#1

album of the year(2009)

Kings of Convenience-Declaration of Dependence



I' ve been waiting for this album release for months!Their first album in 5 years!Finally I would listen to some news songs!

And of course when it came out I bought it.And they didn't disappoint me.They never do.

They still have those stunning voices that I can't get enough of and these fingerpicking melodic guitars and a few more acoustic instruments-only that!Their music doesn't need anything else to appear beautiful!It doesn't need to dress up!Just simple,acoustic songs that invite you to fall in love with them.You can never say no.Just like the pretty ladies in ths video...




album of the decade 2000-2009

Adam Green-Gemstones



He's a satyr!There's no doubt for that!But it gets so ironic because his music is so good!And he sings so seriously you don't expect from him to sing about...well the stuff he sings about.For example if someone doesn't know what the phrase "getting head" means ,the lyrics "i'll be getting head under the rainbow "will sound quite romantic.(it happenned with me I have to admit...until someone told me about the meaning of the phrase and I felt so stupid.).
Well this song is not in this album I just thought it should be mentioned..

Nothing more to say,just listen to some of his songs and you'll have double experiences:The beauty of the sοng ,his jazzy voice etc and the hilarious/sick lyrics
that brings to your face this weird expression which means"did he really say that now or I just thought he did?"Like the first line of the following song.."Carolina
, she's from Texas,Red bricks drop from her vagina ..."

#2

album of the year(2009)

Andrew Bird-Noble Beast



Obviously!There's nothing that would prevent this record to be in the first place except for my enormous love for the band in the first place.(You'll find out tomorrow).

I met a boy from England who was lucky enough to see him playing live.He was there with his mother and his little sister.They were so touched by his performance they couldn't help but burst into tears.


album of the decade 2000-2009

Benoît Pioulard-Précis



Aka Thomas Meluch.I simply love his music.I don't know why so much!It's the typical late afternoon emotional charging music that somehow always expresses me.But at the same time ,even if his sounds are quite experimental and "icelandic" ,his melodies are so pop and well structured and romantic and"catchy".So,catchy melodies with beautiful sounds-that he's been recording since he was 14 years old-from forests,rivers,mountains and trains.Add an extremely charming voice,childlike sweet but also mature.All these by a 24 year old man(who is quite handsome fyi...).




This album came out in 2006 in kranky(I really trust this record company)

#3

album of the year(2009)

girls-album



Yeah they are not actually girls.But they sing about girls!They are from San Francisco and they play kind of indie pop but the singer looks as if he's playing in a grunge band.

I read somewhere that he grew up in the childrens of god cult where they don't believe in medicine and that's how he lost his brother in a young age.His father left him and his mother was forced by the cult to prostitute herself.Then a local millionaire took Owens under his wing, and Owens moved from Texas to San Francisco.That's how the simple lyrics of lust for life make real sense:
"Oh i wish I had a boyfriend,I wish I had a loving man in my life,I wish I had a father and maybe then I would have turned alright.But now I'm just crazy,and totally mad,I am just crazy and fucked in the head".

But enough about the personal stuff.Let's talk about music!But really,I don't know what to say...I can admit that maybe they don't deserve the 3rd place in this list because this is not "the masterpiece"of the year technically and musically.I am not sure if they bring anything new to the music.Maybe you will think you've heard them before.You can understand their influences by the first listen of the album(I really love this Buddy Holly-like hiccupy thing he does with his voice).

BUT (I don't know how to make this "but" look bigger but imagine it is.It is a rrrreally big BUT.)These songs about heartbreaks sang with his simple, playful way are so powerful even if they are just classic break up songs.And they have this enormous ability to stick in your head for a long time(i've been singing inside my head the song lust for life for the past week).

So this is the video for this absolutely fantastic song.Enjoy !



But it's not over.Guess what,there's another video made by the same director made by all the scenes that couldn't make it to the original video(gay porn,boobs,drugs etc)
WATCH IT NOW HERE!!!!!!!!!!!



album of the decade 2000-2009

Franz Ferdinand-Franz Ferdinand



I would be insane and with absolutely no taste in music and no gratitude if I didn't put this album in this place.What a piece of art!Every single song was a hit!I am so proud of my 16 year old self that I was so obsessed with this band.

