Harpoon Harbor Rants, Raves and Downloadable Hoagies

Harpoon Harbor’s Top 10 Albums of 2009

I've found that my descriptive skills as a music critic are not the best.  I tend to simply fill the page with superlatives and general "it's awesome!"-type statements which do none of the two and a half people who read this blog any good.  This year in the list you'll find a superlative or two, a brief reason why I like the album and a link to Lala to listen to it.  If you do not have a Lala account - sign up today and thank me tomorrow.  Despite recently being acquired by Apple and a questionable future, Lala lets you listen to full albums and check stuff out before you buy it.

We're also compiling a list of lists, which I'll post this week at some point.  If you have a top 10 of your own, please leave a comment with your list - I'd love to get some suggestions on anything I might have missed this year...

Harpoon Harbor Top Ten Albums of 2009

Honorable Mention:

Built to Spill - There Is No Enemy (Lala)

Probably deserves to be in the Top 5, but I'm not going rewrite this list.  Great album.

10. Jay Reatard - Watch Me Fall (Lala)

Definitely enjoyed this one a lot.  They call it "garage punk" - I call it a good time and probable cause for my restless leg syndrome.  "It Aint Gonna Save Me" has been one of my favorite tracks of the year.

9.  Various Artists - Dark Was The Night Compilation (Lala)

Put out to benefit the Red Hot Organization, an AIDS charity, this two disc set includes just about anyone and everyone you can think of in the indie music world.  Highlighted by the Ben Gibbard/Feist "Train Song" and a Buck 65/Sufjan mash-up type thing, Dark Was The Night is filled with goodness.

8.  Great Lake Swimmers - Lost Channels (Lala)

Great Lake Swimmers' 2009 offering certainly belongs on this list.  Lost Channels has all of things I love about GLS and perhaps represents a baby step towards something new.  "Stealing Tomorrow" makes the HH list for tracks, if there was one.

7.  Yeah Yeah Yeahs - It's Blitz (Lala)

A damn good record.  Great beats and vocals.

6.  Reigning Sound - Love and Curses (Lala)

Another one classified as "garage punk."  Imagine the Enchantment Under the Sea dance scene from Back to the Future with Pete Townsend and Roger Daltrey in place of Marvin Berry and Marty McFly.  Not sure that makes sense, but I'm going with it.

5.  King Khan & The Shrines - What Is ?! (Lala)

Honestly, I did not realize that roughly one third of this list is filed under "garage punk."  It's starting to annoy me.  This record will make you move. "No Regrets" is on the non-existent HH top track list for 2009.

4.  Animal Collective - Meriweather Post Pavilion (Lala)

I'm starting to understand why people dig these guys so much.  Admittedly late to the game, this album blew me away and has been on constantly for a month.  Might deserve to be higher on the list.  Pitchfork got it right naming "My Girls" the best track of the year.

3. Dan Auerbach - Keep It Hid (Lala)

I'm partial to anything Black Keys related (as you'll see again with the #1 spot on this list).  Bias aside, there's no arguing the brilliance of this record.  Auerbach lulls us in with the soft "Trouble Weighs a Ton" and proceeds to wow us on just about every track on the way home.  "Real Desire" may be the song I listened to the most in 2009.

2.  Heartless Bastards - The Mountain (Lala)

Just plain awesome.  Best opening track of any album I've heard in a long time and it only gets better.  Reaffirms the fact that Fat Possum is arguably the best label on earth.  Erika Wennerstrom's vocals are top shelf.

1.  Drummer - Feel Good Together (Lala)

Like Ron Burgundy, this record is "the balls."  When I inevitably get a speeding ticket or wreck my car playing air keyboard on the steering wheel - you now know who to blame.

Thanks to Steve, Tim, Matt, DeeDee, Cahill, Ben and the rest of the email thread for many of these recommendations.