If I had the power...

So it's been a long time (This is becoming the standard start of my blogs). Sorry.

This is also going to be pretty random. Today, despite having an exam, all I could think about on the way to class was tours that I would put together if I had the power. Not only that, but what they would be called. I put these bands together because A) I like them or did at one time, B) Some are influenced by the others, C)I think they have styles that would compliment each other and attract many of the same fans.

Here's a few:

-WHY? / P.O.S. = The Indie R.A.P.? Tour

-The Dismemberment Plan/Local Natives/ The Velvet Teen = The Adjective Noun Tour (Although, is Dismemberment a gerund in this case? I might have to rethink it. Besides, misnomers are hip)

-The Thermals / Matt and Kim / Headlights = The Feel Good Fun Time Tour (Matt and Kim and The Thermals are in fact touring together)

-Broken Social Scene / DFA 1979/ Chad VanGaalen = It's a Tour, Eh?

-Weezer / Smashing Pumpkins = The We Promise to Play the Stuff from Before Our Lead Singer's Went Crazy Tour

-Janelle Monae / Mugison = The Don't Put Me in a Box Tour

-St. Sat B / Nick Miller and the Neighbors / The Static Sea = The Futures Tour

-Grizzly Bear /Local Natives / Bowerbirds / Colour Revolt = The Sweet Harmony Tour (Obviously it'd have to be when LN wasn't on tour withe The Adjective Noun Tour) (Additionally some would add Beirut or Yeasayer, which I would allow, but I have never really listened to their stuff. It's not that I'm against it, it's just I'm poor and have to prioritize purchases sometimes)

-Radiohead / almost any indie band formed after the millennium = The Opening Bands Grew Up Wanting to Be Us (and That's A Good Thing) Tour

-Menomena (original lineup) / Lackthereof / Ramona Falls = The Solo Projects are as Genius as the Band Tour

-DFA1979 / The Black Keys / Local H = The Dinner for Two Tour

-The Strokes / M.I.A. / Liam Finn = The Nepotism Tour (This is in jest, as all the people whose parents were famous in these bands are very talented at would have likely made it on their own)

- Nirvana / Jeff Buckley = The Live from the Next Life Tour (I wish this was possible)

- Mugison /Chad VanGaalen / Liam Finn / tUnE-yArDs = The Kali Tour (A reference to their mult-instrumental, DIY nature. Kali has many arms, and if these artists did, they could do many things. Liam Finn and Mugison especially got their start as multi-tasking solo performers. I'm not sure about CVG's live show, but I know he records all his stuff in a home studio and mostly by himself. tUnE-yArDs, Mugison, and LF all have touring bands now I believe, although again, I'm not sure about CVG)

-Of Montreal / CSS / Bat for Lashes = The Face Paint Tour

-Arctic Monkeys / The Fratellis / The Kooks = The Fight in a Pub Tour

-Phoenix /Department of Eagles /The Dodos / Bowerbirds = The Flock Together Tour

-Modest Mouse / Avi Buffalo / Minus the Bear = The Indigenous Species' of the West Tour

Ok, I think I'm out of them. At the beginning I tried to choose bands that I'd always thought would compliment each others' sounds well, but at the end I think I was just trying to think of plays on names, although I did only put bands that I thought would go well together. There were some that fit the tour name, but I didn't include them.

Some of these bands aren't necessarily the same style, but again, I think the same people would like them. M.I.A. and the Strokes may seem different on paper, but most everyone I know that likes one is a fan of the other. When I saw Dismemberment Plan in Chicago, they played with a 60's-ish soul act complete with horns. People loved it! Sometimes acts you think have nothing in common are perfect compliments.

Most of the tour names should be pretty straight-forward. If you don't get it, it's probably because it's a horrible, tacky joke.

I also acknowledge that some of the opening bands could easily pull off headlining shows. But this is MY fantasy, and if you have a problem with it, imagine them as co-headliners or at a festival or something. Bug off.

Anywho, I know I'm a nerd and I spend a lot of time dreaming about stuff that is probably not productive at all. I acknowledge that. Wow, I feel like I'm getting super-defensive here and justifying myself to a computer screen that seems to be unmoved by my words and just continues staring blankly at me. Good times.

Top Ten Albums of '09.

So it's been a while since I've written (how many posts have I written this year starting off with this sentence?). Education has me constantly working and I think my lack of writing is a good sign. Right now, howeverm I'm practically the only person in Madison since most people will be coming back from Thanksgiving break tomorrow. Things will be busy for me again soon, so I figured I'd get a post in while I have time. So here's my Top 10 albums of 2009, a few honorable mentions, and some albums that were intentionally left off the list. Hit it.

1. Veckatimest - Grizzly Bear
This is probably going to be the number one on a lot of lists, and deep inside I don't want to make it #1 just for that reason, but it's too good to not (I can feel better because #2 probably won't be on many people's lists). "While You Wait for the Others" is probably the song of the year as well (the original version, not the one where Michael McDonald sings). It's hard to believe they could top Yellow House, but they certainly did. Daniel Rossen's voice is amazing, the harmonies are great, and even though Ed Droste's "Two Weeks" received considerable airplay, it never gets old. And come on, people, if Jay-z thinks they're cool...

"While You Wait for the Others" at YouTube


2. Intuit - Ramona Falls
Who? I'll tell you, calm down. Seriously, take a step back. I can smell your breath, and it's not charming. Ramona Falls is the side/solo project debut from Brent Knopf of Menomena. Yes, another Menomena band, but until they make a bad album you have no reason to complain. This is Knopf's first, and it's amazing. His angelic voice can get wicked at times. He can serenade you or rip your face off with words. He's always right, but willing to admit he's wrong sometimes (don't worry about the logistics of that sentence). There's not a single weak track on the album. It has not only held me over until the upcoming release of a new Menomena album (date still tentative...), it has furthered my confidence in each member's genius. PS the music video below is probably the coolest of the year in my book.

