First off, is anyone still paying attention? Sorry for the delays for those of you that are… Alright, so I know what you are thinking, and YES, I promise to finish this damn countdown. This past week was my first week of nursing school, and as a result, I have been crazy busy. However, that isn’t an excuse, it’s just what’s been going on, so without further excuse, let’s get the rest of this countdown done; I mean, it’s already 2010 for crying out loud, and I haven’t even told you about the best music of 2009!!
11: William Fitzsimmons – The Sparrow and The Crow
William Fitzsimmons falls into a category of artists that I have randomly discovered by beard; that is, I saw a picture of the artist (who has a beard), and thought to myself, “hmm… I must check this guy out” (because, well, I love a guy with a beard). Well, as with many other artists I have discovered by the way of the beard, I am glad that I did check William’s music out, because it is incredible. Much like fellow album favorite list member, Hayden, William is an amazing folk musician. William is decidedly more delicate and more quiet and relaxed than most of his folk peers, but the result is an album filled to the brim with delicate and intricately crafted songs about love, longing, and loss; all of which completely captured my ears and my heart. He also does incredibly right by pairing his beautiful voice with female vocals on the track I Don’t Feel It Anymore (Song of the Sparrow), making it one of my favorites on the album (William has a habit of pairing with great female vocalists; he paired Rosi Golan on her amazing track Hazy, from her (also amazing) album The Drifter and the Gypsy). Overall, if I could describe this album with three words, they would be tender, heartfelt, and beautiful. William may have drawn my attention initially with his looks and his beard, but he captured my heart with his beautiful music. This album is a collection of truly perfect folk songs; songs that are delightful, and peacefully wonderful to listen to. Standout Tracks: Please Forgive Me (Song of the Crow), Maybe Be Alright, I Don’t Feel It Anymore (Song of the Sparrow), Even Now, Further From You, Just Not Each Other.
12: Bat For Lashes – Two Suns
Definitely one of the more “out there” choices on my favorites list this year, Bat For Lashes certainly backs up her status as an alternative artist. She does her best to throw out anything formulaic and embraces the strange and unusual (to quote Lydia Deetz) in her music; making for a truly mystical and amazing aural experience with Two Suns. The album itself harnesses the haunting and achingly beautiful vocals of Natasha Khan (aka, Bat for Lashes), and transports you to musical landscape filled with undulating rhythms and fanciful tales of fantasy and adventure. While I will openly admit that I didn’t “get” Bat For Lashes the first time around with her debut album, when Two Suns came out, the lead single Daniel (which shares both name and imagery with the character of the same name, who simply needed to learn how to “sweep the leg”) captured my attention completely, and I instantly wanted to hear more of this amazing siren. Well, I gave Two Suns my undivided attention, and it washed over me and enveloped me with it’s beauty and grace. I was lucky enough to catch Bat For Lashes live back in August, and my love for all things Natasha Khan only intensified upon seeing her live show. This woman is amazing, and her vocals are nothing short of impressive; and with the quirky music to back it up, it’s no wonder that Two Suns finds itself on a myriad of best of lists for 2009. I love great surprises, and this album was filled to the brim with just that; musical surprises full of wonder and amazement. Standout Tracks: Moon and Moon, Siren Song, The Big Sleep, Travelling Woman, Daniel.
13: Elizabeth and the Catapult – Taller Children
Finding this album was one of those incredibly rare times when you stumble so blindly on something so beautiful, well made, and down right amazing, that you almost can’t believe that you found it the way you did. Specifically, it was the beautiful album art that drew my attention, but after one listen, it was the music behind that cover that really blew me away. To say that I wasn’t prepared for what Taller Children held upon my first listen is a major understatement. Elizabeth and the Catapult have mastered the realm of pop music that is perhaps my most favorite (the piano-driven singer-songwriter side), and in making this album, have given me a new group to seek out and cling to each thing that they offer from this moment on. From delicate, and expertly crafted perfection of songs like Apathy, to incredibly delightful upbeat melodies and downright dancehall fun of songs like Complimentary Me and Race You, Taller Children is a journey through what I consider to be the best thing about music. The album is a delightful listen from beginning to end, and nary a misstep occurs from the moment they begin. What’s also great about this fantastic record, is that it actually picks up steam, and manages to get better on through till the end. This album was a massive find in 2009, and one that I won’t be putting away any time soon. In fact, one of my biggest regrets of 2009 was missing their concert; I hope that I can remedy this misstep in 2010. Standout Tracks: Apathy, Just In Time, Rainiest Days of Summer, Golden Ink, Complimentary Me.
