Tony B's Year End Wrap-up

UPDATED 12-9-2009:
Click on the cover to the right to get more info about that album >>>
Click on a song in one of the year-end playlists (also located to the right) to hear it >>>
Another year. Music was made. 

Over the years, and without any consistency, I have created an end-of-year compilation. The selections included are not necessarily my favorites from the corresponding year. (Though I do enjoy many of them.) Nor are they the “best of the best." (Fer chissakes, I’m not that vain or smart, am I? After all, I didn’t hear every freakin’ song released.) These are songs that - for better or worse - will be tied to that particular Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, etc. I've also been known to sprinkle in songs I think are "so-so" or I don't particularly relish. But for better or worse, they do reflect the times and, more importantly, will ignite memories. Sometimes I send the disc or discs to friends. Sometimes I don't.

This year, being unemployed, I had the opportunity to listen to just as much music as I did back in the MOO* days. (*Obligatory MOO plug.) As you will see, I went a bit overboard in collecting songs for 2009. What follows was originally a 12-discs set that - in my mind - reflected the year that is rapidly approaching its end.  Also perched before the song selections on each disc are some of my ramblings about said disc.  But since first posting this over a week ago, I can already see there are additions to be made.  Therefore, who knows how many volumes I will end up with when all is said and done. Check back periodically or make suggestions!  Whether I utilize you opinions...well, that's another matter.

If you look or listen closely, you will notice that I enjoyed one artist/album in particular. Not saying it was my favorite, but... Also, you might notice a couple of glaring omissions. First, no Grizzly Bears were harmed during this process. (Hey, I tried to like the 2009 album, but just couldn’t do it. Snooze fest. I am sure Grizzly Bear will be on many critics' year-end picks.) Second, no Wavves. Taken out of context (as in among other songs), that stuff is just too jarring and brazen to be included

Oh, and don't let my references to Pitchfork throw you. Those guys are okay in my book.

Volume ONE • PEOPLE GOT A LOTTA NERVE
If so inclined, I guess you could refer to the songs on this disc as “the hits.” Most of them (not all) were played on radio or in television shows or within commercials or films. Generally, the tunes on Volume One were placed in the collective consciousness of what pundits like to call “the mainstream.” Whatever. Those few songs contained on this disc that weren’t used in the aforementioned manners...well, they should have been.

Wake Up (Where The Wild Things Are) (Trailer Version) - The Arcade Fire
People Got A Lotta Nerve - Neko Case
Wilco (The Song) - Wilco
1901 - Phoenix
Lust For Life - Girls
Dominos - The Big Pink
Young Adult Friction - The Pains of Being Pure At Heart
Angela - Jarvis Cocker
Panic Switch - Silversun Pickups
Are Friends Electric? - The Dead Weather
Zero - Yeah Yeah Yeahs
Help I’m Alive - Metric
Bouncy Bouncy - The Mighty Boosh
No You Girls - Franz Ferdinand
Hand Me Down - Visqueen
French Navy - Camera Obscura
Relator - Scarlett Johansson & Pete Yorn
Microphone • Coconut Records
Sing Sang Sung - Air
Animal - Miike Snow
Fireflies - Owl City
Know Your Enemy -Green Day
Use Somebody - Kings Of Leon

Volume TWO • I NEVER SAID I WAS DEEP
Is it just me or does anyone else see a running theme on disc two? Ok, maybe you have to listen first. After compiling this disc, I noticed the emergence of a certain message: the tug and pull between life and death., light and darkness, breathing and suffocating, Scarlett Johansson and Sarah Palin. And ZOMBIES! Maybe, it’s just where my head was at while I was putting this volume together. Hell, who am I kidding? More than any other volume, this disc could be my soundtrack for the bittersweet year that was 2009.

I Never Said I Was Deep - Jarvis Cocker
My Body’s a Zombie For You - Dead Man’s Bones
The Gayest Of Sunbeams - The Pink Mountaintops
Born On A Day The Sun Didn’t Rise - Black Moth Super Rainbow
Nothing To Worry About - Peter Bjorn & John
Oh No - Andrew Bird
40 Day Dream - Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros
Punk Spirit - Wave Machines
Guns & Dogs - Portugal. The Man
Pump Your Brakes - Amazing Baby
Cat & The Eye - Van She
I Wanna Kill - Crocodiles
Now We Can See - The Thermals
Young Hearts Spark Fire - Japandroids
Calm-a-Llama Down - The Mighty Boosh
Skeletons - Yeah Yeah Yeahs
Technicolor Health - Harlem Shakes
Failure - A Sunny Day In Glasgow
Watching The Planets - The Flaming Lips Feat. Karen O

Volume THREE • THE FOUR WAY CRIMP
Every once in a while you just gotta dance. Confession time: Damn me if I don’t really like “Paparazzi,””I Gotta Feeling” and “Empire State of Mind.”

