Distant from other interests...

Let’s go slowly, discouraged,

Distant from other interests

On your favorite weekend ending

Phoenix, Lisztomania

Even though S and A haven't done their introductions, I'd like to bring up an important topic on this second day of the new year: last year's music and why my Top Five is what it is (and why it isn't a top ten).

2009 rolled on in trailing several new bands into my life from the dregs of December 2008: The View, Tokyo Police Club, and Natalie Portman's Shaved Head (now officially known as NPSH, which is a little lame). I'll admit that I don't remember finding any new music at all in 2009 until spring when I started to listen to KEXP and download their Song of the Day podcast.

On April 30th the song of the day was "Lisztomania" by Phoenix. Previous songs that I had fallen in love with included selections by Throw Me the Statue, Bishop Allen, Miike Snow, Grizzly Bear and Bon Iver, among other artists. But Phoenix was different. I couldn't stop listening to it. After a huge history test I put in my MP3 player and listened to it over and over -- that's what the history of WWI does to you.
And when I found out that Phoenix was French it was like figuring out I had discovered the Holy Grail:

French music in English that is even better than English music.

What can top that?

I bought their May 2009 release, Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix, in July on a record store outing with J and have not looked back since.

Throw Me the Statue probably had the most plays over the summer for me -- I love them a lot, too (I pre-ordered their 2009 release, Creaturesque, and was miffed when it didn't arrive until two weeks later). S, A, and I saw them for free over the summer and it was one of the best concerts I've ever been to.

I don't feel right saying "this is in my top ten" when I've only heard one song that I happened to think was brilliant; this is why I only have a Top Five. For me 2009 was spent, in reality, listening to a lot of music from past years as I got to know bands I had discovered a lot more (most played album of the year? It's Never Been Like That by Phoenix, their 2006 release).

And so, without further explanation, my Top Five Albums of 2009:

5. The Fray - The Fray, Epic
4. Purpleface EP - Throw Me the Statue, Secretly Canadian
3. Sigh No More - Mumford & Sons, Gentlemen of the Road
2. Creaturesque - Throw Me the Statue, Secretly Canadian
1. Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix - Phoenix, Glassnote

Honorary Mention: "The First Days of Spring" by Noah and the Whale, which I'm sure I would have loved in 2009, had I listened to it then... Unfortunately, it's only just being played.