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Top CDs of 2009: Part I So. First pick, it’s going to be a bit more mainstream than most indie rockers are used to, but let’s face it: you’re out clubbing, it’s late at night, and you still haven’t found a better CD for it than Franz Ferdinand’s. We understand. Having released in January, this album still keeps it’s disco-funk beat, it’s flashy, catchy hooks, and Kaparanos’ swaggering vocals well into the next year. Even if you’re not a big fan of Mr. Ferdinand, especially after 2005′ “You Could Have it So Much Better” (a somewhat ironic title), this is the CD to get youRead More →

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…are as such:END OF THE YEAR REVIEW!!!Wow, so it’s been a year already…?Anyway, we’re going to recap the top albums of this year, and you’ll hopefully get an idea what to get the music-lover on your list. Not sure how big the list is yet, but it’s going to be only the best of the best, the creme de la creme, the Tiger Woods of… okay, maybe we’ll skip that last one.Things you will not find on this list:-CDs not reviewed on this blog, or on my MySpace blog (Phoenix, Monsters of Folk, few others)-Movies, video games, or other things not “music”-A sense of decencyRead More →

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In: _CD Reviews 2009, _Four or More 2009, Album Reviews, Recommended
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Tegan and Sara – “Sainthood”Sire/Wea-out now4 / 5 Almost the perfect bookend to Phoenix’s “Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix,” Tegan and Sara churn up a beat-oriented popfest in their sixth full-length. While this album isn’t quite up to par with Phoenix’s there is still plenty here to recommend it: driving music, great melodies and choruses, and simple, sugary fun. Out of the thirteen presented here, “Arrow,” “The Cure,” and “Alligator” are the sure bets, with the best choruses out of the bunch, but that’s not to say there is a weak track in the mix. Rather, the biggest complaint is that, like Phoenix, these songs are fairlyRead More →

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Karen O and the Kids – “Where the Wild Things Are” (Soundtrack)Interscope Records-out now4 / 5 With a fuller version of her excitable Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Karen O would seem like the exact opposite of the person you’d want to make a soundtrack for a famous children’s book adaptation. But here she plays dead on, with playful, organic music that both adults and children will enjoy. Her second album released this year, she loses no steam in conducting a fuller orchestra, bringing an incredible innocence by utilizing a children’s chorus, fingersnaps and claps, and acoustic instruments. Performances on the simple and somber “Worried Shoe” andRead More →