The Animal Show » Grizzly Bear

Will Heartbeats Ever Flat Line?

dfjacobs — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 15:00:53 +0000

Whether due to highly flammable vocals, otherworldly beats or the mere presence of Weezy, certain songs are simply mashup gold. Recently I used the phrase “mashup darling” to describe Down’s “Lean Like A Cholo,” and surely any track by Jigga or the Young Money inmate would also fit the bill. However, the apotheosis of this phrase is undoubtedly The Knife’s “Heartbeats.” The first track off the Swedish duo’s sophomore album Deep Cuts is an astounding combination of poignant lyricism and an infectious beat. The song manages to be both haunting and explosive; a lethal blend that makes it irresistible to a wide-range of listeners (and mashup artists).

In addition to popular covers by Jose Gonzalez as well as Scala & Kolacny Brothers, I discovered six different mashups featuring the track in my iTunes library. While this may only confirm my consistent taste and overwhelmingly large music collection, I believe it’s also a testament to the far-reaching appeal of “Heartbeats.” With mashes by A-Trak and E-603, featuring the likes of Drizzy, Yeezy, M.I.A. and Grizzly Bear, the variations of “Heartbeats” feature some of the best in the business. To evaluate the tracks, I channeled the Sports Guy (that’s Bill Simmons you hipsters) and created a pyramid to illustrate their varying levels of success.

Level 1 a.k.a. “the flyest of the fly” features A-Trak’s “Get ‘Em High (Remix)” and POTAMIC’s “The Way Heartbeats (Eminem vs. The Knife).” Both mashups take similar approaches; introduce incredible rap verses to the contagious “Heartbeats,” let them get to know each other, and watch the sweet harmonious love-making that ensues.

Level 2 a.k.a. “still fly with unforgivable shortcomings” includes, E-603’s “Bittersweet Heartbeats,” DJ Topcat’s “Paper Heartbeats (M.I.A. vs. The Knife),” and Press Play Deejay’s “Heartbeats Forever (Drake vs. The Knife).” E-603’s Something For Everyone hit finds itself in Level 2 due to it’s lesser quality, but more importantly because of Mr. Ward’s prolonged failure to accept my Facebook friend request (I mean seriously, what’s a brotha gotta do?). DJ Topcat’s mashup finds itself demoted to Level 2 because the “Paper Planes” beat is far too incredible to ever be removed. And finally Press Play Deejay’s cardinal sin is the removal of Eminem’s career-saving verse. Lebron tell Press Play what’s up.

Level 3’s a.k.a. “great song choices but half-ass combination” sole member is PARRKA’s “Knife/Heartbeats (Grizzly Bear vs. The Knife). I love both songs, and especially the witty wordplay of “Knife” vs. the Knife (that’s sharp, aaand boom goes the dynamite). However, PARRKA tries too hard to let both lead and in the end, neither song benefits. Perhaps because they are too similar, the tracks never truly unite and instead amount to an inept 5+ minute mishap.

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Get ‘Em High (A-Trak Remix) – Kanye West (YSI)

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The Way Heartbeats (Eminem vs. The Knife) – POTAMIC (YSI)

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Bittersweet Heartbeats – E-603 (YSI)

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Paper Heartbeats (M.I.A. vs. The Knife) – DJ Topcat (YSI)

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Heartbeats Forever (Drake vs. The Knife) – Press Play Deejay (YSI)

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Knife/Heartbeats (Grizzly Bear vs. The Knife) – PARRKA (YSI)

Top 5 Mashups of 2009

Edward — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 17:04:16 +0000

It’s alright. You can lean back from the edge of your seat. Our year-end lists are coming to their long, drawn-out conclusion in the form of our favorite mashes of 2009. It was certainly the year of the long-form mashup, with not one but two fantastically different and perfectly executed albums dropping, both of which placed in our favorite albums.

