Favorite Albums of 2009

Okay, so 2009 wasn't the best year for new music. For my own personal collection, this was a year of filling in back releases of bands that I was slow to catch on to (Built to Spill, Stereophonics, Mission of Burma, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club) and broadening my horizons (Robert Johnson, Son House, Junior Kimbrough, Leadbelly). Anyway, here are my thoughts...

Biggest disappointment: Rocco DeLuca and the Burden - Mercy.
I'm a huge, huge fan of RDB's first album. He is amazing to watch live. He is an incredible Dobro player and delta-blues-inspired rock song writer. That said, his new album highlights none of his guitar playing ability, and focuses more on his voice (which is certainly unique) and...the glockenspiel. I wish I was kidding about that. Individually, most of the songs aren't bad, but collectively the album has no feeling or heart or energy. I blame Daniel Lanois.

Second biggest disappointment: Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band - Working on a Dream.
Many people know that I was raised on The Boss' music, and I continually listen to a half-dozen of his albums on a regular basis. I wasn't a huge fan of the last album, "Magic," because I thought it was too mid-tempo rock formulaic. Apparently Bruce and Brendan O'Brien loved the album, because they essentially made it again. No heart, no passion, just mid-tempo adult contemporary schlock. Time to ditch the E-Street band again and make another acoustic solo album about the plight of the working man again.
*Note - my disdain for Brendan O'Brien will appear again soon


On to the countdown. It was a decent year for indie/alternative music I guess:
10) Tie: Alice in Chains - Black Gives Way To Blue
BlakRoc - BlakRoc
I really didn't want to like the idea of a Layne Staley-less AIC, but this album is really pretty good, especially since Layne was too jammed up to really do anything productive on the last couple AIC albums anyway. And, anything by the Black Keys will always be on a year-end list. Add Ludacris, ODB, Mos Def, NOE, Raekwon and RZA to the project, and you get a fine, raw, rap-blues album.

9) Sonic Youth - The Eternal
For whatever reason, I always liked Sonic Youth but only had one album prior to this year. The Eternal isn't their greatest, but it is a solid indie rock album from the pioneers of the genre.

8) Mission of Burma - The Sound The Speed The Light
There really is no valid excuse for me being so slow on the uptake when it came to listening to Mission of Burma (aside, maybe, from the fact that they broke up when I was 4 initially). Do yourself a favor and "discover" them like I did this year.

7) Dan Auerbach - Keep It Hid
Solo album from one-half of The Black Keys. It's not quite as good as a Black Keys album, but it is still damn good. "I Want Some More" is one of my favorite songs of the year.

6) Built To Spill - There Is No Enemy
Seriously, how did I not know about Built To Spill earlier?!? I mean, I had always seen their name in the gig guide of the Phoenix now and then, but never bothered finding out what they were all about. I deserve to be scolded for that. Shame on me. Anyway, this is my favorite of their albums so far (though admittedly I've been listening to them for two weeks).

5) Blitzen Trapper - The Black River Killer EP
Usually an EP won't make my list, but "The Black River Killer" is such a damn good song that this one does. Blitzen Trapper are a really, really underrated band.

4) Pearl Jam - Backspacer
Well, Pearl Jam finally did it. They released an album that didn't make #1 on my year-end list. Only time this has ever happen. This album has good bones and some good individual songs, but Brendan O'Brien watered it waaaay done, the way he has with the last few Springsteen albums. For someone who was so vital to the sound of a lot of the music that I still love from the 1990s...what the hell happened? Still, "Gonna See My Friend," "Just Breath," "The End" "Got Some" and "The Fixer" are as good as anything they have ever put out.


3) Dave Matthews Band - Big Whiskey and the Groogrux King
This album caught me off guard, because I despise anything that Dave Matthews put out since "Before These Crowded Streets." That changed when I head "Funny The Way It Is" while sitting in a booth at Smokey Bones in Nashua. The passion and the emotion and the craftsmanship that MADE the Dave Matthews Band is back with a vengeance on this album.

2) Them Crooked Vultures - Them Crooked Vultures
So Dave Grohl (Foo Fighters, some other band in the 90s), Josh Homme (Queens of the Stone Age, Eagles of Death Metal) and John Paul Freakin' Jones (some band called Led Zeppelin) decided to form a group, eh. Of course it is one of the groove-heaviest (and heavy groove-est) albums of the year. This could very easily be ranked #1A. Why it doesn't get played on rock radio stations more...well...sorta explains why rock radio stations have been in continuous decline for a decade. Pick this one up (legally). It'll rock your face off.

