Favorite non-Merge 2009 records I can think of right now, in alphabetical order:
Bowerbirds – Upper Air
Circulatory System – Signal Morning
Cryptacize – Mythomania
the Dutchess & the Duke – Sunrise / Sunset
God Help the Girl s/t
the Love Language’s debut
Madeline & the White Flag Band - White Flag
Nesey Gallons – Eyes & Eyes & Eyes Ago
Still Flyin’ - Never Gonna Touch the Ground
Violet Vector & the Lovely Lovelies – EP II
Christina, 7 Ft Tall Metronome, & Julian Koster at XX Merge
This list excludes the 2009 Merge albums, because you already know they were the greatest!
Fruit Bats – The Ruminant Band
The Love Language – s/t
God Help the Girl
Greece! – ferries, feral doggies, ancient ruins, beautiful beaches and lots of citron!
Ground Control Showcase @ CMJ ’09 – Surf City, Let’s Wrestle, The Love Language, and Pete & the Pirates!
The Generationals – Con Law
Discovering Julia Child – My Life in France is essential reading.
Mastering the perfect chicken & sausage gumbo
Kronhaus creations & Christinapalooza – every girl deserves a red silk party dress and a big party if she has to get older!
The Thermals – Now We Can See
Rediscovering Paul McCartney’s RAM
Neko Case & Crooked Fingers at Meymandi Concert Hall (And Neko’s fantastic new album, Middle Cyclone!)
Last, but most importantly – XX Merge! As if we needed more proof that Merge bands & fans are the best!
Movies:
The Hangover
I Love You Man (“I’ll take a coldish”)
Fantastic Mr. Fox
Whatever Works
Hurt Locker
Music:
Extra Golden: Thank You Very Quickly
Animal Collective: Merriweather Post Pavilion
The Movies: Based on a True Story
Trans Am: What Day is it Tonight
Kraftwerk: The Catalogue
Best TV Show:
Soft Focus
Nelson & Katie
My Top Ten in 2009 (in no order):
- Completing my first half marathon
- Surviving XX Merge
- Joining the Bowling League and getting my first turkey
- Shoe Dazzle
- The Secret History by Donna Tart
- It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia
- Escazu Chocolates especially the Sea Salt bar and the Goat’s Milk Bar
- Graduating from UNC
- Traveling to Germany and Austria with one of my best buddies
- Adopting the best dog ever, Nelson
Dirty Thai aka Bennie’s Thai Cafe
Taco Truck (Hoboken)
Schnitzel Truck aka Schnitzel & Things
Vegan Treats (Bethlehem, PA)
Newman-O’s
Lisa’s Granola (Hoboken)
Stumptown Coffee (Hairbender Blend)
senegalese chicken peanut soup (Hale & Hearty)
Uncle Eddie’s Peanut Butter and Chocolate Chip Cookies
Adrienne’s Pizza
and
Battlestar Galactica
Every Time I Die – New Junk Aesthetic
Dethklok – Dethalbum II
Baroness – The Blue Record
Tera Melos – Idioms vol. 1
Neko Case – Middle Cyclone
The Number 12 Looks Like You – Worse Than Alone
The Fall of Troy – In The Unlikely Event
Gossip Grows on Trees – Hollywood (thats my band! is this a copout?)
Calico Haunts – After All
Polvo – In Prism
Minus the Bear – Into the Mirror (AND seeing them at the Cat’s Cradle!)
The Lawrence Arms – Buttsweat and Tears
In lieu of a photo, we have Jay’s brand new music video! His band is Gossip Grows on Trees and the song is “Hollywood!”
Tiny Vipers Live at Chicks Hotel
Eugene Chadbourne Live at Chicks Hotel
Darker than the Deepest Sea, Nick Drake Bio
Haunted Love Darkness in Diamond City EP
Buzzcocks Live in Christchurch
Getting to play Roen Gothenburg and Barcelona.
The Vulcan Railcar riding the Rails again in Otago
The Patch Community Gardens in Port Chalmers
The new Cycle way going from Dunedin to Port Chalmers
Harmonia live 74
The Clean released their first new record since 2001, Mister Pop, this year! Order yours now in the Merge store.
Adam's doggie, Otis
Some of the things that made me happy in 2009 (in no particular order):
XX Merge – 33 amazing bands, hundreds of great people, new friends, unbelievable fun & excitement. Too many highlights to list. I’m still tired.
The Clientele: Bonfires on the Heath – I can’t talk about this band without sounding like a lunatic. They are very good.
Califone: All My Friends Are Funeral Singers – their best record yet?
M. Ward: Hold Time – probably my most played record of the year.
Wye Oak- the band, the people, the shows, The Knot. I love ‘em all.
“Please remove your spurs. Come to think of it, remove your antlers.“
“Bundle up my little urchin.”
Doves: Kingdom of Rust – so under appreciated. Need to come back to NC.
David Rawlings playing guitar – makes me want to run away & be a hippie.
CD Alley, Chapel Hill - I’m certainly their most annoying customer. Thank you Ryan, Brian, Thomas & Alison for tolerating me.
Excellent records from Chapel Hill including Ryan Gustafson’s Donkey LP & The Kingsbury Manx Ascenseur Ouvert!
The dude, the terrible little puppy & Sue.
