MidPoints Year-End/Decade-End Recap

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! ITS 2010!!

So in 2009 the economy was crap, the environment melted, the Phoenix Suns didn't make the playoffs, and half of all celebrities died. But musically speaking, it was a pretty rockin turn through the ol' calendar. Heres my favorite music from the past year:

TOP ALBUMS of 2009

15. Pains of Being Pure at Heart - Pains of Being Pure at Heart

14. Neon Indian - Psychic Chasms

13. Eminem - Relapse

12. Bat For Lashes - Two Suns

11. Morrissey - Years of Refusal

10. Dirty Projectors - Bitte Orca

9. Grizzly Bear - Veckatimest

8. The Decemberists - Hazards of Love

7. Drake - So Far Gone

6. Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Its Blitz!

5. The xx - xx

4. Phoenix - Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix

3. Jay-Z - The Blueprint 3

2. Animal Collective - Merriweather Post Pavilion

1. Passion Pit - Manners

Honorable Mentions:

Kid Cudi - Man on the Moon: The End of the Day

U2 - No Line On The Horizon

Dave Matthews Band - Big Whiskey and the Gru Grux King

Flaming Lips - Embryonic

Lady Gaga - The Fame Monster

TOP SONGS of 2009

25. "I'm On A Boat" - The Lonely Island

24. "Tik Tok" -Ke$ha

23. "Telephone" - Lady Gaga ft. Beyonce

22. "Forever"Drake ft. Lil Wayne, Kanye West & Eminem -

21. "Rome" - Phoenix

20. "Alive (Nightmare)" - Kid Cudi ft. Ratatat

19. "Zero" - Yeah Yeah Yeahs

18. "Run This Town" - Jay-Z ft. Kanye West & Rihanna

17. "Heart Skipped A Beat" - The xx

16. "City Lights" - Method Man and Red Man ft. Bun B

15. "D.O.A. (Death of Autotune)" - Jay-Z

14. "Bad Romance" - Lady Gaga

13. "Moth's Wings" - Passion Pit

12. "Magnificent" - U2

11. "Blood Bank" - Bon Iver

10. "Its Not Your Birthday Anymore" - Morrissey

9. "Uptown" - Drake ft. Lil Wayne & Bun B

8. "Daniel" - Bat For Lashes

7. "Audacity of Huge" - Simian Mobile Disco ft. Chis Keating

6. "Heads Will Roll" - Yeah Yeah Yeahs

5. "Evacuate The Dancefloor" - Cascada

4. "Little Secrets" - Passion Pit

3. "1901" - Phoenix

2. "My Girls" - Animal Collective

1. "Empire State of Mind" - Jay-Z

LAST.FM MOST PLAYED ARTIST of 2009

10. Eminem

9. Yeah Yeah Yeahs

8. Lil Wayne

7. Drake

6. Fleet Foxes

5. U2

4. Animal Collective

3. Kid Cudi

2. Radiohead

1. Jay-Z

In related news, we just ended a decade so here is my favorite music from the past decade:

TOP ALBUMS of the 2000s:

15. Kanye West - The College Dropout

14. Justice - Cross

13. Jay-Z - The Blueprint

12. Stars - Set Yourself On Fire

11. Death Cab For Cutie - Transatlanticism

10. Passion Pit - Manners

9. Sufjan Stevens - Come On Feel The Illionoise!

8. Broken Social Scene - You Forgot It In People

7. The National - Boxer

6. Bright Eyes - I'm Wide Awake Its Morning

5. Radiohead - Kid A

4. The Postal Service - Give Up

3. The Hold Steady - Boys and Girls in America

2. Radiohead - In Rainbows

1. Arcade Fire - Funeral

Honorable Mentions:

Ryan Adams - Heartbreaker

The White Stripes - Elephant

Lil Wayne - Tha Carter III

Arcade Fire - Neon Bible

Girl Talk - Night Ripper

TOP SONGS of the 2000s:

25. "Apartment Story" - The National

24. "Live Your Life" - T.I. ft. Rihanna

23. "Does He Love You" - Rilo Kiley

22. "When You Were Young" - The Killers

21. "Beautiful Day" - U2

20. "Sleepyhead" - Passion Pit

19. "Do You Realize??" - The Flaming Lips

18. "Wolf Like Me" - TV On The Radio

17. "Come Pick Me Up" - Ryan Adams

16. "Atlas" - Battles

15. "Fell In Love With A Girl" - The White Stripes

14. "99 Problems" - Jay-Z

13. "My Girls" - Animal Collective

12. "Kids" - MGMT

11. "Empire State of Mind" - Jay-Z ft. Alicia Keys

10. "The Funeral" - Band of Horses

9. "All My Friends" - LCD Soundsystem

8. "Stronger" - Kanye West

7. "Crazy" - Gnarls Barkley

6. "Paper Planes" - M.I.A.

5. "Digital Love" - Daft Punk

4. "Maps" - Yeah Yeah Yeahs

3. "Rebellion (Lies)" - Arcade Fire

2. "Such Great Heights" - The Postal Service

1. "Reckoner" - Radiohead

TOP ARTISTS of 2000s:

10. Jack White (The White Stripes/The Raconteurs/The Dead Weather)

9. Wilco

8. Death Cab For Cutie

7. Daft Punk

6. The National

5. The Hold Steady

4. Arcade Fire

3. Jay-Z

2. Kanye West

1. Radiohead

Its been a hell of a decade, but now its on to the next one...

