Galkin’s Top 115 of 2009, Part 2

Here is part 2 of Galkin’s list.  I know it probably seems sooo behind the times to keep talking about 2009 songs, especially while there is so much new music already out this year (Yeasayer, Hot Chip, Ok Go – dare I even say Ke$ha? – to name a few) but Galkin’s list is easily still my favorite playlist on my iPod right now, and it needs to be completed.  Besides, didn’t you need some new stuff to stream at work?  We’ll get to 2010 soon enough, don’t worry…

85. Eminem – “We Made You”
Much anticipated comeback was good, not great. Good to see he still likes to make fun of people though.

84. The National – “So Far Around The Bend”
On the Dark Was The Night compilation – check it out, seriously

83. Manchester Orchestra – “I’ve Got Friends”
Band that you can distinctly hear maturing over their last 3 albums

82. Muse – “Undisclosed Desires”
Need to see these guys in concert. Will be epic.

81. Say Anything – “Hate Everyone”
One of my favorite bands, but didn’t connect with the new album like previous ones

80. Paramore – “Ignorance”
Hayley Williams is adorable. That is all.

79. Anderson – “Trevor On The Dancefloor”
Fun electronic dance-y song you’ve never heard of from a band you don’t know. It’s my list.

78. Yes Giantess – “Can’t Help It”
Michael Jackson-like sounding lead singer makes me miss MJ…the non-crazy, black version

77. Pony Pony Run Run – “Walking On A Line”
Don’t care for the band name, good thing they make catchy music

76. Classified – “Choose Your Own Adventure 3”
White Canadien rapper, eh? I’m as surprised as you are. Also known as the Steve Nash of rap (may or may not have made that last part up)

75. Jay-Z – “Run This Town”
Excellent chorus by Rihanna along with Kanye kept in check made this a winner

74. Peter Bjorn And John – “Nothing To Worry About”
Including singing kids generally makes things better

73. Shakira – “She Wolf (Villians Remix)”
Heavy breathing also makes things better

72. Taking Back Sunday – “Sink Into Me”
A favorite band from high school still has something left in the tank

71. Flight Of The Conchords – “Carol Brown”
“…hoping that you’ll stick around” – would have enjoyed another season of FOTC

70. Harlem Shakes – “Strictly Game”
Good band that unfortunately broke up…luckily it was after I got to see them live

69. Neon Indian – “Deadbeat Summer”
Trippy.

68. The Sounds – “No One Sleeps When I’m Awake (Viking Remix)”
An already good song, but the additions in the remix put it over the top

67. Norah Jones – “Chasing Pirates”
Classiest song of the year

66. Wale – “90210”
Disappointing live, but still one of the top rappers IMO

65. Yeah Yeah Yeahs – “Zero”
Spin’s song of the year – not mine, but still really good

64. Simian Mobile Disco – “Audacity Of Huge (Dada Life Guerilla Remix)”
The ones who usually do the remixing get remixed themselves – what’s good for the goose is good for the gander, right?

63. The Big Pink – “Dominos”
Methodically paced and catchy song about girls falling like dominos

62. Glee Cast – “Don’t Stop Believin’”
Best song by a fake Glee club

61. The Bird And The Bee – “Love Letter To Japan”
I feel like The Bird and the Bee are a hidden gem – have always enjoyed their quirky songs.

60. Jay-Z – “DOA”
Electric guitar and soprano sax make this much more than your regular rap song

59. Owl City – “Cave In”
Called Owl City a year and a half ago…you’re welcome

58. Parachute – “Under Control”
Charlottesville/UVA band that is gaining popularity – this should have been a bigger hit

57. Florence And The Machine – “Dog Days Are Over”
Florence’s haunting yet fierce voice make the first track of the album stand out

56. The Drums – “Let’s Go Surfing”
Old school sounding song of the year…think a modern indie Beach Boys

Looking Backward to Look Forward

Why don’t we start the new decade by recapping 09?  Here are the Weird Jim Top 10 Albums of 2009.  You’ll see some stuff that I have talked about previously, as well as some new stuff that is just now making its way onto the site.