The Four Way Crimp - The Mighty Boosh
Pilchard - Jarvis Cocker
Merengue Killa - Los Amigos Invisibles
Ghetto Love - Spinnerette
Heads Will Roll - Yeah Yeah Yeahs
The Reeling - Passion Pit
Walking On A Dream - Empire Of The Sun
Rabbit Heart (Raise It Up) - Florence & The Machine
Last Dance - The Raveonettes
Future Sailors - The Mighty Boosh
Happy Everywhere - The Pinker Tones
Bicycle - Memory Tapes
Plain Material - Memory Tapes
Deadbeat Summer - Neon Indian
Die Slow - Health
Major Tom - Shiny Toy Guns
Pokerface - Cartman from South Park
Paparazzi - Lady GaGa
I Gotta Feeling - Black Eyed Peas
Bom Boom Pow - Black Eyed Peas
Empire State Of Mind (Feat. Alicia Keys) - Jay-Z

Volume FOUR • THIS LOVE IS FUCKING RIGHT!
Attention hipsters. There's a blue light special in the thrift store aisle. Half-off ironic t-shirts. No worries, I skipped the dubstep, dubbeat, rub-a-dub-dub-in-the-tub, electronic beep beep, blurp, blurp. tweet, tweet, beat, beat derrrrrr static derrrrr (repeat, repeat) club stuff that makes some of those hipsters soil their second hand pants. That's a good way to spoil (or break in, depending on your preference) a pair of Chuck Ts.

Stickleback Boys - The Mighty Boosh
This Love Is Fucking Right! - The Pains of Being Pure At Heart
Summertime Clothes - Animal Collective
Wind Phoenix - Cymbals Eat Guitars
Summer Of Hate - Crocodiles
Famous Last Words - Deerhunter
Tin Birds - Blank Dogs
Andrew - Crystal Antlers
Slush - Jarvis Cocker
Even In The Rain - The Fiery Furnaces
Turn Cold - Cut Off Your Hands
Easy - Deer Tick
Percussion Gun - White Rabbits
Standing At The Door Of Self Discovery - The High Strung
Bear - The Antlers
Despicable Dogs - Small Black
You’re a Target - No Age
Tightrope - Yeasayer
No Intention - Dirty Projectors
At The Bottom - Brand New
Skeleton - BLK JKS

Volume FIVE • ALRIGHT, ALRIGHT, ALRIGHT
From the juiced up rants of CoCoComa and Thee Oh Sees, to the blues-via-bulldozer huff of Brimstone Howl and Black Hollies, to the Nick-Lowe-Be-Proud pop of Conor Oberst, to the 70s-laced ear candy of The Novaks, Tinted Windows and Strange Boys, this disc is Exhibit A when it comes to proving guys, gals and the occasional termites still crawl out of basements and claw their way out of garages to make noise...er, I mean rock'n'roll.

Mod Wolves - The Mighty Boosh
Homewrecker! - Jarvis Cocker
Alright, Alright, Alright - CoCoComa
Suicide Blues - Brimstone Howl
Can’t Get Over You - Vivian Girls
Kiss With A Fist - Florence and The Machine
Big Bad Mean Motherfucker - Girls
Meat Step Lively - Thee Oh Sees
Let’s Go Surfing - The Drums
Heard You Wanna Beat Me Up - The Strange Boys
Air Mattress - Conor Oberst & The Mystic Valley Band
Kind Of A Girl - Tinted Windows
There Goes The Night - The Novaks
California On My Mind - Wild Light
déjà vu - Strange Attractors
Under Control - The London Souls
Endless Love - The Fresh & Onlys
When They Fight They Fight - The Generationals
BBQ Party - Shonen Knife
It Ain’t Gonna Save Me - Jay Reatard
Gloomy Monday Morning - The Black Hollies
We Were Aborted - The Cribs
Going To The Casino - Philadelphia Grand Jury
Short Fuse - Black Lips
Coffin Factory - The Mumlers
Boys Are Fine - Smith Westerns
Pelos en el Mouse - Los Odio

Volume SIX • ASLEEP AT A PARTY
So you have this really sensitive indie rock girl (or boy - depending on preference) - who is really hot (as in physical appearance) - over to your place for the evening. You light a few candles, order some killer Asian cuisine and...well, just listen. You’ll get what I mean.