15 Step-Live From The 2009 Grammys

Todays release of In Rainbows Disk 2 has me in quite the Radiohead mood. In the interest of preserving that mood and at the request of Mr. Saeed Jones, I have tracked down a high quality mp3 of Radiohead's live performance of "15 Step" with the USC marching band from this years Grammys. Enjoy!

15 Step - Live at the 2009 Grammys

Radiohead - In Rainbows Disk 2

Ok, so this isn't exactly a new release but its new to everyone who didn't buy the deluxe version of Radiohead's 2007 release In Rainbows. For the first time, In Rainbows Disk 2 is available as a digital download exclusively from the band's online W.A.S.T.E. store. I was hoping that this would be a free download like In Rainbows, but unfortunately Radiohead decided to sell out and charge us a whole £6 (9.78760 USD).

I've listened to the whole album all the way through and even though its only 27 minutes long, it's a pretty damn good 27 minutes. The album sounds exactly like what you would expect a companion piece to In Rainbows to sound like. Recorded during the same sessions as In Rainbows, the follow up disk has a similar sonic aesthetic as the original; stripped down piano, guitar and drums highlight the musicianship and songwriting prowess the band. Ultimately, like any other Radiohead release, In Rainbows Disk 2 is filled with moments of breath taking beauty and mind bending weirdness, but all pulled off in a way that is incredibly honest and satisfying. My favorites are the slowly building (and aptly titled) "Go Slowly" and the expansive orchestral "Down Is The New Up". At the end of the day, In Rainbows Disk 2 is great. It's everything I want Radiohead release to be, with its brevity being the only shortcoming. Literal or otherwise.

The Grammy's

Last night's Grammy performances were impressive, to say the least.  If you didn't have a chance to catch it, here is what you missed:

KANYE WEST, JAY-Z, LIL WAYNE, TI, and MIA - SWAGGER LIKE US

Swagger Like Us indeed.  It's just Kanye West, Jay-Z, Lil Wayne, T.I. and a super pregnant M.I.A.  I'm still in shock.  For the most part, I just can't believe all of five(!!!) of them were on the same stage at the same time.  I suppose it makes sense.  I mean they are all there, right?  Why not get five of the biggest musicians in the world to perform one of the biggest songs of the year?  The plan was so simple, I didn't even expect it.  Once that curtain roles up and The Rap pack appear, one fact becomes incredibly clear: this is going to be good.  And good it was.  

RADIOHEAD - 15 STEP

Radiohead (ya know, the best band in the world) also showed up and with the help the USC marching band to play the In Rainbows lead off track "15 Step".  Although the absence of Ed O'Brien, Colin Greenwood, Phil Selway is curious, the marching band gives this already brilliant track a very cool feel.  I could write pages about the injustices of In Rainbows not winning album of the year, but I don't have the time and I assume you don't have the patience. Instead, use your time effectively and watch this.

There was other stuff, but these two were my favorite.  For more performances check out Pitchfork's video recap.

Of Montreal? Of Course!

Of Montreal is a pretty nutty band, so I shouldn't have been so surprised when I found out that they are releasing their forthcoming album Skeletal Lamping (check the nutty album art here) in a variety of formats such as CD, vinyl, t-shirt, wall decal, sticker set and paper lamp. For those objects less inclined to store music, a digital download will also be included. Like I said, nutty. Also, nutty, if not bat-shit crazy, is Nonpareil of Favor, the first single from the album. Download the track here, courtesy of P-Fork.


Furthermore, I've decided to, in honor of this insanity, list my top five albume release gimmick/packaging


THE TOP FIVE CRAZIEST ALBUM RELEASES SCHEMES (in order)

5. Bright Eyes - Digital Ash In The Digital Urn/I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning

Why release a double-album when you can release two single albums on the same day? Indie-neo-Dylan-singersonger-savior-wonderchild Connor Oberst is also not above cashing in on some sweet marketing ploys. I'll admit that material is substantially different and artistically speaking, it was probably the right call...but still.

4. Nine Inch Nails -Year Zero, YEAR&()(&ZE()*_)*R_)E(*M#$%@IX@@errwhatever, Ghosts I-5, The Slip

Trent Reznor is nuts. He makes two albums in like a decade and then goes crazy and starts releasing albums on a daily basis. The crazy starts when the Rezonator leaks Year Zero on a USB drive by dropping it in a bathroom in Europe. I mean with technology being what it is, what difference does it make if you start your marketing campeign in a European bathroom. Then come a ton of viral websites that all are in weird codes and shit. Then the remix album, months later, then come the Ghosts. Part one of the 5 part, two-disc epic was released for free with the other four parts availble as a download, a two-disc set and even some crazy super expensive thing. Then comes the Slip. For free, released as a thank you to all of fans for buying the last bunch of albums. Then that was rereleased as a two disc dvd thingamabob. Nutty.


3. Of Montreal - Skeletal Lamping

Scroll up.

2. Beck - The Information

Blank album cover and a bunch of stickers that let you design your own album cover.
Weird? Yes. Awesome? Obviously. Jams? Sick.

1. Radiohead - In Rainbows

Announced mere days before the release, Radiohead's incredible 7th LP In Rainbows was released for the price of free-ninety-nine, or how ever much you wanted to pay for it. This concept lead for other artists such as the aformention NIN, Girl Talk and plenty of other artists who have started releasing albums for free, with the option to pay. As an added bonus AmpLive made a remix album and released it for free to anyone who actually paid for In Rainbows. Like most things Radiohead does, this was as innovative as it was awesome. Oh yeah, and the album itself is just shy of perfect.