A Lesson In... 12.22.09: My Top 10 Albums of 2009
Posted by Alistair McGeorge on 12.22.2009
After a long break, Alistair McGeorge returns to 411Mania with a special edition of A Lesson In..., providing his Top 10 Albums of 2009. With the year drawing to a close, click to see what made the list.
Well...to say it's been a while would be a bit of an understatement. I'd also say "long time, no see", but in light of the fact that I can't actually see any of the faces reading this...it's be a fairly stupid comment to make. I've just checked, and apparently it's been two months since I last wrote for 411mania. Before I explain exactly why, I want to apologize to everyone, and thank the 411mania Music Zone (especially Mitch Michaels) for being very patient with me since my last Lesson In...Less Than Jake.
Basically, for a while I had some internet problems in the flat, which stopped me getting online for long enough to research and then post a column (it really does take a lot of time, factoring in finding the pictures, getting them in the system, blah, blah, blah). Whining over, once the internet in my home at university got fixed, deadlines started looming, and it's been pretty much non-stop work for my Journalism degree for the last month or so.
Any spare moment I've had, have had to be spent, you know, having a life. On top of the university work, I was also in two drama performances this semester, plus writing for the university magazine (a necessity for someone on my degree). So, 411Mania was pushed to the back for a while, but I'm back now and ready to rock...ok...I'll never, ever say that again.
Anyway, before I get properly back into the thick of things next week, I thought a nice way to ease my back into this would be to write about my Top 10 Albums of 2009. Before we get to that, for the first time in two months...STOP!
It's banner time!
So, I'll say this now, even though I know it'll be ignored in the comments section: This is my own opinion- nothing more nothing less. I'm not pretending these are the best albums of the year, nor am I pretending that this is a varied list. These are simply my favourite albums of the year, in order. Feel free to moan about my choices, but don't waste time by saying the opinion is wrong and that the list missed off things released by 50 Cent or The Jonas Brothers. Whether they were great or not, just not my thing.
OK, with that little rant over...let's go!
Honorable Mentions
I won't explain these choices, but these are 5 albums that just narrowly missed out on the Top 10:
A Little Faster by There For Tomorrow, Be Human by Fightstar, Only Revolutions by Biffy Clyro, Crash Love by AFI and Cokie The Clown (E.P.) by NOFX
So, with those out of the way, we'll move onto the list. To break this up a bit, I'm gonna put a video of whatever my favourite song happens to be off each particular album. So, here we go...
10. Fame, Fortune and Fornication – Reel Big Fish
It's a covers album, so usually I wouldn't rate this so highly, but I listened to this again the other night...and it's just plain fun. I managed to get thru it in all one sitting, which is more than I can say for a lot of covers albums. Tracks like "Mama We're All Crazy Now" and "Brown Eyed Girl" work extremely well as ska songs. "Authority Song" is notable for the segue into "I Fought The Law", which is a nice moment. It's also great to get old favourite "Monkey Man" finally on a Reel Big Fish album. Seriously, if you can listen to that song and not find it funny, you have definitely caught a lack of the funnies. Here, give it a try:
9. Coaster – NOFX
I only heard this album a week or so ago, after hearing "Creeping Out Sara" on NOFX's MySpace (don't worry, I'll post the video below), and it's quickly turned me into a huge NOFX fan. I already had things like "The Idiots Are Taking Over" on my iPod, but this album has really made me appreciate the band properly, and really give their full back catalogue a fair chance. Opening with "We Called It America", the album is brilliant, catchy pop-punk from start to finish, without a bad moment. Even more sensitive moments like "My Orphan Year" are great, and fit in well.
I'll be reviewing their new E.P. (Cokie The Clown, it was in my honorable mentions) for 411Mania sometime soon, but I also have to highly recommend this release, if you're a punk fan and haven't heard it yet. NOFX are the leaders of modern pop-punk, and this album is a clear reason why.
8. Red Light Fever – Hot Leg
When Justin Hawkins quit The Darkness, I'll admit...I was disappointed. More than a guilty pleasure, I absolutely loved The Darkness, and was sad to see them ago. They were the first "rock" band I got into of my own accord (Green Day were nearly that band, but my friends recommended them in 2002), and I'll always have soft spot for Permission To Land.
From the ashes of The Darkness came two bands- Stone Gods and Hot Leg. Whilst Stone Gods gave me my favourite album of 2008, Hot Leg released their debut Red Light Fever. After seeing Hot Leg in my hometown the summer before this was release, I was expecting great things from the new material, and I definitely wasn't disappointed. Whilst some tracks are merely "good" rather than "great", there's nothing bad on here, and it's a nice nod back to when music was cheesy, but just damn fun. Here's my personal highlight:
7. The Resistance – Muse
This album may have got a poor review on 411Mania, but I actually really like it. Sure, the lead single ("Uprising") sounds a bit like the trio doing a Marilyn Manson impression (especially the drums), but overall this is still a classic Muse album. There's a bit of something for everyone, but I won't pretend there isn't one song in particular that lifts the album as a whole, for me personally.
