This post demands a preface. The list that follows is in no way meant to be a comprehensive overview of the year in music. Its limitations are to be expected, guided by my own tastes and wallet. These are not necessarily the best albums of 2009, so far, the most notable or the most popular. They are just what they are: music that has been in heavy rotation on my iPod during the first almost seven months.
I’m going to list them alphabetically, to keep readers from thinking I’ve ranked them;
- Lily Allen, It’s Not Me, It’s You — This is a dance record full of sly commentary and nasty asides; you have to pay attention, but make sure you’ve got on some kicking shoes.
- Art Brut, Art Brut v. Satan — Album no. 3 from the British pop-punkers is as funny and sarcastic as the first, with a big guitar sound that translates well live (in fact, they are probably a better live band than studio band). These guys deserve to be stars, or as they might say, on “top of the pops”!
- Elvis Costello, Secret, Profane and Sugarcane — Elvis goes bluegrass? This is an intriguing record, proving again that Elvis Costello is as restless as Neil Young when it comes to bending genres and providing a moving target for listeners.
- Steve Earle, Townes — A labor of love, an album of songs written by the late, great Townes Van Zandt (Earle’s mentor) that brings one of the great folk/country songwriters back to the limelight.
- Franz Ferdinand, Tonight – The band gets its disco on with its third effort (a remix/dub version called Blood is just as crazy) with great results.
- Green Day, 21st Century Breakdown — Not as good as American Idiot, but then that would have been too much to be expected. I would have pared this back some, but it continues in AI’s political/operatic vein.
Buddy & Judy Miller, Written in Chalk — This is what Lucinda Williams calls sh**-kicking country. Or is it rock? Or blues? That the Millers make it so difficult to categorize this album says all you need to know. - Son Volt, American Central Dust — The band returns to their alt-country roots with a masterful release, as good as The Search, though less eclectic.
- Bruce Springsteen, Working on a Dream — A good, but flawed follow-up to Magic that features some great tunes and at least one clinker (“Queen of the Supermarket”). It’s still Bruce, however, so it gets a guaranteed spot in the rotations.
- U2, No Line on the Horizon — I’ve not made my mind up about the latest from the Irish rockers. The single, “Put on Your Boots,” is great, but the album has the feel of Zooropa, a sonic misdirection in the wake of a huge predecessor. (It is far better than Zooropa or Pop, so don’t misread what I’m saying.)
- Wilco, Wilco (The Album) — Right now, this is my favorite album of 2009. Following Sky Blue Sky, a lovely, through somewhat subdued retrenching, Wilco (The Album) hits on all cylinders, bringing pieces of each of its six studio predecessors (not including various EPs or the CD included with The Wilco Book) so that the album stands as both a summary of the band’s past and a step forward into the future.
Other albums worth noting, but that I have not had the chance to buy (I’ve either grabbed singles through the great podcasts at IndieFeed or MPR Song of the Day): Levon Helm, Electric Dirt; Low Anthem, Oh My God Charlie Darwin; Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band, Outer South; St. Vincent, Actor; Camera Obscura, My Maudlin Career; John Doe and the Sadies, Country Club
Hank Kalet 