The list sort of reads like it was intended to just be our favorite Hood Internet tracks, but I’m going to go ahead and blame that on the fact that there is no one out there executing as effectively or consistently as those guys, and I really do think they’ve earned all 3 of the spots on this list (and I should probably mention that my own list had “Comfortable Up In Here” filling out the #5 spot, so I’m certainly 100% behind anything and everything Hood releases). Anyway, enjoy, and then help me in looking forward to 2010’s exciting first quarter releases.

#5: Hathaway – “Party and Bullshit in the USA” – There are some mashups that exist only out of the hilarity of their titles — in fact, for a long time, that was what I thought the most of mashups were, due mainly to icebergxc’s constantly asking me (way back in 07) if I’d heard “Walking in Memphis Down The Boulevard of 99 Broken Problems” or “Kiss You Through the Bananaphone” or “Yoshimi Battles the Pink Panther” — and this one certainly exists out of the merits of its overlapping titles. The strange part is that it works. Really well. Maybe it’s because everyone loves the synth backing of “Party in the USA” or we all like to shout “I’m a bad boy” along with Biggie. Or both. Sometimes, though, it’s best not to question, and to instead complacently enjoy “could you be kicked, pushed, loved, and then take on me while running so far away.” – Edward

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Hathaway – Party And Bullshit in the USA (YSI)

#4: The Hood Internet – “Cult Logic Forever” – This is a great mashup without a hint of kitsch. “Forever,” on its own, is a disappointment. It’s got the right rappers, but the beat wrecks it mercilessly with sirens and other garbage noise. Stripping the mess off and bringing it up to speed with some talented instrumental from Miike Snow was the best thing that has ever happened to it. Now it’s as smooth as it is sharp and hangs together tighter than BFFs sharing a straightjacket. – icebergxc

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The Hood Internet – Cult Logic Forever (YSI)

#3: The Hood Internet – “Make The Loop Say Aye” — I’ll admit it: I was one of the Vampire Weekend fanboys who nearly peed his pants the first time he heard “Osaka Loop Line.” I thought Discovery’s LP was going to be my favorite album of 2009. And I swear to god, the tattoo pen was not inches from my upper thigh when I finished the cd for the first time and realized that it was definitely not ink-worthy. But, as the saying goes, those that can’t do teach. And those who don’t know that “who” is the personal pronoun probably shouldn’t be calling others inept. And those who may not have the force to sustain your interest on their own ought to be mashed up. Yes, the song ruled on its own. But this was the late-inning pep-talk it needed. In October, long after I had grown tired of Discovery (although the fantastically polyrhythmic “So Insane” even to this day continues to impress me), I heard this for the first time, and my faith was restored. The Hood Internet perfectly match breaks and builds in every song they assemble, though this may showcase it the best. Beauty, grace, Ms. Mashup #3 of 2009, ladies and gents. – Edward

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The Hood Internet – Make the Loop Say “Aye” (YSI)

#2: The Hood Internet – “Two Weeks of Hip-Hop” — As Matthew Whipple of the 2009 breakout Cymbals Eats Guitars said, “[“Two Weeks” is] pure ear candy… what a song… I want to be Chris Taylor’s bass line.” So when the Hood Internet’s ABX threw Dead Prez over one of the best songs of the year, chaos ensued in the form of “Two Weeks of Hip Hop.” The opening features two of my favorite intros of all time, the now classic keyboard progression of “Two Weeks” and Dead Prez yelling, “it’s bigger than hip hop, hip hop, hip hop.” The track seamlessly combines genres in a strikingly natural fashion, one which I believe Ethan Ward once said was the ideal goal of mashups (clearly he’s the freaking authority on this matter). A few of my stunningly brainless friends even believed “Two Weeks of Hip Hop” to be the original (don’t fear, I no longer associate with those morons). But in their defense, this is because the two wildly disparate tracks come together like Ben & Jerry’s delicious and all-natural Half Baked to create earth-shattering awesomeness. -DFJacobs

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The Hood Internet – Two Weeks of Hip-Hop (YSI)

