« Newer | Older »

State of Mind's Best of 2009 - Michael Carney
Michael Carney
January 18, 2010
1. Japandroids - Post-Nothing


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


3. Deer Tick - Born on Flag Day


4. Girls - Album


5. Death - …For the World to See


Honorable Mentions:

Various Artists - Dark Was The Night
The Very Best - Warm Heart of Africa
Wilco - Wilco (The Album)
Dirty Projectors - Bitte Orca
The Big Pink - A Brief History In Love


Did I just have a quarter-life crisis? Am I frantically grasping on to my fleeting youth? Go and listen to Japandroids' Post-Nothing and you may say yes after I've chosen it as my favorite album of my twenty-fifth year. I pumped my fist and shouted my voice hoarse at their Pitchfork Festival set in Chicago. It was a cathartic experience for sure after spinning their record non-stop for the first half of the year. Lines like "I don't wanna worry about dyin'/I just wanna worry about those sunshine girls" from "Young Hearts Spark Fires" made so much sense for me in a year when shit got real. I think I had a minor panic attack when I went to my first wedding of a college friend‚ I wondered if I'd lose my job along with thousands of other poor slobs like me‚ I was tired of worrying about grown-up shit. I just wanted to worry about…well‚ sunshine girls.

Looking at my top five now reminds me of how much fun I had through music in 2009 and was able to find some kind of release. These are fun albums. They are not Yankee Hotel Foxtrot's or Kid A's. These records won't be memorable for me because they were earth-shattering artistic statements. They will be memorable because (and I know this is cheesy as all hell) they bring back really good memories. These are some of the best of them.

- Death were one of the best stories of the year. Drag City Records dusted off the master tapes of this Detroit proto-punk band's never released album and put it out in the world. I got to witness Vermont rock history when the sons of the surviving members performed Death's music with their band Rough Francis at 242 Main in Burlington.

- I bought Deer Tick's first album War Elephant on a whim in the ascendancy of my alt-country obsession. It stuck and I dug their follow-up when it dropped last summer. I got pretty drunk and sang along to all their songs with them at a packed bar in Newport‚ RI this Fall-including their encore performance of "La Bamba." Yeah‚ that "La Bamba."

- The Pains of Being Pure at Heart killed at The Monkey House in Winooski‚ VT on Valentine's Day which was so appropriate. These guys should have played at John Hughes' funeral. Their music could fit into any of his brat pack movie soundtracks easily. "Young Adult Friction" is the best song about library sex for some time now.

- Went deep with the debut record from Girls with the apt title. Such a jarring mix of carefree‚ summer jangle and deeply troubled lyrics. It's like a much sadder version of Jonathan Richman. Great stuff.

- Built to Spill and The National completely crushed me at the Pitchfork Festival. Some people like to jab at indie rock bands by saying they think it's cool to not be able to play their instruments. Not so with these guys. They shred.

- Got to experience Toronto's Fucked Up and their notoriously intense frontman Pink Eyes at Subterranean in Chicago. The kids in the crowd were absolutely insane. There was even a kid in a wheelchair in the pit. He was the most badass concertgoer I've ever seen.

- Bonnaroo. I got to go for the first time and was floored by the likes of Wilco‚ Springsteen‚ Dirty Projectors‚ Delta Spirit‚ Merle Haggard‚ David Byrne‚ the list goes and goes.

- Saw a punk show at an underground venue in an old factory in Providence‚ RI. The place had a skate ramp‚ was covered in graffiti and filled with kids that were way cooler (and younger) than me. It was like a cross between The Lost Boys' and the Foot Clan's secret hangout from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

2009 was a pretty epic year in music‚ but 2010 is already shaping up to have some promise. My favorite song of 2009-The National's "So Far Around the Bend"-has a line that goes "you've been at home and in a daze for forever/praying for Pavement to get back together." Well‚ Pavement are getting back together and I will be there at Central Park next fall freaking out with everyone else. State of Mind's Best of 2009 - Adam King
Adam King
January 15, 2010
Adam King's Top of the Pops Ought-Nine

1. Drummer - Feel Good Together


2. Dan Deacon - Bromst


3. Phoenix - Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix


4. The Dead Weather - Horehound


5. Dirty Projectors - Bitte Orca


6. Animal Collective - Merriweather Post Pavillion
7. Miike Snow - Miike Snow
8. Wilco - Wilco (The Album)
9. The Flaming Lips - Embryonic
10. Floating Action - Floating Action

