Best of 2009 (non-film)

Here is the stuff from this year that I enjoyed... sans films. Look for a top 15 of those around the new year.

Music

Best Single

Depeche Mode - Wrong




Runner Up

Massive Attack - Splitting the Atom



Best Albums

5) Metric - Fantasies



Super slick synth pop perfection. That is pretty much what this album boils down to... yes, it is glossy, but man is it good. Three albums in my top five have ten tracks. This is one of them.

4) Pearl Jam - Backspacer



One of Pearl Jam's absolute best albums... coming in 2009. Yes. This is a band with legs. A fantastic album that has more energy and punch than any of their other albums. The ballads take a back seat on this one, which is a bit of a reversal for a PJ album.



3) The Horrors - Primary Colours



Ten tracks. All great stuff. For my money, this is one of the best albums to come out in this genre (sort of a indie gloom rock) in a long, long time.

2) Silversun Pickups - Swoon



A fantastic album from start to finish. Ten tracks and not a single one is filler or wasted. This feels like how albums should be done. They take many cues from when Smashing Pumpkins mattered (SP, get it, though they are named after a liquor store)and deliver a memorable and extremely well crafted album.

1) Mastodon - Crack the Skye



Heavy and beautiful, Mastodon released one of the best heavy album of all time with Crack the Skye. Only 7 tracks long, yet it clocks in at 50 minutes, an epic album that fits together perfectly. The heir has finally become apparent in regards to heavy music.

Honorable Mentions

Morrissey - Years of Refusal, Alice in Chains - Black Gives Way to Blue, Blakroc - Blakroc, M Ward - Hold Time, Them Crooked Vultures - Them Crooked Vultures, Jay-Z - Blueprint III, AFI - Crash Love, Phoenix - Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix, La Roux - La Roux

Videogames

Man, I wrote a lot in 2009... and I also played a lot of video games. Geez. Anyways... here are the favorites I played. Based mostly on fun I had with them. Didn't get to some (Uncharted 2, for example). Here are 3 I really liked... no explanations, but a video to show you about it if you are unfamiliar.

Brutal Legend


Demon's Souls


Batman Arkham Asylum


Books


With all the gaming and writing... and the usual film viewing... I did not read as much as I wanted to... but I still read several books this year. My favorite below.

The Death of Bunny Munro - Nick Cave



This book really snuck up on me. I didn't know if I liked it for at least the first 25% of it. But by the end I was really on board and felt it was a great work. Some really nice character work and some things I can't even mention structure wise, or else it would spoil. Definitely check it out. Bizarre, crude, and yet somehow heartfelt.


Comics

I read some, but it was largely an off year for keeping up with the comic universe. I did come across a new series that is absolutely fantastic. Imaginative, currently vital, literary, and intelligent. A series I can't recommend enough to anyone who likes a good story... which means everyone.

The Unwritten



Written by comic veteran and great Mike Carey, this series is fantastic. The first collected volume hits in a few weeks for only $10. Get on board with something great.

Television

I haven't had cable for two years now... I have no idea what is great beyond network TV. I still think Lost is one of the best shows around (ever). Supernatural has been really great. I watch a lot of cartoons. The only new show I would recommend is Glee. But that is sugary and bright... so, know that ahead of time... all you lovers of realism and gloom.