Top Music of 2009 - Part 1, Honorable Mentions

Before I post the top songs of 2009, I would like to mention those songs that didn't make the cut

Songs that were so close to the top but not as good as the rest.

Mute Math - Spotlight
You Say Party, We Say Die - Laura Palmer's Prom
Sparks - This is the Renaissance
Paramore - Ignorance
Placebo - For What it's Worth

Songs that turned out to be released before 2009 so they couldn't make the list.

Metallica -All Nightmare Long
Lykke Li -Little Bit
Lykke Li - Dance Dance Dance
Linkin' Park - Given Up
Verdeoscuro - Cancion Nocturna
The Ting Tings - That's not my Name

Some other artists that I just started getting into in 2009 but their stuff was actually released before.

Emiliana Torrini
Regina Spektor
Meg
Gogol Bordello
Empire of the Sun
Lilly Allen

Best Music from a Film

In The Princess and the Frog, Diseny's animators went back to their roots, they were smart enough to make New Orleans their new setting which allowed them to include a lot of interesting elements to their story, alligators, swamps, jazz, gumbo, fireflies, riverboats, above ground tombs and of course voodoo. The best part of the film is also the scene where we can see the magic that can come out of traditional animation, "Friends on the other side" was the typical song where the villain exposes his "villanaisness" and his master plan that sets in motion the rest of the movie. It's a great scene that like I said illustrates all that great things traditional animation can do. Like dancing voodoo dolls, singing masks and evil shadows.


Best Soundtrack
Coraline by Bruno Coulais

Songs I had forgotten but suddenly fell in love with them again on 2009
Pink Floyd - High Hopes
Guns N Roses - Estranged
The Beatles - Happiness is a Warm Gun
80% of the "Jose Jose - Un Tributo" Album

Leave it to movies to influence my music hearing habits. First, Michael Jackson's This is It tshowed us MJ the entertainer, not the troubled celebrity, and it made me observe the magic of hheis art, especially with his 90's "Earth Song" which I never really paid attention to until now.
UPDATE: I'm glad to say The Grammys noticed it too, we got to hear a live tribute version of "Earth Song" which featured singers Celine Dion, Usher, Carrie Underwood and Smokey Robinson.

Then there's Quentin Tarantino, who's sort of a voodoo priest bringing pop culture figures back from the dead, from The Coasters to The Statler Brothers to John Travolta or just plain using an element in the most unusual but very fitting places like David Bowie's "Cat People (putting out the fire)" on Inglorious Basterds in one of his best scenes ever. David Bowie is no stranger to movies, from the Goblin King to Nicolai Tesla to Andy Warhol to a cameo as a runway judge on Zoolander. More than an actor he's a musician and his songs have a large place in movies, appearing in hundreds of them, sometimes as Bossa Nova covers like in The Life Aquatic or as original songs like in Cat People, the first appearance of "Putting out the Fire" the same song heard while our heroine from 'Basterds' Shosanna is concocting her master plan for revenge.

Old songs I just discovered
Depeche Mode - Told You So
Squeeze - Cool for cats


Honorable mentions by bands that DID make it to the Top 10
Mando Diado - Dance with somebody & You got Nothing on Me
Bat for lashes - Daniel & Moon and Moon
Franz Ferdinand - Ulysees & No you girls
Depeche Mode - Miles Away
Muse - Uprising, Undisclosed Desires & Resistance


The so stupid it's actually enjoyable award goes to
She Wolf (La Loba)

The 'Meh' Award goes to
The new Alice in Chains song Check My Brain

Songs that drove me nuts... and not in a good way.
Kings of Leon - Use Somebody
Alejandro Sanz & Alicia Keys - Looking for Paradise


My Top 5 music moments of 2009
5 - I didn't expect to hear Hole's Violet at the end of Jennifer's Body but it was one of the only things I liked from that stupid movie
4 - My WTF? moment came when I saw the video for Asian Dub Foundation's 1000 Mirrors and then realized that the song I had in my computer for over 5 years now wasn't the same as the original. It seems that I have a cover version which I just love, but after looking and looking and googling I still haven't found WHO THE HELL sings such cover.
3 - My nephews got Rockband 2 and the Beatles Rock Band games and there was a moment while playing "While my guitar gently weeps" that I just felt like wow. I almost weeped myself.
2- There was a presentation of the hybrid techno collective NORTEC along with the local Symphony, the concert in itself was just ok, but we got to see the sound test where they rehearsed one of their best melodies, I got an indescribable feeling just hearing a group of violins with an electronic base and the norteño sound that defines NORTEC.
1 - Natalia LaFourcade seems to represent the thin thread that holds the mexican alternative pop music alive, we got to see her live in some dingy old flea market which made it all more alluring, a very intimate presentation of her very heartfelt music, she ended the night with a great rendition of Lykke Li's Dance Dance Dance that just made me beat myself up for not bringing a camera.


