Ranting and Listing To Say Farewell To 2009

Title: List: Ranting and Listing To Say Farewell To 2009
Author: Rich
Date: 26, December, 2009

And here we go again with the yearly end of year list thing. Has it really been a year since the last one? Aparrently so, scary how fast things move and how for half of the year this site hasn't really seen a huge amount of activity. Still, maybe next year eh? Though I'm sure that is said most years on this here site. Still.. here it is.. add your own in the comments box if you fancy. If not, well don't then. Keep checking back for updates and more lists!

Jamie Halliday - Audio AniHero

Ten albums I loved this year (in no order):

• Akron / Family - Set 'Em Wild, Set 'Em Free (Crammed)
• Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band - Working on a Dream (Columbia)
• Extradition Order - Since the Bomb Dropped (I Blame The Parents)
• Shield Your Eyes - Shield Em (Saddam Hussein Records)
• Thumpermonkey Lives! - We Bake Our Bread Beneath Her Holy Fire (Genin)
• Portico Quartet - Isla (Real World)
• The Victorian English Gentlemen's Club - Love On An Oil Rig (This Is Fake DIY)
• Clues - Clues (Constellation)
• The Owl Service & Alison O'Donnel - The Fabric of Folk (Midwich/RIF Mountain)
• The Bobby McGees - L'Appropriation Bourgoisie De La Bobby McGees (Cherryade Music)

2009 was a back and forth year for me, I will be focusing mostly on the good. The "Pleasure Principle" turned 30, "Bleach" turned 20, The No WTO Combo turned 10 and I turned 22. I spent the best week of my life in Cairo, Egypt, and after months/years of 'yeah man, I'm totally gonna do it', I finally started a record label. Musically, it was also a year of firsts; I got to see The Pixies, I saw Neil Young, I finally discovered The Afghan Whigs, after nine years of meaning to get around to it I saw Gary Numan (twice), I finally got to see Bruce Springsteen WITH The E Street Band and best of all…Faith No More.

My first gig of the year was Superman Revenge Squad, Clarity & Ten Foot Nun at the Brixton Windmill; and my last gig of the year was Benjamin Shaw at The Sapphire Lounge - it was a very good way to start and end a year I wasn't particularly looking forward to at the time.

In terms of new music, this has been yet another year of me trying to pretend 1994 never came - and while I've dodged the radio, music channels and most mainstream publications there's been a lot of good stuff (and not just the stuff I've released with a smug smile on my face).

My picks for 2010? Without having released a record this year, I think The Sailplanes, Wartgore Hellsnicker, Nancy Wallace, Pigshackle & The Owl Service are ones we should be hearing about in the next fewmonths.

Without getting too personal (!), here's what annoyed me/confused me/upset me:

• My inability to 'get' the Fuck Buttons.
• The rise and fall of the At The Drive-In reformation rumours. Come back to me.
• Sam Raimi taunting me with Evil Dead 4 promises.
• And feeling sick every time I walk around Shoreditch.

Freddy Palmer - Aka The New Kid

My top 10 albums of the year in no particular order:

• Baroness - Blue Record (Relapse)
  A masterpiece of modern metal, wipes the floor with Mastodons latest (still rather good) release.
• Porcupine Tree - The Incident (Roadrunner)
  Steven Wilson and the Porcupine Tree guys once again create a stunning album, that not many other bands of their ilk can match. I like long songs, but one 55 minute song!! This is my wet dream...
• Woods - Songs Of Shame (Woodsist)
  Lovely psyche-tinged folk rock, and their show at the Lexington in London was easily one of my favourite.
• Sunn 0))) - Monoliths & Dimensions (Southern Lord)
  This is where Sunn 0))) really began to make sense for me. A fully formed beast of a record.
• Tartufi - Nests Of Waves and Wire (Southern)
  Lush aural landscapes characterise this album from San Francisco duo Tartufi. Any comparisons to Animal Collective are just plain silly, AC pale in comparison to this lot.
• Sylvester Anfang II - Sylvester Anfang II (Aurora Borealis)
  More psyche goodness, but this time with added kraut-rock. The second AB release from this Belgian group, who now count the brilliant Clay Ruby (aka Burial Hex), among their ranks.
• Devildriver - Pray For Villains (Roadrunner)
  The latest and greatest album from this Californian metal troupe, that easily transcends anything from a certain members dirty past.
• Crippled Black Phoenix - The Resurrectionists / Night Raider (Invada)
  An epic, progressive rock album from the brilliant Justin Greaves and co. Can only really be experienced with the stunning two-disc version.
• Kylesa - Static Tensions (Relapse)
  More metal from the Relapse stable, and a cracking record from the double-drummer assault of Kylesa.
• Mew - No More Stories... (Sony)
  Third, incredibly long-titled album from this Danish prog-pop band. Had to wait a while for this one, but it's here and it does not disappoint.

