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Man, I gotta say, 2009 has been an exciting year for me in many respects, and it is not even over yet. Aside from things like finishing school, hooking up with a cute girl and getting my first real job (which is pretty damn awesome if I say so myself), what really tickled my pickle this year was the bunch of CD releases that hit the stores (or file sharing communities, whichever you prefer).

It appears that in 2009 all the stars have aligned to give us aural pleasure. So far it has brought us new albums from Aes Dana, Archive, Infected Mushroom, Muse, Pearl Jam, Third Eye Blind, Placebo and The Prodigy (as well as Solar Fields, although that was technically a videogame score). If we’re being generous and add Firewater’s latest CD in mix, which was released in late 2008, we’ve in my humble opinion assembled the créme de la créme of awesome bands. Or bands that used to be awesome but have somewhat slipped into mediocrity.

Sadly enough, none of these records has really impressed me all that much. They’re all very solid and by no means bad, but they left me somewhat dissatisfied nonetheless. Then again, Infected Mushroom’s last record Vicious Delicious was a god damn masterpiece which was more or less impossible to top. The Prodigy hasn’t really done anything worthwhile since The Fat Of The Land and Third Eye Blind’s debut back in ‘97 is still undoubtedly their best album. Maybe it’s just me getting older.

In any event, there’s one final straw for me: the most anticipated release of the century (for people with brains, anyway): Ineffable Mysteries From Shpongleland by Shpongle! A fairly retarded name, I know, but I’m so gonna pee my pants when I finally hold that CD in my hands. I wish I could see them live next month in London. Their debut Are You Shpongled? was awesome, the follow-ups Tales Of The Inexpressible and Nothing Lasts… But Nothing Is Lost were nothing short of spectacular, and I expect the new album to be absolutely mindbogglingly insane. It’s gonna be the first CD in years I’m gonna buy without even listening to it first. And if it sucks… well, I’m probably just gonna kill myself. Or at least go cry for a while and bitch about it on the interwebs. That’s what it’s for after all.

The year 2008 draws to a close and it’s time for the obligatory annual roundup. It’s a sacred tradition to be obeyed by ever blogger, magazine and radio station. Actually it’s not so much sacred as it is pesky but hey, I didn’t make the rules. So without further ado I present to you my Picks of the Year.

Picks of 2008

Please note that this is not exactly a “Best Of” but a list of songs that have had an impact on me in one way or the other during the past 12 months. That’s the reason why you’ll find songs that weren’t actually released in (but came to my attention during) 2008.

• Battles – Atlas
  Mirrored (2007), Beat Records
• Swayzak – Smile And Receive (Apparat Rmx)
  Things To Be Frickled (2008), Shitkatapult
• Ott – Rogue Bagel
  Skylon (2008), Twisted Records
• Hol Baumann – Bénarès (Vârânaçî Edit)
  Human (2008), Ultimae Records
• Pendulum – 9000 Miles
  In Silico (2008), Ear Storm
• Puscifer – Country Boner (Disco Viagra Mix)
  “V” Is For Viagra (2008), Puscifer Entertainment
• D. R. Hooker – The Sea
  The Truth (1972), On Records
• Hercules And Love Affair – Blind
  Hercules And Love Affair (2008), Mute
• Modwheelmood – MHz
  Pearls To Pigs, Vol. 1 (2007)
• The Knife – Silent Shout
  Silent Shout (2007), Brille Records

Best albums of 2008

Yes, only 2008 releases qualify for this category :-)

• Deerhunter – Microcastle/Weird Era, Kranky
• Max Tundra – Parallax Error Beheads You, Domino
• TV On The Radio – Dear Science, Interscope

Honorable Mentions

Outstanding releases that didn’t quite make the cut to the top three.

• Entheogenic – Flight Of The Urubus, USR
• Firewater – The Golden Hour, Nois-O-Lution
• God Is An Astronaut – God Is An Astronaut, Revive Records
• Lindstrøm – Where You Go I Go Too, Smalltown Supersound
• Woolfy – The Astral Projections Of Starlight, Permanent Records

On a personal note I have to inform you that due to private reasons I probably won’t have time to write much during the next few weeks. I wish everyone a merry Christmas and peaceful holidays.