’t give them too much credit. Yet it is a fun record (albeit somewhat repetitive), and female-sung tracks like “Two Doves” make me sigh with delight.

11. Grizzly Bear – Veckatimest: It’s not that this one takes time to grow on you, or that I hate the band (I wrongfully assumed that they were conceited hipsters). They’re incredible musicians, and they’re even better on stage. I’m sure it’s not about how much attention they got in 2009. After all, they deserved it! But for all its ornate intricacies, this album doesn’t feel very cohesive, and it only really grips me from “Cheerleader” through “About Face.” In fact “Ready, Able” ranked among my favorite songs of the year.

My Favorite EPs of 2009

I don’t have ten, but these still need to be mentioned. I remembered two more, so now I can present a list of 10.

10. FaltyDL – Bravery: One of the only dubstep artists from NYC that I’ve found so far (most tend to be in L.A. or London), this one could turn out to be less inventive than others. But this EP is a bit of a progression from his 2008 full-length album.
9. Gold Panda – Miyamae: “Back Home” and “Mayuri” are two of the best songs I heard in the dubstep realm last year. This London artist also fits well in the indie electronica category. No LP out yet.
8. Bon Iver – Blood Bank: I guess I don’t have much to say about this one. I didn’t listen to it much, but it felt like a direct continuation of For Emma, Forever Ago, which has mysteriously become one of my favorite albums (or at least, favorite to listen to on vinyl). We’ll see how LP #2 goes.
7. Deerhunter – Rainwater Cassette Exchange: Another one that I don’t have too many comments on, other than I like the direction they’re heading. I want to see Deerhunter experiment with some of the electronics used on Atlas Sound records — but ya can’t always get what you want, right? This is still a strong set of surf-tinged indie rock songs.
6 Feadz – People Numbers Money Business: With how much noise Justice made back in ‘07, I thought all Ed Banger artists would be superstars by now. That’s not really the case, but they are still working at it. Feadz brings the raunchy Paris house here, so get ready to dance! With a lead song entitled “Constant Ovulation,” you know it has to be good.

5. Vega – Well Known Pleasures: “No Reason” is probably my favorite song of 2009 — all the more because Alan Polomo actually got more attention for his other act, Neon Indian. He’s carrying the Discovery torch here, but with his own special twists. There’s just as much Michael Jackson here as there is Daft Punk — probably because his influences are the same as DP. Keep an eye out for his debut full-length under the Vega moniker.
4. Zomby – One Foot Ahead of the Other: The mind-bending cover is a good preview for the kind of music found here. Not quite as “dubstep” as the Zomby EP, but more playful (as in retro video game sounds) than the jungle on his debut LP. Check out Zomby immediately if you’re into stimulating electronica.
3. Blue Daisy – Space Ex/The Fall: I found Blue Daisy on a Last.fm channel for Flying Lotus, and I’m surprised to say that I got hooked despite his meager discography of two songs. “Space Ex” and “The Fall” both offer a voyage into ultraworld, taking some formulas from FlyLo’s Los Angeles and transporting them to further galaxies. I hope we get a full-length album soon!
2. Delorean – Ayrton Senna: Hearing Delorean’s older stuff, it’s obvious that their reformulation was well-calculated. The Barcelona group picks up after the sunny electronica of Swedes like The Tough Alliance. Beach dance party, anyone? Get some saltwater in your hair and soak up that sun!

1. Washed Out – High Times & Life of Leisure: Both EPs were released in 2009 by this Georgia solo artist — and Life of Leisure was definitely the stronger of the two. But while Neon Indian grabbed all the press, Washed Out might actually be the better songwriter. Of course “better” is a matter of perception. They both seem indebted to the distortions of cassette tapes and the warm mental images contained in memories of the 1980s. The difference is that Washed Out doesn’t get played out after listening two or three times, maybe because the songs don’t get stuck in your head quite as badly. They’re not as dependent on hooks, but more on an overall feel. Now let’s just see if he can turn out a decent full-length album.

