2009 According to Rachel

What does my Best of 2009 say? I feel it reflects my poor taste in music. And possibly an identity crisis. And it seems to be full of epic and monumentally moving songs which kinda masks the fact that I spend a lot of time in a club listening to bangers and I’m not an epic and monumentally melancholy person but it’s about the songs that stick with you right?

And while I do agree that it was the year for dubstep (ew), dream pop, nu-wave and whatever else I was also happy to see it was the year for folk and folktronica and excessive portmanteaus to describe genres. 2009 for life x

The Juan Maclean - Happy House

In 2009, the people I most wanted to be were: Nancy Wang, Lady Gaga, Natasha Khan, the winner of the lottery, Tao Lin and Michelle Obama. There were a few other 90s sounding bangers around that took my fancy too, Shit Robot’s Work It Out, Siriusmo’s High Together and this 11 minute track but it wasn’t a standout year for club music. Dizzee Rascal seriously go fuck yourself.

Antony and the Johnsons - Aeon

No music “affected” me more than Antony and the Johnsons in 2009. It’s so overwhelming I often have to turn it off. Sometimes people get so wanky when they start talking about the impact of music but I couldn’t help it with The Crying Light. A beautiful album and a beautiful song that eschewed the zeitgeist.

The xx - Crystalised and Stars (pre-album version)

The xx were probably my favourite discovery for 2009. I like the delicate and almost childlike simplicity. It's kinda magnetic and just quite unusual music and not like much I've heard before which is all I really hope for.

Casiotone for the Painfully Alone - Streets of Philadelphia

I just love anything that comes out of Owen Ashworth so it’s kinda irrelevant to the year but it was one of the best gigs I saw in 2009. Is lo-fi nu-wave indietronica trendy? I’m not sure.

Fuck Buttons – The Lisbon Maru

Really, all my list of honorable mentions should be in this spot, I can't decide. But it was the year for Fuck Buttons and beautiful hardened electronic soundscapes and experimental synth orgies. I love rude levels of grandeur in music. When I ranked my itunes according to “number of plays” yesterday Camera Obscura was the first song but I was secretly wishing it would be The Lonely Island.

And an Australian top 5 because it was a super good year for music. I am so obsessed with the music that comes out this country, and Sydney in particular.
Crayon Fields – All the Pleasures of the World
Tame Impala – Remember Me
Paul Dempsey – Ramona Was A Waitress (Faux Pas Remix)
Bag Raiders – Shooting Star
Philadelphia Grand Jury – Going to the Casino

DOWNLOAD RACHEL'S 2009 (zip file)

DOWNLOAD ENTIRE BLOUSE BEST OF 2009 (zip file - 187mb)

Honorable mentions
Air – Sing Sang Song
The Big Pink - Dominos
Boy and Bear - Mexican Mavis
Camera Obscura – French Navy
Washed Out – Feel It All Around
Hot Chip – One Night Stand
Memory Tapes - Bicycles
The Lonely Island – I'm On A Boat
Temper Trap – Sweet Dispositions
The Middle East – Blood
Phantogram – Mouthful of Diamonds
Jay Z and Alicia Keys – Empire State of Mind

i have run out of tears

more from the xx

The xx - Teardrops

things that are cooler than me: the xx

Just starting to catch on to the hype about The xx. Feeling pretty uncool about it all kind of like when I felt like I was the last person in the universe to listen to the YYYs new album even though it was only like a week after it came out.

The xx are four 19 year olds from London. They've got a handful of demos out and their first single, Crystalised, was released last month. They do completely stripped back angsty electrorock with vocals so understated and magnetically cool it sounds like two lovers whispering to each other between the sheets. Their music is unbelievable. Stars crossed with Karen O Yeah Yeah Yeahs crossed with a chilled Camera Obscura.

One review from NPR Music: "Hot Like Fire" is more restrained [than Crystalised] but equally enthralling. With little percussion, distortion, or background noise, the subtle bass lines and guitar riffs slowly build in volume as if self-conscious to be so nakedly displayed. The vocals are delivered in hushed tones to match the vibe established by the minimalist instrumentation. Their songs are almost all build-up and no resolution, which is somehow appropriate for a young band of 19 year-olds who are just gaining momentum in their musical careers.

The xx - Hot Like Fire

The xx - Blood Red Moon

Even better review from Carles from HRO: Think that they seem pretty ‘kewl.’ I feel like the song seems 63% more intriguing when u see the entire band, and they ‘look cool.’ If you look at the band, they seem to have a ‘normal bro’, ‘fashion-y bro,’ ‘kewl looking fierce girl’, and ‘normal girl.’ Think these are 4 great identities to have in a band. I don’t think there is anything wrong with ‘liking music’ mostly because it ‘achieves an aesthetic that makes u feel kewl’ even when ur not sure why. From what I have read on wikipedia, this was a driving factor in the rise of bloghaus.

I also think that this song “VCR” might be ‘not that good’ but I think it might be honest and simple, and might be good to like put on a mix CD for a girl because there is a female singer on it.

The xx - VCR

The xx - Stars

They release their debut LP in July.