Review: Top Tracks Of 2009

Following the NME-Europe review of the best albums of 2009 (click here for the Top 10), and following a little break to savour the New Year's festivities to the full, the time to assess the year's best tracks has arrived.

If deciding the Top 20 albums was an arduous task, picking out the Top 20 tracks is nigh on impossible. Many albums have several great tracks, so the decision was made to choose just one track from any one album to cover as many artists as possible (it was either that or have a Top 192 list, which seemed a little excessive!) So, after great deliberation,  a selection was made which is hopefully a fair reflection of 2009 from a musical point of view, not least from NME-Europe's standpoint.

Videos are featured where possible (the complete video playlist can be viewed on the new NME-Europe YouTube channel) and all tracks are featured on a music player at the end of the post. Alternatively all you can listen to the playlist now available on Spotify (in my humble opinion, the only playlist worth bothering with on there!). Without further ado, then...

20. 'Toe Rag' - The Rifles. This track typifies The Rifles' ability to illustrate their resigned acceptance of daily routine and being stuck in a rut - "Expect nothing changing except the name of the day".



19. 'Young Adult Friction' - The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart. This album was a wonderful discovery and when you hear this guitar driven track you understand why.



18. 'Imax Raceway' - Windmill. Mercury Rev revisited. Pure melancholy from one of the last albums NME-Europe had the pleasure of stumbling upon this year.



17. 'Panic Switch' - Silversun Pickups. There is definitely an American sound to this album. This track, which hits hard from the beginning, is a prime example of that sound.



16. 'Omen' - The Prodigy. 'Omen' signals the writing is on the wall with a crunching base beat. Pure Prodigy.



15. 'Gold Guns Girls' - Metric. The relentless drumbeat is certain to be a hit with most.



14. 'Unnatural Selection' - Muse. A 7 minute roller-coaster of a song whose delightful melodies are savagely interrupted by the raunchiest of riffs.

13. 'No Kind Words' - The Maccabees. The pick of the album with its ominous chorus "if you've got no kind words to say, you should say nothing more at all" .



12. 'French Navy' - Camera Obscura. The band's canny ability to make a lyrically sad song sound so feel-good is again on show.



11. 'Little Pieces' - Gomez. An erractic band, who occasionally come up with a little piece of musical magic.

If you want to listen to those ten tracks on Spotify, click here.

And now, the Top 10.

10. 'Marlon J.D.' - Manic Street Preachers. Expresses, yet refines all that was manic during the Richey-era.

9. 'Where Did All The Love Go' - Kasabian.  Bouncy, psychotic psychedelia.



8. 'What She Came For' - Franz Ferdinand. Just as you're beginning to think you've wasted your iPod battery on this album, up pops this track to remind you why you bothered to get excited to begin with.

7. 'We Share The Same Skies' - The Cribs. Check out The Cribs' new-improved formula. Only the ignorant would ignore it.



6. 'It's Not Your Birthday Anymore' - Morrissey. A vocally perfect track from Morrissey, which hits you where it hurts lyrically too.

5. 'What If' - Bombay Bicycle Club. Speaking of hitting where it hurts...

4. 'Islands' - The xx. Is it the combination of Croft and Sim's vocals? Is it the haunting guitar struts? For once, the hype is justified.



3. 'Sweet Disposition' - The Temper Trap. Surely even The Edge must think "why can't I write riffs like that anymore?"



2. 'The Sound Of Sirens' - Overspill Poets. The down-to-earth lyrics (Taylor would make a wonderful stunt double for Michael Stipe) and Kitching's guitars which accompany him simply ask you to play the track again and again and once or twice more for good luck - it's one of those tracks you simply can't get enough of.
 

1. 'Rodamos' - Second. Forget the fact this is in Spanish. It has the beat and the balls to rival any track from 2009.



There you go then, 2009 in 20 tracks. I'm sure most will be surprised at the top 2 choices, but as far as NME-Europe is concerned it shows that you don't have to be Bono to crank out a top tune (hmmm, probably a bad example there judging by U2's last release, still, you get what I mean). Have a listen, see what you think and if you reckon you've got an alternative list then lets hear it, that's what music is all about.

If you're not spotified, have a listen to the tracks here.

Weekly Round Up (18 May 2009)

Here's the latest batch of music news....

Top Stories

The online music site, Spotify, is planning to launch a mobile version and launch in the US.

Founder Daniel Ek spoke about what he thought the future lay in store for the product: "Portability is an important aspect, [as is] interoperability with other devices."

"That's definitely something we think is a premium product that people are willing to pay for - being able to bring the music with you or being able to have it working on your stereo."

A £9.99 subscription is currently available in the UK which blocks adverts. The US market could well see something by the end of this year or the beginning of 2010.

Meanwhile, the debate as to how to deal with illegal (or should that be alegal?) downloading on music continues. The Internet Service Providers Association (ISPA) has spoken of its disapproval over a plan proposed by an alliance of creative industries in the UK to disconnect music file sharers' internet connections.

The alliance of the creative industries have called on the Government to "cut-off" repeat offenders to reduce the distribution of copyrighted material, but the response from the ISPA was that the idea was "disproportionate":

"ISPs and consumer groups consider disconnection of users to be a disproportionate response, a view that was recently supported by the european parliament."

In an attempt to offer some sort of compromise to the situation, Barbara Follet MP, minister for the creative industries, told industry executives that they were looking at a system of penalties and threats of legal action.

We'll see how this develops.

