A decade in music.

Top 50 Records of the Decade

1. Panda Bear - Person Pitch (2007)
2. Bonnie 'Prince' Billy - The Letting Go (2006)
3. Animal Collective - Strawberry Jam (2007)
4. Radiohead - Kid A (2000)
5. Sufjan Stevens - Illinois (2005)
6. Modest Mouse - The Moon And Antartica (2000)
7. Why? - Alopecia (2008)
8. Deerhunter - Microcastle (2008)
9. Antony And The Johnsons - I Am A Bird Now (2005)
10. Beirut - Gulag Orkestar (2006)
11. Jim O'Rourke - Insignificance (2001)
12. LCD Soundsystem - Sound of Silver (2007)
13. Animal Collective - Merriweather Post Pavillion (2009)
14. The Microphones - The Glow Pt. 2 (2001)
15. Frog Eyes - The Golden River (2003)
16. Grizzly Bear - Veckatimest (2009)
17. Grandaddy - Software Slump (2000)
18. The Unicorns - Who Will Cut Our Hair When We're Gone? (2003)
19. Andrew Bird - Armchair Apocrypha (2007)
20. Animal Collective - Feels (2005)
21. Mount Eerie - Lost Wisdom (2008)
22. Caribou - Andorra (2008)
23. Bon Iver - For Emma, Forever Ago (2008)
24. Godspeed You! Black Emperor - Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas to Heaven (2000)
25. The Flaming Lips - Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots (2002)
26. Sunset Rubdown - Shut Up I Am Dreaming (2006)
27. Devendra Banhart - Rejoicing in the Hands (2004)
28. Spoon - Kill The Moonlight (2002)
29. The Decemberists - The Crane Wife (2006)
30. Wolf Parade - Apologies to the Queen Mary (2005)
31. Cat Power - You Are Free (2003)
32. Beck - Sea Change (2002)
33. Destroyer - Destroyer's Rubies (2006)
34. St. Vincent - Marry Me (2007)
35. The Mountain Goats - Tallahassee (2003)
36. CocoRosie - Noah's Ark (2005)
37. Clinic - Walking With Thee (2002)
38. Arcade Fire - Funeral (2004)
39. Joanna Newsom - Milk-Eyed Mender (2004)
40. Broken Social Scene - You Forgot It In People (2002)
41. Les Savy Fav - Rome (2000)
42. And You Will Know Us By The Trail of Dead - Source Tags and Codes (2002)
43. Arab Strap - The Red Thread (2001)
44. The Delgados - Hate (2002)
45. Patrick Watson - Close to Paradise (2006)
46. Hot Chip - Made In The Dark (2008)
47. Patrick Wolf - The Magic Position (2007)
48. Franz Ferdinand - Franz Ferdinand (2004)
49. Bjork - Vespertine (2001)
50. Iron and Wine - Our Endless Numbered Days (2004)

Headphones.

Last year while returning home from London... I broke yet another pair of expensive headphones... and in turn I swore off Sony products for the rest of my life... and after using ipod ear buds for a year... it was long over due for me to invest in a fancy new pair of headphones... after looking around at several different models... I decided on a pair of Allen & Heath Xone XD-53's... I'll never hear a conversation between two fourteen year old girls on the TTC again... the noise cancellation is beyond remarkable... and I've yet to put on a pair of louder fuller sounding headphones in my life... another reason for my inevitable hearing loss by the time I'm forty... but if I can listen to these headphones for the next nine year it'll be well worth it... it just might take me a while to get used to walking around with five hundred dollars of audio equipment on my head and in my pocket.

Dear shrimp fork.

Where did you come from?

I don't even eat shrimp.

Yet I am still annoyed by your short coming...

which is three prongs.

Moonface.

It’s hard to explain when a straight boy like myself develops a man crush... or to even pin pint point where it began... yet Spencer Krug has this boy smitten... it must have been around the time Wolf Parade released there first EP... because at first listen I was unaware he played on the first Frog Eyes record The Bloody Hand... maybe I was distracted more by hearing what makes Carey Mercer unique... but I didn’t realize at the time how much Spencer Krug would eventually change the way I would listen and appreciate music... from Wolf Parade to Sunset Rubdown and Swan Lake... and now Spencer Krug has released his second EP under the moniker Moonface... Dreamland EP: Marimba and Shit-Drums... the first being a sold-out limited edition 7” released by Aagoo earlier in the year... the new EP is based on a dream journal... and highly addictive... Krug in my opinion has always been a prolific songwriter... and proves it again with lyrics like... “I have entered into a dreamland where I have raced against the water, once against a girl and once against my father”... something that I can’t seem to get out of my head.
A one sided 12” will be released via Jagjaguwar on January 26... but for now you can download an mp3 file here... with the option of a donation... the download was slow... because of no doubt a lagging server... but well worth the wait.

Top 25 Records of 2009.

2009 was one of the best years I can remember when it comes to music... I couldn't bring myself to pick just ten... so I'm giving you my top twenty-five... and my top record that I actually heard for the first time on christmas day last year... like so many other geeks... sitting around waiting for it to finally leak... for a moment I actually enjoyed christmas again... but even more amazing was the staying power that record possessed... and looking back to some of my favorite bands releasing records in 2009 that certainly didn't disappoint... and a few bands that I hadn't yet heard of in 2008... surprised me and snuck into my top ten...

in my opinion... the best 25 records of 2009...