Top Sonic Sextet

1. Drummer - "Diamonds to Shake"
2. Dan Deacon - "Snookered"
3. Miike Snow - "Animal"
4. The Dead Weather - "I Cut Like a Buffalo"
5. Death Cab for Cutie - "My Mirror Speaks"
6. Bruce Hornsby & The Noisemakers - "Invisible"

2009 - You ever awaken in the middle of the night and even though your brain is trying to piece together some dream that's still igniting in your subconscious‚ you at the same time feel more clear-headed than any other point during the day? I had that feeling this entire year. This wasn't a year where music had me contemplating the future or ruminating on the past‚ it was a year where music stood beside me as we both remembered the magic of the present moment.

So‚ Phish. Shredding from the first "Fluffhead" in Hampton‚ but over the year the band progressed like one of those salad spinners: not going full-speed form the get-go‚ and you stub your finger once or twice when the knob jams‚ but eventually that centrifugal motion takes control. Highlights of the 32 shows I saw this year were 2nd night of Alpine (Crosseyed!)‚ Indio (Magic!)‚ and the week and a half from Albany to MSG (Speechless!).

On the other hand‚ The Dead in Albany was a complete mockery of everything the GD once stood for‚ and I vowed never to return. That's all there is to say about that. [Ed. Note: I completely fucking disagree with you]

Jeff Tweedy and Ray Davies both proved that an acoustic guitar and an endless list of amazing songs is all you need to make a sold-out crowd at Higher Ground feel like your living room. Dan Deacon brought a full-band on tour and furthered his reign at the top of modern psychedelia. Yo La Tengo and Sharon Jones also took their roles in completely owning the HG on their given nights. Chick Corea and John McLaughlin brought an all-star band to the Flynn and delicately lifted the entire building 3 inches off the ground‚ and Bruce Hornsby played the same room like he was in your brother's apartment. Dr. Dog at Mass MoCa took my heart to Neptune‚ as usual‚ and Pretty Lights at Bonnaroo proved that a DJ can still save your life without blasting House beats up your nose. As for albums...

Anyone who thinks Animal Collective had the album of the year has obviously not heard Dan Deacon's Bromst. Phoenix is undeniable. The Dirty Projectors touched on the dawn of new indie-rock in-studio production. Jack White can not be stopped. I've had Miike Snow's "Animal" stuck in my head for 6 months. The Flaming Lips finally remembered where their true power lies. Floating Action crushed the personal low-fi. Drummer showed My Morning Jacket that they need to keep on their toes. And all apologies to Trey's sister‚ but "Joy" is just not for me. Video of the Day: The Low Anthem - "This God Damn House" & Letterman Tonight
Mike McKinley
January 14, 2010
The Low Anthem have been busy working on their new record at an old abandoned pasta sauce factory in Central Falls‚ RI. Check out some of the videos they've posted from the session so far.

They'll be playing Letterman tonight (1/14) and at the end of the month they will head out on an enormous tour - see all the dates here.

This video is a gem captured by the Lake Fever Sessions (check out their Vimeo page for a ton of great videos) of TLA doing "This God Damn House."

Low Anthem "This God Damn House" from Lake Fever Sessions on Vimeo.

Jackie Greene's The Grateful EP Free Download
Mike McKinley
January 13, 2010


Phil Lesh had this to say about Jackie Greene when I spoke to him back in 2007: "Jackie's singing and playing is world-class and his songs fit in so beautifully with our stuff."

It's nice to hear how much Jackie took away from that experience playing with Phil Lesh & Friends -- it's been well documented that Jackie wasn't too familiar with the Grateful Dead songbook before Phil asked him to join the band for a while.

On his web site‚ Jackie is offering a free download of The Grateful EP which features three Grateful Dead songs: "Sugaree‚" "New Speedway Boogie‚" and a solo piano rendition of "Brokedown Palace." Give a listen here - sounds great. Video of the Day: The Band - "Don't Do It"
Mike McKinley
January 12, 2010
I've had The Band's live record Rock of Ages (1972) in rotation for the last several days. I just can't get enough: the tone of Rick Danko's bass‚ the vocal harmonies‚ the horn section‚ and of course‚ the songs. Timeless.

Rock of Ages was recorded over a series of shows at NYC's Academy of Music on December 28-31‚ 1971. I recently came across this video of "Don't Do It" from those shows. Man‚ this music moves. It's so bad ass.

« Newer | Older »