Irish Bands Named After Planes Top '09

Given the speedy evolution of digital music and the devolution of cd's, for maybe just a little while longer, we can take a look back at the year and pick our favorite full-length albums.

In the future, we'll probably debate which was the best mp3 of the past twelve months. But, for at least a sense of future nostalgia, I submit to you, my Top 5 Albums of 2009 and why I picked 'em.

1. Bell X1- Blue Lights on the Runway
- An aviation inspired band name and album title, clever lyrics, inventive new wave hooks go right for the gut, but Paul Noonan's sincere, yet almost deadpan delivery will keep the songs in my brain receptors for years to come.



2. Neko Case- Middle Cyclone
- As fearless and compelling as a record can get, the red headed siren gets savagely revealing on these boundless songs made all the more so by jazz-like tempo and idea shifts and killer lines like "the next time you say forever, I will punch you in the face." Hurts so good!



3. Cotton Jones- Paranoid Cocoon
- Michael Nau and Whitney McGraw, the Cumberland duo who used to front Page France, go from child-like pop wonderment, to darker, psychedelic harmonies that would be perfect cure for a fever in a Western Maryland cabin.

4. U2- No Line on the Horizon
- This was a very slow burn for me. But, then again, so was Achtung Baby and this record, if you can believe it, actually tops it! Like the Berlin-inspired 90's opus, this collaboration with Eno and Lanois was dying in the Moroccan desert until Bono, Edge, Larry, and Adam came together around a magical song about addiction, called "Moment of Surrender." What resulted after that, is a living-on-the-grid gospel album that would sound right pouring out of a minaret or a church.

Watch Eno talk about that song.



5. Animal Collective- Merriweather Post Pavilion
- Every year, I look for a record that doesn't sound like anything else; that doesn't faithfully beg, borrow, or steal, from anything.... that has no equal. The Boys from B'more deliver that kind of album, a sonic extravaganza that's intense, sexy, psychedelic, harmonic, pulsating, and sometimes, moving. Put this one in the time capsule!

We'd like to know what your favorite songs are for the year. Click here to vote and listen back on 12/20!

What's Eating Neko?

The Pacific Northwest-based, red-headed siren has always used her formidable pipes as a pre-emptive weapon to mask vulnerabilities lurking beneath the surface. But, on WTMD's CD of the Month Middle Cyclone, Neko Case charges head on by singing less in the abstract.

Though on "People Got a Lotta Nerve," I'm sure there are still a few double and triple meanings.

Check out how Canadian animators Paul and Julie Morstad imagined the song and see if you can guess which animal gets her in the end.



Neko plays two sold out shows at the 930 Club 4/8 and 4/9. Hope you've got tickets!

A "Case" for Killer Whales

Hopefully, you've had a chance to hear the new Neko Case single, "People Got a Lotta Nerve" from her album due out March 3rd, Middle Cyclone.

Typical Neko song: short, unconventional song structure, she says what she has to say and exits the song quickly- in this case, the "man, man, man, man, man, man, man-eater" refers to cases of humans getting too close to creatures such as tigers and killer whales and losing a limb, or worse, and the unjust fates of those who simply act naturally.

The charity that's benefiting from the sales of the single rescued Michael Vick's dogs.

Animals have shown up subjects/metaphors in Neko's music for awhile and with her recent move to a Vermont farm, that's likely to continue.

Can't wait for the new record, being the Neko nut that I am- in fact, she bought a bunch of old pianos and set them up in an abandoned barn and had friends play simultaneous notes- should create quite a wall of sound.

Neko plays the 930 Club for 2 shows in April (the 8th and 9th.)

Neko Suave

I tell you, I just cannot get enough of Neko Case's Fox Confessor Brings the Flood. Just listen to the opening Grace Slick-like vocals on "Hold On Hold On." That first line, "The most tender place in my heart is for strangers...." kills me! What talent and guts! She's a combination of Loretta Lynne, Kurt Cobain and David Lynch. She's got the pipes to challenge any Dolly come lately, the kind in-your-face artist ethic that caused her to turn down several major label suitors and the non-linear song structure akin to of one of my favorite composers, and hers, I found out recently, Angelo Badalamenti(Twin Peaks, Blue Velvet, etc). Listen to the strings and somewhat out of tune chord changes in this video for "Maybe Sparrows." (kind of reminds me of the Cold War Kids "Hang Me Up to Dry"). Neko has lived a hardscrabble life already. More on that later. Peace, for now.

TMD Morning Guy Weighs In

Since my job is to keep you entertained and engaged with incredible music while you're driving to work, I thought, "why not take a road trip and base my best of '06 picks on how they sound to me in the car?" Ahhh, New Jersey never looked so good as it did set to the soundtrack from this past year. So, thanks for inspiring me everyday...and here are my top driving albums from a memorable year in music!

1. Eric Lindell- Change in the Weather

2. Neko Case- Fox Confessor Brings the Flood

3. Joseph Arthur- Nuclear Daydream

4. Anders Parker- Anders Parker

5. Art Brut- Bang Bang Rock and Roll

6. Cold War Kids- Robbers and Cowards

7. Grace Potter and the Nocturnals- Nothing But the Water

8. Gomez- How We Operate

9. Jenny Lewis and the Watson Twins- Rabbit Fur Coat

10.M. Ward- Post War

Jenny Lewis had my first favorite record this year, and clearly, my favorite video. Check out Sarah Silverman introducing the Hee Haw inspired clip.

Oh, did you catch that 21-year-old blogger on Good People this morning? He chronicles all the goings-on in the tv news business and counts Brian Williams among his biggest fans. Check out Brian Stelter's tv newser blog:

http://www.mediabistro.com/tvnewser/