Galkin’s Top 115 of 2009, Part 3 (of 4!)

February 17, 2010

We all really want to finish this list out for a number of reasons (time to move on in earnest to 2010, several of you have told me need to find out what’s next, etc.), but I thought posting the final 55 songs all at once was too much.  Look for the final posting later this week.

Enjoy the rest of the Top 115 list/playlist, and now you have more new stuff to listen to at work!

55. The Asteroids Galaxy Tour – “Around The Bend”
Best song used in an Apple commercial

54. Regina Spektor – “The Calculation”
Distinct voice makes for refreshingly good songs

53. Karen O And The Kids – “All Is Love”
Sweetest song of the year

52. Kid Cudi – “Dat New New (Viking Remix)”
Random song not on the album, but found it on Hypem.com

51. Swimming With Dolphins – “Sunset, 1989”
Synthesizer? Check. Autotune? Check. Still awesome.

50. The Very Best – “Warm Heart Of Africa”
Basically a Vampire Weekend song on someone else’s album

49. Thao And The Get Down Stay Down – “Cool Yourself”
High school friend continues blow up – great live show

48. Miley Cyrus – “Party In The USA”
Guilty pleasure of the year. Don’t hate.

47. Cobra Starship – “Good Girls Go Bad”
Soft spot for both Gabe and Leighton

46. Chiddy Bang – “Truth”
Anything featuring Passion Pit is bound to be catchy

45. La Roux – “Bulletproof (Redial Remix)”
Excellent beat somehow improved by the remix makes this a fun listen

44. Camera Obscura – “French Navy”
Late on the bandwagon, but recently shot up my list. Lead singer’s voice reminds me of Zooey D.

43. Discovery – “Osaka Loop Line”
Best duo side project song of the year

42. Flight Of The Conchords – “Hurt Feelings”
Funny, yet sad…hence, sad clown song of the year

41. The Lonely Island – “Motherlovers”
Could not get enough of this song – Justin and Andy need their own album.

And the incredible video, via hulu (you have to have a [free] account to see the uncensored version btw):
Saturday Night Live: Digital Short: Motherlover (Uncensored)

40. The Hood Internet – “Good Ol Fashion Rump Shaker”
Favorite mashup of the year….and I like my mashups

39. Florence And The Machine – “Kiss With A Fist”
Shortest song on the list, but sure does pack a punch (haha…get it?)

38. Ingrid Michaelson – “Everybody”
With respect to Karen O, Regina, and others – Ingrid is my indie sweetheart of the year

37. Metric – “Sick Muse”
Sound a little like Stars. They more than hold their own, however.

36. Passion Pit – “Little Secrets”
Could have put the entire Manners album on here (and I almost do – keep reading)

35. Snob Scrilla – “Chasing Ghosts”
Sweet drums, good rapping in this random one

34. Weezer – “I Want You To”
While Weezer has gone downhill, they’re still catchy and I still like this song

33. Matt And Kim – “Good Ol Fashion Nightmare”
Biggest, Longest Continuous Smile Award goes to…Kim

32. fun. – “All The Pretty Girls”
Ex-Format member, Nate Ruess, excels with his new band

31. Vampire Weekend – “Horchata”
If the new songs are any indication their sophomore effort coming out in January that came out in January will live up to the large expectations

30. Passion Pit – “Moth’s Wings”
Hello again Passion Pit. Sit down, stay awhile.

29. Chromeo – “Night By Night”
More Canadians on the list make some electrofunk magic with this one

28. Kid Cudi – “Day N Nite”
My most played rap song this year

27. Empire Of The Sun – “Standing On The Shore (Dirty Disco Youth Remix)”
Favorite remix of the year – which is saying something

26. Animal Collective – “Summertime Clothes”
Second best song on the album still beats most everything else

25. Phoenix – “1901”
Ditto

24. Thao And The Get Down Stay Down – “Know Better Learn Faster”
Maybe I’m biased, but song is undeniably good. Expect big things.

