Galkin’s Top 115 of 2009, Part 4 of 4

Well here it finally is. The top 15 songs of last year. It’s what, March? Took me long enough – sorry.  But this list just had to be finished, as it is still my go-to playlist on my iPod.

Look for some actual 2010 content coming soon (so many new albums to talk about!), and enjoy the excellent and long-awaited conclusion:

15. Owl City – “Fireflies”
Favorite radio song of the year

14. Discovery – “Orange Shirt”
Ra Ra Riot + Vampire Weekend =

13. Julian Casablancas – “11th Dimension”
Makes me look forward to anything and everything by The Strokes

12. Chiddy Bang – “The Opposite Of Adults (KIDS)”
Best sample of another song this year

11. Animal Collective – “My Girls”
An almost 6 minute sprawling epic. Like the Return of the King (of songs)

10. Owl City – “Hello Seattle”
Postal Service ripoff? Maybe. Excellent song? Definitely

9. Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros – “Home”
Out of nowhere band/song that resonates with me for whatever reason and shot up the list

8. Swimming With Dolphins – “Everything’s A Miracle”
The type of song I would make if I had any talent

7. Kid Cudi – “Pursuit Of Happiness”
Best collaboration of the year with MGMT and Ratatat

6. Passion Pit – “Sleepyhead”
Song I’ve listened to the most this year…not surprising

5. Matt And Kim – “Daylight”
So infectious and catchy – even more so in person

4. Phoenix – “Lisztomania”
Best French import since the Statue of Liberty; Phoenix is legit

3. Grizzly Bear – “Two Weeks”
About as perfect a song as can be written

2. fun. – “At Least I’m Not As Sad (As I Used To Be)”
Best played live song I saw this year; fantastically sung by Nate

1. Passion Pit – “The Reeling”
Not the best song I’ve seen live or the best sung or the best from a purely musical standpoint. Feel like it has a little bit of everything making it stand out as my favorite song of the year

Virgin Mobile FreeFest 2009

Now I know that some of the other blogs/sites you might read probably definitely had posts about Virgin Mobile FreeFest 2009 the day the hour after it ended.  However, being as I’m just one person, and being as I went on vacation right after VirginFest: sorry, I’m just now getting to it…

So we miiiiight have started the day off by getting a KegBus to take us from Arlington to Merriweather Post Pavilion.  We miiiight have spent the entire day at the 2nd stage, not the main stage.  We also miiiight have been front row for Girl Talk. Who knows?!

See the online album for more pictures from the day.

The Hold Steady
Approachability: High

Now I obviously knew of The Hold Steady and had heard their album a few times.  Never totally did it for me, but I stayed and listened…and obviously they put on a really great show.  The keyboard player was particularly hilarious.  I mean come on, look at him!  I’ll probably be listening to them more now after seeing them live.

For more info, go to their MySpace:
http://www.myspace.com/theholdsteady

Public Enemy
Approachability: meh, umm, medium?

Umm, obviously not really my jam.  After watching The Hold Steady we sort of stumbled back over the main stage.  It was completely packed.  The group kinda split up.  We found the food and beer stands.  Then we somehow made it back to the best stage the side stage and were able to catch a few songs from Public Enemy.  It was pretty hilarious to watch.  Flava Flav totally stole the show:

The National
Approachability: Medium/High

Very similarly for me to The Hold Steady, The National is a group that I’ve heard many times, but I just never got that into them.  I think RP3 knew every word to every song, and they definitely put on a good show.  I’ll probably also listen to them more now that I’ve seen them live.

For more info, go to their MySpace:
http://www.myspace.com/thenational

Girl Talk
Approachability: Medium/Low

Girl Talk was easily the primary reason that I purchased acquired a ticket for this day of great music.  I’ve listened to his album so many times, and I’ve heard from several of my friends’ first hand accounts that he puts on an amazing show.  I can definitely corroborate their stories.

I literally didn’t move from the stage area after Public Enemy left, and by the time he came on, I was right up against the barriers at the front row.  After every band finished, people shifted around, and we threw some bo’s, and pretty soon we were right up front.  The place was packed:

He pulled like 50 audience members up on stage with him, and shit got pretty nuts pretty quickly:

They were shooting toilet paper ALL OVER the place (as you can see above) and they were throwing these big plastic beach-ball-esque things into the crowd.  So fun.  At the risk of sounding like a 12-year-old girl, we were so close that when he ran down off the stage and jumped around with the front of the crowd, we could touch him (OMG!!11 LOLZ!!).

