Now that the dust has settled on the year that may or may not be the end of a decade, no doubt a lot of best-of lists have been popping up around the web (yours truly included). Among them, shoved in the corner of Pitchfork’s ridiculous amount of year-end coverage, is a four-page article highlighting artists’ personal favorites of 2009.
Ranging from hyperactive electronic performer Dan Deacon to Canadian hard-rockers Fucked Up and pretty much everything in between, Pitchfork provides an opportunity for the music fan to see not only what their favorite group has been spinning all year but also their potential influences — something that is pretty hard to do unless you personally know the band. Now I know there are a bunch of P4K haters in the bunch, but I think we can all agree that this compilation sure beats developing carpel tunnel trying to track down interviews through repeated google inquiries.
Below are just some of the many interesting tidbits I gleaned going through the article:
- There’s some love for little-known Detroit punk-rock pioneers Death (well, little-known before this article) as LA garage rockers No Age listed them as their favorite.
- There was a mutual love-affair between tour mates HEALTH and Pictureplane, as they both mentioned each other as “Best of the Year”.
- Unfortunately Anand Wilder of Yeasayer didn’t take the list seriously, opting to enumerate the Top Ten diseases of the year.
- Best write-ups go to New York indie bands Pains of Being Pure at Heart and Cymbals Eat Guitars, Thermal‘s bassist Kathy Foster, sample-master Girl Talk, and Alan Palomo of Vega/Neon Indian fame who could probably get a job as a writer if this whole “music thing” falls through.
- El Perro del Mar and I seem to have identical tastes (Fuck Buttons, jj, The xx, Nite Jewel, Fever Ray, etc…)
- Paul Collins of Beirut gets the prize for the most eclectic mix with Sunn O)))) and Jewels of the 78 RPM Era 1918 to 1951 Compilation going 1-2.
- I have a hard time believing that Langhorne Slim listens to the metal band Russian Circles, but then again I thought the same about John Darnielle. Regardless, what he says about Dawes being damn good live is 100% true.
These are just a sample of the great things mentioned in the article, so check it out!
Tags: Pitchfork, Year End Lists