#1: E-603 – “If You Wanna” — On ‘If You Wanna’, international superstar E-603 saves a potentially generic mash-up affair from mediocrity by adding the only possible ironic element to a mash-up: a narrative. Mash-ups and bootleg, by definition, are anti-narrative, deconstructing source texts and transforming them into a work that is based in pure aesthetics. Taking a vocal sample and chopping out pieces and parts, as E-603 does at the beginning of the track, leaves you with nothing but a glorified DJ set. But by adding the song long crescendo, ending with the full story of City High’s gritty ‘What Would You Do?’, the song develops a more full structure that leaves the listener in awe of E-603’s ability to create true songs, rather than mere mash-ups. Bringing the song’s two distinct parts together is a fantastic showcase of technical ability, in what one internet critic called, “some of the most fluid mixing I’ve heard.” A sublime track in itself, it is by far the most accurate representation of E-603’s mature mash-up opus.- Marquis Meowmers

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E-603 – If You Wanna (YSI)

Top 10 Songs of 2009

Edward — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 17:27:39 +0000

It’s time to refocus, kids. Yes, we’re all excited that it’s finally 2010 and Lost will be returning soon and that maybe the Apple tablet will be released and hovercrafts, etc. But the Show is not done looking back. No, in vintage .org form, we have returned to the task at hand much later than promised. I would make another promise to continue to post regularly, but I don’t make promises I can’t keep (New Year’s Resolution 20-10, y’all). Today we bring you our 10 favorite songs of 09, and tomorrow you’ll get our favorite mashups. It was one smash-banger of a year, and I’m sure I speak for all of us when I say I miss the hell out of it. Oasis, you may be gone, but you will never be forgotten. You and I are gonna live forever, Noel. Team Noel forever. Liam can go straight to h-e-double-hell.

Oh, and here are the songs we liked:

#10: Drake – “Best I Ever Had”

The best thing about the year-end lists, in my opinion, is that it often gives us a chance to talk about guilty pleasures we would otherwise be too embarrassed to share. By my count, there are 3 such songs on this list; I’m writing about 2 of them. Drake has it all, ladies and gentlemen: the blessing of Lil’ Wayne and Kanye, the sort of street cred attainable only by appearing as a regular character on Degrassi: The Next Generation, and a voice that could make angels shit their pants (do angels wear pants?). “Best I Ever Had” is derivative, it’s repetitive, and it will stay with you, so that whenever anyone does anything you appreciate you find yourself saying (depending on whether you favor the radio-friendly version, or, like this foul-mouthed writer, the real version), “you da fuckin’ best” in your best Drizzy voice. It’s a hot jam, and leads me to believe that the R. Kelly signature only-somewhat-subtly-sexual-song approach to music may actually be the apex of musical composition. -Edward

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Drake – Best I Ever Had (YSI)

#9: Grizzly Bear – “While You Wait for the Others”

There are many reasons why a song is the most popular song off of the album, and many times, they are not the same reasons why a song is the best song off of the album. But, in the case of “While You Wait For The Others,” these reasons do seem to be in concert. I’ll explain. Veckatimest is a very good album. What keeps it from greatness is an inability to put together all of their skills—good orchestration, dynamic contrast, catchy melody—in the same song on a consistent basis. Incidentally, these are the same reasons that many songs get radio play, because put together, these traits form a sweeping melody with emotion to carry it along. “While You Wait For The Others” is one of the few places where Grizzly Bear gets it all together, and it sounds great. It makes it the best song off of a good album, radio worthy, and shoo in for top ten tracks of the year. -Dave

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Grizzly Bear – While You Wait for the Others (YSI)

#8: Edward Sharpe and Magnetic Zeros – “Home”

