Worst of 2009: The 5 Biggest Disappointments

Every year has its ups and downs, musically. For me, the worst downs are not when a bad album drops, but rather when a bad album that should have been great releases. These are albums from artists who have proven themselves to be capable of something amazing, but have instead opted to phone-in an album or make something so uninspired or bad that listening to it is more of a chore than a joy. 2009 certainly had its share of disappointments. Here are the 5 that really stood out to me.

#5. Our Lady Peace: Burn Burn - Of all the albums on this list, this is the worst. Of course, that doesn't make it the biggest disappointment of the year, especially considering how bad Our Lady Peace has been over the last decade. But when I heard the band was coming out with a new album, my thoughts immediately went to their work in the 1990s. Heck, Happiness was this blog's #5 Alternative Album of all freaking time. But alas, what Burn Burn is is a continuation of the band's post-millennial work, with sappy lyrics and big me sensibilities. Hey, they're back though. And they're still better than most modern rock bands. So that's something I suppose.

#4. Metric: Fantasies - If I seem conflicted on this one, it's because I am. I mean, there are some fantastic songs on Fantasies, don't get me wrong. But there are some downright bad ones too. If there's one thing Metric had never given us in their 10-years of music making it's a "hit or miss" album. But Fantasies has that locked down!

#3. Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band: Outer South - Wow. Less than a year after they got together to make Oberst's brilliant self-titled, the Mystic Valley Band released this dud of an album to audiences. Thanks for that, guys. Outer South lacks all the charm, talent, and songwriting skills of its semi-quasi predecessor. That makes it quite the disappoint for yours truly, not to mention all of those other critics out there. With that said, I still must admit to liking "Air Matress." I mean, that's just a fun time.

#2. Cursive: Mama, I'm Swollen - I should've known something was up when Saddle Creek decided to sell this one for pennies in its opening days. I got mine for $1, which granted, isn't a bad deal, but still. After 2 amazing albums that really helped define my early adulthood, Cursive dropped this big lo' pile of mediocrity on us. The first 4 or 5 songs? Solid. The rest? No thanks. It was lacking all the bite, focus, and passion of past Cursive albums, so I stopped listening after 2 weeks or so.

#1. Zero 7: Yeah Ghost - Ugh, guys really? How do you follow up The Garden with this collection of abrasive, ugly pop music sung by the most mediocre of vocalists? Whereas every other album from this duo has been pretty much mellow, electronic pop, Yeah Ghost is just plain annoying. Whether they decided to go in an entirely different direction or just phoned this one in, there's no denying how awful this album is.

Click to Read More...

Summary only...

Best of 2009: Top 5 Guest Vocalists

Ahh, the guest vocalist. Usually you're forced to find work on crappy R&B records or Ja Rule songs, but 2009 was a good year for you! You got around and made yourself more known, more respectable. That's great for you. I hope 2010 is just as fruitful, though I must admit I have my doubts. For now though, let's recap your banner year with a list of your Top 5 Guest Vocal Performances. I think that would make everybody happy.

#5. Discovery featuring Angel Deradoorian - "I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend," from the album, LP - Chances are that "I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend" would have been a decent track without the inclusion of Angel's voice. Truth be told, she does very little on the track. But as it stands, her voice is the focal point of this song, and it's all the better because of it! I mean, she did a lot better than Ezra Koenig's guest spot, so that's gotta count for something right?

#4. Buck 65 featuring Sufjan Stevens - "Blood Pt. 2," from the album, Dark Was the Night - This one's kind of weird because Pt. 1 is a Sufjan Stevens song entirely. Pt. 2, however, finds the prolific rapper taking the reigns and Sufjan merely lending his vocals for the chorus. His performance, in a word, is creepy. His voice hovers eerily above the drumbeat and instrumentation, wavering and hinting at something sinister. It's quite a cool effect. And sure, while I'm still totally pissed that it's been 5 years (5 YEARS!!!) since I've heard anything really new from Mr. Stevens, I'm willing to give him the credit that is due to him for his job on this song. Congratulations, sir.

#3. Amadou & Mariam featuring K'Naan - "Africa," from the album, Welcome to Mali - So apparently this couple has been making music for years. News to me. I first heard the duo from Mali early in 2009 and I've been jamming to it off and on ever since. One of Welcome to Mali's best tracks without question is "Africa." A big reason for this is K'Naan whose vocals absolutely make the song. Maybe it's just because it's in english, that's a possibly, but he's also a very talented singer. Yay for him!

#2. MSTRKRFT featuring John Legend - "Heartbreaker," from the album, Fist of God - I've never been a giant John Legend fan (go figure, right?), but his vocals on this MSTRKRFT kinda make me want to go back and listen to some of his stuff with a more open ear. This song is easily the best track on Fist of God, thanks to Legend. He's the only vocalist on the album that doesn't sound like he's trying to compete with all the insane electronic music surrounding him. Granted, he's also got one of the album's more mellow compositions to work with, but the end result is still a beautiful track.

#1. Dirty Projectors featuring David Byrne - "Knotty Pine," from the album, Dark Was the Night - David Byrne is crazy. Dave Longstreth is crazy. Put the two of them together for a song and you get a crazy good song. "Knotty Pine" has been getting regular plays from me for months (really the only song from Dark Was the Night that I can say that about). Byrne's role isn't huge. He sings a little bit in the second verse and he may play some guitars (don't have the liner notes), but he does it all in a manner entirely his own. I love this song! It's one of the best of 2009!

Click to Read More...

Summary only...

Best of 2009: An Open Letter to Annie Clark

Dear Annie,

Hey, it's me. It's Cale. How have you been? It's been a crazy year for you, I bet. There was the touring, the totally badass music video shoots, the critically well-received (and more importantly, just flat-out awesome) album, and…umm…am I missing anything?

Anyway…funny story. I was going through all the albums I had heard this year by female solo artists in order to compile a list of what I felt were the Top 5 Female Albums of 2009, when I was struck by the realization that I couldn't assemble a list of 5 albums. This certainly was not because of lack of trying on my part. I listened to a number of female records in 2009; Lily Allen, Bat for Lashes, Neko Case, Peaches, and I even checked out a few Britney Spears tracks (though I'm not sure that one actually released this year…it's hard to say, and I don't follow her stuff much).

You see, when I laid out all the female solo records in front of me, there was one clear winner. Actor.

All of those other albums, yeah, I remember listening to them but they barely left an impression on me. Natasha Kahn is an extremely talented young lady and her style is miraculous, but I was done with Two Suns after, well, two suns (har har!). Lily Allen wasn't bad honestly, and there were some catchy tunes contained on It's Not Me, It's You, but I grew tired of that after two weeks or so. Regina Spektor? Yeah she's cool, but not really my style.

So right now, at the time of this writing, you're the only female solo artist I can think of who deserves to even be mentioned as having one of the best albums of 2009. I may be wrong. You know as well as I do that you are surrounded by very talented artists of the same gender, and if you can think of any albums that I should listen to, please let me know. I would love to check them out.

That's all really. I just wanted to congratulate you on your success in 2009, but also to thank you for providing these ears with some of the greatest tunes they've heard all year! Next time you're in Houston, I'll be sure to catch your show. I'll be the giant red-head in the front row, just in my own world, rocking out to "Marrow" and "Your Lips Are Red." Probably pretty hard to miss…

Sincerely,
Cale

Click to Read More...

Summary only...

29 in 2009 - Janis Joplin: "Pearl"

Janis Joplin:  Pearl

Originally Released:  February 1, 1971

Genres:  Rock, Blues

Rating:  7 out of 10

I have a few spare moments on my hand right now.  What better way to spend them than by trying to wrap up this 29 in 2009 series?

First off, I'd like to thank whoever recommended this album.  It's the first album by an artist that died in their prime that hasn't been a complete disappointment.  Believe it or not, I had never heard a Janis Joplin song in my life, with the possible exception of seeing her perform in a Woodstock documentary or two.  She is awesome!

"Move Over" is an awesome opening track, and maybe the perfect introduction to her sound (that's what I'm assuming at least, based off of my brief interaction with her tuneage).  The best track comes next though, "Cry Baby" is just one of the most powerfully sung songs I've ever heard.  Janis' voice is like a gift from god, here; fully displaying the passion and emotion of the lyrics.

"Mercedes Benz" is really the only song on Pearl that needs to be retired.  Sure Joplin's got a great voice, I'm just not sure its suited for acapella performances.  Here it sounds grating and disastrous.  This song is definitely worth skipping.

Overall though, a really good album.  Released posthumously, it really doesn't seem like a quick cash-in by the label.  Janis Joplin really seems like, if she had made some better choices, would still be around today, rocking just as hard as ever. 

Sorry for the short analysis, but as you may have noticed.  Things have been quite busy as of late.

Verdict:  Classic

Click to Read More...

Summary only...

Best of 2009: Top 5 Male Albums

While 2009 was a rather subpar year for female solo artists, in my opinion at least, things were a little better on the dude side of things. This years saw great releases from a wide array of male artists, the Top 5 are below.

#5. Del the Funky Homosapien: Funk Man (The Stimulus Package) - Back towards the beginning of the year, D.E.L. released an album via his webpage for the fair price of…nothing. I'll be real. I expected it to blow. I mean, Del hasn't really been a reliable source for good music for the last decade; so excuse me for the skepticism when he drops one for free. Surprisingly, however, Funk Man is probably Del's best album since Both Sides of Da Brain. There's still some moments on there where you just have to question what the guy's thinking, but for the most part, the craziness is an acceptable attribute.

#4. Allen Toussaint: The Bright Mississippi - Legendary jazz musician, eh? Well, forgive me but I'm just not that familiar with the genre. I am well-versed in the art of great music, however, and Toussaint has created a brilliant collection of it with The Bright Mississippi. The guy's over 70 years old at this point and he just won over a 25 year old. That's rather impressive.

#3. Julian Casablancas: Phrazes for the Young - Initially, I had Patrick Wolf's The Bachelor in the bottom spot on this list. However, once I got a chance to listen to The Strokes' singer's debut as a solo artist, it was clear to me that Casablancas was more deserving of a spot here. While his electronic compositions can get grating from time to time, I have to give the dude credit for doing something that, to me, comes as a complete surprise. It's a fun listen, and one of the year's better debuts.

#2. Wallpaper.: Doodoo Face - Gasp! Wallpaper. appears on an Audio Overflow list but isn't at number one? Crazy right? Well hey, if you really want to hear about my thoughts on Wallpaper's bitchin' debut, you can read about that here, here, here, and here. For now, I'll just acknowledge that someone did it better in '09 and then get on to talking about that guy.

#1. Loney, Dear: Dear John - That guy is Emil Svanangen, the dude behind Loney, Dear. Emil totally deserves this award because he created what is arguably the most impressive male solo album of the decade. Dear John has it all. It's got absolutely brilliant compositions layered with guitars, high-pitched vocals, and synths; upbeat songs and complete tearjerkers; and touching lyrics that also happen to be some of the most-honest of recent memory. Let's be real here. All of Emil's albums are fantastic. But Dear John outdoes them all. When I reviewed it at the beginning of 2009 I referred to it as his Magnum Opus. I swear, if he's able to top this one I'll have no choice but to kneel in his presence. Fortunately (or unfortunately, depending on your perspective), that's probably not possible.

Click to Read More...

Summary only...

The New Look

We are at the dawn of 2010, people.  10 years ago I was a sophomore in high school, digging on the new Limp Bizkit album, and rocking the trombone in the marching band.  A lot can happen in 10 years.  As I grew up, stopped watching MTV, and started getting exposed to other types of music, my tastes changed.

To celebrate the start of the new decade, I have changed the look of Audio Overflow slightly to pay tribute to some of the artists that helped shape the way I think about and consume music.  The design of the blog will continue to get tweaked until January, but I wanted to go ahead and give you all a sneak peek at the new look so that I can collect some feedback before finalizing things.

Audio Overflow version 2.0 (aka. The Big Brown) had just turned 2 years old.  It was time for a change.

Please leave a comment, letting me know what you think of the new look.  And don't forget to throw suggestions my way too!

Click to Read More...

Summary only...

Best of 2009: Top 10 Party Jams

Let's say you're at this party, right? Dude who's rocking the music has to jet to pick up another case and he takes his iPod with him. This is your moment, your chance to impress every fine lady at that get-together. You take your iPod over to the stereo pick the flyest jam you have and then watch in anticipation as everyone at the party reacts to your choice of….Tone Loc?!?! Don't worry folks. If you ever get invited to another party, I've got you covered with the hottest party jams of '09! Throw some of these on, and I pretty much guarantee that it'll go over well. At the very least, they'll do better than "Funky Cold Medina."

#10. "Get Yo Shit" by Black Joe Lewis and the Honeybears, from the album, Tell 'Em What Your Name Is! - A little bit of humor goes a long way, and this song has quite a bit of it. That's the good news. The bad news is that there's a lot of talking that people will have to hush up to understand. Still, if you're at a party in Austin where everybody pretty much already knows the song, you'll be fine.

#9. "Swing Tree" by Discovery, from the album, LP - "Swing Tree" has the uncanny ability to appeal to a variety of music fans; hip hop, pop, r&b, heck…maybe even reggae. I threw this on one night much to the admiration of one young lady in particular. Hey, that's one better than I was doing up until that point.

#8. "Get it Right Now" by Del the Funky Homosapien, from the album, Funk Man - Ahh the ultimate party conundrum! People are demanding that someone put on some rap songs - because, well, they've been drinking and are therefore more easily susceptible to bad things - but you don't want to insult your own intelligence by playing a selection from the 99% of rap music that blows. What to do? Throw on some D.E.L. It always goes down smooth.

#7. "A.T.C." by Lesbian Fist, from the Lesbian Fist EP - Remember that bit about humor going a long way? Well, let's hope your party has an open sense of humor because Lesbian Fist is going to bring the goods, wrapped up in a nice little pop package. Keep an eye on peoples' faces as they ask themselves, "Did I really just hear that?" while simultaneously bouncing to one of the catchiest songs of 2009.

#6. "Little Secrets" by Passion Pit, from the album, Manners - Nobody had heard this song the first time I had played it for my friends at a social gathering. Since then, at least a few of them have picked up the CD because of this one. "Little Secrets" may not not pack the universal appeal of other songs on this list, but I'll be damned if it ain't a whole lot of fun singing to when you're a tiny bit inebriated.

#5. "1901" by Phoenix, from the album, Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix - Okay, the car commercial pretty much ruined it for me too, but I'll be damned if this still isn't one of the best songs of 2009. That applies to whether you're listening at a party or at a party of one :(. Honestly, who doesn't love this song?

#4. "Daylight" by Matt & Kim, from the album, Grand - You would think that this song would be more off-putting to some than it actually is. Come to think of it, I don't recall ever having to change the song due to someone disliking it. It's a fun, poppy, piano-driven song that I have yet to tire of despite having listened to it several dozen times over the course of 2009.

#3. "ddd" by Wallpaper., from the album, Doodoo Face - Humor, again, does wonders, and "ddd" certainly packs in its share of one-liners. Sure, there may be one cowardly anonymous commenter on this blog who referred to Wallpaper. as "drivel" (most likely without ever listening to it seriously), but I have yet to introduce this song to anyone who has disliked it. Considering I tend to chill with a bunch of Ryan Adams and Regina Spektor fans, I'd say that's quite the achievement.

#2. "I'm On a Boat" by The Lonely Island (featuring T-Pain), from the album, Incredibad - Experience, just once, a whole room of people simultaneously singing "I Fucked a Mermaid" and you'll know why this one is awesome. 'Nuff said.

#1. "I Got Soul, I'm So Wasted" by Wallpaper., from the album, Doodoo Face - There are few songs in the world that have complete universal appeal. Wallpaper's first single from Doodoo Face has to come pretty close. Besides the fact that everybody (EVERYBODY) I know personally loves it, I still have yet to read a review of the album or the song that dismisses it as less than it is. Wallpaper's music is all about letting loose and having a good time and it goes about it in a satirical manner. So even those of us who hate most mainstream pop music can enjoy it. Nobody seriously sings about "throwing up in the bathroom stall" as an achievement, but Ricky Reed does. And if you've ever been in that sort of situation (guilty), then you'll be singing right along (also guilty). For me, this the unquestionable party jam of '09.

What's yours?

Click to Read More...

Summary only...