2009 in Review

I was going to make a Best of 2009 and the '00s post, but my computer crashed last week and I haven't been able to get it back up and running. Of course, this was just as I was listening to all the albums I missed that have shown up on lists all over. Out of the few I listened to, the ones that stood out were the Big Pink, jj, and the xx. So, I guess this means I'll just have to go by memory. Also, take note: no surprises here.

Top Five Albums
5. Yo La Tengo - "Popular Songs"
4. Let's Wrestle - "In the Court of the Wrestling Let's..."
3. Girls - "Album"
2. Dinosaur Jr - "Farm"
1. The Pains of Being Pure at Heart - "s/t"

PoBPaH are easily my new favorite band. I've seen all these people acting like they aren't supposed to like them because they sound just like older music, but I think their songs are downright fantastic and the sound is exactly the kind of music I like. While the album grabbed me right away, the Higher Than the Stars EP blew me away even more. "Falling Over" was a grower, but "Twins" is everything I could ever want in a guitar-based song. It is perfect.

Top Five Songs (not including anything from the Top Five Albums)
5. Thom Yorke - "All for the Best" (Miracle Legion cover)
4. Japandroids - "The Boys Are Leaving Town"
3. Hunx and His Punx - "You Don't Like Rock and Roll"
2. Jason Lytle - "The Ghost of My Old Dog"
1. Weezer - "The Prettiest Girl in the Whole Wide World"

Now, as you may have noticed by looking at this blog, I am a Weezer fan. I don't necessarily hate everything post-Pinkerton, but it's just not the same. You all know that, obviously. The band is basically a part of my life, probably to an unhealthy degree (I am on at least three boards and have at least two versions of every album, even ones I don't particularly care for). "Prettiest Girl..." is an older song, from around 1998 when Rivers Cuomo was playing in Boston with his band Homie. The live version that I grew accustomed to has an excellent bass line and was, for a long time, my favorite Weezer-related bootlegged track. When I heard the song was going to be brought back for Raditude, I was a bit worried as to what might happen to it. But alas, it was wonderful. While it didn't have the heavy bass line, the second verse which is just the vocals (lead and harmonies) with an organ brings so much joy to me. It reminds me why I am so obsessed with the band (just as the last segment of The Greatest Man... did in 2008).

Top Five Shows
5. Built to Spill / Beaten Awake
4. Yo La Tengo / Cheap Time
3. Dinosaur Jr / Lou Barlow and the Missingmen
2. The Pains of Being Pure at Heart / Girls / Champagne Socialists
1. Los Campesinos! / Girls / The Smith Westerns

The only thing I was expecting at the LC! show was an annoying crowd. I had seen Girls in Portland a few weeks earlier, and they were fantastic then, so there was that to look forward to. I didn't even know who the Smith Westerns were (I guess their album was released the next day?), but was intrigued when the lead guitarist hit a pedal that made confetti pop out all over him as he played a solo while making the most Bolan-esque movements he could. They were pretty good, and I ended up really liking their album. I now hope to see them around here again sometime. Girls were excellent, again. As usual, I was annoyed with the crowd; this time, because a group of kids were acting out all the lyrics and talking loud enough where I had trouble hearing the band, even with earplugs in. Then LC! came on and blew me away. Before this, I had only really listened to their first album and EP, and my favorite song was their cover of "Frontwards". And throughout the set, I was only sure of which song was being played a few times (one of which was "Box Elder", so that barely counts), but I didn't care because it was so much fun. And while I usually hate fun and excitement and all that, this was an exception. Gareth and Tom or Neil (I'm sorry, I don't remember who) came out into the crowd, with the guitarist ending up on top of the bar at the Grog Shop.
It was wonderful.

Anyway, I'll post my Best of '00s eventually, maybe.

And of course, I recommend you support all of these artists (on vinyl, if at all possible).

So buy some records!

Today's Date!

Back from Portland. It was alright. Didn't get to see much, but I did get to see The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, Girls, and Champagne Socialists. While the sound wasn't too hot (especially for C.S.), the show was good. I spoke to Kip of the Pains after the show and he said they were coming back to Cleveland in September and to check the website, but I'm afraid he was mistaken. I really hope they do come back sometime soon though, and still play a smaller venue (they were at the Beachland Tavern last time). There are two new Pains releases coming soon, and three of the songs were played from them at the show. Kip said they were going to play more, but he broke a string and felt it sort of killed the flow of the show. Oh well, hopefully next time. Girls was also very enjoyable, and I am very glad that I'll be seeing them again when they open up for Los Campesinos! at the Grog Shop in a week or so. Their album comes out on September 22 (I think) on Matador, but I'm really hoping they have some sort of record for sale at the show. The Champagne Socialists...I can't say much about. I didn't have earplugs at the time, and the guitar was the only thing that I could hear, except for a screech from the lead singer every once in a while. Again, this is nothing about their music, they continually asked the sound guy to fix the set-up and he continually ignored them, so it's just a shame. I should have bought their 7".
In other news of bands I like, Weezer played a few new songs in Korea and Japan this past week. Their rendition of "Can't Stop Partying" (a very good song written by Jermaine Dupri and released on Rivers' Alone II), and the debut of "The Girl Got Hot" and "I'm Your Daddy". All I can say is that I stopped really listening to Weezer lyrics after the Green Album. The band added "whoa", "oh yeah", and "oh oh oh"'s to "Can't Stop Partying", and that only mostly changed it for the worst. The big downer, as most Weezer fans on the internet agree, is the bridge that was tacked on. "The Girl Got Hot" is...I don't remember. I haven't heard it since earlier this afternoon, and had heard it before a couple days ago. It just doesn't do anything for me. Out of the three, it is my least favorite, and not just because of the um...sub-par lyrics. "I'm Your Daddy", while still maintaining what seems to be Weezer's status quo of lyrical quality, contains music that I totally dig. So, that's a plus! People have compared it to "Diamond Rings" (a Weezer song that was played live once or twice that I totally dig; check out my What Happened? post, it should be there; and if not there, check weerez.com) musically, although I haven't compared the two. If they are alike, then that would explain why I like the music as "Diamond Rings" is one of my favorite Weezer songs of that era.
I have to thank Paul, and through a game of telephone, Tim for turning me onto the Strange Boys. While it seems it is impossible for me to find their record And Girls Club in stores, it is good enough that I am going to order it online.
At the moment I'm listening to the new Yo La Tengo album, Popular Songs. So far, I really enjoy it. I'll finally be seeing them in October, so that's pretty exciting. That entire week is full of shows I'm going to! I just saw that Built to Spill is playing the night before Yo La Tengo, and then the Japandroids are that Thursday, with Dinosaur Jr in Columbus on Saturday!
It's late, and I still have to cut my hair, so I think I'm done.

Click all the links above, and buy records from bands you like.

Or just click right here:

And buy some records!

Oh, yeah! And check out this picture from April 29:

setlist!