Look at them in that picture. They’re so happy! All that energy and excitement you see in that picture, I feel in this song. The driving backbeat under whistling and trumpets give the feeling of trekking over previously unchartered territory, but Edward Sharpe and the gang are willing to take you along for the ride. You’re in the wagon, and they tell you a story with folksy honesty, evident from the girl/boy interplay to the less-is-more philosophy in the simple chorus of, “Home/Let me go home/Home is wherever I’m with you.” You tap your feet, hum along, sing along, and before you know it, you’re smiling. “Home” is a prescription dose of happy pills shot right through your ear canals into your brain, and while you’re smiling, you’re thinking that there’s nothing wrong with that. -Dave

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Edward Sharpe and Magnetic Zeros – Home (YSI)

#7: The Black Eyed Peas – “I Gotta Feelin’”

This song is completely retarded! But you knew that already; negative reviews, serious and comedic, abound for this track. Its inclusion in this list is thanks to the uncanny way that it touches any listener with the same reassuring and convincing message: tonight IS going to be a good night. Just watch the Oprah season opener again with any individual middle-aged or better — they’ve seen it already — and observe them boogie modestly to the inescapable beat. While you’re at it, notice that the Peas lack talent as live performers, but immediately forgive them because they gave the world a song that delivers unfailingly the message that it is now time to party. -Icebergxc

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Black Eyed Peas – I Gotta Feelin’ (YSI)

#6: Girls – “Lust For Life”

Late in 2009, Edward sent me a message that was like “hey have you heard of Girls you tend to like things that people desribe as ‘jangly’ so you might like this.” I was like “well yeah I’ve heard of Girls they’re all over Pitchfork’s best new everything list how could I not have heard of Girls numbnuts?” But the problem was, while I had heard of Girls I had not heard Girls. And so I went and got myself a copy of The Animal Show’s 8th favorite album of the year, ‘Album’. I listened to it. And the first thing I said to Edward after hearing the album in it’s entirety was ‘man, I wish they had just released a 7″ EP of Girls/Laura.” And that’s because every track after “Lust For Life” is totally forgettable due to “Lust For Life”’s greatness. You hear it, and its catchy jangling guitars rip apart any want or will to hear anything else. You must hear the bizarre croon of Christopher Owens over and over again as he sings about the harsh reality that clashes with our most desirable dreams. You must feel the beams of sun hit your face again and again as you travel about in San Franciso’s Mission District. And right as the repetitive garage-surf riffs start to get slightly annoying, the song jumps off the pool deck and into an aquatic sounding, finger-picked soft outro. Simply sublime. -Marquis Meowmers

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Girls – Lust for Life (YSI)

#5: Miley Cyrus – “Party in the USA”

Could every person who has never lost their voice singing to this at a party please raise their hand? If you’re raising your hand, congratulations, you probably look like a moron. I hope nobody’s watching. The nice thing about “Party in the USA” was that it was a guilty pleasure you didn’t have to hide. Everyone loved this song. Everyone loves this song. Everyone will continue to love this song. Oldies stations will devote entire hour-long blocks to this song in 2020, and we’ll still be sad when the hour’s up. This song reminded us that it’s cool to love our country. We stood and saluted Wal-Mart, KFC, and liposuction, and the tears rolled silently down our cheeks. We danced pantsless around a fire of Dixie Chicks albums, and we were glad. We tea-partied, surged, and gave shout-outs to God in our tweets. We stuck our thumbs in our belt-loops and hootenanied like there was no tomorrow. It was a damn good year, and it’s all thanks to Miley. (Oh, and also the poor nameless male-pattern-baldness sap stuck somewhere in a 1960’s office building who wrote the song under the flickering hum of a flourescent light.) We salute y’all. -Edward

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Miley Cyrus – Party in the USA (YSI)

#4: Jay-Z featuring Alicia Keys – “Empire State of Mind”

