it's so funny to me to see everyone here remember 2009 so fondly, because at the end of 2009, i wrote the following in my Xanga (lolz):
"In keeping with this, 2009 was a rather unremarkable year for music as well. Not that there weren't some gems along the way, but this year finally felt like the year when the death of the music industry felt almost tangible. Like one big, collective shrug.
Old indie standbys (Decemberists, Mountain Goats, Flaming Lips, Why?, Wilco, The Yeah Yeah Yeahs, etc.) released plenty of decent-to-good albums, but nothing truly spectacular. What was my favorite album this year? Fuck if I know. Handsome Furs' "Face Control" was pretty good, as was Neko Case's "Middle Cyclone", but neither made me say "Holy shit! This fucking rules!" enough for me to commit to it. "Hazards of Love" and "It's Blitz!" were both fairly exciting left turns for The Decemberists and The YYYs, and they pulled them off well, but the novelty wore off pretty quick. Same goes for Animal Collective. I know they're everybody's favorite band in the world, and "Merriweather Post Pavilion" was a great album and all, but I rarely feel the urge to listen to it again.
As for hawt new trendz, the whole "glo-fi" thing was predictably boring. Maybe I just don't have enough 80s nostalgia, being born in '87 and all, but the whole "let's pile on layers of ethereal, cheap-sounding synth and evoke our CHILDHOODS" shit is just such a lazy derivative of actual, good shoegaze and dream-pop from the ACTUAL 80s, that why the fuck would I even listen to it?"
...remember "glo-fi", before we all agreed to call it "chillwave"?
i dunno, i was never a big fan of Grizzly Bear, Phoenix, or Dirty Projectors so 2009 seemed boring to me.
i distinctly remember hearing "My Girls" for the first time as well. for the first minute and a half, my friend and i (both AnCo fans since Feels) were like "hmmm, this is alright" and then at 1:40 when the bass drops and completely reorients the rhythm of the song, we both just looked at each other and said "holy SHIT". it was so obviously an instant classic from that moment on.
the appeal of Kurt Vile is the laid-back style and virtuoso guitar work. it's stoner music. if you're high and want to zone out to some chill guitar vibes, it's perfect. the appeal of Courtney is mostly her sardonic lyrics and personality.
the beginning of "The Trip" is like a slow-motion fall into a dream.
and it sure is, good eye! specifically, the "there's never enough time to do all the nothing you want" single-panel. C&H is my favorite work of art in any medium of all time.
my Weekend Playlist additions this year:
http://i63.tinypic.com/ienpt3.jpg
thanks Gummers for always adding great music to the weekend playlist this and every year!
editing Penthouse and tweeting room-temperature takes about MeToo? sounds par for the course honestly if you've ever followed her social media presence in the past
my favorite album covers of the year are both deconstructions of mosh pits
https://media.pitchfork.com/photos/5b86a46df36e713d0a847ab8/1:1/w_320/anotherlife.jpg
https://media.pitchfork.com/photos/5b86f764b47eeb3abaa456b4/1:1/w_320/600x600bb%20(1).jpg
Hop Along were absolutely incredible live, my third time seeing them and they just get better and better. Brooklyn Steel still sucks though.
seeing The Menzingers at a midnight show at a small club was one of those special "the whole crowd loves this band" experiences that I rarely have in New York anymore.
saw Titus Andronicus, Bouncing Souls, and Against Me! at the Asbury Park boardwalk with a bunch of dirty Jersey punks, which was a blast.
Caitlin Rose was great but the crowd wouldn't shut up during her set because they were all there for Brian Fallon and assumed they could just talk during the opener. Brooklyn Steel STILL sucks.
said goodbye to beloved DIY venue Silent Barn with a bunch of local punk bands which again is the sort of beautiful display of independent rowdiness that I rarely get to attend anymore.
supposedly i also saw HAIM at Radio City but i spent all day drinking free beer at Belmont Park so i don't really remember any of it, but i know i missed Lizzo and was very upset about it.
seeing Ghost tomorrow, i had no idea they were big enough to play a venue like Barclays Center, that's a huge arena! my friends will probably wear corpse paint so it should be a spooky good time.