Asleep At a Party - Memory Cassette
Come Monday Night - God Help The Girl
Daniel- Bat For Lashes
Rain On - Woods
Same Sun (Live) - Boozoo Bajou
Kiss My Name - Antony & The Johnsons
Rollin’ Home Alone - Jason Lytle
Next Summer - Choir of Young Believers
Transparence - Asobi Seksu
Blanchard - Hope Sandoval & The Warm Inventions
River of Dirt - Marissa Nadler
Feel It All Around - Washed Out
Nueva Sombra - Cineplexx
Everything Is Moving So Fast - Great Lake Swimmers
Swans - Camera Obscura
Walkabout - Atlas Sound
Close Chorus - A Sunny Day In Glasgow
Leftovers - Jarvis Cocker

Volume SEVEN • YOU NEVER KNOW
What year is this? 1989? 1996? It’s two-thousand and nine, you say. I’ll be damned. Old dogs, new tricks? You be the judge. Chill to Moby. Rock out with Dinosaur Jr. Get all late-night Bourbon Street drunk with Iggy Pop. If nothing else, listen to the mad, wild guitar on “Crazy Naked Girls” by the Super Furry Animals. Maggot Brain, anyone? Yum.

The Soup Song - The Mighty Boosh
You Never Know - Wilco
That’s How You’ll Find Me - The Bats
1, 2, 3, Partyy! - Mission Of Burma
Pieces - Dinosaur Jr.
Sacred Trickster - Sonic Youth
Here To Fall - Yo La Tengo
Blanket Of Weeds - Meat Puppets
Got Nuffin - Spoon
Shot In The Back Of The Head - Moby
Fort Wayne - Grand Duchy
Fitz & Dizzyspells - Andrew Bird
Further Complications - Jarvis Cocker
Black Hearted Love - Pj Harvey & John Parish
King Of The Dogs - Iggy Pop
Increment Of Love - Giant Sand
Funeral Singers - Califone
Silver Trembling Hands - The Flaming Lips
Jaykub (Ft. Jason Lytle) - Danger Mouse & Sparklehorse
Autumn Beds - Modest Mouse
Crazy Naked Girls - Super Furry Animals

Volume EIGHT • BITCH, LOVE YOU
Some people might refer to the majority of the songs on volume eight as Neo-Soul or Neo-Retro, or Retro-Neo R&B. To be trendy, I'll go with Flashback-Hip-Swinging-Butt-Shakin-Good-God-Almighty Grooves and Champagne-Bubbly-Hot-Tub-Lovemakin'-Silky-Smoothies. Be it a tune that harkens back to another time, or conjures beats from a distant land, or echoes off the walls of an urban landscape, or floats on the back of moonbeams, the bottom line is this: these songs make you wanna move or do something more than just move, man...er, and woman.

Busta Move - William Shatner
Sugarfoot - Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears
Bitch, I Love You - Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears
Ladies - Lee Fields & The Expressions
Keeping Time - Jenny Dee & The Deelinquents
Shark In The Water - VV Brown
If I Had Known - The Dynamites;Charles Walker
Don’t You Ever - The Sweet Divines
What Have You Done - Naomi Shelton & the Gospel Queens
Blak Girls - Shelley Nicole’s Blakbushe
Help Somebody - Maxwell
Pimp Juice - Otis Grove
Find You Out - RJD2
London Samba - Joyce
Takin’ State - City Champs, The
Hey Naa - Kermit Ruffins
Warm Heart of Africa - The Very Best
Tundra Rap - The Mighty Boosh
Quiet Dog Bite Hard - Mos Def
You’re In My Eyes (Discosong) - Jarvis Cocker

Volume NINE • CAUCASIAN BLUES
It’s fairly obvious that volume nine contains music with a rustic American feel, i.e. Caucasian Blues. Yes, there are a few artists here who are not citizens of the United States, but dang if they haven’t been influenced by, and dug deep into the clay of, the red, white and blue.