To make this intro brief, I’m going to try and get through two or three more post of decade wrap-up before returning to the regular rotation of music news, concert reviews, and the like. With that said, here is a run-down of some of the bands that I feel didn’t get enough attention from either audiences or music critics. They weren’t invited to big festivals, nor did they ever sell many records. But they all recorded great music, and some — I can say from first-hand experience — are (or were) incredible performers. Here they are, in no particular order.

1. Doves – This British band released three amazing records in the 2000s before putting out the lackluster Kingdom of Rust in 2009. Like many bands emerging under the Brit-pop umbrella at the beginning of the decade, they were completely eclipsed by the major labor monster that Coldplay became. These fellows should be ranked among the U.K. greats in their genre: Badly Drawn Boy, Supergrass, even Radiohead (in their earlier, less godly existence).
2. Aloha – One of the many bands I found on the Xbox snowboarding classic Amped, I’ve found something to appreciate in every stage of their band development. 2000’s That’s Your Fire was a sprawling work with an abstract jazz flavor, mostly thanks to the prominent use of vibraphone. The middle phase of Here Comes Everyone and Some Echoes showed their growing confidence and pop sensibilities. Then the glistening, majestic Light Works appeared suddenly in December 2007 — and that’s the last I’ve heard from them. It’s a shame that they couldn’t garner the attention that other Polyvinyl artists (like of Montreal) have managed to. Oh well…

French Kicks

3. French Kicks – The story of how I found the French Kicks is a definitive example of how the Internet changed music in the last decade. It was the first time I had ever been to a smaller venue in Detroit — in this case, the Shelter. I was scanning Ticketmaster lists for that and other venues, and then listening to the band’s songs…either on CDnow.com (which now forwards to Amazon.com) or Allmusic.com — I can’t remember which. Anyway, I liked what I heard, so on a summer evening around 2004, my brother and I went to a sparsely crowded show in that basement venue and we were hooked. Sadly French Kicks became a sort of joke for lazy critics who were wetting themselves over the Walkmen, who I despise.
4. Sunday’s Best/The Little Ones – Another Amped discovery, Sunday’s Best was an unknown indie pop band from L.A. that released two albums in the first three years of the decade. Then they dissolved, and by 2006 I heard a familiar voice in a band called the Little Ones. To my surprise, it was Edward Reyes — and as it turned out, about half of Sunday’s Best had taken in new members and started the Little Ones. They toured on a brilliant EP in 2006, and that fall I even got to see them live at Schuba’s in Chicago. Strangely their 2008 full-length album lacked the same magic.
5. Mobius Band – It’s frustrating for me to even write about Mobius Band these days. I found them on MSU’s great radio station, the Impact 89FM, around 2004. The station must have had an advance copy of their City vs. Country EP — ‘cuz they played “Starts Off With A Bang” and the title track over and over again. It’s music for springtime, bubbly electronic pop music that begs to be played on repeat, just how the Impact did it. And their two full-length albums were arguably just as good, so I was always confused when the attendance at their shows was so low, and they were never asked to play a fest like Lollapalooza. I guess that’s what happens these days when you don’t suck up to the indie music press.

The Radio Dept.

6. The Radio Dept -In case you didn’t notice, Sweden just about took the award for Music Nation of the Decade, with Canada coming in at a close second. Most other Swedish bands that caught my attention also got noticed by music critics, if not fans as well. However, the Radio Dept. always seemed to get passed over, despite having two albums and a bunch of EPs full of lovable dream pop. I think I first heard them in the Marie Antoinette soundtrack, which featured three of their songs (clearly Sofia Coppola also saw them as a great band of the decade). But when it came to ratings and “best of” lists, bands like Air France and the Tough Alliance always got more lip service.
7. Field Music - I haven’t even heard their 2005 debut yet, but 2007’s Tones of Town was a winning piece of Brit-pop set apart by its strong piano foundation and tight vocal harmonies. I thought they might have been done before they really began, when one member turned to The Week That Was, a side project that got quite a bit of attention on its own 2008. As it turns out, Field Music has a double album coming out in early 2010 entitled Measure, and it’s generating more than a bit of buzz on the web. Who knows — maybe soon they will be properly rated instead of underrated.
8. The Most Serene Republic – It’s possible that this Toronto group just missed out on the idea of the band as a “collective,” that concept that was so overused during the rise of Broken Social Scene around ‘05-’06. For some reason I only remember the word “collective” being used with BSS, Annuals, and then some enormous groups like the Polyphonic Spree and I’m From Barcelona. So by the time the Most Serene Republic released Population in 2007, people might have been disinterested in — or even turned off by — that word. It could be said that Population was their only major win, and even that is too busy or overcrowded for some. But at the very least, this group suffered from being from such a fertile area for indie music in the last decade.
9. Miracle Fortress – The other Canadian name on this list is a one-man project from Montreal that released just a single album. 2007’s Five Roses was one of those albums I found by mistake, listed as a new release in some music magazine (probably UR Chicago, where I interned and used to contribute writing). But I’m so glad I did find it, a treasure trove of psychedelic indie pop joy. Obviously the Beach Boys play a large inspirational role, and it probably didn’t help that other musicians were also expressing their fondness for that group at the same time (Panda Bear in particular sort of snagged all the Beach Boys-inspired love in 2007). Anyway, Miracle Fortress plays songs that sound like millions of flowers opening in springtime after a long, dark, cold winter.

