As I dragged myself to work over the holidays listening to “I And Love And You” by The Avett Brothers, I silently thought to myself “this is the best tune of ’09.” So with that thought and a slow day at work, I went about making my top 10 tunes of ’09.
10. Other Lives – Paper Cities: Brilliantly arranged with not one note out of place and Jesse Tabish nails the vocals.
Other Lives – Paper Cities (HearYa Live Session Version)
9. The Decemberists – The Wanting Comes In Waves: So much better live when Shara Worden performs like someone possessed
The Decemberists – The Wanting Comes In Waves (via Deaf Indie Elephants)
8. A.A. Bondy – I Can See The Pines Are Dancing: From the the first time I heard this tune, the melody was burned in my brain.
AA Bondy – I Can See The Pines Are Dancing
7. Edward Sharpe and The Magnetic Zeros – Home: I think its been on every show on the WB, but damn, I still love it.
Edwarde Sharpe and The Magnetic Zeros – Home (courtesy of Salad Days Music)
6. The White Rabbits – Percussion Gun: The album cover shows furious drumming. This song delivers on its promise.
The White Rabbits – Percussion Gun
5. The Roadside Graves – Ruby: A great tune made better by the ending. Gleason and company nail the vocals down the stretch.
The Roadside Graves – Ruby (HearYa Live Session Version)
4. Justin Townes Earle – Mama’s Eyes: The most personal tune in the top 10.
Justin Townes Earle – Mama’s Eyes
3. The Low Anthem – Charlie Darwin: After hearing Shirk’s mix from our live session, I commented to him; “I think I just saw Jesus.”
The Low Anthem – Charlie Darwin
The Low Anthem – Charlie Darwin (HearYa Live Session Version)
2. The Avett Bros. – I And Love And You: As brilliant an opening track that you will ever hear.
The Avett Brothers – I And Love And You
1. Ha Ha Tonka – Close Every Valve To Your Bleeding Heart – I promised myself if a band ever used Dostoevsky in a lyric, I would make that song number one. Thankfully it is a great tune that embodies everything I enjoy about Ha Ha Tonka.
Ha Ha Tonka – Close Every Valve To Your Bleeding Heart
Ha Ha Tonka – Close Every Valve To Your Bleeding Heart (HearYa Live Session Version)
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Robert Forster used the name Dostoevsky already in the song Here Comes A City from The Go-Betweens album Oceans Apart (from 2005). It’s a great song with great lyrics
love the choices. the low anthem=amazing. this goddamn house is flawless. also, ha ha tonka’s use of dostoevsky-couldn’t agree more. fantastic.