Top Songs from 2009

15. passion pit - sleepyhead/the reeling
i chose both of these songs and would not think twice about adding moth's wings or little secrets as well. passion pit is the freshest sound in music from 2009.

14. arctic monkeys - cornerstone
this song gets me every time. heartbreakingly sad but in an arctic monkeys kind of way.

13. la roux - bulletproof
electro-pop at it's finest.

12. neko case - this tornado loves you
an indie pop-rock queen's love ballad done oh so right.

11. bon iver - blood bank
a haunting and mystical love song. vocals and lyrics to match.

10. matt and kim - daylight
catchiest song of this year. hands down.

9. the noisettes - wild young hearts
the music is almost as undeniable as Shingai Shoniwa's voice. the ins and outs of young love perfectly described in one song.

8. empire of the sun - standing on the shore
the biggest thing down under shows us why they are just that.

7. yeah yeah yeahs - zero
yyy's go dance and do it right. and karen o's vocals are as good as ever in this one. unadulturated fun.

6. big pink - dominoes
"these girls fall like dominoes!" paying homage to your many conquests and slutty women turned out to be your breakout hit.

5. girls - lust for life
my new anthem and life motto. makes me want to get up and do shit with my life...or just sit around with my friends, get drunk, and do nothing.

4. miike snow - animal
i can't tell which is better the original or the crookers remix...either way this song (and band) has been popping up all over the place lately.

3. animal collective - summertime clothes
perfect description of summer in the city. all set to one of the best animal collective beats of all time.

2. jay z feat. alicia keys - empire state of mind
made/makes you jealous of all your friends who live in nyc. and alicia keys chorus is loud, heartfelt, and stays with you long after the song is over.

1. phoenix - 1901
the best little ditty of the year. a happy upbeat song about those fleeting closing time moments right before the lights come on when you are looking for ms. right now.


honorable mentions (to name a few and in no order):
beach house - norway
the dirty projectors - stillness is the move
the avett brothers - i and love and you
phoenix - listzomania
lily allen - the fear
bat for lashes - daniel
julian casablancas - 11th dimension
camera obscura - french navy
taylor swift - you belong with me
pete horn and scarlett johansson - relator

Top Albums from 2009

Below is my top 10 albums list: 

10. Neko Case - Middle Cyclone

9.  Miike Snow - Miike Snow

8.  Metric - Fantasies

7.  Bat for Lashes - Two Suns

6.  Girls - Album

5.  Jay-Z - The Blueprint 3

4.  Passion Pit - Manners

3.  Animal Collective - Merriweather Post Pavilion

2.  Yeah Yeah Yeahs - It's Blitz!

1.  Phoenix - Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix

And there you have it...if you don't like it, suck it.

Elivs at 21 @ The Govinda Gallery

Alfred Wertheimer's collection "Elvis at 21" is on display at the Govinda Gallery in Georgetown. The collection shows, as stated by the title, Elvis when he was a young man. Taken in 1956 when Elvis was 21 years old, Wertheimer was able to gain unprecedented access into the life of Elvis Presley; access that no journalist or photographer would ever gain again. If you are an Elvis fan, like myself, you should definitely check out "Elvis at 21" at the Govinda Gallery. Below are some of the pictures you can see from the collection.

Govinda Gallery

Julian Casablancas @ 930 Club

Last night, I went to go see Julian Casablancas, lead singer of The Strokes. He has a new solo album out called Phrazes for the Young, which is his first solo album and therefore was the highlighting theme of the show. I was supposed to see it with my friend and fellow "gig buddy" Alaina but she was sick and couldn't make it. Luckily, my girlfriend Tracy stepped in last minute and attended with me. Although, musically, it was not her cup of tea, she said that she thoroughly enjoyed it and recognized Julian from The Strokes. The show sold out last minute so there were a bunch of people who showed up thinking they could still get tickets and were immensely dissappointed when they read the "SOLD OUT" signs. We arrived just as the opening act was finishing, but still managed to get a space where we could see almost everything.

Julian played a short set that included just about every song from his album including my two favorites, 11th Dimension and Out of the Blue. For those of you who haven't heard any of the songs from Phrazes for the Young, it sounds like a more upbeat, funkier version of the Strokes. Good music to jam to and some dancing going on throughout the crowd. You could tell that people were enjoying themselves and really liked Julian, even if it was because he is the lead singer of one of the best bands of the past decade. His voice is unique and undeniable. His lyrics just as poetic as his work with The Strokes. During the encore, he sang, "I'll Try Anything Once," one of the best songs off the last Strokes album. All in all, it was a great show that only added to my love for Julian Casablancas, the Strokes, and the 930 Club.


CHECK OUT SOME JULIAN CASABLANCAS BELOW:

Julian Casablancas on Myspace

Simian Mobil Disco - 11/1 930 Club

Simian Mobile Disco is playing at the 9:30 Club this Sunday Nov. 1st. Doors open at 10pm and their openers are The Phenomenal Handclap Band, and JDH and Dave P. I know most people will be tired from all of your Monster Mashes and Werewolf Bar Mitzvahs from Halloween the night before but Simian Mobile Disco is worth it. I saw a good portion of their set at Perry's DJ Tent at Lollapalooza and raged/danced my face off. Their song remixes include such DC Disco favorites as Air, Klaxons, Peaches, CSS, Muse, Deerhunter, Armand Van Helden, and the Presets. Their original stuff is solid as well. Also in this post I will have to mention The Phenomenal Handclap Band. Their song 15 to 20 is on my current playlist and they are playing another show in DC at Rock and Roll Hotel in December. I'm sure there will be a more extensive write up about them later this year. Anway, check out more from Simian Mobile Disco and 15 to 20 by The Phenomenal Handclap Band below.