I'll admit now I'm a huge Queen fan, so it's no surprise that I love "United States of Eurasia". It's an absolute modern masterpiece, and one I could listen to on repeat for hours. From the vocal harmonies to the tone of the guitars, it could be from the A Night At The Opera sessions and not sound out of place. Muse are often compared to Queen, and this song is a perfect example of why. Nothing on the album is really bad, but this song will definitely be why I keep listening to it in the future.
6. Not Without A Fight – New Found Glory
And cue the comments section imploding- how can a music journalist rank New Found Glory over the likes of Muse? It's almost a guilty pleasure, but I'm a big pop-punk fan, in case most of this last hadn't given that impression. Whilst Sticks And Stones is a better album (in my opinion, one of the best pop-punk albums of the decade, this is still a fantastic record in its own right, and it's hard to find something to dislike.
Tracks like "Don't Let This Be The End", "Right Where We Left Off" and "Listen To Your Friends" are just by-the-numbers pop-punk, but no-one does this better than New Found Glory. The music is catchy, and you can't help but tap your toes and nod your head to the rhythm.
I'm starting to sound like a broken record (which is something I certainly can't say about Not Without A Fight), but there really isn't a bad track on here. If you're a fan of pop-punk in any form, definitely get hold of this album. It's New Found Glory and pop-punk at its finest, and this is an example of why it was almost in my Top 5 Albums of 2009:
So, there's the first five out of the way. Isn't this exciting? No? Well, I'll admit that this is getting finished five minutes after the deadline (university work gets in the way again, but I'm determined to get it finished), but I'm enjoying listening through sections of these albums as I reach them in the list. Without further ado, let's hit the final stretch. It's A Lesson In.... my Top 10 Albums of 2009, and here's the Top 5...
5. Artwork - The Used
I missed out on reviewing this for 411Mania, but Dan Wilcox did a great job and I have to agree with his assessment. It received a final rating of 8.5 in that review, and I couldn't agree more. I listened to it for the first time in a while a few nights ago, and it's the best The Used have sounded in a long time. Bert McCracken's vocals are top-notch here, and combined with the awesome riffs, it's an incredible "emo/post-hardcore" album.
When I wrote about this album in A Lesson In...The Used, I said:
I've heard bits on Spotify, and it's a brilliant album. "Kissing You Goodbye" is a beautiful ballad, and a total contrast to other tracks like "Meant to Die" (an almost pop-punk song, but still with the heavy undertones we've come to expect).
Now, almost 3 months on...my opinion hasn't changed at all. "Meant to Die" is still a great song, meshing well with tracks like "Sold My Soul" and "Blood On My Hands". My favourite song is, three months later...still "Kissing You Goodbye". When an album is still just as good as it was on the first listen after a few months of not hearing it...it's certainly commendable. Here's a look at my main recommendation:
4. brand new eyes – Paramore
Before I start, like the previous album, I wrote briefly about this in A Lesson In...Paramore. Here are my original thoughts, immediately after hearing the record:
Released on September 29, brand new eyes is the latest offering from the Tennessee quintet, and was their first to be produced by Rob Cavallo (Green Day, My Chemical Romance, Shinedown and Goo Goo Dolls, amongst others). It has done exceptionally well, topping the UK Album Chart. A few days ago, 411mania's Daniel Wilcox wrote a fine review of the album, so check that out if you get the chance. Because of that, I'll keep my opinions fairly brief.
I'd say it feels, at times, like Riot! take two, but that's no bad thing. It does boast a much more mature sound though, and the effect of the near-split can be heard throughout, with some brutal lyrics. Everything compliments each other, and there are a few stand-out tracks. One of them is the beautiful "Misguided Ghosts"…
Listening back now, I like it more than the first listen. At that time, I was still getting slightly sick of Paramore and Hayley Williams, but now that I don't hear them on the radio nearly as much, I'm appreciating them more. "Careful" opens the album in a fantastic way, with lines like "You can't help me to heal/and it hurts to remember how much it hurt to shut down" giving us a glimpse into how Hayley was feeling at the time.
When I first heard the album, "Misguided Ghosts" was easily my favourite song, stunning with its intertwining guitar work and Hayley's soaring, beautiful vocals. I still love that track, but this is the track that stands out after listening to it again preparing for this column...
