The shows that I attended this year, according to my computer’s calendar: Lykke Li, Modest Mouse, Iron & Wine, Doves, Black Moth Super Rainbow, Wighonomy Bros, Micachu, Tune-Yards (4times), Bon Iver, Flight of the Conchords, The Jesus Lizard, McCoy Tyner.

Have a great holiday season, and remember to share music, always !!! Also, our good friends at Red Choo Choo have extended their holiday coupon for our readers.  Please enter FOEWEEL at check out for a 10% off coupon until the end of the year.

2009 Best Albums (in no particular order)

Bibio-Ambivalence Avenue (Warp) Lover’s Carving

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Fever Ray – Fever Ray (Mute) If I Had A Heart

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The XX – XX (Young Turks) Basic Space

__________________________________________________________________________ Phoenix – Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix (Glassnote/Loyaute) Girlfriend

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Matias Aguayo - Ay Ay Ay (Kompakt) Rollerskate

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St. Vincent – Actor (4AD) Save Me From What I Want

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Beach House – Devotion (Carpark) Heart Of Chambers

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Dirty Projectors – Bitte Orca (Domino) No Intention

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Animal Collective – Merriweather Post Pavilion (Domino)

Summertime Clothes

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Micahu & The Shapes – Jewellery (Rough Trade) Vulture

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Tune-Yards – Bird Brains (4AD/Marriage) Lions

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Mix of the Year:
Richie Hawtin – Tsugi 100th Podcast (Big Outside Festival 2009 Live Mix)

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Reissue of the Year:
Spiritualized - Ladies And Gentlemen We Are Floating In Space (Sony) Cop Shoot Cop (Demo)

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Compilation of the Year:
5: 5 Years of Hyperdub (Hyperdub) Burial – Fostercare

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Live Recording of the Year:
Jeff Buckley – Live @ King Theater, Seattle May 7th 1995 (Sony) What Will You Say

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Box Set, Old but New Release of the Year:
Ella Fitzgerald – Twelve Nights in Hollywood (Hip-O Select) Angel Eyes

I wanted to take the image of a wire coat hanger and make a shirt out of it with words,”Old School?” underneath it. It was going to be a pro-choice shirt. It may be lacking in a little tact, but it gets the point across. It can’t be worse than a PETA billboard.

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Brendan Monroe is currently having an exhibit at the Richard Heller Gallery in Santa Monica, CA. It’s entitled Places Between Here and Here. His work can also be seen at Red Choo Choo (Awakening, Crossing, Blob Sleep)

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Richie Hawtin has done the 100th podcast for Tsugi which is a live mix from the Big Outside Festival.  It’s the best live set/mix I’ve heard in a long time, and it harks back to Hawtin’s thumpier and funkier days and away from this boring minimal stuff that’s been the musical equivalent of Ambien for the past few years.

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Loöq Records has just release a new downtempo long player from Methodrone. It’s a departure from the their dance floor centered releases, and from the track, Slow It Down, it looks to be another stellar release from this San Francisco based label.

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Jon Brion – Little Person feat. Deanna Storey - From the Synecdoche, NY soundtrack, Jon Brion known for his excellent work on Paul Thomas Anderson films as well as being a member of The Grays and producing the stellar version of Fiona Apple’s Extraordinary Machine. A simple ode that puts Storey’s vocal upfront and center.

St. Vincent – Marrow - Annie Clark was a member of the Polyphonic Spree (don’t hold that against her) and a member of Sufjan Stevens’ live band, and on this album, Actor she again pumps and sprays her pleasantly skunk like juices on all of her songs. She knows how to use all of the spices instead of just the same old salt and pepper that normally goes with her brand of souffle.

Fever Ray with Van Rivers & The Subliminal Kid – Here Before – A B-side, and an incredible cover of Vashti Bunyan’s song. It’s on the Stranger Than Kindness single.

Matias Aguayo – Menta Latte – Another contender for release of the year. His second full length release, and again Aguayo ventures further away from his Kompakt label mates by making some of the best music that goes beyond the boundaries of his techno (Closer Musik) heritage.

Tomorrow is the Treasure Island Music Festival, which takes place on a strange little island in the San Francisco Bay, which separates the east bay from San Francisco. The only way to reach it by land is to travel across the Bay Bridge. I’ve lived here for 8 years now, and have yet to venture onto this enclave. Maybe, it’s due to the fact that to get off the island, you have merge/stop/go at 60mph to get back onto the Bay Bridge. I know there’s some Steven Wright joke somewhere in that observation. Besides the history, it appears that there are some incredible views of the city to gaze upon while you are singing along to your favorite band. This is the second year of the festival and with TV on the Radio playing, I figured, why the hell not. I hear Justice puts on a good show, Goldfrapp has some disco moves, Amon Tobin always has an interesting take on beats, as well as the indie-ness? of the Foals. We are being bused onto the island as parking is limited, which again, scares me in that I’ve seen Battle Royale one too many times. Though, I don’t think I’ll have too much trouble with the hipsters as I can probably kill one with a rolled up copy of Vice magazine, or use their “retro” Ray-Ban Wayfarers to stab them. Can you say, the Mission Marina. BMW, or Fixed gear bike? Anyway, no need to make fun of a group of people, unless their asian (just kidding), only individuals.

Here’s some music that will not be allowed on the island, but it will help you pick that special outfit out for Halloween…..

Matias Aguayo – Minimal - not as compelling as his Are You Really Lost full length player which I still think is Kompakt’s best release, and a genre crossing album, but it’s still unique and not what you expect from a proper Techno album.

The Advent vs. Industrialyzer – Inox – old school techno from Adam Beyer’s Drumcode label. I hope when he comes to Mighty he plays the funky harder techno like this track. I promise to bring back the lawnmower, the charge your hybrid and pick your scab dances. Thump, Thumb, not the bleep bleep.

Pinch – Bootz – the warble. the warble. the dissonant sound of darkness. wake-up, before it’s too late. check your pants as well. uncontrolled bowel movements are common when listening to dubstep.

GoodBye.

Pinch – Bootz