Mikal Dyas - Yeah Yeah In-Dyas-trial estate!

New and old stuff I enjoyed in 2009.
Thumpy, bang, thwap sounds
Trout Mask Replica by Captain Beefheart: Every few years I set to this with a mental crow bar as I try to get through to the secrets of this impenterable classic. This year it was the free jazz type tracks that clicked with me.
The Resistance by Muse: I often like music with peaks and troughs and sudden changes in direction. Múm podcast (Fat Cat Website): First 3 tracks are incredibly cheerful, bouncey, folk-pop (presumably Icelandic). My kids like to sing the third one on the way to school. Tune Yards: The recorded stuff I heard had the herky-jerkyiness of an electronic Beefheart.
When the Roses Bloom Again by Laura Cantrell, : Listened to this almost every day for a month. Crystal clear vocals and beatutiful, cheerful songs.

Words
The Fallen: Life in and Out of Britain's Most Insane Group by Dave Simpson: Tracks down all but 1 ex member of The Fall and was packed with anecdotes about the great ME Smith as well as inciteful musings on what it is to be a Fall fan. Turns out one ex-member used to be in South American flute combo 'Incantation'.
Rip it Up and Start Again: Postpunk, 1978-1984 & Totally Wired: Postpunk Interviews and Overviews by Simon Reynolds: Still dipping into these two tomes. The first should replace the Complete Works of Shakespeare as the must have book on Desert Island Discs.

Comics
The Hunter, Darwyn Cooke & Richard Stark: Most famous for being the writer and artist for 'DC: New Frontiers' 2009 saw the release of his adaptation of a Richard Stalk story. Flawless telling of a hard boiled / noirish story of a man who steam rolls through the dark underbelly of the city trying to find answers. Reminded me of the stylish 60s Lee Marvin classic Point Blank which wasn't surprising as I found out its based on the same writers work. Got my signed copy from the best comic shop in London (GOSH opposite the British Museum) with a signed bookplate and I've been rubbing the ink hoping some of his genius will rub off on me.
Yesterday's Tomorrows, Rian Hughes: Although he may now appear to be Gerry Halliwell's illustrator of choice I keep returning to this illustrators comic work. This collection has a selection of work from the 80s and its the acidic but tasteful coloured work I Iiked the most.
Asterios Polyp by David Mazuchelli: Every few years Mazzuchelli pops up with a book that shows why he is still one of the best practitioners in the field of comics and in 2009 he delivered what will undoubtedly be seen as a classic of the medium. Beautiful production values and an abundance of thought provoking ideas and graphical statements mean this more than deserves to sit on the bookshelf next to such 'graphics-for-grown-ups' books as those by Posie Simmonds (Gemma Bovary) and Marjane Satrapi (Persepolis).

Films / TV
Werner Herzog: While I have been continuing to dig into this great Bavarian film directors back catalog I haven't managed to see his latest effort, Bad lietenant, which from the reviews souns as barking mad as ever.
The Mindscape of Alan Moore (DVD): The great man holds forth on a variety of his favourite topics. The supplementary interviews are recommended as well.
Dungeons and Dragons (DVD Boxset): Impulse purchase and surprisingly 10x better than I remember it.

Highlight of year was working on the Mank cover. It was slow going, with the Mac packing up at the beginning of the year, but once it was up and running I salved away to try and produce something worthwhile. I'm still working on the spin off poster which is likely to go to various versions. Once I get that done I intend to return to comics, possibly a short one based on an extract of one of Blake's weirder stories done in a very cartoony style (like a surreal version of Herge). But then I've been saying that for years. Too many ideas and so little time.

King Richard's Uppers & Downers

Okay, maybe not a king, but it sounds good right? (No, I'm really not that arrogant) Severe Downers:

• Musical Deaths: Ron Asherton, Vic Chesnutt, John Martyn, Les Paul, Jay Bennett, Merce Cunningham, Roc Raida, Jerry Fuchs... More each year it seems and each time more people close to my heart.
• The Beatles taking on the fucking workd and being just as dull as they ever were. Please, people listen to something at least slightly relevant and more interesting.
• ATP for screwing me out of more money/Kevin Shields for picking a frankly rubbish lineup for his NBC

Non-Lethal Uppers:

• ATP for making that money very worthwhile.
• Warp for doing Warp20 in the best possible way.
• Nick Cave doing a marathon book signing and STILL managing to be nice.
• Releasing the Mank EP that should have and could have been done better, but due to circumstances it got lost in transit.
• Mikal Dyas, for being awesome awesome awesome.

Usual List of awesome records:

• The Paper Chase - Someday This Could All Be Yours (pt 1)
• Madlove - White With Foam
• Various - Warp20 (Box Set)
• Tartufi - Waves Of Nests And Wire

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