Whenever he wasn’t in front of his laptop (and sometimes when he was!) he spent a lot of time on top of his table, jumping around with the crowd on stage, and then with the crowd on the ground.  It was such a crazy show.  I heard more than one person around me say it was the best show they’ve ever been to.  When the stage crew came on afterward, they literally squeegeed the stage off.

My favorite description of the set came from Stereogum: “the traveling hipster roadshow that is a Girl Talk set.”  Hilarious.

For more info, go to his MySpace:

http://www.myspace.com/girltalk

This was one of the more fun posts I’ve done in a while.  Got to re-live the day a bit.  Super fun, great music, perfect weather.  Amazing day.

Again, see the album online for more pictures from the day.

Preview Of Things To Come
September is a busy month for me.  I’ve already been to VirginFest and seen Kings of Leon (post forthcoming).  I’m seeing Matt and Kim tonight, then seeing fun. this Friday, and finally seeing Ra Ra Riot in 2 weeks.  And let’s not even talk (yet!) about all the sweet music coming out/just released.

-WJ

Holiday Weekend fun.

I’m off to Virginia Beach for the holiday weekend to enjoy some beach sunshine, good food, drinks, and friends, and probably sitting in tons of traffic haha. More great new stuff this week, so here we go:

• fun.
  Approachability: Very High
  
  Megs actually found this band (she’s a sucker for piano and singing…), and then through RP3 it was blasting in our living room. They’re a new band, formed in the winter of 2008 in NYC. Their debut album comes out on August 25th, and hopefully it’s as good as some of the stuff on their space – especially what’s likely their first single, At Least I’m Not As Sad As I Used To Be.

  Enjoy:
  http://www.myspace.com/fun
  (Note that you can listen to 6 of their songs live via youtube, and 1 song via the myspace music player)

• Miike Snow
  Approachability: Medium
  
  I had previously heard his song Burial and I liked it a lot. His new self titled album is out now via all the usual outlets. This is definitely a little more electronic than some of the stuff I’ve been posting recently, but I think it’s still quite fun to listen to. You can hear what I’m guessing is the first single, Animal, on his space, as well as Burial and Song For No One. I think they’re all pretty awesome, but Animal is def. the standout.

  Enjoy:
  http://www.myspace.com/miikesnow

• MJ
  As everyone is now immensely aware, Michael Jackson died last week. I have been pretty much obsessed with the Discovery album ever since I got it a couple of weeks ago, and I find it almost eerie that they included such an awesome cover of the Jackson 5 song I Want You Back on their first LP.As my own little tribute to MJ, here’s that cover:
  Discovery – I Want You Back
• Ra Ra Riot @ 930 Club
  Ra Ra Riot tickets for October 1st at the 930 Club in DC are now available on Tickets.com. Go buy yours before they sell out!
  
  
• Virgin Mobile’s FreeFest
  So this year in DC, the usual Virgin Fest has moved venues, and tickets are free. Yes, totally free. They apparently went very quickly, as they’re now “free’d out,” but you can still get tickets via volunteering somehow. I’m sure they’ll be on StubHub too for, umm, not free. Apparently all 35,000 tickets were snatched up in minutes. Thank you Richard Branson!

  This is one of those events that I got tickets for totally on a whim, and am looking forward to seeing all the supporting acts (Girl Talk, Franz Ferdinand, The National, The Bravery, The Hold Steady) but pretty much couldn’t give a shit about the headliners (Blink 182 and Weezer). Maybe that means we can get out of there before the traffic really starts? haha

  More info here:
  http://www.virginmobilefestival.com/

• Concerts
  There are some pretty good concerts coming up, so here’s a little synopsis. I probably will miss more of them than I would like, but hopefully you can make some of these:

  Paolo Nutini @ 930 Club, Thurs, July 23
  Los Campesinos! @ 930 Club, Wed, Aug 5
  Hackensaw Boys @ State Theater, Fri, Aug 14
  Bat for Lashes @ 930 Club, Sat, Aug 15
  Jimmy Buffett @ Nissan Pavilion, Thurs, Sept 3
  Matt and Kim @ Black Cat, Wed, Sept 16
  Passion Pit and Phoenix @ Rumsey Playfield (NYC!), Sat, Sept 26
  Ra Ra Riot @ 930 Club, Thurs, Oct 1
  Dirty Projectors @ Black Cat (I think in Oct/Nov?…don’t remember the date unfortunately)

• Stillness Is The Move Video
  RP3 showed me this video posted on Stereogum earlier this week. Pretty funny video for a really awesome song. Enjoy the llamas and synchronized dancing!
  
  http://stereogum.com/archives/video/new-dirty-projectors-video—stillness-is-the-move_076732.html

Have a great long weekend everyone! Hope you get to enjoy some good music with your fireworks and drinks!

-WJ

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