Last year I compiled a list of my favorite albums of 2008. I have decided to do that again this year for 2009.
It’s been a great year of music with some great rising artists and plenty of talented new ones. But some of the best music of this year were new releases from old bands and artist.
So this is a list of my favorite picks from this year. I also awarded Best Song of the Year, Best New Artist, and Best Rising Artist. And if you have any albums that you think i’ve looked over, please tell me. More wonderful melodies are always welcome.
Best Album of the Year
10. "Lungs" - Florence + The Machine
9. "Troubadour" - K'Naan
8. "Stockholm Syndrome" - Derek Webb
7. "Up From Below" - Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros
6. "Far" - Regina Spektor
5. "The Resistance" - Muse
4. "Strict Joy" - The Swell Season
3. "Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix" - Phoenix
2. "I and Love and You" - The Avett Brothers
1. "The Hazards of Love" - The Decemberists
All of these picks on this list were hard to nail down in numerical order. I didn't really know what to determine one album being better than the other. So it just came down to this: what I listened to the most. The album I listened to the most this year was definitely The Decemberists' album, Hazards of Love. I just kept coming back to it. I didn't really like The Decemberists until they debuted this record at SXSW 2009 and it was love at first listen.
Best Song of the Year
Best Song of the Year: "My Girls" - Animal Collective
Ok. I must confess, I didn't like this whole album. I just couldn't get into Animal Collective as much as I wanted to when I first heard about them. I guess they are too weird for me. But I really loved this song. I couldn't stop listening to it this year. This song gives me hope for more Animal Collective. See for yourself.
Best New Artist
Best New Artist: Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros
I first heard these guys on a Tiny Desk Concert on NPR's All Song's Considered Podcast. I saw at least eight or nine people playing instruments. What a large band. What was even better was their enthusiastic sound. This is a band I'm really looking forward to hearing more of.
Best Rising Artist
Best Rising Artist: Phoenix
Their poppy synth leads and catchy guitar riffs caught me instantly off guard. I didn't know what to do: sit there in astonishment or dance? This is music you want to move to. Every time I saw the new Cadillac commercial I had to turn up the TV and pause what I was doing to bust a move. This band got huge fast. And they will only get better.
I’ve compiled a list of my favorite albums from 2008. Now i cannot argue that these are the absolute best, considering i’m not an expert in the field. Neither have I considered every album that has been produced this year. These are simply the albums i have come across that have given me great pleasure in listening to them. I hope you enjoy them as well. If you have any albums that you think i’ve looked over, please tell me. I’ll love to hear even more good music. Without further to do… Here we go.
10. "A Hundred Million Suns" - Snow Patrol
9. "This Is An Outrage!" - Capital Lights
8. "Rebel" - Lecrae
7. "This Is Our God" - Hillsong
6. "You Are My Sunshine" - Copeland
5. "For Emma, Forever Ago" - Bon Iver
4. "HAARP" - Muse
3. "Limbs and Branches" - Jon Foreman
2. "Narrow Stairs" - Death Cab for Cutie
1. "Viva La Vida" - Coldplay
Best New Artist: Bon Iver (For Emma, Forever Ago)
I heard the name, Bon Iver, early on in 2008. I never listened to his stuff til December of this year, and I fell in love. It’s simplicity. A guitar and your voice is really all you need. This is the kind of music you want to crawl up in your bed and fall to sleep to. I like it. I like it a lot. I cannot wait to hear more of this guy.
Other Notable Albums:
Worship:
- “The Bright Sadness” - Charlie Hall
- “Remedy Club Tour” - David Crowder Band
- “You Have Loved” - Travis Taylor
Folk/Acoustic:
- “Gold And The Sand” - Corey Crowder
- “Fleet Foxes” - Fleet Foxes
- “Sleep Through The Static” - Jack Johnson
Indie/Rock:
- “Re-Arrange Us” - Mates of State
- “Oracular Spectacular” - MGMT
- “Evil Urges” - My Morning Jacket
Rap:
“Our World Redeemed” - Flame
“The Chop Chop: From Milk To Meat” - Ambassador
Pop/Punk Rock:
“Underdog Alma Mater” - Forever The Sickest Kids
“The Glass Passenger” - Jack’s Mannequin
“Till We See The Shore” - Seabird
The up and coming rock band Philmont, from my hometown Charlotte, NC, will be headlining a show here on campus at North Greenville University. The concert is sponsored by the school’s radio station, The Vibe, so of course they asked me to design the propaganda — eye-catching propaganda, nonetheless — to promote the show around campus. So without further to do, here’s what i got. Feedback is always appreciated.
Dustin Michael Kensrue (KENZ-roo) (born November 18, 1980) is a vocalist, lyricist, and rhythm guitarist in the Orange County, California post-hardcore quartet Thrice, as well as a solo artist.
Although Thrice as a band does not consider itself a Christian band, Kensrue himself is a Christian. A lot of his lyrics are inspired by Christian morals and their place in society today, with Kensrue drawing much of his lyrical inspiration from various literary sources including his favorite author C.S. Lewis, who penned the well-known Chronicles of Narnia books and many books on a variety of subjects, both fiction and non. He has a tattoo on his left wrist which is a passage from the Bible written in Hebrew.
Dustin’s music is for the most part folk and acoustic. If you are a Jon Foreman fan, you will love him. To listen to some of his stuff, check out his myspace.
After all copeland has done, I can not be more excited about their new release, “You Are My Sunshine.” Copeland’s new video for the song “The Grey Man” can now be seen on the album’s pre-order page on amazon. Enjoy.
These guys are one of my favorite bands. And I can not wait until their new album hits the shelves. They have recorded some video updates in what the band calles a V-log. It looks pretty interesting…
Hey everyone. Just wanted to give an update of the life of brent up here, for those who actully read this thing. This weekend has been pretty good so far. This morning i went to my church at 8:30am to help pass out some propaganda around in our community. Ok… propaganda sounds bad. Ha, well they were flyers and brochures infroming the people around us of the upcoming ministries we got going on. Those would be our first Upward Soccer season in the fall, and Vacation Bible School in Late July. So i’m pretty excited about that. I also had to help film a video for a VBS skit we will show tomorrow morning. Well, we were going to show it. Turns out there is no way to capture the video to ethier my computer or my brothers computer. Thus, we can’t edit it. So we can’t show it. Sucks. But its all good. Maybe we can get it done somehow that we can show it next sunday. Maybe. But anyway… This weekend has been pretty good so far, and i just want to leave you with a little slice or something for the road. If you havn’t already, you should really check out the britpop, rock band Keane. They have been compared to Coldplay and Snow Patrol. If you like a melodic sound that you can chill to, give them a listen. You won’t regret it.