#4

album of the year(2009)

Animal Collective-Merriweather Post Pavilion



Some obvious choices like this one don't need any words to come along.Their 8th and their greatest (and longest)record.


album of the decade 2000-2009

Mulatu Astatke-Inspiration Information



It was released in 2009 but is definitely in the top of the whole decade.

Born in 1943 in western Ethiopia, Mulatu was musically trained in London, New York City, and Boston, where he was the first African student at Berklee College of Music.
He has even worked with Duke Ellington in the 70s.

Today,being 67 years old,he is still productive and surprisingly innovative.He has managed to combine jazz with traditional ethiopian music and he does it sooo good!

#5

album of the year(2009)

Flaming Lips-Embryonic



Everything has already been told about this album.I have nothing to add.Just that I don't know anyone who can admit he doesn't like it.


album of the decade 2000-2009

Arcade Fire-Funeral



I suppose that this album is one of the top 5 for most of the people who participate in this "event".And I know why.

#6

album of the year(2009)

Black Moth Super Rainbow-Eating Us



A psychedelic, folk, electronic, and pop group which uses instruments like the vocoder, Rhodes piano, and Novatron.But really,the most interesting thing about them is their name.With this name even if they played like s club 7 I would still listen to them.
Fortunately their music is brilliant!In fact,their music is brilliantly weird.Although they should admit they sound a lot like flaming lips(but they have toured together so I think they both know it).


album of the decade 2000-2009

Amon Tobin-Foley Room



Another genius.A man ahead of his time._

#7

album of the year(2009)

Sleeping States-In the Gardens of the North



Sleeping States , aka Markland Starkie started in 2004 and has released some 7"s on diy and lo-fi labels but also on queercore labels such as homocrime or local kid.He is not the typical queercore artist though.

His harmonic vocals reminds me of old folk songs and his nostalgic melodies stay keenly in my head every time I listen to his songs.His voice is really addictive.



I love bella union for releasing this album and re-releasing some old self-releases as if it wouldn't be for the promo cd of bella union,that somehow I got,I would have never heard of this magnificent artist.

What more should I say?Listen to his music and you'll be convinced!


album of the decade 2000-2009

Patrick Wolf-Lycanthropy




I've heard this record a million times and i still love it.This hardly ever happens to me.I get bored easily ,and I'm usually quite snobbish with artists I used to listen in my adolescence.But this record is so damn good!This guy is really a genius!

Of course I used to be in love with him(I know he is kind of effeminate but i wouldn't care)What's not to love about him?He has a great voice,he had finally overcome this stupid overuse of guitars,instead he plays the cello,he refers to virginia wolf in his songs and he lives in a farm near london with his beautiful fat cat.And he refers to himself as Tristan.His name is Tristan and he is alive!

#8

album of the year(2009)

Dirty Projectors-Bitte Orca



Their first album by Domino.
Dave Longstreth ,Dirty projectors frontman is a yale grad and he has a weird voice.And he did a great job with this album.The most inventive album of the last year(or years?)


album of the decade 2000-2009

The Coral-The Coral



I think the coral are one of the most underrated bands of this decade.They are not even known outside europe and here their only song you can listen outside your home is "dreaming of you".But,really,they are such a good band.They sound as if they came back from the late 60s and some times 50s.They were retro long ago before it was fashionnable.And they are sooo young!You can tell that James Skelly has been staying up late as a kid listening to oldies radio.

#9

album of the year(2009)


Monsters of Folk-Monsters of Folk



A supergroup, consisting of Jim James from My Morning Jacket, Conor Oberst and M. Ward could not not be included in the top ten of this list.

album of the decade 2000-2009

Libertines-Up The Bracket



For old time's sake.
Because I was 15 when I first heard this album and that's the perfect age to fall in love with a band.I genuinely believed this record had changed my life for ever.

#10

album of the year(2009)

Grizzly bear-Veckatimest



an album that really was worth all the hype.

album of the decade 2000-2009

Panda Bear-Person Pitch



I was thinking of a way to describe his music when i read this in pitchfork:"The premise for Person Pitch is fairly simple-- take the production techniques and repetition of minimal techno and apply them to what might otherwise be relatively straightforward dreamy guitar pop."It is exactly this.

