Fameless Likes Music, Album Picks from 2009

With every new year, music faces the challenge of remaining original and worthy of a listener’s time. Bands are forced to either step up their style or re-invent their sound, and we like to know that they know that their recordings are splendid and have not gone unnoticed.

Or we just want people to know we listen to cool music. Could be either. Contemplate on the tree of “woah”. Happy new year everyone!

Exquisite Corpse – TOP 50

1. Mew – “No More Stories / Are Told Today / I’m Sorry / They Washed Away // No More Stories / The World Is Grey / I’m Tired / Let’s Wash Away”
2. Kill The Vultures – “Ecce Beast”
3. Anti-pop Consortium – “Fluorescent Black”
4. Why? – “Eskimo Snow”
5. Morrissey – “Years of Refusal”
6. The Mountain Goats and John Vanderslice – “Moon Colony Bloodbath”
7. Georgia Anne Muldrow – “Umsindo”
8. Bill Callahan – “Sometimes I Wish I Were an Eagle”
9. Prefuse 73 – “Everything She Touched Turned Ampexian”
10. Bowerbirds – “Upper Air”
11. P.O.S. – “Never Better”
12. Monotonix – “Where Were You When It Happened?”
13. Dirty Projectors – “Bitte Orca”
14. Blaq Poet & DJ Premier – “Tha Blaqprint”
15. Raekwon – “Only Built For Cuban Linx II”
16. Propagandhi – “Supporting Caste”
17. Tortoise – “Beacons of Ancestorship”
18. Q-Tip – “Kamaal The Abstract”
19. The Antlers – “Hospice”
20. Tame One – “Acid Tab Vocab”
21. Attack in Black – “Years (By One Thousand Fingertips)”
22. The pAper chase – “Someday This Could All Be Yours, Vol. 1”
23. Paint it Black – “Amnesia EP”
24. Shook Ones – “The Unquotable A.M.H.”
25. Tanya Morgan – “Brooklynati”
26. Mount Eerie – “Wind’s Poem”
27. John Frusciante – “The Empyrean”
28. Marissa Nadler – “Little Hells”
29. The Thermals – “Now We Can See”
30. Black Moth Super Rainbow – “Eating Us”
31. Maudlin of the Well – “Part the Second”
32. Coalesce – “Ox”
33. Dizzee Rascal – “Tongue n Cheek”
34. Big Gigantic – “Wide Awake”
35. Neko Case – “Middle Cyclone”
36. Speech Debelle – “Speech Therapy”
37. Built To Spill – “There Is No Enemy”
38. Memorial – “The Creative Process/Berlin”
39. James Yorkston and Big-Eyed Family Players – “Folk Songs”
40. Andromeda Mega Express Orchestra – “Take Off!”
41. El Michels Affair – “Enter the 37th Chamber”
42. Sole – “Nuclear Winter, Volume One”
43. Mono – “Hymn To The Immortal Wind”
44. The Flaming Lips – “Embroynic”
45. Camp Lo – “Another Heist”
46. Swan Lake – “Enemy Mine”
47. Exile – “Radio”
48. Del Tha Funkee Homosapien & Tame One – “Parallel Uni-Verses”
49. Jesu – “Opiate Sun”
50. Volcano Choir – “Unmap”

Virtue – TOP10

Before I start this list, I have to say my favourite album of the year, hands down, is Cecil Otter – “Rebel Yellow”. The reason it isn’t included is because he released it independently in 2008, but it was officially released in 2009 on Strange Famous. I advise you all to check it out. Also, Raekwon continued his legacy with “Only Built For Cuban Linx II” brilliantly… but y’all know that, so I wanted to give other artists a chance for higher spots. Great job, Chef. (The Chef also wins best banter between songs during a live show… ‘SOMEONE GET RAEKWON A LOLLIPOP’)

1. Bowerbirds – “Upper Air”
Beautiful. Start to finish. Beautiful.

2. Kill the Vultures – “Ecce Beast”
This album plays like a gritty black and white detective film, rated R, set in the underground of New York before gentrification. The characters are thought provoking in a way that exposes North America for what it really is, under all the make-up. That is just my interpretation of this. I recommend you getting this so you can form your own.

3. Anti-Pop Consortium – “Fluorescent Black”
Anti-Pop continued to push the boarders with this one, except now they have polished their sound and perfected their vibe.

4. Classified – “Self Explanatory”
So slept on (south of Canada). Classified doesn’t sound like anyone, yet he can rhyme like an old school MC, or like the most meta-indie-current-internet bread of rapper. He does it all. Don’t believe me? Contrast the fun rapper-raps of “Anybody Listening” and then the multi-leveled tracks of  the choose your own adventure. Yes, that’s right, you can choose your own adventure as you listen to this album. Thanks for revolutionizing, Class.

5. Mac Lethal – “Love Potion 5″
Mac Lethal was one of the most respected and well known battle MC’s just a few years ago. Many battle careers don’t last because a lot of battle MC’s can’t write songs, Mac Lethal can. His songwriting has gotten more in depth, and controlled, each year as he grows older and more introspective. Mac deals with love, life, and whack rappers equally well, and often, making his content diverse, and this record a well-rounded, solid listen. Sharp & smooth, his personality always shines.

6. P.O.S. – “Never Better”
If you like P.O.S., this is him as he has always been only, dare I say, Never Better? He mastered his sound, and seamlessly blends genres to bring you this angry, sensitive and intelligent neck snapper.

7. Themselves – “CrownsDown”
I want to allow this album to speak for itself, Dose and Jel on point as ever. (Possibly the best live show of the year too!)