Myspace Magic

A couple of bands have added new material to their profiles over the past week. Scarborough's finest, Loveday Fools, have uploaded two new tracks - 'Terry O'Neill' and 'Come On Mate'. The former is a wistful ballad, while 'Come On Mate' is a down to earth little ditty which could be about any of our mates. This band is certainly versatile, so I seriously recommend a listen.

Liverpool's The Jacs have also added two new demos to their myspace page. This band will be featured in an nme-europe Myspace Magic article in the near future, but for now, all 60s music lovers should head straight for their page.

If you're looking for something along the lines of Editors-cum-Placebo-cum-The Cinematics you shouldn't bypass The Scholars. This Midland band, already featured on nme-e have added a couple of new tunes to their myspace profile. 'Turbulence' is my particular favourite - this band is really churning out some quality tunes and are surely one to watch.

Finally, another Midland band, Subkicks, released their debut album last week. A full feature will appear here this week, but for now have a look at their profile and sample some of their sounds.

Reviews
This week's main release is 'Journal For Plague Lovers' by the Manic Street Preachers, which has already caused a stir in with its cover. Indeed, supermarkets are refusing to display their new album cover, only stocking it in a blank slipcase because they fear that the cover image will offend.


Nicola Williamson, Sainsbury's music buyer, said: "We felt that some customers might consider this particular album cover to be inappropriate if it were prominently displayed on the shelf. As such, the album will be sold in a sleeve provided by the publisher."

However, James Dean Bradfield had other thoughts. "You can have lovely shiny buttocks and guns everywhere in the supermarket on covers of magazines and CDs," he said, "but you show a piece of art and people just freak out."

He's kind of got a point...

And finally....
Antonio Vega, 51, R.I.P.

Now, most of you will be wondering, 'who?' but Antonio Vega should go down as one of the great pop-writers in the Spanish music world. Nor he nor his band ever made the giddy heights they might have (and probably would have if they had been from the UK or the US) deserved, but Vega's lyrical and musical ability is unquestionable. His most popular song, 'La Chica De Ayer' was, in fact, covered by the Gigolo Aunts and is possibly the best way to remember him.

Weekly Round Up (06 Apr 2009)

Welcome to this week's insight into the top music events.

Top Stories
Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr performed together at a New York charity show in aid of the David Lynch Foundation on Saturday night (April 4), their first time together in seven years.

McCartney played a handful of Beatles tunes as well as some from his solo career, paying a touching tribute to the John Lennon, before playing 'Here Today', a song he wrote for him. He also dedicated the classic 'Blackbird' to new US President Barack Obama.

After playing his set he introduced "Billy Shears" (Starr's pseudonym on 'Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band') and the pair performed 'With a Little Help from My Friends'.

This was the first joint appearance from the two remaining moptops since they performed at the George Harrison memorial gig in 2002.


Harrison is himself set to receive a star on the renowned Hollywood Walk of Fame later this month. Harrison's wife, Olivia, and son, Dhani, will be present to accept the honour on his behalf.

Elsewhere, new(ish) online music service Spotify has thrown down the gauntlet to iTunes by signing a deal with online provider 7digital to offer a paid download service. Users will be able to access songs from its six-million track catalogue.

The new service will initially be available to users in the UK, Germany, France, Italy and Spain, with further European countries to be included in the near future.

This move appears to have been made after Spotify found that far fewer people than expected were signing up for paid premium accounts on the service.

Mark Mulligan, technology analyst at Forrester Research, explained the reasons behind the strategy: "It [Spotify] went into this thinking it was going to be a premium subscription business," he said. "The problem is what's proven to be the successful part is the free bit."
Premium Spotify subscriptions cost £9.99 per month in the UK, and give users an advert-free service. However, most users are happy to stick with the free version, as the adverts tend not to interfere too much with listening time.

Myspace Magic
Before I make mention of a couple of group developments, I would like to thank Liverpool Bands Friends for giving nme-europe a mention on their myspace page this week.

The man behind the project, Tony, told us a little about the project. "There's just me and I'm just a punter that's interested in the music of Liverpool. I do hope that the page acts as a bulletin board where you can hear some bands, find out about gigs and support up and coming bands."

Naturally, nme-europe gives the page its full support and recommends you all have a look. It's a great portal for Liverpool bands to get some exposure. I know I'll be a regular from now on. Check it out for yourselves here.

Still in Liverpool, indie boys, Strawhouses, are counting down the days to the release of their new single 'A Good Night Out'. The launch will be celebrated with a gig at the Liverpool O2 Academy on Saturday night (11th), with support from The Daisy Riots, Subjects of the City and The Fall of Kings.

In case you're not familiar with this bunch, an exclusive interview will be available on nme-europe as from this Wednesday. In the meantime you can marvel at their music on the myspace page.


How about a couple of new tracks to have a listen to? Sheffield-based, The Breaks have uploaded 'Waste Away Girl', a five minute breeze in the park, which any indie fan will surely appreciate. The Breaks will also be featured on this page in a week or so.

Slightly further north, Newcastle to be precise, The Rigg have added a further two tracks to the five already on offer on their myspace page. 'Realisation' has particularly impressed me, I'm sure I'll not be the only one...

Finally, across the pond Dark Speakers have uploaded a rough version of their new single 'California Rhythm', which has a touch of a souped-up The Eagles about it. Give it a go.

Reviews
This week's most notable release must be Manchester boys, Doves, with 'Kingdom Of Rust'. Hot on the pod, a review will appear forthwith. In the meantime, you can check out a summary of the March reviews here.


Think that's about it.... NME-E is off on hols for the rest of the week, but has left a couple of articles on standby to keep the masses satisfied.

Cheers


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