14: Hayden – The Place Where We Lived
While I will admit that this album didn’t resonate quite as strongly with me as his previous effort (and top ten favorite of mine from last year), The Place Where We Lived is another fantastic offering from this too often ignored Canadian folk master. While artists like Bright Eyes and Iron and Wine dominate the folk scene here in the US, it’s a major wonder of mine, why Hayden isn’t also heralded for his contribution to the music scene. His aching vocal, and tender, well written vocal journeys, wrapped nicely in a country-twinged folk package are a sheer delight, and could be directly compared to his aforementioned fellow musicians. That being said, I am glad that Hayden released another fabulous album this year, as more exposure is sure to get him the attention he deserves. If you were a fan of his previous work, this album should be a no-brainer for you, but if this is your first go-round, you shouldn’t be disappointed in the least; Hayden is a very talented musician, and this is just more great folk-rock to add to his already impressive musical resume. Standout Tracks: Let It Last, When The Night Came and Took Us, Living Grows On Us, Message From London.
15: Lily Allen – It’s Not Me, It’s You
As much as I loved Lily’s wonderful debut, Alright Still, I had a bit of worry about her follow up the first time I heard the lead single, The Fear. While I really liked it, I felt it was a more electronic, and decidedly more dance-y direction for her to take, and I while I did like it, I was worried Lily may have lost her edge. Well, my fear (ha!) was quickly quelled once I had a proper listen of the whole album, as what I heard was classic Lily, and quite fantastic throughout. The jaded lyrics, sung by her sweet voice, mixed with delightful melodies and arrangements made this a great album I definitely enjoyed through most of 2009. While she certainly took some different directions with this album, and relied on familiar melodies and several of the sounds of the music of yesterday (the intro to Fuck You is practically note for note the Carpenters (They Long To Be) Close To You), I think that she was able to put enough of a fresh spin on each track that she made it her own. Perhaps most of all, I have to applaud the fact that Lily always tells it like it is, and whether she’s condemning a less-than-there lover, or slamming a horrible previous US president, one thing is for sure; she certainly knows her way around a clever lyric, and is no stranger to delivering her delightful brand of vicious wit without batting an eyelash. I will note, that it is practically criminal that she didn’t include the amazing B-side Fag Hag on this album, as it would have clearly been the biggest standout favorite for me. Standout Tracks: He Wasn’t There, Chinese, The Fear, Him, Fuck You.
This song has hit written all over it. The first couple of times I heard it, I knew that there was something about it I kind of liked, but I couldn’t put my finger on it. Well, after massive rotation on BBC Radio 1, I have fallen head over heels in love with this track, and had to feature it this week. Alesha Dixon had some success in the UK in the R&B girl band Mis-Teeq, but recently released quite a decent solo album. This is by far my favorite song on the album, and I am thankful to BBC Radio 1 for turning me on to this great track! Also, best of luck to Alesha as she heads to Africa to scale Mt Kilimanjaro for Malaria relief!
Alright, if you don’t get it by now, Lady GaGa is massive. HUGE. I have been screaming about her for almost a year now, and I am so pleased to see her getting the attention she deserves. Well, it seems like her steam engine has caught on fire, as there are all kinds of tracks spilling onto the tracks these days. The most recent is this amazing song from the Confessions of a Shopaholic soundtrack, appropriately called (and all about) Fashion. Lady GaGa’s blend of dance-pop is such a great, upbeat sound that it is hard not to bounce about when listening to great pop songs like this one. I’m glad that she released it, instead of Heidi Montag, which was what I had seen swirling around the internets. Hooray for new GaGa! Also, if it is going to all be this good, keep it coming!