8. BK-One – “Rádio do Canibal”
Jake One’s “White Van Music” got a lot of press, as it deserved… it’s a great record. This, however, is similar but better. Fresh guests, great combinations of MCs (ie. I Self Divine with Reakwon or Grouch and Phonte with Brother Ali) with conceptual production. All of the beats revolve around South American samples that give it that extra feel good oomph.

9. Big Gigantic – “Fire it Up”
I could listen to this all day… and I do. “Fire it Up” is perfect instrumental music to make the party heat up or the doob burn.

10. Wu-Tang – “Chamber Music”
RZA recruits a live band to get that gritty Wu production on point like never before. Unlike most recent Wu records, this is all original material made for the album. It also boasts incredible classic MC appearances such as Masta Ace, Sadat X, and Kool G. Rap.

Honorable Mentions:
Method Man & Redman – “Blackout 2!”
Meth and Red really delivered. So many of their past peers have sold out and began making questionable music, while these two stick to who they are. Great record for real fans of Meth and Red.

Blaq Poet – “The Blaqprint”
This is raw hip-hop. Every premier beat is notable, and Blaq spits with such authority it’s no wonder this guy has stuck around the game as along as he has. This dropped on Fat Beats when I interned there this summer, and it was my job to put the “produced by DJ Premier” sticker on every physical copy of the CD that exists. Because of that alone, it couldn’t make my top ten haha.

Masta Ace & Edo G – “Arts & Entertainment”
They killed this. I have always been a huge Masta Ace fan. When I say that I mean he has a permanent spot in my top 10 MC list. Every Edo G verse  on this record captivates me. His delivery and punchlines require rewinds. This was solid all the way through until the terrible Chester French collabo at the end of the album. Honestly, it would have made my top 10 for the year if it wasn’t for that one song. It is so weak, and such a contradiction to the rest of the album that it doesn’t even make sense. Confusing.

EJ3 Robot – Most enjoyed records of 2009

Venetian Snares – “Filth”
Fever Ray – “Fever Ray”
Why? – “Eskimo Snow”
STS9 – “Ad Explorata”
Anti-Pop Consortium – “Fluorescent Black”
Dirty Projectors – “Bitte Orca”
Mos Def – “The Ecstatic”
The Flaming Lips – “Embroynic”
Yo La Tengo – “Popular Songs”
Deadmau5 – “for lack of a better name”
Air – “Love 2″
Big Gigantic – “Fire it Up”
Shpongle – “Ineffable  Mysteries from Shpongleland“
EJ3 album to look out for in 2010 is
“Here Lies Love” by Fatboy Slim and David Byrne out in Feb.

Hope you listen to some of these you haven’t heard, and smile at the ones you agree with.
 Best wishes,

-Your Fam



7 Responses to “Fameless Likes Music, Album Picks from 2009”

1. Robo says:

   December 29, 2009 at 2:53 am

   Morrissey – “Years of Refusal” is one I def left off my list. That album was in constant rotation in my pods and players this year. Simply breathtaking.
2. Bakes says:

   December 29, 2009 at 10:07 pm

   Here’s my TOP 7 of 2009:

   7. Chali 2na — Fish Outta Water
   6. Big City Bumpus — Everything I Do Is Badass
   5. Busta Rhymes — I Bullshit You Not (Mixtape)
   4. RUNE! — NASCENCE
   3. Twista — Category F5
   2. Classified — Self Explanatory

   And first place by a landslide goes to…

   1. George Watsky — Watsky

   Seriously, I know every word on this album. Find it, buy it, listen to it. Then follow Watsky’s slam poetry around the country, check his YouTube videos, watch his plays, read his scripts, and stalk his house in San Fran. This kid is gonna get real big, real fast.
3. corpse says:

   December 30, 2009 at 3:29 am

   song of the year

   “roman is as roman does” by themselves

   thx
4. One Last Round-Up of Year-and-Decade Round-Ups | JumpTheTurnstyle says:

   December 31, 2009 at 6:00 pm

   [...] Fameless Fam’s top 50 Albums of 2009 (all genres, but includes some niche hip-hop releases that I missed on my list for sure) [...]
5. Robo says:

   January 1, 2010 at 9:07 pm

   RUNE! is sooooo nasty. NASCENCE is very special as well. Here’s the link : http://www.mediafire.com/?tdkgywegnmm
6. Kaminsky says:

   January 2, 2010 at 12:40 am

   1) Fashawn – Boy Meets World
   2) Raekwon – Only Built 4 Cuban Linx… Pt. 2
   3) Why? – Eskimo Snow
   4) Mos Def – The Ecstatic
   5) Dan Deacon – Bromst
   6) BlakRoc – BlakRoc
   7) Dirty Projectors – Bitte Orca
   Islands – Vapors
   9) Antony and the Johnsons – The Crying Light
   10) P.O.S. – Never Better
   11) Passion Pit – Manners
   12) Maxwell – BLACKsummers’night
   13) Blaq Poet – Tha Blaqprint
   14) Mew – No More Stories…
   15) Brother Ali – Us
   16) Exile – Radio
   17) Neon Indian – Psychic Chasms
   18) Neko Case – Middle Cyclone
   19) Themselves – CrownsDown
   20) Mayer Hawthorne – A Strange Arrangement
   21) DOOM – Born Like This
   22) Eyedea & Abilities – By the Throat
   23) The Thermals – Now We Can See
   24) Anti-Pop Consortium – Fluorescent Black
   25) Morrissey – Years of Refusal
7. writous says:

   January 4, 2010 at 12:50 pm

   ha wheres emohs list?