As a New Yorker, Jigga’s unendingly epic ode to the greatest city in the world was an integral part of my year. Getting to blast, “Shit, I made the Yankee hat more famous than the Yankees can/ You should know I bleed blue but I ain’t a crip though” as I popped bottles to celebrate the Yankees was a fantastic gift. Who cares if it was played at Game 2, the ticker-tape parade, every other NYC event, and on every radio station in the country 237 times too many. Does that detract from how incredible it is? No way. This track has too many extraordinary rhymes to be ignored, from “Mommy took a bus trip and now she got her bust out/ Everybody ride her, just like a bus route” all the way to “MDMA got you feeling like a champion/The city never sleeps better slip you a Ambien.” Not to mention how Alicia Keys belts the inspired chorus, and Stephen Colbert’s rap debut for “Empire State of Mind Part 2″. All in all, this song will forever be associated with ’09 and its ass-kicking greatness. – DFJacobs

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Jay-Z feat. Alicia Keys – Empire State of Mind (YSI)

#3: Kid Cudi featuring Kanye West and Common – “Make Her Say”

Every facet of the hella hot “Make Her Say” screams best rap song of the year. The beat, like the song itself, is catchy and imaginative, improving upon everyone’s favorite Lady, the Gagski. Cudi’s supporting cast is top notch with Kanyeezy and Common spitting sweltering hot verses. And while both are impressive, Kanye’s submission is possibly his best since he signed up late for college. “I’ve got seniority with the sorority/ so that explains why I love college/ getting brains in the library ‘cause I love knowledge” and “fuck the bus, the Benz is parked like Rosa(osa)” explode out of his mouth and into your ear like one of Weezy’s hand guns (too soon?). “Make Her Say” was indubitably one of the more iconic and quintessential 2009 songs, and is more than worthy of its place near the top this list. – DFJacobs

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Kid Cudi ft. Kanye West & Common – Make Her Say (YSI)

#2: Phoenix – “1901″

Tainted as it was late in the year by its appearance in a Cadillac commercial, 1901 shines as an anthem. When it first dropped, many were predicting that it would be one of the big songs of the summer. However, by avoiding a seasonal meteoric rise, it has settled into a hot slow burn that will keep it fresh for a long time to come, despite its dangling above death by advertisement. – Icebergxc

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Phoenix – 1901 (YSI)

#1: Animal Collective – “My Girls”

Are you shocked? If you don’t like this song it’s probably because, “hey it’s pretty good but it just got overplayed” which is my own pretentious diatribe about brilliant songs that get too popular, and thus are not cool to like anymore (’Paper Planes’, I’m sorry). So, yeah, Animal Collective isn’t making ‘Sung Tongs’ anymore. Bummer. And everyone (and I mean everyone) likes them now. Bummer. But you have to face the truth at some point: bands that are THIS good will almost certainly get mainstream exposure sooner or later. In the animal kingdom that is popular music, bands can either evolve or die. Part of evolving is exposure. And, yup, Animal Collective evolved. But what they haven’t evolved into is shitty husk of their former greatness, crapping out the same mediocre money maker after the other. Instead, Animal Collective has evolved into an unstoppable pop machine capable of ruling the earth with an iron fist of infectious rhythms, catchy hooks, and brilliant song composition.

The first time I heard ‘My Girls’ was when it was inexplicably leaked on various blogs and music forums in the waning weeks of 2008. Having spent a solid month or two checking the internet twice a day for MPP leaks (and getting Rick Roll’d not once, but twice in the process), I finally got a hit around December 14th. I found a stream of ‘My Girls’ on a message board, and naturally, I listened to it. And then I listened to it again. And again. The first time had access to ‘My Girls’, I listened to it so many times that I was 20 minutes late to my first class. And then, in between classes, I listened to it two more times. Why? BECAUSE IT WAS THAT FUCKING GOOD. I wrote about it in my personal blog. I claimed that ‘My Girls’ would be the best song of 2009. And here we are. The best song of 2009.