23. The Lonely Island – “I’m On A Boat”
Funniest song of the year. Hands down. Previously never thought I would want to own a nautical themed pashmina afghan

And another awesome uncensored video via hulu:
Saturday Night Live: Digital Short: I’m On A Boat (Uncensored)

22. The Thermals – “Now We Can See”
So simple, but so good. Evidence of what an amazing chorus can do for a song.

21. Metric – “Help I’m Alive”
Again from our friends to the north…best Canadian song of the year

20. The Temper Trap – “Sweet Disposition”
Perfectly matched for my favorite movie of the year, (500) Days of Summer.

19. Death Cab For Cutie – “Little Bribes”
Better than “Meet Me On The Equinox” – and not just because of my Twilight bias

18. Yeasayer – “Ambling Alp”
Weird song with an even weirder video (look it up), but I dig it

17. Yeah Yeah Yeahs – “Heads Will Roll”
Karen O rocks this like no one else can

16. Miike Snow – “Animal”
Best song use in a Gossip Girl episode this year


Looking Backward to Look Forward

January 1, 2010

Why don’t we start the new decade by recapping 09?  Here are the Weird Jim Top 10 Albums of 2009.  You’ll see some stuff that I have talked about previously, as well as some new stuff that is just now making its way onto the site.

Additionally, keep an eye out over the next few weeks for some more top 2009 (and 2010!) lists from Galkin and Tripp, as well as some increased activity in 2010 as they help me keep WJM a little more active!  Now without further adieu:

10) White LiesTo Lose My Life

Heard about these guys in a 2009 albums to watch, and they are awesome.  They talk about death and emo-y stuff like that a little too much for my taste, but they usually keep it upbeat and fun – so it’s acceptable, right?

White Lies – To Lose My Life

9) Miike SnowMiike Snow

Heard “Burial,” loved the song.  Heard “Animal,” convinced of his talent.  Great album – can’t wait until he comes to DC.

Miike Snow – Animal

8 ) Harlem ShakesTechnicolor Health

The upbeat and uplifting song “Strictly Game” got me through some tough times (at work haha) earlier in the year, and I’m so glad I got to see them live before they broke up…

Harlem Shakes – Strictly Game

7) Dave Matthews BandBig Whiskey and the GrooGrux King

One of his best albums ever (that’s right, I said it), although sometimes gets a bit heavy on the electronic guitar for me.  I tend to love Dave for the jazziness of the group, especially his live stuff, but this album is still just really great.

Dave Matthews Band – Shake Me Like a Monkey

6) Matt and KimGrand

The most exciting music I’ve ever heard made by just two people on a keyboard and drum set.  Amazing.  Seeing them live from 10 feet away was one of the most fun concerts I’ve been too.  Julie, if you’re reading this, I still need those damn pictures.

Matt and Kim – Good Ol’ Fashioned Nightmare

5) PhoenixWolfgang Amadeus Phoenix

First album was good, second album is freaking great.  Unfortunately missed seeing them when they came to DC, but apparently it was pretty awesome.  I love this album, and I love how they’re on a Cadillac (I think that’s the right ad?) commercial now.

Phoenix – 1901

4) DiscoveryLP

I routinely go to this album immediately upon turning on my iPod.  Usually (as it’s an unfortunately-short 30 minutes long) I listen to the whole thing before finding something else.  I especially love how their cover of Jackson 5 came out nearly-instantly after MJ died.  Loved seeing this LP for sale at the Ra Ra Riot concert.

Discovery – Swing Tree

3) Passion PitManners

If I don’t go to Discovery upon turning on my iPod, I usually end up on Passion Pit’s Manners.  Almost every song on this album is amazing, and like Harlem Shakes they got me through some tough times earlier this year.  And some tough commutes nowadays!  Love how they’re now on a Palm ad.  And I know that I’m sounding like a broken record at this point, but seeing them in DC from 20 feet away was simply incredible.  Tripp saw them at ACL, but I’m sure it just didn’t compare to The Black Cat.

Passion Pit – Little Secrets

2) Dirty ProjectorsBitte Orca

I’m not bitter that Tripp bailed on our seeing the Dirty Projectors in DC.  No really, I’m not, I promise.  Even though we had tickets to the sold out show and everything.  The music on this album is just incredible.  The girls’ singing is amazing, the songs are new and different, and I can’t get enough.

Dirty Projectors – Stillness Is The Move

1) Animal Collective – Merriweather Post Pavilion

This album came out a year ago (literally), and it was sort of the beginning of a musically-experimental trend for me.  I listened to MPP, and I liked a couple of songs.  After 5 or 10 more listens though, I was in love with this album.  And that was in January 2009.  Every time I put this on, I get giddy haha.