Joe’s Top 10 things for 2009
1. Getting married
2. Friends
3. Buying a house
4. Man Day*
5. My new job at Merge
6. Cooking
7. Finishing my book**
8. Video Games
9. Beer
10. Bourbon
*Man Day is when I spend a day at my best friends’ house, and we partake of 10, 9, 8, & 6.
**Comics & Cocktails A through Z , an ABC book for people who like booze, comics and the alphabet. You can find all of the details at FeralChicken.com.
These are some of my favorite songs (in no particular order) from 2009. Rather than including all the blog favorites and hype bands of the year, I decided to put songs you most likely haven’t heard. All of the musicians are from NC as well. Hope you enjoy.
As a special holiday bonus, click to download Stu’s Street Hitz mixtape!
Track listing:
1. Floating Action- Don’t Stop (Loving Me Now)
2. Iyez- You Don’t Get It
3. Mrs.- Wet Am
4. Ryan Gustafson- Soul Train
5. Gross Ghost- Lurker
6. Soft Company- One Story Diamond
7. Spiderbags- Teenage Eyes
8. Veelee- Not Getting Nowhere
9. Tim Poovey- Spectacles
10. James Wallace- Night
Kelly Rosebud & Ross at XX Merge
I’m more of a “song” kind of guy, so most of my list is comprised of favorite tracks of 2009. However, there were a handful of records that I listened to on repeat. Also, I threw in a TV show, a webshow, and a music festival that really helped to make my year. Happy holidays to everyone and a happy 2010! (And, I hope it goes without saying, these are in no particular order.)
To Willie — Phosphorescent
“Lisztomania” — Phoenix
“Come Saturday” — The Pains of Being Pure At Heart
“Nothing To Hide” — Yo La Tengo
“Wilco (the song)” — Wilco
“The Fade” — Megafaun
“Coast of Carolina” — Telekinesis
“Learned to Surf” — Superchunk
Curse The Branches — David Bazan
“Southland” — TV SHOW
“Between Two Ferns (with Zach Galifianakis) – WEB SERIES (on funnyordie.com)
“The Switch Kids” — The Henry Clay People
“Shampoo” — Elvis Perkins In Dearland
“A Whole Lot Better” — Brendan Benson
Get Guilty — A.C. Newman
“The Right” – Lou Barlow
Love & Curses — Reigning Sound
XX Merge — (Maybe the greatest weekend of my life…especially Pipe, Lambchop and American Music Club.)
2009 Discoveries but NOT 2009 Releases
Palm Wine Guitar Music — S.E. Rogie
Santogold — Santogold
“Street People” — Bobby Charles (thanks to Justin Gage)
Some of Ivan Rosebuds top musical moments of the year 2009:
1.) When we played the Middle East Club in Boston this year I introduced our bass player Brad Cook (from Megafaun and Gayngs) to the crowd and they actually clapped for about five minutes straight without stopping. They realized what they were all doing half way into it and just kept getting louder and louder and louder till the place basically erupted and we had to almost stop the show early
2.) Playing “Leaves Do Fall” every night with just Kelly Crisp on an accordion and me on an acoustic guitar throughout Europe this fall.
3.) Winning the Merge XX Festival 3 on 3 basketball tournament with Roy Bourne, the man who wrote Nightshade, and Grayson Currin from Brome.
4.)Kelly coming up with a percussion part using car keys in the recording of “Second Bird of Paradise” at Flying Tiger Studio in our home town of Raleigh NC. Then The Rosebuds playing that song live with the NC Youth Ballet dancing onstage behind us.
5.) Walking into my hotel room over looking the river after our show in Ghanzhou China and seeing the city lit up like an episode of the 1983 not so hit TV series AUTOMAN.
6.)) Getting to sing on some of my favorite bands recordings:
Singing on the Megafaun record in my basement
Singing on the Bowerbirds record in my basement
Singing on the new Gayngs record in Eau Claire
7.)The day I finally listened to what Kelly said, and realized that the Fever Ray record is brilliant and my favorite record of the year.
8.) Watching and Listening to 800 Germans sing along to “Nice Fox” in Berlin Germany
9.)The Mark Eitzel performance at Merge XX this year was amazing and beautiful. It hit me just right and I was hiding my tears the whole time.
10.) Practicing for one hour before the show and playing the bass with Michael and Matthew in Telekinesis at Merge XX and actually pulling it off.
11.) Writing and recording the Christmas song “I Hear (Click Click Click)” for the Holly Raleigh Kidsmas Benefit Record this year.
12.) Hearing the words, “I want your body on me” come in when Brad was tracking the bass on the Gayngs Record in the studio.
13.) Getting a copy of the the Screen Vinyl Image Lp in the mail from my friend Jake in DC.
14.) Driving back from the Wilmington NC alone and listening to the third Phoenix album in my car and hearing the song “North” come on and remembering how much I love that song.
15.) Performing our show at the small Woodwinds repair shop Marsh Woodwinds in Raleigh NC.
16.) Our Duke Gardens show with Rob Lackey, Wes Phillips and the horn section from Lost in the Tress.
The Rosebuds will play two shows with Megafaun at The Pour House in Raleigh on January 8th and 9th. Tickets on sale now!
Stream full-length songs (at random) from our entire catalog.
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