more of the best of 2009.

Best of 2009 continued..... 

Best New Artist:  TIE between Obits, the Strange Boys and the Smith Westerns

Most Prolific Artist:  TIE between Ty Segall and Jon Dwyer of The Oh Sees

Best Solo Project from a Band I love:  Kyp Malone with Rain Machine

Best Live Album:  Greg Cartwright with Live from the Circle A

Best Local Band to Catch Live:  the Yolks

Best band without an LP out yet:  White Mystery

Best Hardcore Album:  Double Dagger

Best Psych Rock LP: TIE:  Cave and Oneida

Best Cover Album: Condo Fucks

Best EP of 2009:  TIE between Deerhunter and GG King

Best 7 inch: Obits

Best split 7 inch: Sonic Youth/Jay Reatard

Best Noise Rock LP:  Mi Ami

Best Electronic LP: Fuck Buttons (with Black Dice a close second)

Best Punk LP: the Yolks

Best Concept for an LP: Pink Mountaintops with their romance novel themed LP

Best Songwriter of 2009: Kurt Vile

Best Reunion Tour of 2009:  Jesus Lizard

Best Record Label:  hands down In the Red.   King Khan and BBQ, the Intelligence, the Strange Boys, the Reigning Sound, The Oh Sees…and that doesn’t even mention that half dozen other awesome bands they put out this year….

Best Concert:  TIE:  Black Lips at p4k fest (it nearly killed me…got partially trampled and concussed) and Double Dagger at a loft show (sweaty fun hardcore dancing, made me feel 16 again)

Best In Store Performance:  Kid Congo and the Pink Monkey Bird (he was in both the Cramps and Gun Club, so when he played a furious set of his own songs mixed with those bands, it blew everyone away)

Best Record Store:  Permanent Records (Chicago)

Favorite Record Store that closed this year:  Antiquarium (Omaha)

Favorite Record Store that got hit by a tornado: Electric Fetus (Minneapolis)

Best Venue:  Empty Bottle

Matador VS. SubPop:  2009 was definitely Matador’s year.

Most Overrated Band:  still probably the same as last year, Times New Viking, but Yacht and Japandroids are a close second in this category

Band who I finally started liking until I heard their second LP:  the Vivian Girls

Band who’s new album finally made me fall out of love with them:  the Thermals

Band who ought to be the NEXT BIG THING: TIE: Black Math and Vampire Hands

City I would most likely move to based on LPs that came out in 2009:  Atlanata.

LP I feel most Bi-polar about this Year:  Matt & Kim’s Grand.  At times I couldn’t stop playing it.  Other times, I couldn’t stand its sloppy amateur sound.  I loved it, after I saw them at P4k, but I haven’t listened to it since summer.

Lifetime Achievement Award:  TIE between Sonic Youth and Mission of Burma,  both put out barn burning LPs this year.  and they’re all practically my parents age….and I ain’t young……

Fav older garage bands I just got into this year:  the Seeds, the Mummies

Best mp3 find on the interweb this year:  three extremely hard to come by Compulsive Gamblers LPs….

Best web zine / blog (0verall):  Tiny Mix Tapes

Best web zine / blog (Reviews): Pitchfork

Best web zine / blog (Indie Rock News): Brooklyn Vegan

Festival this year that Best reflected my year:  Gonerfest

this year’s list is in dedication to Sky Saxon of the Seeds and Bobby Ubangi who both passed away this year…

the music lives on……..