Tycho

10. Tycho – This is a Ghostly International artist from San Francisco with only one real full-length album out and — like many Ghostly artists — not nearly enough recognition. I may have found him on the Ghostly Swim compilation, which showcased a bunch of ghostly artists and was offered for free on Adult Swim’s website. The ambient electronica is in the same vein as Boards of Canada, but in a way it feels more American — like a sunny afternoon spent lying on a Pacific coast beach. He’s also a visual artist, and reportedly projects his own imagery on stage while performing. I hope I get a chance to see and hear it.
11. Lemon Jelly – My brothers caught wind of Lemon Jelly on the Internet, somehow, around 2004. The British downtempo group has never gotten any play in the U.S., so I hope they have a bit larger audience in Europe. They make feel-good music using a lot of samples, but generally got passed over for similar artists, like the Avalanches (who were actually from Australia), or by other British electronica stars, like the Chemical Brothers. All three of their albums are worth a listen; they all offer a voyage of the mind that is far too uncommon in today’s critic-approved music.
12. The Sunshine Fix – Georgia’s Elefant 6 collective generated quite a lot of chatter during the decade, but by 2007, of Montreal had all but stolen the spotlight. They deserved a certain amount of attention, but not nearly as much as they got (especially once Kevin Barnes abandoned indie pop for wandering anthems of transexuality). Even bands like Elf Power and Circulatory System had a steady pool of fans. On the other hand, I’ve never heard anyone talk about the Sunshine Fix. 2002’s Age of the Sun features equal parts ’60s British pop and a range of hallucinatory sounds, with a true album feel bolstered by repetitive motifs that relate (quite obviously) to sun worship.
13. Mice Parade – Another one-man band of sorts, Adam Pierce has released six albums under this moniker. I had the good fortune to see him and his band perform a free Monday night show at Chicago’s Empty Bottle in 2006. Some of their instrumental elements are similar to Aloha (mostly xylophone and vibes), but they also draw much from Brazilian (two album titles are in Portuguese) and East Asian music. I have to give the entire discography another spin, but my favorite will always be 2005’s Bem-Vinda Vontade. If you’re looking for a all-around feeling of warmth on a frosty northern evening, just put that one on and it will take care of you.
14. Pretty Girls Make Graves – Hopefully I’ll get around to writing a Best Lead Guitar of the Decade; there would only be a few names on the list, but Nate Thelen is definitely one of them. Sadly, he left the group just as things reached a peak. You may have seen that 2003’s The New Romance won a spot in the top ten of my favorite albums of the decade. It was explosive, incendiary, cathartic — and it still is today! The guitars on that album could cut through flesh! It was a natural continuation of what I loved about At the Drive-In, who had broken up around 2000. But Thelen’s departure wasn’t PGMG’s only issue. They came into public view at a time when your declared inspirations mattered a little too much (their name is either — or both — from a Kerouac quote and the song from the Smiths’ debut album). And they couldn’t escape the doomed post-punk label, even after adding keyboardist Leona Marrs for their third LP. Hopefully someday they’ll get more love.

Evangelicals