2009

Part of being a nerd entails that you love lists. So obviously I do too. I was planning on having a bunch of people send me theirs but there's a whole bunch of other blogs and sites out there that are doing that already so peep those. Deathwish Inc, Complex man, Trumbull Island, etcetera. You know where to go. Here's my Top 10 Albums of this year in some random order. As with any list, I'll probably regret a few choices in a week from now and I probably forgot a bunch of great records too but that's life. Here goes...

IRON AGE - "The Sleeping Eye"

All the riffs you wish you wrote. Or the ones you wish Hetfield and Hammett were still writing. If you have a short attention span, you might not dig this. If you love good music, you probably will.

DINOSAUR JR. - "Farm"

Fuck it, this record probably has the coolest cover art of '09. Not a lot of records have me running into record stores a few days before the official release date hoping to dig this one out of a crate. If you thought "Beyond" was quite the return to form (and it was) then you're in for a treat.

DAN AUERBACH - "Keep It Hid"

The Black Keys' axeman goes solo, as if he hasn't written enough killer blues rock already. I know blues rock is the worst term but whatever. Doesn't stray too far from the path The Black Keys have paved, but if the path's this brilliant, who cares?

MORRISSEY - "Years Of Refusal"

Yeah you like The Smiths better. Yadda yadda. How can you be Morrissey's age and still be so cool? This relevant? And rock harder than you ever have? Beats me. But the man delivers again.

SHRINEBULDER - "s/t"

Fuck Them Crooked Vultures. This is THE supergroup of 2009. Bow to the altar of Wino, Scott Kelly, Cisneros and Crover.

CONVERGE - "Axe To Fall"

One only expects greatness from Converge and that's all they deliver. A touch more metal and at the same time a touch more "accessible" than their last few records. So good.

TRAPPED UNDER ICE - "Secrets Of The World"

Some people have refused to call this the record of the year because too many other people have. Weird huh? This record makes you love hardcore more.

RAEKWON - "Only Built 4 Cuban Linx II"

The chef is back. Swinging knives and wrecking kettles. Everyone else, get out of the fuckin' kitchen.

KICKBACK - "No Surrender"

This is an ugly, hateful, vicious record. You cannot possibly explain to your mom why you like it, but you do like it. A lot. In fact, you don't want your mom to know you're into this because somehow it makes you a freak.

BLAKROC - "s/t"

Does everything The Black Keys touch turn into gold? It sure does seem so. Hip Hop and rock collabs have everything against them, but somehow these boys and some of Hip Hop's finest make it work. It sounds so natural and right you wonder if you should maybe give that Judgment Night soundtrack another shot.