I shouldn’t have to describe this song to you. You’ve heard it. You’ve rated it a ‘5′ on your iTunes, favorited it on you Last.FM, and clicked the ‘heart’ button next to it on HypeMachine. It was on every mixtape you gave to your crush, you heard it 5 times a day on your college radio station, and it got played at least thrice at every party you went to. It’s just that kind of song. The infectious bass brings together the layers of electronic melody in an amalgamation of ‘experimental sub-cultural capital’ and ‘pop accessibility’. In other words, this song has something for everyone: the synth nerd, the lyrics freak, the girl who ‘just wants to dance’, the guy who is trying to get with her, and all those people who have “everything” listed under the ‘music’ section of the Facebook ‘About Me’ page. And it’s because they all love this fucking song, regardless of whether or not it’s for the same reason you love it. So go ahead, scoff a little bit and then give it another listen. You and I both know it wont be your last. -Marquis Meowmers

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Animal Collective – My Girls (YSI)

BEST ALBUMS OF 2009 — #5-1

Edward — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 02:58:07 +0000

There’s usually a tendency for year-end lists to lean towards more winter-feeling albums — Bon Iver syndrome. I couldn’t be happier that our top 5 albums were all released before 2009 even hit its daylight apex. In hindsight, we probably could have predicted in January that 2009 would be a great year for music, but it’s hard to know these things. I can’t recall the last time I was so pleasantly surprised by a year in music — great debuts, strong followups, game-shaking mood changes. It’s a diverse list, and one which I couldn’t be happier with. Make the jump to see how they all shook out when push came to shove:

#5: Veckatimest – Grizzly Bear

Rarely have I ever heard an album that tried so hard to be perfect. Grizzly Bear clearly spent hours meticulously debating every sound and layer, and you know what? They came damn close to creating a perfect cd. Was the album hyped beyond belief last spring? Definitely. Was the hype completely accurate and warranted? I say yes. You know why, because although Grizzly Bear may have contested Sufjan for most hours spent in the editing room (surely an admirable distinction), they sounded just as polished live. Their performance at NYC’s Town Hall was just as mesmerizing and stunning as Vecky is on my Bose Companion II speakers. Ed Drost and Daniel Rossen were incredible, and their mic-less encore of “All We Ask” was truly mind-blowing. Grizzly Bear created one of the most sophisticated and striking albums of the decade, that also lent itself to the best mashup (“Two Weeks of Hip Hop” by the Hood), and the best remix/cover of the year (“While You Wait for the Others” by Michael McDonald and Grizzly Bear), which should count for something. – DFJacobs

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While You Wait for the Others – Grizzly Bear (YSI)

#4: Bitte Orca – Dirty Projectors

No album of 2009 was quite so beautifully bizarre as Bitte Orca. Dave Longstreth squares up at the mound like your everyday indie fastballer, but every pitch he throws comes like a Tim Wakefield knuckleball, darting and flitting unpredictably with such efficiency that you’re still swinging blindly even deep into the 8th inning. The harmonies on album opener “Cannibal Resource” grab you on your first at bat, as they come somewhat screechily and eerily harmoniously, a little off-tempo and yet undeniably perfect in their own idiosyncratic way. The transition into “Temecula Surprise” is similarly jarring, hard to follow, and yet beautiful. And it’s that way through the album — each song is a twist from the previous one, each seeing a different genre getting Dirty Projected, from afropop to electropop to new age to R&B and back again. The highlight may come in “Useful Chamber,” where an explosive chorus of “Bitte Orca”s leaves me with goosebumps every time. Bitte Orca shows a band developing its own sound and hitting its stride as a cohesive unit. A real gem. – Edward

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Useful Chamber – Dirty Projectors (YSI)

#3: Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix – Phoenix

I listened to no album in 2009 as much as Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix, an album so pop-perfect you can’t help but want to listen to it again by the time the synth riff of “Armistice” fades out of focus. Phoenix took their incredibly well-balanced formula from 2006’s phenomenal It’s Never Been Like That and inexplicably improved upon it, stringing together 9 songs which are each catchier than the previous one. I probably listened to “1901″ 50 times in the first two weeks I had it, and I honestly still get excited every time I hear the opening squelches of that synth line. That’s the albums real strength — each hook is brilliantly crafted, and each song in the album sequences perfectly with the previous and the next. Take, for instance, the slow build of “Love Like a Sunset,” which melts deliciously into the snare-kick pairing of “Lasso,” which itself snaps into the ticking guitar attack of “Rome.” Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix is the kind of album where, by the time you reach the end, you realize your voice is completely shot from singing along. And, damn, it feels good. – Edward