"I Say Fever" at YouTube.



3. Two Suns - Bat for Lashes
Natasha Khan knows she's good. She knew it before anyone else did. Pitchfork thought her first album was good, but nothing special. She likes glitter and sings about having split personalities. She's weird. It's amazing. Both everything that's good about a female vocalist and a bit of every good female vocalist is in Natasha Khan. You can hear Bjork, Tori Amos, Fiona Apple, and PJ Harvey in her music. She's by no means a ripoff, she's a unique bird/flower/butterfly/anything that's beautiful (and maybe a little bit scary and unstable).

"Daniel" at Yahoo!


4. Eskimo Snow - Why?
Despite having horrible pains from pneumonia at their show and having to go to the ER before they played, the amazing-ness-ocity of Why? is undeniable. Eskimo Snow is the calmest child in the Why's discography, but it's also the most introspective. Where Alopecia talks about jerking off in an art museum bathroom, E.S. asks its mother if its failing. If you love the mallet percussion, you'll love this album.


"These Hands/ January Twentysomething" at Pitchfork


5. Never Better - P.O.S.
The rap I had in my collection before P.O.S. was limited essentially to Why? and K-Os. Why? is a Jewish guy who sounds like a cross between that dude from the Decemberists and that dude from Interpol, and K-Os raps about going to church. P.O.S. is still far from "gangster", but it was my first delving into an artist that was primarily a rapper and a little bit angry. I admit, I got this album initially just because The Velvet Teen's Judah Nagler guests on its title track. I had seen P.O.S. on tour with TVT and Minus the Bear, so I knew his stuff incorporated live band. P.O.S. is the epitome of indie rap. The music to his songs is amazing, and his rhymes are enormously clever. If you've never seen his cover of Pearl Jam's "Why Go", I feel sorry for you, and this injustice must be corrected quickly by clicking on this link.

"Never Better" at YouTube


6. No One's First and You're Next EP - Modest Mouse

I thank God everyday that He gave Isaac Brock a lisp. The band has had mainstream success, yet Brock's maintained his lunacy. They'll still put out 8 minutes songs even though the radio stations will search their music for a hit to play. This is a B side album, but it plays like a coherent thought (which might be the first time anyone's used the word "coherent" to describe anything Modest Mouse has done).

"King Rat" at Yahoo!


7. Upper Air - Bowerbirds
Like Andrew Bird? Like Bon Iver? I have a friend that described Bowerbirds as the illegitimate child of those two artists. If that doesn't sound like a beautiful kid, I don't know what is.

"Northern Lights" from Pitchfork's Cemetery Gates


8. Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix - Phoenix
I've claimed to know a lot of bands before they made it success in the mainstream. You'll never hear me say this about Phoenix. Well, I shouldn't say that. I bought the album about two weeks before it started getting played on the radio and in commercials. But I can't say I was far ahead of the curve on this one. They're so infectious. And while their earlier albums are better, 1901 is probably the best song they've produced, and this is definitely their most mature album.

"1901" at Yahoo!


9. Wildlife - Headlights
Depressing Headlights songs? Where are the four horsemen, cuz this has to be the Apocalypse. Maturity looks good on Headlights. I've heard comparisons of this album to Broken Social Scene's work, and there are definitely a lot more moving guitar parts. If you want them to be their usually poppy selves, then you might be a bit disappointed, but I now look at Headlights less as a "cute" band and more as a creative band.

"Love Song for Buddy" at YouTube


10. Aim and Ignite - Fun.
When the Format broke up I needed a hug. It was just such happy and creative music. Luckily, Fun. is essentially a continuation of the Format, led by ex-frontman Nate Ruess. I'm going to see them in February in Minneapolis and I couldn't be more excited. Ruess has an amazingly pure and flexible voice. Freddie Mercury would approve, as some of their stuff shows shades of Queen.

"All the Pretty Girls" at YouTube


HONORABLE MENTIONS

Now We Can See - The Thermals
This album didn't make it just because no album can ever measure up to The Body, The Blood, The Machine. That album was the right way to do political, societal, and religious commentary in a rock opera (I'm looking at you Green Day...). Now We Can See is a great album, it just doesn't have the venom and message that TBTBTM had.

"Now We Can See" at Youtube


Mean Everything to Nothing - Manchester Orchestra
I think it's definitely a progression after I'm Like a Virgin Losing a Child. It's not so one-dimensional. ILVLC was just so depressing. It was a good soundtrack to my sophomore year. But MEN had a great flow and explored a wide range of feeling. You could hear the influence the bands M.O. toured with had, as shades of My Morning Jacket, Colour Revolt and Brand New come out in many of their songs.

"Shake It Out" at Yahoo!


Ordinary Riches - Company of Thieves
Gen has wicked pipes. The guitarist showed his skills on Live from Daryl's House, but he could use them in their music a lot more. I could not get enough of "Oscar Wilde".

"Oscar Wilde" at YouTube


NOTABLE OMISSIONS
Time to Die - The Dodos
Just to show you I don't always agree with Pitchfork (although that should be obvious from previous posts), I thought the new Dodos album was horrendous. Meric Long's interesting riffs died somewhere between albums.

"Fables" at YouTube


Daisy - Brand New
Literally, just nothing special. They were going in a great direction with The Devil and God are Raging Inside of Me, but it just seems Jesse Lacey's gotten lazy and gotten mental help, which makes for much less interesting music. TDGRIM was just so genuine. Daisy just seems like an attempt to quiet the people who said TDGRIM was too depressing and not hard enough. I do wish I could see them with Glassjaw, though.

"Vices" at YouTube



There it is.