Over the last few years, bands like Animal Collective, MGMT and Amazing Baby have been combing the acid-drenched sounds of the 1960’s San Fran ballroom bands, and those of the
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.
We’ve come to the end of our week long countdown, let’s check out our Top Five…
5) The Flaming Lips – Embryonic
Key Tracks: Evil, Gemini Syringes, Watching the Planets, Powerless
Sounds Like: Trent Reznor, Mars Volta
Skinny: Beware Yoshimi fans, there’s a lot less beautiful stuff this time around. Alternatively, what the Flaming Lips forgo in placating, they more than make up for with dark themes, mayhem and a heavy storyline. While at times Embryonic gets weighed down by knobs and buttons (see Aquarius Sabotage), with some fatty basslines, a heavy dousing of effects and a deeply cynical overarching theme, the Lips provide more to think about and less with which to sing along. If there’s a credit to Wayne Coyne and crew, it’s an ability to push way beyond the conventional, while somehow getting through to the conventional.
READ ON to see the final four albums of our Top 25…
We’re just a few short hours away from that big ball dropping in Times Square that will not only put an end to year, but also to the decade as well. We here at Hidden Track want to wish everyone a very Happy New Year and we’ll be back and better than ever in 2010! Have fun, be safe and cheers!!!
I have the distinct honor of bringing you our last link dump of the year and the decade, enjoy…
Finally, last week on Christmas Eve folks walking on Dublin’s famed Grafton Street were treated to a surprise busking session by a rather impressive ensemble of Irish musicians as Bono, Glen Hassard (The Swell Season/The Frames), Damian Rice and Mundy treated the gathering crowd to an hour long set that included covers of Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door and Stand By Me. The impromptu performance raised money for Simon Community, an organization which serves Ireland’s homeless population. Check out some of the performances from that night after the jump…
There doesn’t seem to be anything standing in the way of Neil Young dipping into his vast archive of live recordings these days. The legendary singer-songwriter, who finally released his
Animal Collective – Summertime Clothes
This weekend marks the moment we’ve been waiting for since we said goodbye to summer last year, as we officially say hello to Summer ’09 (or the Summer Of Jam
Taking nods from My Bloody Valentine, Syd Barrett and Eno might be making for a monumental listen, but for Animal Collective, Feels is just another commitment to studio experimentation for an art rock band.