And finally, the top music video...
it's.. it's... it's a QUADRUPLE TIE!!!

First a fan made video that turned out to be be better than the official one.

Check out the original here and see for yourself.

I love stop motion animation, thus, I love this grammy nominated video


The pop music scene needed someone crazy enough to shake it upside down, this year saw the rise of Lady Gaga with her wacky dresses, the blending of diverse styles in her songs, the whole hermaphrodite controversy. She came doing her own thing, insisting to bring her own art to her shows, her clothes, her music of course and her videos like this Bad Romance vid. It has the choreography that reminds us of a time when Michael Jackson and Madonna ruled as pop kings, and the Kubrickish setting of a futuristic bathhouse with a little S&M thrown in all nicely wrapped within a context of Girl Power takes us to a more modern vision of what can POP music do for you.


And finally... made on the cheap, I just think I'm a little bit in love with this video (and the song of course)

GIFT ROUNDUP

Yeah yeah, Christmas was so last year, but whatever, it's my blog and It's now or never
I ain't gonna live forever I just wanna live while I'm alive... um...

So let's get this thing started, What did I get for Christmas? Well I'm glad you asked, and even if you didn't you can still find out.

First gift came while doing the X-Mas shopping with my girlfriend and her mom, perusing those 99Cents stores I came upon the most wondruos of items, a calendar, I actually always get a calendar by my sister every December but this was no ordinary calendar, this was one of those day per day calendar and in this case each new day you get the plans to fold a paper airplane. Why did it end up in the 99c. store!? This belongs in a museum! Since I didn't even have a single dollar on my pocket I made puppy eyes to my SO, since she loves puppies she also bought a puppy calendar... and in the process she bought me my first Christmas present

Easy as 1,2,3.. and 4.. and then go look for the scissors, and then 5 &6

Next up was a secret Santa held at a Radio Station where I do my show about movies, so since it's a radio station they figured it be a gift exchange solely about music, we'd be exchanging CDs. Now seriously who buys CDs anymore, and I told the guy in charge, maybe it could be CDs and movies.. but no, no & no. So be it, I had to choose some albums I would like which was the most difficult decision I had to make in 2009 especially since most albums worth getting I had already obtained from a group of spanish pirates called "The Torrentes", anyways, after non careful consideration, peer presure, a break-in into my car (long frustrating story), finally we had our untraditional posada and I got the "Tributo a Jose Jose" CD (Tribute to Joseph Joseph) a whole mesh of alternative and pop artist got together to pay tribute to this beloved Mexican singer who while know for his romantic ballads, made for an interesting selection and covers by the band in the CD.

With his power of telephaty he will make you buy his CD

Funny how as a child I used to get a few of these tubs of popcorn that I just didn't like, but by one of my aunts logic, since I love movies, here have some popcorn. In reallity these where very delicious, I must add, that they were given to me AND my girlfriend, and if someone loves popcorn its her, so, first time I really appreciated a tub of popcorn. :)

Oh my, sweet seet popcorn.

I'm not sure how to feel when your mother gives you underwear, she has bought them for you all of your life anyway... and plus, they are really comfy pieces of undies, and nice and cool too.

Oh, here we are, the obligatory calendar by my sister. Her daughter (my niece), gave it to me, but she pulled a fast one on me, I usually get very exited with my sisters gifts, What could she have gotten me this time! When I open it, I ONLY see the calendar, sure call me ungrateful or whatever, even tho' I get a calendar each year, it just wasn't what I expected, at least not to be the ONLY thing...

"Merry Christmas fool" I totally fell for it, and I still feel bad for feeling disappointed (especially since I already had one where you could make PAPER AIRPLANES). But alas, the main part of the gift came as a surprise too.

"Kingdom Hearts Re: Chain of Memories" not because it was a video game, or because I didn't like it, au contraire I have pretty much enjoyed that franchise's other games, but guess who LOVES those games? My nephew, my sisters son, who coincidentally picked out the game for me. Wheter it was a cheeky moove or not, I think it was sweet, my sister offered to replace it if I wanted another one, but it was just fine. Just like the calendar, but only as an appendix to a cool gift, lets see what it says today.

"I will conduct a respectful debate. Now, it will be dispirited - it will be spirited - because there are stark diffrences. I am a proud conservative, liberal Republi - conservative Republican - Hello? Easy There" Sen. John McCain

Not really stupid, just mistake ridden.

Next up, just look at that precious bundle of joyous joy, no, that's not the present, but in a way it could very well be the best present God/Santa/Mother Nature/Zeus/Whatever gave us.