Additionally, keep an eye out over the next few weeks for some more top 2009 (and 2010!) lists from Galkin and Tripp, as well as some increased activity in 2010 as they help me keep WJM a little more active!  Now without further adieu:

10) White Lies – To Lose My Life

Heard about these guys in a 2009 albums to watch, and they are awesome.  They talk about death and emo-y stuff like that a little too much for my taste, but they usually keep it upbeat and fun – so it’s acceptable, right?

White Lies – To Lose My Life

9) Miike Snow – Miike Snow

Heard “Burial,” loved the song.  Heard “Animal,” convinced of his talent.  Great album – can’t wait until he comes to DC.

Miike Snow – Animal

8 ) Harlem Shakes – Technicolor Health

The upbeat and uplifting song “Strictly Game” got me through some tough times (at work haha) earlier in the year, and I’m so glad I got to see them live before they broke up…

Harlem Shakes – Strictly Game

7) Dave Matthews Band – Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King

One of his best albums ever (that’s right, I said it), although sometimes gets a bit heavy on the electronic guitar for me.  I tend to love Dave for the jazziness of the group, especially his live stuff, but this album is still just really great.

Dave Matthews Band – Shake Me Like a Monkey

6) Matt and Kim – Grand

The most exciting music I’ve ever heard made by just two people on a keyboard and drum set.  Amazing.  Seeing them live from 10 feet away was one of the most fun concerts I’ve been too.  Julie, if you’re reading this, I still need those damn pictures.

Matt and Kim – Good Ol’ Fashioned Nightmare

5) Phoenix – Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix

First album was good, second album is freaking great.  Unfortunately missed seeing them when they came to DC, but apparently it was pretty awesome.  I love this album, and I love how they’re on a Cadillac (I think that’s the right ad?) commercial now.

Phoenix – 1901

4) Discovery – LP

I routinely go to this album immediately upon turning on my iPod.  Usually (as it’s an unfortunately-short 30 minutes long) I listen to the whole thing before finding something else.  I especially love how their cover of Jackson 5 came out nearly-instantly after MJ died.  Loved seeing this LP for sale at the Ra Ra Riot concert.

Discovery – Swing Tree

3) Passion Pit – Manners

If I don’t go to Discovery upon turning on my iPod, I usually end up on Passion Pit‘s Manners.  Almost every song on this album is amazing, and like Harlem Shakes they got me through some tough times earlier this year.  And some tough commutes nowadays!  Love how they’re now on a Palm ad.  And I know that I’m sounding like a broken record at this point, but seeing them in DC from 20 feet away was simply incredible.  Tripp saw them at ACL, but I’m sure it just didn’t compare to The Black Cat.

Passion Pit – Little Secrets

2) Dirty Projectors – Bitte Orca

I’m not bitter that Tripp bailed on our seeing the Dirty Projectors in DC.  No really, I’m not, I promise.  Even though we had tickets to the sold out show and everything.  The music on this album is just incredible.  The girls’ singing is amazing, the songs are new and different, and I can’t get enough.

Dirty Projectors – Stillness Is The Move

1) Animal Collective – Merriweather Post Pavilion

This album came out a year ago (literally), and it was sort of the beginning of a musically-experimental trend for me.  I listened to MPP, and I liked a couple of songs.  After 5 or 10 more listens though, I was in love with this album.  And that was in January 2009.  Every time I put this on, I get giddy haha.

All that, and the amount of times I’ve listened to this…and I just noticed a few days ago that the album cover is an optical illusion.  Fitting…I think every time I listen to this album I hear something new, and that’s why this is easily my album of the year.

Animal Collective – My Girls

Happy New Year everyone.  Hopefully everyone had a great 2009, fun holidays, and here’s to a sweet 2010.

And while we’re talking about 2009 listening habits, take a look at this simply amazing document/analysis from Last.fm.  You’ll see some familiar names Enjoy

Playing Catch-Up, Part Deux

I’m not sure why it was easier for me to post more frequently when I was more busy, but for some reason it was. There’s a ton to post about, so I’ll get right into it.