Now, I know that this will probably piss someone off, but normally, Morrissey just bores me. Now, that doesn’t mean that he isn’t a fabulous artist, but for whatever reason, his voice usually hits the “go to sleep” button in my brain, and I have to shut it off. However, with this new song, Morrissey has made me sit up and pay attention; with my eyes and ears wide open! It’s peppy, fun, and the video is down right cute! It makes me wonder where the depressive Morrissey has gone; although, the lyrics definitely have his typical sardonic twist, but this time, they are juxtaposed with a, dare I say it, upbeat pop backing track! I must declare that I love this song, and I might have to go back through his catalog and see if I can find other moments that are as peppy as this song is. 
Okay, I’ll admit it. I watch American Idol. Mostly, I like to see who’s good and who isn’t, and by the time they get to the top 12, it is all gravy because most of those kids are pretty good. Well, with the recent crop, there was this one chick who stood out; both because she had a great singing voice, and also because there was a lot of press about her having a record deal prior to her auditioning this season. Well, it all came to a head, and unfortunately got her the boot from the show, which kinda sucks I guess, because she had made it to the top 36 as of this week. Well, I was talking to my friend John last night about her previous records, and he informed me of a song she did for the Legally Blonde soundtrack that was actually quite good. After listening to that song, we headed to iTunes, and low and behold, they have some of her songs (although not that particular one… poop), and this one struck me instantly. It is brilliantly sung and totally beautiful. I hate that Joanna got booted from AI, but I hope that the publicity can get her back on track to making more great music like this. Keep going Joanna, and don’t give up!!
on sale for $3.99!! That’s a steal!
First, there is something I need to get out right away: I HATE when people spell words in song titles like you’re with just a “UR”. It doesn’t make it more cool, and it doesn’t show that you are hip; it makes it look as if you are too lazy to worry about proper grammar. Ugh. Alright, with that said, I actually have been digging this song lately. I actually heard about Annie quite a long time ago from such power music blogs as 
Jem, you’ve done it again! The first song off of Jem’s upcoming release, Down To Earth (release date, September 16th) leaked a few weeks back, and I must say, as much as I loved her first record, I wasn’t actually digging On Top of The World as much as I would have liked. With her last record being so dynamic and innovative, I had high hopes for her sophomore effort, but by the sound of On Top Of the World, I was worried that I was going to be let down. Cut to this week, and the official release of Crazy as a single on iTunes… yeah, Jem still has it. This song is every bit as energetic and magnificent as her first record. She builds on her sound with this track, and proves that she has more to say with her music. Also, I cannot get enough of the banjo in this song!! Such a great use of a non-traditional pop instrument. Good form, Jem, I can’t wait for the record! 
First off, it says fuck a lot in this song, so if that isn’t your cup of tea, you have been warned. I love, love, love Lily Allen, and given the events of this week (RNC), I thought a fun political FU song was appropriate; especially since I only recently heard it. As much as I loved Lily’s first record, I have been chomping at the bit to get more stuff from her, and I was happy to find a few songs last week to satiate my appetite. This song is catchy, and I do think it is cool when people speak up for their political views, because you are always taking a risk; sometimes you get shunned for it (The Dixie Chicks), and sometimes you get praised for it (P!nk). With this silly track, Lily is saying what a lot of young American’s are thinking about our not-so commander and chief, and she will definitely get praises from me for putting it out there. I also cannot ignore the brilliant opening notes that are totally a throwback to the Carpenter’s massive hit Close To You; it really makes me smile to hear it throughout the song. I can’t wait for more new stuff Lily! 
I recently hooked my spin class teacher up with a bunch of “old” dance music that I have sitting on my hard drive, and I literally smiled from ear to ear yesterday when this track came blasting out during class. This song is one of those songs that originally, weren’t very good… Then, a MASSIVE producer (oh how you are missed, Thunderpuss!!!) gets their hands on it, remixes it, and then you have a dance-floor filler that is so much fun that it is hard not to shake your booty all night long. This was exactly what I needed to boost my energy in class, and I was reminded of how much I originally loved this remix. It’s a gem from all the way back in 2000, but to me, it sounds just as great today as it did so many years ago. I can tell you, that if this came on the club, I would need to clear a spot on the floor to break it down… let’s get fierce! 
