Friday, December 18, 2009
Music news Atlanta in the year-end lists: How'd we do?
Posted by Gabe Vodicka @gabevodicka on Fri, Dec 18, 2009 at 7:07 PM
Well, it's that time of year again - the time when magazines, blogs and newspapers fall over each other to spit out their "Best of Year XXXX" lists. How do we define 2009? What albums and bands really mattered this year? Which records were the best, the most meaningful? Usually, about 30% of the records on these lists are trendy, of-the-moment releases that will sound horribly dated in a few years ("Dan Deacon? What is this, 2009?"), but it's also true that they can be useful in compiling some of the year's legitimate best. We've reached the bitter end of a whirlwind week of lists and look-backs and all the hyperbolic sputterings that accompany such undertakings, and one question burns in our minds: how did our local heroes fare?
Well, about as well as you'd expect, it turns out. The indie rock media continues their love affair with all things Bradford Cox, local metal maniacs Mastodon turn up here and there, and Savannah guitarmonists Baroness even put up some impressive numbers. But there was the occasional surprise. Here's a rudimentary compilation (with links) of some instances of the A representin' to the fullest.
Cox's solo project Atlas Sound shows up virtually everywhere in this ish. His latest, Logos, was the most unanimously lauded album to emerge from our city this past year. NME ranks the record 48th out of 50, writing quite inanely, "Much like Starbucks, Bradford Cox has become a ubiquitous presence." Thanks for that, guys. Now every time I hear Deerhunter I'll only think about sippin' on a frothy, delicious caramel macchiato. PopMatters labels Atlas Sound's "Walkabout" as the 12th best single of the year, and Pitchfork heaps tonz'a praise on the damn thing, with "Quick Canal" and "Walkabout" showing up on their Top 100 Tracks of 2009, and Logos coming in at 18th on their list of the best albums. Meanwhile, the washed-up has-beens over at Spin Magazine at least continue to recognize some good music when they hear it, and put "Walkabout" on their list of the year's best songs. Sidenote: I tried to look at their "40 best albums" list, but the very first one was Kiss' comeback album, so I didn't even continue reading. Spin sucks. I won't even link to it, because that's just dumb. Anyway, Atlas Sound is on a bunch of other lists too, probably. Good job B-Cox.
Meanwhile, Mastodon killed it with their 2009 release Crack the Skye, appearing lots of places, including the Chicago Tribune, if you can believe it. Local magazine Paste calls Skye the 19th best album of the year, and PopMatters bumps it all the way up to 8th. Over at Decibel, a metal magazine for metalheads, heavy Georgia music did quite well, with Mastodon and Kylesa both in the top 20, and Baroness' Blue Record coming in at number 1! Go Baroness!
One weird thing I noticed in my research this week is the lack of Atlanta hip-hop on these lists. I don't know if magazines like Vibe or XXL usually do year-end lists, but if they do I ain't seein' 'em. However, Pitchfork gives props to Gucci Mane's party jam "Wasted," noting its "brutally sad subtext" given Gucci's recent and ongoing legal troubles. Also, and awesomely, Big Boi/Gucci's "Shine Blockas" sneaks into their top 10. Perhaps most head-scratchingly, the biggest up to the A's hip-hop scene is given by The New Yorker, who calls 2009 the year that "Atlanta hip-hop [rose] again." They name-drop folks like Alley Boy, Rich Kids, and Pill, among others. This is weird, because it's the New Yorker. But also cool. In a weird way.
Finally, the bits and pieces. The here and theres. The aforementioned Spin labels the debut of Atlanta's Manchester Orchestra an album you may have missed in 2009. You may have missed this, and other albums, if you were too preoccupied with, oh, I don't know, Kiss. Zing. And hilariously, Athens' Dark Meat has the dubious distinction of having produced one of the worst album covers this past year, according to P4K. It's pretty bad, and not entirely SFW.
So there ya go! We'd love to hear about other instances of the A making its musical case in 2009; if you know of other relevant lists or what-have-yous, post them in the comments here.
And here's to 2010.
(Photo courtesy Kristin Klein)
Latest in Crib Notes
-
Photos: ASAP Rocky's debut performance in Atlanta
Playing to a sold out audience in the Heaven section of Masquerade.
-
Watch Whitney Houston's 1985 debut on 'The Tonight Show' 2
Proof perfect that she was a pop diva from the very beginning
-
Shinehead rewinds riddims for Atlanta's Reggae Legends Week
- More »
Author Archives
-
The Black Keys: El Camino 1
Nonesuch
-
Music Gift Guide: The Moz, Panda Bear, and Ol' Dirty Bastard in a pear tree 2
Reissued CDs, vinyl, food stamp cards, and holiday box sets
- More »
Comments (0)