• Discovery – LP
  Approachability: High/Medium
  

  So the Discovery (Ra Ra Riot’s Wed Miles and Vampire Weekend’s Rostam Batmanglij side project) album LP is finally about to come out (July 7th). More importantly, this means that it has finally been leaked to the interwebs.Although clocking in at a disappointingly-short 30 minutes, those 30 minutes are almost certainly going to be in my top 10 albums of 2009. It’s like an indie-r&b-electo-remix-fest. At times they sound like Daft Punk, other times almost like Lil’ Wayne. Definitely a top this year. I can only dream of a Discovery, Ra Ra Riot, Vampire Weekend tour…

  Check out their space for more info:
  http://www.myspace.com/discoverdiscovery

• Dirty Projectors – Bitte Orca
  Approachability: Low
  

  After RP3′s die hard search for Dirty Projector’s new Bitte Orca album, turns out we found another winner. My personal favorite track is “Stillness Is The Move,” but there’s also a great acoustic tune called “Two Doves,” and a more upbeat jam called “Useful Chamber.” And of course the opening track, “Cannibal Resource,” rocks out more classically.Find all these jams on hypem.com, and obviously the album on iTunes.

  More info on their space:
  http://www.myspace.com/dirtyprojectors

  Finally, they’re coming to The Black Cat in DC later this year. Get ready.

• Pony Pony Run Run
  Approachability: Medium
  

  RP3 also ran into this band when he found their blow-you-away single “Hey You.” If you like your typical electo-pop-rock band, then you’ll love Pony Pony Run Run. Their song “First Date Mullet,” besides having a hilarious name, is quite good.Since hypem is almost entirely remixes of Hey You, go check them out on their space:
  http://www.myspace.com/ponyponyrunrun

• Ronald Jenkees
  Approachability: High
  

  This guy is totally insane, but he’s also so fun to listen to. He plays various keyboards to a pre-made beat in the background, and mixes it up and has fun. I personally think that his stuff on youtube is way better than the album itself, but you may disagree. My favorite song is definitely “Throwing Fire,”but you can hear him do everything from Led Zepplin to Canon in D.You can find all his stuff live on youtube:
  http://www.youtube.com/user/ronaldjenkees?blend=1&ob=4

  And his albums are available on iTunes, and on his website:
  http://www.ronaldjenkees.com/

• Passion Pit & Harlem Shakes Concert
  Approachability: Medium
  (Dance-ability: Super High)

  RP3, Galkin, Julie, and I (among others) went to see Passion Pit last week at The Black Cat in DC. Wow what a show. Cale Parks opened it up – who we all decided would be the best drummer for a cool electro-pop-rock band ever. Pretty good, but kinda tough to watch alone. Amazing drummer though.Harlem Shakes (as you know, one of my favorites) was next in line, and were also great, as expected. They apparently had a bunch of gear stolen the night before in Richmond, so they had to improvise about half their set. I felt kinda bad for them, but they still put a great show – even though half of it was basically performed acoustic. And then finally: Passion Pit.

  The audience was already pretty lively, and by the time they were 2 songs in the whole place was jumping. They played most of my favorites, even though the set was really only about 45 minutes long. My only issue with the whole thing was that the lead singer, Michael Angelakos’s mic was way too low. You could hardly hear most of his vocals. Otherwise, great show.

  And Julie even showed us how to have a dance party when packed up against a bunch of hipsters. Turns out it’s not even that hard!

  You can listen to Passion Pit’s whole set online at NPR:
  http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=105109499

• And finally, Ra Ra Riot has announced another tour, and they’re headlining at the 930 Club in DC on October 1. I guess I know where I’ll be on October 1st haha.
  http://www.absolutepunk.net/showthread.php?t=1127572

I’m still trying to figure out how to get back to posting the actual songs so you can download without Blogger pulling my posts off. I might switch to wordpress or something, we’ll see.

Have a great weekend!
-WJ

Playing Catch-Up

Sorry it’s been so long since I posted anything. Now that I’m in between projects I have tons of free time, but I no longer sit at my desk all day working and listening to new music on the interweb. I’ve spent lots of time getting caught up in life, but have been quite delinquint in posting. My bad.

There’s a lot to talk about, so I’m going to switch up the format a little bit this time.

• The XX
  Approachability: Medium/Low
  

  Long ago, in my senior year of high school, my friend Thomas and I became semi-obsessed with the song Teardrops, by Lovestation. We heard it on a streaming radio station, and after weeks of hunting it down, finally found it and downloaded it. Great song. Then, in a hilarious coincidence, I was listening to music on the interweb a few weeks ago, and ran across The XX’s cover of Teardrops. The XX is a new band from London, and hearing Teardrops really brought me back – plus it’s a great song to boot!