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Lisztomania – Phoenix (YSI)

#2: Why There Are Mountains - Cymbals Eat Guitars

When discussing Cymbals Eat Guitar’s phenomenal debut album it is simply impossible not to mention the pastiche of influences that makes up their sound. Hints of Pavement, early Modest Mouse, Cap’n’Jazz, Jesus and Mary Chain, Explosions In The Sky, Guided By Voices, Tullycraft, and other 90’s indie superstars can be heard, but only in snippets, which makes it difficult to call Why There Are Mountains ‘derivative’ or ‘a rip-off of [instert band here] like so many of 2009’s revivalist bands were (yeah, try and tell me that The Pains of Being Pure At Heart isn’t dependent on their 90’s Twee Pop derivation…). Instead, CEG take these influences and profoundly expand upon them, creating an expansive sound that is lead by singer Joseph D’Agostino’s amazing vocal range. So many of their tracks sample vastly differing sounds and genres that it’s amazing that the album retains cohesiveness the whole way through, never slipping into a song that sounds out of place or too reliant on its influences. In that regard, the album truly is, as Pitchfork describes it, ‘the ultimate road trip album’: Why There Are Mountains travels over hills and through valleys, creating spectacular soundscapes and epic transitions that takes the listener on a true emotional journey.

Exploding out of the driveway with “…And The Hazy Sea,” the album happily descends down through the upbeat hillsides of “Some Trees” and “Indiana” before continuing through the brooding distortion filled valley of “Share” and creeping up the depressingly steep hillside of “This Is What Dogs See” to the pinnacle of the album: the beautiful scenic overlook of “Wind Phoenix.” Along the way D’Agostino’s surreal poetry gives the album a meaningful narrative aesthetic, with his emotional crooning and energetic screams pushing the album through any potential muddy ruts. Why There Are Mountains is truly a masterpiece of baroque pop, and a prime example of musical talent being more important than connections. Cymbals Eat Guitar’s sound is currently so perfect that to press stop once the album has started should be a felony offense. Truly an unlikely gem in a year filled with great music. -Marquis Meowmers IV

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Some Trees – Cymbals Eat Guitars (YSI)

#1: Merriweather Post Pavilion – Animal Collective

2009 began with a bang, as, on January 2nd, Marquis Meowmers and I received a delicious post-Christmas bundle of joy, which saved our own souls as much as any carpenter could: a zip folder containing 2 new Animal Collective songs. I can still remember the little shiver that crawled down my spine as I heard the first minute of “Brother Sport” for the first time. From the “ooh,” I was hooked. The other song was “My Girls,” and Marquis Meowmers and I argued for hours about which was the better song, him picking “My Girls”’s polyrythmic brilliance, and me pulling for “Brother Sport”’s undeniable catchiness. At this point, I probably agree with Marquis more, but we can both agree on this much: no album contributed as much to music in 2009 as Merriweather Post Pavilion. – Edward

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Brother Sport – Animal Collective (YSI)

I Dream of Genius.

Dave — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 18:15:17 +0000

And, unfortunately, not enough of these.

So, I have nothing new to bring to the table right now. But in the interest of interest, it’s interesting that recently I’ve been listening to more individual songs than albums. Normally, I’m really an album guy, slavishly devoting my ears to the artist’s intent. Mixes are fun, but usually I’m too respectful lazy to embark upon making them.

And I’m still not. I’ve just been hitting the genius button on my iTunes a few more times a week, letting it scour my massive library for gems I’d never given a chance to before–gems past and present. Here are some great launching points for me from this past year: