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