2010

HT 25 Best Albums of 2009: Numbers 21-25

This year at Hidden Track, we concocted a little experiment for our year-end Best Albums of 2009 list. Instead of picking the old fashioned way – subjectively – we opted for something a little different: a collaborative, collective list that incorporates the opinions of everybody here at HT.

To begin, we devised an all-encompassing list of around 100 nominees and populated it in a Google spreadsheet – essentially anything that anybody who writes for Hidden Track liked at all, made the list. Then we invited our crew of writers to independently vote on the whole list (omitting anything unfamiliar) on a scale of 1 to 20 (20 = five stars). We ended up with 33 voters with varying degrees of familiarity with the nominees; some folks voted on just about everything, while some just a few. From there, we eliminated anything that did not receive at least three votes, calculated the average scores, and sorted it. We took the top 25 scores and presto: the Hidden Track 25 Best Albums of 2009. No bullshit, no big opinions; just the results.

Let’s kick things off with numbers 25 through 21…

25) M. WardHold Time

Key Tracks: Stars Of Leo, Rave On, Never Had Nobody Like You

Sounds Like: An old antique photo

12681-hold-time

Skinny: In 2008 M. Ward seemed to take a backseat to doe-eyed actress Zooey Deschanel as the Him in vintage indie-pop act She & Him, but he was back in 2009 with his latest solo release, Hold Time. The album is full of everything we’ve come to expect from Matt over the years – modern indie-rock that is completely bathed in the patina of the last fifty-plus years of pop music. Combining his sepia-drenched vocals and open tuning guitar work with guest appearances from the aforementioned Deschanel, Lucinda Williams and Grandaddy’s Jason Lytle.

READ ON for the next four albums in our countdown…

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Wilco Adds US Dates to 2010 Slate

Wilco had those of us on the east coast worried we wouldn’t get any love this year when they announced some random midwest dates, a full-blown tour of Canada and

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Stormy Mondays: A Peak at ’10

We’ll kick off the new year at Stormy Mondays with a quick listen to a few bands you should watch in the coming months. First is Surprise Me, Mr. Davis

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Televised Tune: On the Tube This Week

Elvis Costello does an outstanding job with his weekly Sundance show Spectacle. But this week, the tables will turn on the host when actress Mary-Louise Parker (Weeds, The West Wing)

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Jeff Tweedy: Orpheum Theatre, Phoenix, AZ 12/27/09

es, it was Christmas with the Tweedys as the now beloved Wilco front-man travelled to the Grand Canyon with his wife Susie, sons Sam and Spencer to spend the holidays with Tweedy’s sister.  So for us lucky Arizona residents Tweedy decided to book a single gig at Phoenix’s Orpheum Theatre, for a reason he explained as “a way to pay for his family's visit to his sister's house for the holidays.”  Whether or not that is true, it doesn’t matter – it is sure as hell beats The Nutcracker. 

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The Flaming Lips – Wayne Coyne Tells All

Of course, the 48-year-old singer of the Flaming Lips doesn’t feel very comfortable discussing art.  In fact, every time he uses the word, he makes sure you know that he knows that it’s all just a bunch of bullshit.  But, the fact remains:  Coyne and the Lips are responsible for elevating pop music to the status of art – whether it be an album that requires the listener to play four discs on four stereos at the same time (Zaireeka), or one of the greatest musical creations of the 20th century (The Soft Bulletin).

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Chris Cornell: Soundgarden Reuniting

Chris Cornell announced early Friday  on his Twitter feed that "The 12 year break is over & school is back in session," directing fans to www.soundgardenworld.com for future updates. The

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HT Review: One Last Phishy ’09 Blowout

“Let’s get the show on the road”

Last night in Miami, we reached the conclusion of an important year in the history of Phish. The quartet worked up their skills and dug deep through their repertoire all year long. Quite often the band was successful at satiating their notoriously hard-to-please fanbase while aiming to stay clear of the dreaded “nostalgia act” tag. For the fourth show of four at the American Airlines Arena, Phish didn’t disappoint offering the typical NYE fare of a few hearty jams, plenty of classics, a few bust outs and the “gimmick” which this year revolved around a little known female drummer named Sarah.

Unlike on the 30th, the quartet kicked things off with a fairly standard opening sequence of AC/DC Bag, 46 Days and Water In The Sky before stretching it out a bit for Bathtub Gin. There was so much energy floating around the venue – which was way more crowded for New Year’s than any other night – that the band would receive big cheers any time they dropped a familiar lyric or an impressive musical phrase. I’d love to say the boys were extremely tight last night, but there were plenty of clams and missed transitions, although that’s somewhat to be expected on New Year’s Eve.

The first set continued with more high-energy standard fare such as The Moma Dance and Guyute before the band pulled out a few more lost gems. First up was Swept Away > Steep which hadn’t been played since July 1, 2000 followed by Demand which hadn’t been played since November 14, 1996. Both songs got huge reactions and we’re played pretty well. Steep didn’t feature “the scream” of 1996 versions and the Demand was sans Split Open and Melt jam. It became clear the band had purposely looked for the most obscure songs in their catalog to bust out at these shows and it was extremely appreciated.

READ ON for more from Scotty on Phish New Year’s Eve ’09-’10…

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New Year’s Eve Setlist Roundup

I was about to put together a list of all the New Year’s Eve setlists from around the scene when I came across Jambase’s article doing the exact same thing.

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