Top Ten Albums 10-12-09

1. "The '59 Sound" by The Gaslight Anthem
I came across this review and seems like the best way of describing them, since I actually didn't like them at first.

To go about explaining the appeal of this band seems to me like having to tell someone sex is an enjoyable act. It should be common knowledge. As was the case of several people I've discussed the band with, the attraction wasn't instant. Like when you meet someone but think they're ok, possibly a bit boring but become friends after you've had a long talk over tea or a memorable experience together. That's how me and Gaslight were introduced.

Most played: "The '59 Sound", "Old White Lincoln", and "Mile Davis and The Cool"
2. "Superioryouareinferior" by Rae Spoon
Based solely on "Come On Forest Fire Burn The Disco Down" being the best song I've heard in at least 6 months (I get some 200 albums a year, so that's as far back as I am willing to go with risking hyperbole). It's the kind of song you hear and think "oh yeah, THAT is what music should sound like. It's the type of album that defies genre. It has bits of country, folk, and indie that leap out. It also has that "Bon Iver vibe", only instead of sounding like a cabin it sounds like the rolling plains. The lyrics are so damn good that you get lost in them only to realize the wavering of his voice is stunningly beautiful as well. Oh yeah, when you listen you'll no doubt hear a female voice, that's because Rae is transgendered, born female. Most played: "Come On Forest Fire Burn The Disco Down", "My Heart Is a Piece of Garbage (Fight, Seagulls, Fight!)", and "If You Lose Your Horses" (sounds like it was stolen from Woody Guthrie himself)
3. "By The Throat" by Eyedea and Abilities
Maybe the best fusion of rock and rap in a decade. Many rappers dabble in rock, because there is a common love of power chords and something archetypal of electric guitar. But Eyedea, being among the best in the business having won Scribble Jam, shows here he understand that you can't just replace beats with guitar. Again he shows raw emotion and oozes peronsal stories in his music. Most played: "Burn Fetish" (with it's great "empathy is the poor man's cocaine" line), "Spin Cycle" (channeling Led Zeppelin), and "Junk"
4. "Terror State" by Anti-Flag
A return to my roots. This was in my CD player regularly for a year. Absolutely essential during those Bush years. Enough said, right? Most played: "You Can Kill The Protester, You Can't Kill The Protest", "Mind the G.A.T.T.", "Operation Iraqi Liberation (O.I.L.)" and "Wake Up!"
5. "The First Three Years" by Frank Turner
When you are Frank Turner you can put out a retrospective of new and old stuff after 3 years. Because putting out an album and an EP a year that makes you prolific enough to get away with it. This is a collection of stardards and songs that missed the cut due to being covers or too angsty. And when you can cover "Dancing Queen" with only an acoustic guitar and make it sound like you wrote it, you get the point. Most played: "Thatcher Fucked The Kids", "Heartless Bastard Motherfucker", "The District Sleeps Alone Tonight" (Postal Service cover), and "Dancing Queen" (ABBA cover)
6. "Monsters of Folk" by Monsters Of Folk
I tried not to like it, but it is undeniably good. It's "Conor Oberst" (album) with different singers, and a dash of "Outer South". Most Played: "Temazcal", "Man Named Truth", and  "Whole Lotta Losin", and "The Sandman, The Brakeman, and Me"
7. "...Is A Real Boy" by Say Anything
A staggering work of genius if I've ever heard one. A harsh indictment of an entire genre of music and maybe of the way music is made in general. "Admit It!" shouts down hipsters on their perch and "Alive With The Glory Of Love" tells of a ghetto love story during WWII, add a song about cats fighting, one about rough sex and you'd think the album would implode. But like it's maker's disease, the bipolar nature here just fits. You wouldn't want it any other way. Most played: "Admit It!", "Belt", and "Chia Like I Shall Grow"
8. "The Sufferer and The Witness" by Rise Against
One of my favorite albums, by one of the all-time great progressive bands. Check out their music videos and see they are music's Alan Grayson. Sort of. Anyway, on this album they manage to make a spoken word track a standout on a hard-rock album. A must have for a progressive too. Most played: "The Approaching Curve" (that spoken word song), "The Good Left Undone", and "Behind Closed Door"
9. "Crash Love" by AFI
Through not as great as "Sing the Sorrow", it's in that same vein. And it shed that whole glam-rock bullshit of "DecemberUnderground". They are better when they stick to their East-Bay (SF) Hardcore punk roots. But with better production. Here they include old-school sing songs and clap along, which are one of my many musical weaknesses. Most played: "Beautiful Thieves", "Too Shy To Scream", and "Veronica Sawyer Smokes" (which could have been pulled any of their Nitro releases).
10. "Repo! The Genetic Opera Sountrack"
Who'd have thought that a soundtrack to movie with both Paris Hilton and the girl from Spy Kids singing would make my list? Then again it also has real musicians, like Sarah Brightman, the best selling soprano of all time. And it was produce by the singer of X Japan and has some other industrial accents. Plus, it touches on just about every genre of music. Most played: "Zydrate Anatomy", "Chase The Morning", and "Things You See In A Graveyard"