Well, she had a gift for me (maybe my brother and sister in-law bought the things but it was all on behalf of my niece, the new addition to the family) in the end what she got is not really important, that picture alone is worth more than a thousand bucks (I would have preferred the $1,000.00 but oh well). She gave me a compendium of Alfred Hitchcock movies (and some of the episodes from "Alfred Hithcock Presents") so I have plenty to see, and if I get bored with psychological suspense, old school whodunits? and macguffins I can just pop in the 200 classic cartoons DVD and that's that.

I also got this Usb Roll-Up Drum Kit from my GF's mom, a pretty nifty contraption where you just plug it in, open the software and start beating with the included drum sticks, unfortunately the computer I use most often is a Mac.. and guess what, it's only compatible with a PC, I still get to use it sometimes on my dad's notebook, but still, bummer.

Another aunt, who was very guilty of gifting tub-o-popcorn on a regular basis to us, but who has always been a very good and generous person came with a present for me, recently she's been very spot on, like some free AMCTheater tickets, this Christmas it was a headscratcher, not really a bad gift, it just kept me thinking, photo frames?

They're actually pretty nice, one it's a large piece with three swiveling mini frames. I guess by the movie watching logic, we could also go the "I like photos logic" and that's why I recieved this gift, if I like photos, and photograpy, Where would I put my photos? In a photo frame of course. Better yet, Why not a photosphere!? Now I need to print some photos to use these frames.

What happens when you regularly borrow your dads electric shaver? Well you get one as a present. Thanks mom.
"It's not high end, but I guess something's something, What did you think?" asked my mom.
Well, I give it an 7.6 out of 10, my beard grows all wild and kooky and it's usually a shore to shave be it with a electric shaver, non electric shaver a knife or whatever. I usually start with a trim, my dad's shaver is perfect for that, this new one not so much, the trimmer kind of hurts and when it runs out of power, even if connected, not much juice will get to the trimmer. But the front part is more efective, but only if my beard is not too long, if it is, I have to trimm it, then shave. So, my new Shave "Pro" is perfect for keeping my 5 0'clock shadow (or more like the day after eclipse) in place.

Check out the results for yourself, first a somewhat complicated trim, then a nice, two-bladed electric shave.

The one gift that surprised me (and my girlfriend, because it was also meant for her) was another bucket of popcorn for our movie loving selves. Given to us by a pair of cousins and my aunt. A nice detail we said, but inside there were also a bunch of bite size Kitkats (basically because my GF told my cousin she loved popcorn with chocolate, and the perfect varitey? Kitkats) A nice detail we said, but inside there were also a bunch of bite size Kitkats (basically because my GF told my cousin she loved popcorn with chocolate, and the perfect varitey? Kitkats).Not only that, inside we also found a gift certificate of $40.oo for a local movie theater.

It was one of those, OMG, you really shouldn't have moments. Especially since we were not expecting anything from them.

Don't be alarmed, the black thing is just the bottom of the tube that burned a little

Oh yeah! We definitely enjoyed our gift while watching one of the last items on this list.
The second season of Arrested Devolpment, the season I was missing of the best short lived comedy that was ever on TV. It all came wrapped in a pretty neat wrapped up box. Yes, it was my baby's gift to me. She's always so cute with details, it even includes the letter "R" because that day was brought to you by the letters "R" and "Y" and the number "7".

"R" you ready she said

So inside, there wasn't only complete AD 2nd season, it also had the last entry in one of my favorite video game franchises ever! The Legend of Zelda: The Spirit Tracks

Even with its cartoony context and silly situations, it ends up being pretty intense and the whole game sucks you right in. Of course I have already beaten the game, and I thank my GF for being my Zelda game dealer since Twilight Princess, I even got the Zelda triforce version DS thanks to her.

I would like to really really thank everyone who made this post possible because, without loved ones, well, there wouldn't be any gifts at all, and that would surely suck.

The Twelve Days of Facebook

I posted this on facebook (and on wordpress but that's another story) but the downside over there (on Facebook) is that things go so fast that in one day your post will already be forgotten and lost through pages and pages of useless junk, at least here, my useless junk is easily accessible through categories and calendars :D

So anyway, yes, X-mas has passed but not the 12 days of Christmas, oh no, no. I used to think the 12 days where days leading UP to Christmas day, but the song refers to the songs used afterward, it turns out, people used to keep on celebrating until the 6th of January (Day of Epiphany) why we no longer do this is beyond me… recession?

Anywho, this will only be relevant to Facebook users.. ahem, cue music (Lets say for the sake of sanity that we have gone through days #1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10 & 11).

♪ On the twelfth day of Christmas my facebook gave to me,

Twelve Gift request

Eleven Pointless test

Ten Yoville Coins

Nine Cafe dishes

Eight Farmville Cows

Seven Random Videos

Six Mafia Jobs

Fiiiive “Likes” from friends

Four Stupid rants

Three Photo tags

Two Useless pokes

and a sense that I’m just a voyeur ♪ ♫