2009年 Dec 31日 Thursday, 6:47
Looking back on 2009 I can’t say it was a great year. Musically, nor personally. It did have its moments though. The year brought many good records, but so far I haven’t heard one that completely blew me away. I must note here that I haven’t heard many of the critics favorites yet, so I might change my mind on 2009 later on. ;-) Today, however, I can only write about what I now know.
Not until I saw The Decemberists perform their Hazards Of Love album at the Crossing Border festival it dawned on me that this was the record that impressed me most this year. The cd is very good, but live it sounded really fantastic. In fact, the concert was one of the best I ever attended, perhaps only surpassed in greatness by those of Bruce Springsteen (2008) and Ben Folds (2007).
I also liked the new and more traditional sound Alela Diane presented on her second album. I don’t think it’s a complete masterpiece, but it contains many beautiful songs. Her concert in Utrecht was another highlight in 2009. The most pleasant surprise came from A Fine Frenzy. Her debut didn’t really caught on with me, but Bomb In A Birdcage got me hooked. Then there was the beautiful Elephants… Teeth Sinking Into Heart by Rachael Yamagata, which was officially released in the Netherlands in 2009, though it actually dates from 2008. Also highly recommended are the records by Laïs Lenski, A.A. Bondy (somewhere between Josh Rouse and Ryan Adams), Madison Violet (two pretty girls singing beautiful folksongs), Marissa Nadler and Pearl Jam.
My hero Bruce Springsteen also made a very nice record, Working On A Dream, but since it doesn’t rank among his best work, I decided not to list it in my top 10. The same goes for John Mayer. I really like Battle Studies, but it doesn’t impress me as much as Continuum, which is one of my favorite records of the decade. Finally, Alexi Murdoch deserves a special mention here. His Time Without Consequence is not in my top 10, because it was already made in 2006, but since I didn’t discover it until its official Dutch release this year, it definitely deserves a few words, because it is one of my greatest discoveries of 2009.
10 best records of 2009
1. The Decemberists - Hazards Of Love
2. Alela Diane - To Be Still
3. A Fine Frenzy - Bomb In A Birdcage
4. Rachael Yamagata - Elephants… Teeth Sinking Into Heart
5. Rufus Wainwright - Milwaukee At Last!!!
6. Laïs Lenski - Laïs Lenski
7. A.A. Bondy - When The Devil’s Loose
8. Madison Violet - No Fool For Trying
9. Marissa Nadler - Little Hells
10. Pearl Jam - Backspacer
I didn't see as much concerts in 2009 as in previous years, because there weren't that many artists I wanted to see and I missed out on Wilco, but I attened some truly great gigs this year.
5 best concerts of 2009
1. The Decemberists (The Hague, November 21)
2. Natalie Merchant (The Hague, November 20)
3. Emiliana Torrini (Utrecht, September 24)
4. Lucinda Williams (Utrecht, July 10)
5. Alela Diane (Utrecht, July 14)
Of course, 2009 wasn’t all about new music. In my case, it may even have be more about old music. My biggest discovery of the year, for example, is a guy who has already been around for more than a decade now. For some reason or other, I just could never really get into his music. This year, however, viel het kwartje, as we say in Dutch. And that is why you can find five of his records among the cd’s I added to my collection this year. According to Last.fm Release The Stars was the record I listened to most this year and Going To A Town and Tiergarten are my Top 2 songs. Bruce Springsteen is the only artist that gained more plays in my library this year.
The two best cd’s I bought this year are without a doubt the 30th anniversary edition of Bruce Springsteen’s Born To Run and Hounds Of Love (with bonustracks) by Kate Bush, since those were already among my Top 5 albums ever. Since I already had those on lp, they are not in my list of favorite pre-2009 discoveries made this year.
These are, in alphabetical order:
The Handsome Family – Singing Bones
Alison Krauss & Union Station – New Favorite
Robert Plant & Alison Krauss – Raising Sand
Alice Russell – My Favourite Letters
Slowdive – Souvlaki
Stars – Set Yourself On Fire
Candi Staton – Candi Staton
Rufus Wainwright – Release the stars
Amy Winehouse – Back To Black
Betty Wright – The Platinum Collection
This was my year in music. If anybody thinks I missed out on some great music, please let me know! I wish everyone who took the time to read this a great 2010. The prospects for the new year definitely look good! ;-)