#11

album of the year(2009)

The Whitest Boy Alive=Rules



Erlend Øye is the secret element for their great music.He is one half of the fantastic duo kings of convenience.
Dream pop.Cool like the norwegian snow.

album of the decade 2000-2009

Sufjan Stevens-Illinoise



He had told that he would record an album for each state.Well,unfortunately he was kidding as if this ever happened we would have plenty of really beautiful songs as the ones included in this album.

#12

album of the year(2009)

The Drums-Summertime! EP



A feel good EP which helps overcome this it's winter already depression.I found out about them not a long time ago but I can't stop listening to Let's Go Surfing.It has a great video btw.




album of the decade 2000-2009

Múm-Finally We Are No One



2002.It was recorded in a lighthouse.You can tell...Their music is so gloomy.

#13

album of the year(2009)

The Postmarks-Memoirs at the End of the World



I really love her voice.So charming and innocent.

album of the decade 2000-2009

Architecture in Helsinki-In Case We Die



just watch this:

#14 album of the year(2009)

Flight of the Conchords-I Told You I Was Freaky



The second studio album by New Zealand folk parody duo Flight of the Conchords.
The funniest thing I'ver seen and listened.
Really.

#14 album of the decade 2000-2009

Caribou-The Milk of Human Kindness




As I go on with the lists I find out that in the best of the 00s list I include mostly albums that I still listen to and not the ones that I used to listen a lot back then.

"The Milk of Human Kindness" is the perfect example,as I used to listen to it a lot back in 2005 when it was released and I still do.Because this is an excellent record and still will be after many many years.

enjoy now "yeti":

#15 album of the year(2009)

Dan Deacon-Bromst



This guy is awesome.Nothing more.

#15 album of the decade 2000-2009

Department of Eagles-The Cold Nose



It has been reissued twice. It was released in the US as The Whitey On The Moon UK LP on Isota Records in 2003, and reissued in the UK as The Cold Nose on Melodic Records in 2008.

Department of Eagles are made up by Daniel Rossen (who is also a member of Grizzly Bear) and Fred Nicolaus."The Cold Nose" is their debut album and it mixes many different genres from electronic experimental to folk.That's the beauty of this record.Every single song sounds like it's by a different artist.

The record that followed in 2008 "In Ear Park" is more folk oriented but they still sound great.

"Noam Chomsky Spring Break 2002" (:it samples the Regina Spektor song "Prisoners".)

#16 album of the year(2009)

Camera Obscura-My Maudlin Career



The fourth album by this scottish indie pop band sounds as if it was recorded back in the 50s (well at least some of the songs do).Oh and I love the irony in this lady's voice.

#16 album of the decade 2000-2009

Gonzales-solo piano




Gonzales aka Jason Charles Beck,has been in the music industry since 1990.He has made rap music and he had developed a popular stage persona as a Jewish supervillain MC.But also he has been a producer for Peaches and for his friend Feist.

And then,out of nowhere, in 2004 he comes out with this album entirely made up of instrumental material.His work in this record has been even compared to that of Erik Satie(what an honour!) and it remains Gonzales's best-selling album to date.

It's the best soundtrack for a sit-in winter afternoon.I can say no more.
Just watch him performing "gogol"

#17 album of the year(2009)

Alessi's Ark-Notes From The Treehouse



She sounds like Bjork singing pop folk.

#17 album of the decade 2000-2009

Bright Eyes-I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning



"I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning" was released in 2005 by Saddle Creek Records along with another album,quite different "Digital Ash in a Digital Urn".The first one is more acoustic while the second is more electronic but both received very positive reviews.As i 'm an "acoustic type of person" I chose this one to be in my list.
Almost 5 years have passed since it came out and I'm still not bored of these songs.

first day of my life Directed by John Cameron Mitchell(the director of shortbus).And one of the most optimistic videos ever made.

#18 album of the year(2009)

Slow Club-Yeah So



Slow club are Charles and Rebecca ,a quirky folk/twee duo from Sheffield,U.K.I first listened to their songs because of their name(beacause quiet is the new loud as kings of convenience have declared some years ago).I really love listening to calm music when i 'm home.It keeps me relaxed.