1) Silversun Pickups - Swoon
SSPUs are probably my favorite band to debut in the '00s, as you'll find when I ever get around to putting together the "Favorites of the '00s" list. I could listen to this album every day (and sometimes I do). Very melodic (though heavier than you'd expect at times), very beautiful for a rock album. Obvious comparisons to early Smashing Pumpkins are warranted, but I think it is more sincere and skillfully crafted than anything Billy Corgan ever did. You deserve to own this album. Reward your ears. It'll make up for all the Lady Gaga and Black Eyed Peas you've had to endure.

Lá Fhéile Pádraig Sona Duit

For those of you that don't speak Gaelic (which I'm assuming is everyone), the title of this means "Happy St. Patrick's Day." Hope everyone had a good one. I know I did - mostly because I didn't hear anybody say "Everyone's Irish on St. Patty's Day." That saying has always bothered me. Not everyone is Italian/Portuguese on Columbus Day. Not everyone is Black on Martin Luther King Day. So why is "everyone Irish on St. Patty's Day"???

Anywho, off my soapbox. For a blast from the past, here's a picture from last St. Patrick's Day, which was Morgan's first. She was 2.5 months old at the time.



Fast forward to Morgan's second St. Patrick's Day - i.e. today. She's now 14.5 months (see how I did the math there?!?!?).


They just grow up so fast, don't they? You can't tell here, but we were mostly wearing matching pants as well as green polo shirts. Only, one of our pants didn't have pink embroidered flowers on them. Guess whose??

Happy St. Patrick's Day again.

Best of 2008

At long last, and because I know you cared, here are my picks for the best albums of 2008. That doesn't, of course mean that they ARE the best albums of 2008, as we all know how subjective people's music tastes are. Just that they are my favorite. Anyway, here goes...

HONORABLE MENTIONS:
- Body of War: Soundtrack (some filler, mostly good, partly great)
- Liam Finn: I'll Be Lightning (would be ranked higher if the sound of the album captured the energy and intensity of his live show)
-Foo Fighters: Echoes, Silence, Patience and Grace (sounds, well, like the Foo Fighters. not exactly blazing any sonic trails here)
- Jeff Ament: Tone (would be much higher if not for Doug Pinnick - he kills the album)
-Steven Malkmus: Real Emotional Trash (maybe higher someday - I haven't listened to it enough)

#10 - The Gaslight Anthem - The '59 Sound. I really like their sound. They definitely have a throwback sound for a modern, post-punk band. I just wish the sound was a little meatier, but I think that's a production thing. I expected more from Ted Hutt (see later).

#9 - Pennywise - Reason To Believe. For an album released in a gimmicky style (free download through MySpace), this is a damn solid album. Return to their early-90s sound, and sorta reminds me of Unwritten Law (before they really started sucking). Solid punk rock album.

#8 - Flogging Molly - Float. Dynamite album. Definitely their best. More "punky," more political, a little darker. None of the sea shanties. Awesome from start to finish.

#7 - Josh Ritter - Live at the 9:30 Club. At this point, Josh Ritter could probably record himself slaughtering puppies and it would make my top ten list. Great live EP - I just wish it was longer. Captures his live sound very accurately, and it's the only live thing he's put out to date that captures music from his best, and most recent, studio album.

#6 - Lupe Fiasco - Lupe Fiasco's The Cool. Okay, technically it came out in December 2007, but it's close enough. I've gotten away from a lot of hip-hop in recent years, but Lupe is the real deal. I like his flow, I like what he is rhyming about, and I like the beats, especially those by Soundtrakk. Look it up.

#5 - Kings of Leon - Only By the Night. I only caught on to these guys late in the year, so otherwise it may be higher, but this is a great album.

#4 - Street Dogs - State of Grace. This album is a home run. Mike McColgan was the best thing to ever happen to the Dropkick Murphy's, and this album proves why. Better than anything that DKM have done in a decade. There isn't a weak song on this album. If you think you like DKM, listen to this album. Lyrically, it's probably the best album of the year.

#3 - Trever Keith - Melancholics Anonymous. Maybe I'm biased because I'm of anything Trever (and Chad) do, but I really think this is a great album. First album I've really heard in what I'd call the post-emo genre. Really shows Trever's influences (heavy on The Cure). Too bad this one hasn't been widely released (though it is available for download at treverkeith.com).

#2 - Jackson United - Harmony and Dissidence. I really can't understand why JU hasn't blown up. This is a hell of an album, with a great sound and great songs. Better than the other major album Chris Shiflett was featured on this year, that's for sure.

....DRUM ROLL PLEASE...

#1 - Death Cab For Cutie - Narrow Stairs. I listened to this album once when it first, and then I didn't listen to it again for a few months because I wasn't thrilled the first time through. I'm not sure what I was thinking, because once I dusted it off, it's been hard to put down. It is louder than older stuff, and there are some really great bass grooves on this album (and you know my affinity for really great bass grooves). It's not their best-selling album, but it's certainly their best album.

There you have it, kids. Now gotta clear some space for 2009. I hear there is new Pearl Jam coming out this year, so guess what #1 will be.....

Cheers.

Hey, It's Me Again!

What has changed since we last spoke? Well, for starters, Morgan turned one. I still can't believe she is a year old. Truth be told, I still can't believe she's MINE!! (That's not an implication of infidelity on Natalia's part...just me not coming to grips with the fact that I actually have a kid).

Here are some pictures...This is one of the first pictures taken of Morgan on the day she was born. For those who weren't in the loop at the time, she was born at Winchester Hospital, but was sent quickly to Children's Hospital in Boston because she was born A)anemic and B)suffering from a severe case of meconium aspiration. It's still tough for me to look at pictures from those first days.

Anyways, fast-forward one year:
...and here we have Morgan just before her first birthday, wearing Daddy's Stanley Morgan throwback jersey. It's amazing how many guys I know don't make the connection between the name on the back of the jersey and my daughter's name...and how many women I know that don't realize that there was actually a guy with the last name Morgan that played for the Patriots. Anyway...

We don't have many pictures of Morgan's actual birthday celebrations on this computer, so I'll upload more later. Also, I'm pretty close to finalizing my list of my favorite albums of 2008, because I just know you're dying to find out...

Back in a while...

Well, I HAD good intentions...

I have this habit of getting an idea in my head and taking to it like a fish to water at first (emailing people, MySpace, books, etc), and then it quickly fades out and I'm on to the next thing. Really, I was going to use this space a lot more than I have. Who knows...maybe I still will. Anyway, thought I'd post some recent pictures of some goings-on in Wakefield.

Here's one of the obligatory "baby in the pumpkin patch" pictures. We went out to Connor's Farm in Danvers a couple weeks ago. Beautiful weather, though incredibly windy. Morgan had a great time playing with the pumpkins (as she has a great time playing with most things).

Aerial shot of Morgan and her pumpkiny friends. Sort of looks like an aerial shot of Neil Peart mid-solo (kudos if you have any idea what that reference means).

Morgan and daddy. In case you couldn't tell, she liked this one. Of course, there were a couple other ones she liked better later on, but this one made for the best picture.

One of surprisingly very few family pictures that we have of the three of us. Morgan has gotta be the most photographed baby in the history of babies, but we probably only have 4/5 pictures of the three of us together over the last nine months. We should work on that.

I'll post more pictures later, I just don't happen to have any on this computer. Really...I will!

Mmmm...Crab Mating Habits

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0908/13353.html - Now THAT is an earmark. Good thing Ms. Palin is anti-government spending and anti-pork barrel project....

Pit Bull in Lipstick

So maybe you can explain this to me... How in the world did Sarah Palin become bulletproof. I certainly realize that it is still (though not THAT early), but this election cycle has really got me befuddled. I know Karl Rove is a political genius and all, but I didn't quite realize that he was a magician! It has about five days since John McCain's boooooooooooooring, substance-free acceptance speech, and six days since the "Pit Bull in Lipstick" burst onto the scene, and they are still getting a free pass from the "liberal elite media." I really thought Americans were tired enough of what has been going on in Washington that they would actually pay attention to this election. Apparently I was wrong....

Anyway, I'll use this spot to post articles and blogs that are for the cause - spread the word, people...McCain/Palin needs to be stopped!!!

http://gawker.com/5045353/seriously - Good article called "Sarah Palin: Seriously?"

http://blogs.tnr.com/tnr/blogs/the_stump/archive/2008/09/01/sarah-palin-s-lamest-line.aspx - Blog from "The New Republic" about Palin's co-opting Hillary's "glass ceiling" comments and making them her own.