The Pancake Song - The Mighty Boosh
Caucasian Blues - Jarvis Cocker
Hard Times - The Bottle Rockets
Murdering Oscar - Patterson Hood
Lungs - Steve Earle
Sunrise - Soulsavers
Window - James Husband
Candy - Paolo Nutini
Golden Calf - The Band of Heathens
1968 - Alejandro Escovedo
I And Love and You - The Avett Brothers
Ahead Of The Curve - Monsters Of Folk
Down to the Wire - Son Volt
These Roads Don’t Move - Jay Farrar and Benjamin Gibbard
Blood Bank - Bon Iver
Train Song - Feist & Benjamin Gibbard
Penn Station - The Felice Brothers
Mama’s Eyes - Justin Townes Earle
Chain - Vic Chesnutt
Beer and the Belly - Deryl Dodd
Sulphur To Sugarcane - Elvis Costello

Volume TEN • 50,000 UNSTOPPABLE WATTS
The title to the Clutch song included here says it all. Muscle up boys and girls. This disc is not for the faint of heart (well, except for the last song, which is more a moronic, but heart-felt, anthem). Turn it up to eleven and then either step back or enjoy the pummeling. I prefer the latter.

The New Sound - The Mighty Boosh
50,000 Unstoppable Watts - Clutch
Skyling Slip - Naam
Gargantuan March - Fu Manchu
No Good Son - Maylene and the Sons of Disaster
Oblivion - Mastodon
We Got A Bleeder - Goblin Cock
Hair Of The Dog - Viking Skull
I Will Haunt You - Oneida
Fuckingsong - Jarvis Cocker
I Just Don’t Know - Radio Moscow
Scumbag Blues - Them Crooked Vultures
Freedom Is Over - Sophia Ramos
Lost in Las Vegas - Soul Stash
Lost Weekend [Explicit] - The Qemists
Animal - Sweatmaster
Waving - The Skull Defekts
So Long - The Datsuns
Outer Space - Ace Frehley
Loose Lips - The Last Vegas
Death to All But Metal (Radio Edit) - Steel Panther

Volume ELEVEN • I'M AN ANIMAL
I either couldn’t fit these tunes onto one of the other discs, or forgot about them, or discovered them late in the year. Enjoy the mixed menu.

I’m An Animal - Neko Case
Ramona - The Pains of Being Pure at Heart
Actor Out Of Work - St. Vincent
All Of My Days And All Of My Days Off - A.C. Newman
My Unusual Friend - Fruit Bats
So Far Around The Bend - The National
The Mountain - Heartless Bastards
She Comes To Me In Dreams - Great Lake Swimmers
Psalms 40:2 - The Mountain Goats
Ledmonton - Clues
Radio Kalininbrad - Handsome Furs
Molalatladi - BLK JKS
Dust Cloud - Bear in Heaven
Billie Holiday - Warpaint
Valient Brave - Ganglians
It Gets Your Body Movin’ - Suckers
Thundersnow - Cougar
20 Minutes / 40 Years - Isis

Volume TWELVE • PRETTY GIRLS GET AWAY WITH MURDER
I’m going to be honest with you, I had to get “Pretty Girls Get Away With Murder” into this year’s picks. If this song isn’t a sweet piece of 77-78-79, then I don’t know what is. Oh, I included “Hyph Mngo” by Joy Orbison (stupid name) because the writer (Andrew Gaering) at Pitchfork jizzed all over this song, going so far as giving it a 9 out of 10. Really? It's tough getting a nine out of those P-fork folks. I think they reserve those for Animal Collective. I guess I’m just not hip enough to get it. Or maybe it’s like that Simpsons’ episode that parodies Lollapalooza. The first kid says to the second kid (paraphrasing): “That cannonball guy is really cool.” The second kids says to the first, “Um, are you being ironic?” The first kid replies, “I don’t know any more.”

Pretty Girls Get Away With Murder - The Starter Kits
Little Lion Man - Mumford & Sons
Death By Diamonds And Pearls - Band of Skulls
Not The Only Person - The Rumble Strips
1-2-3-4 Count - Lovvers
Let a Poor Man Be - Clutch
Imagination Blind - Dinosaur Jr.
Planting Seeds - Built To Spill
Avalon Or Someone Very Similar - Yo La Tengo
Air - The Owls
At Least I’m Not As Sad (As I Used to Be) - fun.
Vapours - Islands
Longform - the dodos
Losing Composure - The Transfer
And the Hazy Sea - Cymbals Eat Guitars
Halcyon Days - ...And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead
All Over Your Face - Ronnie Dyson
Heart Skipped A Beat - The xx
Hyph Mngo - Joy Orbison