Well slow club were not so slow after all but surely they made my day!Actually the have made many of my days as "yeah so" is one of the albums i've been listening a lot since it came out and that's why it's in this list.It's twee pop and well...kind of cute and catchy and it makes you happy.And that's the goal of music isn't it?

#18 album of the decade 2000-2009

Feist-Let it Die



It was recorded in Paris during 2002 and 2003 and released in 2004.The album was diveded into original compositions on the first half and cover versions on the second.
Influenced by many musical genres such as jazz,doo wop,bossa nova but with indie and electro elements(Gonzales, who will be mentioned in this list later helped her as he is the best in mixing genres so successfully) it is an album I will always listen to without ever being bored.

#19 album of the year(2009)

The Dodos-Time to Die



Simply beacause it is almost impossible to pick a favourite song from the album.

#19 album of the decade 2000-2009

Decemberists-Picaresque



It was released in 2005 on the Kill Rock Stars record label and was produced by Chris Walla.I'm not sure if it's considered by anyone else as one of the top 20 albums of the decade but I'm trying to be subjective here and I really loved this record.I have played it a million times since the day I bought it(yes,I was still bying cds back in 2005).
The Mariner's Revenge Song that is included in the album is one of my favourite songs of all time.Listen to it and especially if you pay attention to the lyrics I bet it will become yours too.

#20 album of the year(2009)

Au Revoir Simone-Still Night, Still Light



I simply love this band.The voices of these girls are so sweet.

#20 album of the decade 2000-2009

Amiina-kurr


It was released on March 21, 2007 by their own label, Bláskjár Records and it was partly recorded in Sigur Rós' Sundlaugin studio.I've spent so many hours trying to listen to it while doing something else but i always ended up just sitting down and enjoyng their extremely beautiful music.

dogtooth

This post is about a new indiependent greek film i saw yesterday,called "dogtooth"or in greek "kynodontas",by Yorgos Lanthimos.Here is the story of the film.

Three teenagers are confined to an isolated country estate that could very well be on another planet. The trio spend their days listening to endless homemade tapes that teach them a whole new vocabulary. Any word that comes from beyond their family abode is instantly assigned a new meaning. Hence 'the sea' refers to a large armchair and 'zombies' are little yellow flowers. Having invented a brother whom they claim to have ostracized for his disobedience, the uber-controlling parents terrorize their offspring into submission. The father is the only family member who can leave the manicured lawns of their self-inflicted exile, earning their keep by managing a nearby factory, while the only outsider allowed on the premises is his colleague Christina, who is paid to relieve the son of his male urges. Tired of these dutiful acts of carnality, Christina enlists the elder daughter for some girl-on-girl action, carelessly disturbing the domestic balance. Soon enough, sex has spread throughout the household like fire. Next stop: rebellion.
(taken from imdb. )


The film won 7 awards above which the most important are the un certain regard award in Cannes film festival and the Citizen Kane Award for Best Directorial Revelation in Sitges,Catalonian International Film Festival.


Obviously.the film was really good.The director and writer had done a deep research about the model of the person they were presenting:the psychotic person.It's the father.He is afraid of the outside world and makes his children be afraid as well.Their biggest enemy is the cat which is "the most dangerous creature in the world".

Some people have characterized the film as scince fiction.According to the director "dogtooth" is a horror film.

Eagle vs Shark

I saw this film,called "eagle vs shark" starring Jemaine Clement(you know,Jemaine from "flight of the conchords"!).It was nice,a little bit weird and it reminded me of a more sophisticated version of "Napoleon Dynamite".

The film had really great soundtrack which included well known arists like stone roses,M.Ward but also some bands from New Zealand, where the movie was filmed and produced.
I really loved the phoenix foundation.Their song hitchcock is beautiful.
The Reduction Agents are also great.Too bad these bands are not well known out of their country.

Hitchcock - the Phoenix Foundation


The Reduction Agents - The Pool

Le charme discret de la bourgeoisie

I had seen it a long time ago and i saw it again yesterday.What a great film!So sarcastic.And the structure reminds me of dreams.There's absolutely nothing to relate one situation to another.Definitely one of my favourite films of Luis Bunuel.

In addition i love the clothes.Bourgeois were many bad things but really,they knew how to dress!