3. Sorry For Partyin' – Bowling For Soup
There are albums that use more talent, are more ambitious and probably feature better song-writing...but they'll struggle to beat this record for just sheer hilarity and fun. I reviewed the album for 411Mania mid-October, and gave it a final score of 8/10. Here's The 411 from that review:
I realize many people will see the repetitive nature of Bowling For Soup's music as a reason to slate everything they do and call for change. I get the feeling that some of these people are the same ones who complain when bands like Green Day try to be innovative, claiming they've "sold out". BFS have stuck to their guns for ten albums now, and they still do it better than anyone. It's more of the same, but when "the same" is this damn great, you can't really fault it.
I also wrote:
In the times we're in, some people just need something fun and care-free to take our mind off everything and let us enjoy life. After spending the last two weeks with this album on repeat, Bowling For Soup , once again, are that band, and Sorry For Partyin' is most definitely that album.
The truth of the matter is, over a month later, I still listen to this album from start to finish almost every week, and I still find new things to love. My favourite song from it changes daily, and they were just as incredible in the live environment. I just picked a song at random to throw at the end of this, because any and all of them could be considered "the best on the album". This was very close to being my #2 pick.
2. Journal For Plagued Lovers – Manic Street Preachers
The lyrics on this album were written by the missing (I refuse to say "dead", whether he's been legally declared it or not) Richie Edwards, and his influence couldn't be more obvious. Similarly, the opening audio clip saying "You know so little about me" couldn't be any more apt. What follows is one of the most emotional (not in that sense) albums of the year, if not the decade.
The music, I'll concede, is your typical Manic Street Preachers' album at times, which of course is no bad thing. Songs like "Jackie Collins Existential Question Time" and "Virginia State Epileptic Colony" are Manics at their absolute best, showing why they are still a huge force to be reckoned with in the modern music scene.
There are two real highlights of the album, but for different reasons. To remind yourself of how great this band are at powerful, guitar-driven anthems that are just begging to be blasting out in a convertible speeding down the highway, look no further than "Me And Stephen Hawking". However, for the most moving song of the year (which I annoyingly over-looked in my contribution to last week's Top 5 Songs of 2009)...
Words cannot do it justice...
1. 21st Century Breakdown – Green Day
I'll say it now- Green Day are my favourite current band, and I love absolutely everything they've done. From Kerplunk to American Idiot and everything in between, I've enjoyed it all. So yeah, I'm a bit biased...but music is subjective, so sue me. As with a few of these albums, I've written about them before in columns on the respective artists. This was no different, so here's an excerpt from A Lesson In...Green Day:
21st Century Breakdown, so far, has sold extremely well, topping the charts in 16 countries, hitting gold or platinum in 10 of them, including the UK and US. It might not be a return to the Dookie sound so many older fans of the band are waiting for, but I truly think it's a step in a better direction. At the age and experience the band are at now, they can't be seriously singing about being a teenager, drugs and girls. I suppose they could've done, but I applaud them for their continual progression, and for creating a true modern masterpiece (besides possibly "Know Your Enemy", I don't think there's a bad track on it).
As with Sorry For Partyin', I'm still listening to this album constantly, and it was the first album that sprung to mind when I was sitting down to compile this list. It is the album I will most associate with this year, and makes American Idiot look like a demo. From power ballads ("21 Guns" and "Last Night On Earth"), Beatles-esque tracks ("Restless Heart Syndrome") and even a dash of pop-punk ("The Static Age", "Murder City" and "Last of the American Girls"), this is one of my favourite albums of all time, let alone this year.
Sure, "Know Your Enemy" couldn't be more repetitive if the record kept skipping after the first chorus (some could argue it sounds like it does...that was the joke), but take a listen to "I Fought The Law". I know the latter is much, much better, and that Green Day were heavily influenced by The Clash, but that's my point: punk, originally, was made up of three chords and a bit of repetition. "Know Your Enemy", as much as I'm not a big fan, is one of the most "punk" songs Green Day have ever done.
The rest of the album is, for me, almost flawless. We go from gypsy-rock (in the form of "Peacemaker") to almost grunge-punk ("Christian's Inferno") within three songs. Over the 16 tracks, a wealth of different genres are represented, and no song sounds the same. It never gets boring, which says a lot for an album totalling in at 69:09. By modern standards, where everyone apparently has short attention spans and needs to be spoon-fed...a political concept album lasting nearly 70 minutes is an incredible feat.
Oh, and after a short vocal introduction...it couldn't start any better. I've had to go for the demo version of this song because any video with the final version got deleted. Besides the odd lyric change, and the build-up into the guitars, it's the same song though:
I'll be back next week with a regular column, but there's no clues for next week's band because, honestly, I haven't decided yet. I'm leaning towards Biffy Clyro, so if you fancy reading about them...drop me a comment, and I'll be easily convinced.
R.I.P. Eddie "Umaga" Fatu, 36 is too young for anyone to pass away. On behalf of the 411Mania team, my thoughts go out to Eddie's family and friends.
