Sure, maybe the title of this piece should've been something simpler, rather than a Silver Jews lyric that, almost typically for the band, manages to straddle the divide between amazing and tortured. But, seeing as how they regrettably broke up at the start of this year, it seems fitting. David Berman's explanation for the decision, and what appears to be his retirement from music - "I always said we would stop before we got bad. If I continue to record I might accidentally write the answer song to Shiny Happy People" - was typically fantastic. The band will be missed.
Anyway, since my laptop completely fucked it late this summer, actually writing anything has become a bit of a nightmare (as has listening to music in general - more on that in a later post). But now that I'm back home for Christmas, with nothing to do but listen to things/watch things and then write about them, it seems as good a time as any to get back on the horse (or do whatever the title of his piece implies, I don't know). So I'm currently working on listening to as many 2009 albums as possible, in preparation for an eventual list; possibly compiling a list of my favourite albums of the decade; and maybe doing the same for films, I don't know yet (I haven't seen that many this year - although the ones I have seen have often been excellent). In the meantime, I'm going to look ahead towards next year (and not just because a new, working computer is in my future):
A decent place to start would be here: Stereogum's list of sixty-nine albums worth looking out for in 2010. On this evidence, it looks set to be a good year. Some of those acts have already started previewing new songs ahead of the release of their latest efforts. Vampire Weekend currently have three tracks from their second album Contra up on their MySpace page, offering a glimpse of what we can expect - which is "pretty much the same as last time," albeit with a few added bells and whistles (almost literally, in fact). That shouldn't be a problem, though - Vampire Weekend remains an excellent album, and I'm staying positive that the lessons they should have learnt since then puts them in a position to improve upon it.
A new Liars album is also in the offing, and they're always worth checking out. The first song is available free from their website (or listen to it here). Once again, it marks a drastic shift from their last release, but at this point that's what we've come to expect from them. At this point, they probably don't get enough credit for pushing the boundaries of alternative music (Animal Collective are too busy soaking up all the plaudits).
Meanwhile, another promising upcoming release is the James Mercer/Danger Mouse collaboration. Going by the name of Broken Bells, they've put their first song out into the wide world (or worldwide web, if you prefer). "The High Road" might not be much to go on, but hopes remain high, considering the talent the two men possess.
In other words: plenty to be excited about. On a different note: Deerhunter are offering a free download of experimental 2005 home recording Carve Your Initials Into the Walls of the Night; inexplicably, Death Cab guitarist (and producer) Chris Walla teamed up with hardcore legend (and producer) J. Robbins to create "Mercury"; a shoutout to my favourite discovery of the year with regards to online comics, Hark! A Vagrant, which crafts its humour from historical figures/events, often juxtaposing them with modern day sensibilities (take Lord Byron macking on Mary Shelley, or Kierkegaard concerned with his public image); a new Channel 4 comedy starring Arrested Development alumni David Cross and Will Arnett; and a couple of end-of-decade A.V. Club lists, the best books and videogames of the the '00s. I've only read two of those books myself - The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time (which I disliked, despite the praise everyone poured upon it) and Carter Beats The Devil (which I would wholeheartedly recommend to everyone).
