Tops of 09, Props to 0-10

Well, it's officially 2010. This past year has been pretty fantastic musically. I grew a lot personally in my own musicality while some really awesome were albums released. I also ate a lot of egg drop soup, discovered thai food, spent a summer in LA, found love, embraced twitter, and was up 33% on my investments. I saw some unbelievable live shows - White Rabbits, Monsters of Folk, The Avett Brothers, Dr. Dog, and The Antlers were especially fantastic. I fell in love with Jazz vinyl, especially with the late Art Tatum. And Dave Brubeck. I also ate a lot of bagels. And without further ado, a few lists of what I enjoyed from 2009.

Top 15 albums of 2009:

1. The Antlers - Hospice
2. Grizzly Bear - Vecktimest
3. The xx - The xx
4. Samantha Crain & The Midnight Shivers - Songs in the Night
5. Dark Was The Night Compilation
6. Black Moth Super Rainbow - Eating Us
7. Animal Collective - Merriweather Post Pavilion
8. Phoenix - Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix
9. Dirty Projectors - Bitte Orca
10. White Rabbits - Its Frightening
11. Vetiver - Tight Knit
12. Pomegranates - Everybody Come Outside
13. Bon Iver - Blood Bank EP
14. The Avett Brothers - I and Love and You
15. Heartless Bastards - The Mountain

Top 4 movies of 2009:

1. The Fantastic Mr. Fox
2. Inglourious Basterds
3. Up
4. The Hangover

Favorite 6 Singles of 2009:

1. "Home" - Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros
2. "Two Weeks" - Grizzly Bear
3. "Percussion Gun" - White Rabbits
4. "The Train Song" - Feist and Ben Gibbard
5. "Kettering" - The Antlers
6. "The Blackest Purse" - Why?

Top TV Moment:

1. Dexter Season 4 Finale. OMG!

Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeroes - Up From Below

The sound won't stay the same! Up and down, attentive and almost bored, unbelievable hit or very miss, Los Angeles-based Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros new album, Up From Below, throws out so many different sounds. Like a mix between Feist, The National, The Arcade Fire, David Bowie, and epic parts of The Lion King, Edward Sharpe throws a lot out there. And when he hits, he crushes it. "40 Day Dream", "Janglin", and "Carries On" are really good. But the song that makes this whole CD worth it is "Home". Fantastic vocals, catchy whistling, and lyrics about love, ("Alabama, Arkansas / I do love my ma and pa / Not that way that I do love you,") the song is just so incredibly catchy and amazing. Its sound is thorough and expansive, and just makes you feel good. I can't say I recommend the album as a whole, though the sounds are definitely interesting. And the album has a lot of high points throughout (though mostly in the beginning).

But yeah, check out Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros and look at the lettering on his van on the myspace page! L'Chaim!