Top 20 Records of 2009

11. Jim O’Rourke – The Visitor (Drag City / 2009)

I started listening to Jim O’Rourke as an extension of my curiosity with the Chicago indie and experimental scene, which saw me amassing a whole bunch of records from bands like Sea and Cake, Tortoise, Brokeback and Isotope 217. This was back in London around 2002, which was about the time his last proper solo album Insignificance was released. Listening to that record still reminds me of walking around aimlessly in the capital of the UK, taking random pictures, buying records, not having anyone to talk to. Alone but not always unhappy. The Visitor gives me that same feeling.

12. King Midas Sound – Waiting For You (Hyperdub / 2009)

I quipped on Facebook that Waiting For You is the album Massive Attack forgot how to make. I can imagine if Massive Attack did make another album that sounded like this they would either be criticized for having no new ideas or be hailed as a return to form. The vibe here is murky, sedative and rarely goes above 90 beats per minute (yes I counted). I wish they included the Dabrye remix of ‘One Ting’ though which I absolutely love to bits.

13. Kona Triangle – Sing A New Sapling Into Existence (Porter / 2009)

Let’s make this short: Boards Of Canada + Flying Lotus = Kona Triangle.

14. Lone – Ecstasy & Friends (Werk Discs / 2009)

More Boards Of Canada + More Flying Lotus = Lone

15. Martyn – Great Lengths (3024 / 2009)

I credit Martyn for stirring up my interest in dubstep. For a long time I stayed away from the genre because I didn’t like a lot of the UK grime I was hearing, which for the most part sounded like Nintendo sound bites set to 2-step rhythms. But when I heard ‘Vancouver’ I thought, “Wow, I can get with this.” I still can’t tell grime apart from dubstep, but for my purposes I consider dubstep as grime without the Cockney accents.

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Music | December 14th, 2009

2 Responses to “Top 20 Records of 2009”

  1. Michelle Says:
    December 14th, 2009 at 11:22 am

    As always, an interesting and distinctive list! I’ll check lots of this out. Not sure if I’ll have time to do one myself but honestly even if I do, it won’t be as interesting as yours has been.

  2. shtikman Says:
    December 14th, 2009 at 2:50 pm

    Aww come on, do one! I haven’t read much music-related stuff from you in a while, other than the Michael Jackson ones.

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