All that, and the amount of times I’ve listened to this…and I just noticed a few days ago that the album cover is an optical illusion.  Fitting…I think every time I listen to this album I hear something new, and that’s why this is easily my album of the year.

Animal Collective – My Girls

Happy New Year everyone.  Hopefully everyone had a great 2009, fun holidays, and here’s to a sweet 2010.

And while we’re talking about 2009 listening habits, take a look at this simply amazing document/analysis from Last.fm.  You’ll see some familiar names :) Enjoy


Holiday Weekend fun.

July 2, 2009

I’m off to Virginia Beach for the holiday weekend to enjoy some beach sunshine, good food, drinks, and friends, and probably sitting in tons of traffic haha. More great new stuff this week, so here we go:

  • fun.
    Approachability: Very High

    Megs actually found this band (she’s a sucker for piano and singing…), and then through RP3 it was blasting in our living room. They’re a new band, formed in the winter of 2008 in NYC. Their debut album comes out on August 25th, and hopefully it’s as good as some of the stuff on their space – especially what’s likely their first single, At Least I’m Not As Sad As I Used To Be.

    Enjoy:
    http://www.myspace.com/fun
    (Note that you can listen to 6 of their songs live via youtube, and 1 song via the myspace music player)

  • Miike Snow
    Approachability: Medium

    I had previously heard his song Burial and I liked it a lot. His new self titled album is out now via all the usual outlets. This is definitely a little more electronic than some of the stuff I’ve been posting recently, but I think it’s still quite fun to listen to. You can hear what I’m guessing is the first single, Animal, on his space, as well as Burial and Song For No One. I think they’re all pretty awesome, but Animal is def. the standout.

    Enjoy:
    http://www.myspace.com/miikesnow

  • MJ
    As everyone is now immensely aware, Michael Jackson died last week. I have been pretty much obsessed with the Discovery album ever since I got it a couple of weeks ago, and I find it almost eerie that they included such an awesome cover of the Jackson 5 song I Want You Back on their first LP.As my own little tribute to MJ, here’s that cover:
    Discovery – I Want You Back
  • Ra Ra Riot @ 930 Club
    Ra Ra Riot tickets for October 1st at the 930 Club in DC are now available on Tickets.com. Go buy yours before they sell out!

  • Virgin Mobile’s FreeFest
    So this year in DC, the usual Virgin Fest has moved venues, and tickets are free. Yes, totally free. They apparently went very quickly, as they’re now “free’d out,” but you can still get tickets via volunteering somehow. I’m sure they’ll be on StubHub too for, umm, not free. Apparently all 35,000 tickets were snatched up in minutes. Thank you Richard Branson!

    This is one of those events that I got tickets for totally on a whim, and am looking forward to seeing all the supporting acts (Girl Talk, Franz Ferdinand, The National, The Bravery, The Hold Steady) but pretty much couldn’t give a shit about the headliners (Blink 182 and Weezer). Maybe that means we can get out of there before the traffic really starts? haha

    More info here:
    http://www.virginmobilefestival.com/

  • Concerts
    There are some pretty good concerts coming up, so here’s a little synopsis. I probably will miss more of them than I would like, but hopefully you can make some of these:

    Paolo Nutini @ 930 Club, Thurs, July 23
    Los Campesinos! @ 930 Club, Wed, Aug 5
    Hackensaw Boys @ State Theater, Fri, Aug 14
    Bat for Lashes @ 930 Club, Sat, Aug 15
    Jimmy Buffett @ Nissan Pavilion, Thurs, Sept 3
    Matt and Kim @ Black Cat, Wed, Sept 16
    Passion Pit and Phoenix @ Rumsey Playfield (NYC!), Sat, Sept 26
    Ra Ra Riot @ 930 Club, Thurs, Oct 1
    Dirty Projectors @ Black Cat (I think in Oct/Nov?…don’t remember the date unfortunately)

  • Stillness Is The Move Video
    RP3 showed me this video posted on Stereogum earlier this week. Pretty funny video for a really awesome song. Enjoy the llamas and synchronized dancing!

    http://stereogum.com/archives/video/new-dirty-projectors-video—stillness-is-the-move_076732.html

Have a great long weekend everyone! Hope you get to enjoy some good music with your fireworks and drinks!

-WJ