25. Charles Spearin - The Happiness Project

24. Dan Deacon - Bromst

23. Do Make Say Think - The Other Truths

22. Fucked Up - The Chemistry of Common Life

21. Obits - I Blame You

20. Why? - Eskimo Snow

19. tUnE-yArDs - BiRd-BrAiNs

18. Beirut - March of the Zapotec

17. Patrick Watson - Wooden Arms

16. Bonnie "Prince" Billy - Beware

15. Antony And The Johnsons - The Crying Light

14. Julie Doiron - I Can Wonder What You Did With Your Day

13. The Flaming Lips - Embryonic

12. Bat for Lashes - Two Suns

11. The Antlers - Hospice

10. Japandroids - Post-Nothing

9. Girls - Album

8. Built to Spill - There Is No Enemy

7. Dirty Projectors - Bitta Orca

6. St. Vincent - Actor

5. Sunset Rubdown - Dragonslayer

4. Atlas Sound - Logos

3. Phoenix - Wolfgang Amadeus

2. Grizzly Bear - Veckatimest

1. Animal Collective - Merriweather Post Pavilion

Long live physical media.

For as long as I can remember I’ve been buying CD’s and LP’s...

I’m not just a fan of music... I’m also a collector with more than a hint of a completism... but like everyone else I download albums on a weekly basis... and buy in the end what I deem worthy... I’m proud to say that I’ve bought every record in my top twenty-five this year... along with countless seven inch singles... and rarely do I pass the merch table at shows... I would rather buy something directly from the band when I can... and every once and a while I come across this extraordinary piece of art that makes me realize that music is more than just a digital file... on the weekend I bought a copy of tUnE-YarDs BiRd-BrAiNs on vinyl... and not only did I get eleven wonderful lo-fi songs from Merrill Garbus... but a hand screened cover over a recycled jacket that was bought for a dollar... on the inside the price tag is still proudly displayed... along with a lyric sheet puzzle... after all... everyone loves something that’s made by hand... am I easily amused? Maybe... but in a world where MP3’s find the trash quicker then they are released and music is more disposable then ever... Merrill Garbus has given me yet another reason to keep collecting records... and I can only hope that she and other artists do it again and again.

Top 10 Shows of 2009.

2009 is coming to an end and the "best of" lists are starting to appear... I witnessed some great shows in 2009... but sadly I only attended twenty-three... probably an all time low since I was sixteen... maybe I’m showing my age or just becoming picky about what I’ll sit through... although I’ve had a healthy distraction for the past six months that I can’t begin to complain about... sometimes other aspects in ones life takes precedent over me desperately trying to lose my hearing by forty.
Yet a few of these shows would make my all time list... Sufjan easily walked away with my number one choice by giving a jaw dropping performance at Lee’s... playing a handful of new tracks that sounded like nothing Stevens has done before... along with classics like... “The Dress Looks Nice On You” and “John Wayne Gacy Jr”... Annie Clark once again renewed my faith in female guitarists with St. Vincents’ show at The Horseshoe... and aside from sound complications or what I later learned was done on purpose... Antony brought most people in attendance to tears while singing “Another World” at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre... I was mesmerized so much by the Dirty Projectors live performance... that I went twice... and I won’t soon forget about Magnolia Electric Co. in Paris... not only the texas ties... but the cutie I was with that forced herself to drink red wine.

Enough banter... here are my top 10 shows of 2009:

1. Sufjan Stevens

October 1, 2009

Lee’s Palace, Toronto, Ontario

2. St. Vincent

August 8, 2009

The Horseshoe Tavern, Toronto, Ontario

3. Antony & The Johnstons

February 17, 2009

Queen Elizabeth Theatre, Toronto, Ontario

4. Dirty Projectors

July 22, 2009

Lee’s Palace, Toronto, Ontario

5. Built to Spill

October 7, 2009

Lee’s Palace, Toronto, Ontario

6. Magnolia Electric Co.

September 14, 2009

Café la Danse, Paris, France

7. Bonnie “Prince” Billy

May 14, 2009

Queen Elizabeth Theatre, Toronto, Ontario

8. Patrick Watson

May 2, 2009

Trinity St. Paul’s Church, Toronto, Ontario

9. Animal Collective

May 16, 2009

Sound Academy, Toronto, Ontario

10. Beirut

July 9, 2009

The Phoenix, Toronto, Ontario

Sleigh Bells.

Here's a band to watch in 2010... Sleigh Bells... an unsigned band from Brooklyn NY that sounds like a combination of Khaela Maricich (The Blow) fronting The Coachwhips while under water... a low-fi record with catchy hooks that will make your ears bleed and keep you asking for more.

Sleigh Bells are a duo... made up of Derek Miller (guitar, production) and Alexis Krauss (vocals)... a bedroom band that shows huge promise and will no doubt end up on more than a few year end lists... from the distorted guitars on "Crown on the Ground" to the over the top pop power song "Ring Ring"... you can tell this band is no fluke with their soon to be sudden ascent to indie stardom.

Recently releasing the EP 2HELLWU and soon they'll be re-recording some of those tracks along with others to create... for me anyways... a highly anticipated full length album next year.

You can check out their myspace page here.