  Check out more of The XX’s stuff (especially Crystalised and Blood Red Moon) on their space:
  http://www.myspace.com/thexx
  

• The Vanish
  Approachability: Medium
  

  As is the sound of the moment, The Vanish is another new stand-out electro-pop-rock duo. They came from Australia (like Cut Copy, Empire of the Sun, Van She, and many other greats) and now live in New York City pumping out some awesome stuff. Here’s a bio they wrote:

  The Vanish was born in 2008 when two workmates decided to shun the grind of their New York City jobs, pack up their desks and disappear. Suddenly aware that life isn’t a rehearsal, they took a gamble on the music game.

  It’s the creative extension of their days playing together in teenage punk bands growing up in Australia – and this early influence remains. They now deal with the issues of identity and conformity faced in their previous nine-to-five lives over a boiling fusion of post-punk, nu-wave and electro.

  Both experienced DJs and seasoned instrumentalists, The Vanish combine these aspects through a tapestry of late-night electro, rocking verses and crunching guitar chords reminiscent of The Clash in the late ‘70s. Back in Brooklyn, their self-titled EP is a teaser for their full-length release that’ll drop later this year.

  DJ sets and live shows – bringing in drummer Ben Yabsley – will span across Australia and the United States in 2009.

  Check out Heartbeat, Hold On, and more of their awesome music on their space:
  http://www.myspace.com/thevanishmusic

• The Airborne Toxic Event
  Approachability: Medium
  

  I know they aren’t a new band, but I was listening to them in the car the other day, and thought they needed to be re-mentioned. The Airborne Toxic Event is an indie/alt-rock band from LA with a somewhat similar sound to The Strokes. The lead singer’s voice is incredibly distinctive, and they’ve got some great stuff out there:
  Wishing Well
  Does This Mean You’re Moving On

  And of course, check more of their stuff out on their space:
  http://www.myspace.com/theairbornetoxicevent

• You can now listen to the new Dave Matthews Band album Big Whiskey and the Groogrux King in its entirety online through Pandora now. Pretty sweet promotion, and the album sounds fantastic.
  http://www.pandora.com/davematthewsband
• As RP3 mentioned below, we’re going to see Passion Pit and Harlem Shakes in a little over a week, on June 9th. Both of their albums are go-to’s on my iPod, and I couldn’t be more excited. If you haven’t checked them out yet, definitely do so immediately.
• I heard a couple of sweet songs on KEXP recently, so I’m just going to share those below instead of doing a new Song of the Moment:Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band – Nikorette
  Approachability: Very High

  Fanfarlo – The Walls Are Coming Down
  Approachability: High

• Further proof that Adam Sandberg is single-handedly keeping SNL afloat…
  SNL: Digital Short: Motherlover
  
• And finally, because I just can’t get enough of it:
  The Lonely Island – I’m On a Boat

Have a great weekend everyone!
-Weird Jim

Harlem Shakes

Approachability: High/Medium

Last week, I heard one of the best songs I’ve heard this year, probably top 5 this year actually… I’ve played it for numerous people, and everyone absolutely loves it. “Who is this?!” Like I said – one of the best songs so far this year.

The song was Strictly Game, by the Harlem Shakes (yes, they’re from Brooklyn), and it’s clearly worthy of being my first real post to this thing.

Their first full length album (Technicolor Health) came out last Tuesday, and the rest of the album is also excellent. The first two songs are (unfortunately?) the obvious highlights, but the rest of it isn’t nearly as bad as the allmusic review makes it sound. I mean, sure, it’s no Merriweather Post Pavilion or Dear Science, but the album is damn good either way. Definitely one of my favorites this year.

I haven’t really figured out how this whole blog thing works yet, so until I do, I’ll just be linking to youtube or last.fm or something for the songs I want “showcase.” Hopefully that will change soon, but oh well – works for now.

Harlem Shakes – Strictly Game
Harlem Shakes – Nothing But Change, Part II

In other news, tomorrow I’m [finally] going to see the Black Kids live. Last time I tried, they sold out 930 Club as the headliner. Now, they’re opening for Mates of State, so that will be an awesome show…but isn’t it funny buying a ticket for the opening act? I wonder who most people will be there tomorrow to see?

…And we’re off and running. Let’s see where this thing takes us.