Simian Mobile Disco on Myspace

Coolest People in Music

So I haven't been writing in a while but I'm getting back on the wagon and going to try to write every day.  Today, I was surfing the interweb and came across NME's Cool List from last year.  I decided that I was going to make my own cool list for musicians this year and feature the people I have not already done yet.  So I thought long and hard about my list and tried to create a list that suited my personality, music tastes, and kept true to who I think is and has been pretty cool in the music world so far this year.  Here is my top 25 and you can SUCK IT if you don't like it but I would also love to hear if you think others should be added....

25. Michael Angelakos - Passion Pit

24. Ryan Gosling - Dead Man's Bones

23. Lauren English - Natalie Portmans Shaved Head

22. Caroline Polachek - Chairlift

21. Ida Maria

20. Emily Haines - Metric

19. Amanda Blank

18. Girltalk

17. Ladyhawke

16. Marina Diamandis - Marina and the Diamonds

15. DeadMau5

14. Kim Schifino - Matt and Kim

13. Shingai Shoniwa - The Noisettes

12. Julian Casablancas

11. Lykke Li

10. Kid Cudi

9. Natasha Khan - Bat for Lashes

8. Lily Allen

7. Jason Schwartzman - Coconut Records

6. Karen O.

5. Santigold

4. Alice Glass - Crystal Castles

3. Lady Gaga

2. Them Crooked Vultures

1. Jay Z

And there you have it, the 25 coolest people in music so far this year according to DC Disco.  More to come on these artist in the upcoming weeks. 

Matt and Kim/Amanda Blank @ Black Cat 9/16

Matt and Kim are back in town for a show at Black Cat. The show is next Wednesday, September 16th and it is already sold out. Luckily a friend of mine is a friend of Kim's (yes that Kim) and I scored some tickets after they were already sold out. I went to the free Matt and Kim show this summer sponsored by Bacardi and had a blast. This time around should prove to be just as good (and just as free...) Opening for Matt and Kim is Amanda Blank, who, in my opinion is on her way up. She spent a nice chunk of this past year opening up for Santigold (who KILLED it at Lollapalooza). Amanda Blank combines rapping and singing and her sound is funky and hard. She put out her first album this passed August and it has already garnered some critical praise, including an article in the New York Times featuring Blank, La Roux, and Jemina Pearl. I'll be at Black Cat early to catch her set before Matt and Kim. Check out Amanda Blank below:

Amanda Blank on Myspace

These United States: Black Cat 8/29

These United States are playing at the Black Cat this saturday night. They played awhile back and I wrote about them on DC Disco. Check out what I wrote about These United States back when they were here in May.

THESE UNITED STATES

A friend of mine from work who reads DC Disco read about them when I posted in May and said her and her friends really enjoyed the concert. Maybe I will check them out this weekend since I missed them last time.

Bat for Lashes: 930 Club 8/15

I thought I would begin my Lollapalooza review with Bat for Lashes since Natasha Khan and her mystic band are playing at the 930 Club tomorrow night, Saturday 8/15. The show begins at 8pm and tickets are only $15! If I had not just seen her I would go (and depending on my plans for tomorrow night, I still might). Anyway, Bat for Lashes played at my favorite stage at Lollapalooza, the vitaminwater stage (Crystal Castels, Dan Deacon, Animal Collective, Cold War Kids, Of Montreal, and Miike Snow also played at this stage).

Bat for Lashes is spearheaded by Natasha Khan. Her and her band play dark, mystic, and earthy tunes that are both intense and aetherial at the same time. During her amazing set at Lollapalooza, she used a multitude of instruments and wore a crazy sequened leotard too boot. I didn't really know much about Bat for Lashes before so it's hard to really comment on her performance but all in all it was a wonderful, trippy, and an intense experience. One thing I did really appreciated and respect was when she spoke so highly of the United States; the people, the landscape, and the vast, unique spance that is our country and how it truly has inspired her and shaped her sound (even though she's not even from the United States). Since that performance, I have downloaded a ton of her stuff and will undoubtedly become a big fan of hers. I would highly recommend going to her show at the 930 Club tomorrow night. Check out Bat for Lashes below:

Bat for Lashes on Myspace

LOLLAPALOOZA

Lollapalooza was AMAZING! I have to say it was one of the best weekends of my entire life. First and foremost, it was great seeing Will, Caroline, and Ben. They were great companions for the 3 day festival. They like much of the same music as I do so we almost saw all of the same bands with one or two exceptions. They even got me into some new stuff and opened my eyes to the wonder that is a live Crystal Castles show.

It was my first time to Chicago and boy was I impressed. Chicago is a great city. Beautiful skyline, friendly midwesterners, AND you can buy liquor in convenience stores. All clutch. The skyline provided the most amazing backdrop for all of the concerts. During the day you could see all the incredible buildings and architecture Chicago has to offer and at night the illumiated lights from the building reigned through the dark sky. All in all, Chicago was a great setting and I hope to get back again for Lollapalooza and maybe to even see and experience the city too.

I am going to write an individual post about all the bands I saw most of or in full but I figure I will let you know who I saw so you can anticipate whats to come. Lollapalooza also re-energized me and I am now ready to get back on the horse and continue writing in this blog every day. Thank you Lollapalooza. Thank you.

Here are the bands/djs/acts that I saw, in order:

peter bjorn and john
sts9
crystal castles
thievery corporation
of montreal
simian moblie disco
crookers
kid cudi
miike snow
atmosphere
chairlift
arctic monkeys
santigold
lykke li
animal collective
yeah yeah yeahs
ra ra riot
bat for lashes
the airborne toxic event
dan deacon
vampire weekend
cold war kids
snoop dogg
mstrkrft
the killers


More to come...so don't go too far.