Nick's Pick

Okay my close friend Liz and new contributor to 'The Fishbowl' was drilling me about what my 'favorite' album of 2009 was on the way up to Asheville on Tuesday. 2009 was a weak year one for album releases so I had to think about it for a few days and I finally picked:

Bowerbirds - Upper Air.

Folk trio out of Raliegh, NC. I listened to this album only a few select times over the year, but it definately made an extreme impact each and every listen. My opinion is extremely swayed by the fact that I've basically only been listening to acoustic folk and bluegrass music for the majority of this year, but here is the track "Nothern Lights".

In 2010 they kick off a tour with Julie Doiron at The Grey Eagle on the 12th of January. They hit Kentucky, a few dates on the west coast moving on through Texas and Florida. Then close the one month tour at the Earl in Atlanta, GA.

For all the dates for the tour check The Bowerbirds myspace:

http://www.myspace.com/bowerbirds

nicholascaywood

"What's your resolution?"--25 songs I couldn't get out of my mind in 2009.

OK, let me be honest. For all the talk of great music this decade and talks of which bands and which albums dominated the 'Noughts, 2009 was a relatively tame year for music. Take Merriweather Post Pavilion for instance. Animal Collective released this album in JANUARY and it still remains at the top of almost every year end list. I don't agree with that placement personally but it is a good album and has been generally regarded as the year's best. It seems that from the beginning of 2009, albums were picked as the year's best months before they were actually released. Grizzly Bear's Veckatimest contained new tracks played live by the band on television months prior, plus album itself leaked early. Dirty Projectors' Bitte Orca was refreshing but an expected progression for such a talented outfit. There was little to nothing to surprise us this year.

Besides Album by Girls (my choice for debut of the year, hands down) and Dragonslayer by Sunset Rubdown, there really wasn't much that I'm willing to say will stand up against some of the past great albums from this decade.

So, in lieu of my usual countdown of the best albums of the year, I'm providing this mix. 25 songs that knocked my socks off. Some come from my favorite albums, some are the only good tracks released by that band this year. All of them were played on repeat almost immediately after I first heard them. While 2009 may not have been a deep year for LP releases, it sure did provide us with some great tunes.

[CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD]

1. "Lust for Life" by Girls -- from Album

2. "Stillness is the Move" by Dirty Projectors -- from Bitte Orca

3. "While You Wait for the Others" by Grizzly Bear -- from Veckatimest

4. "Home" by Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros -- from Up from Below

5. "Idiot Heart" by Sunset Rubdown -- from Dragonslayer

6. "Actor Out of Work" by St. Vincent -- from Actor

7. "I Am Goodbye" by Bonnie "Prince" Billy -- from Beware

8. "VCR" by The XX -- from XX

9. "Ledmonton" by Clues -- from Clues

10. "Young Adult Friction" by The Pains of Being Pure at Heart -- from The Pains of Being Pure at Heart

11. "Genesis 30:3" by The Mountain Goats -- from The Life of the World to Come

12. "Walkabout" by Atlas Sound feat. Panda Bear -- from Logos

13. "Hey Dad!" by Franz Nicolay -- from Major General

14. "Say Please" by Monsters of Folk -- from Monsters of Folk

15. "Rain On" by Woods -- from Songs of Shame

16. "Now We Can See" by The Thermals -- from Now We Can See

17. "Here to Fall" by Yo La Tengo -- from Popular Songs

18. "Daylight" by Matt & Kim -- from Grand

19. "The Sound" by Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson -- from Summer of Fear

20. "No Hope Kids" by Wavves -- from Wavvves

21. "Indiana" by Cymbals Eat Guitars -- from Why There Are Mountains

22. "Wilco (The Song)" by Wilco -- from Wilco (The Album)

23. "Lisztomania" by Phoenix -- from Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix

24. "Hunchback" by Kurt Vile -- from Childish Prodigy

25. "This Blackest Purse" by Why? -- from Eskimo Snow

First Post

My first contribution is an obvious staple in the 'mix tape' world: The mix tape for your significant other. This one is a bit dated but timeless in my mind. I actually never gave this mix to the person I made it for until I posted it to the Fishbowl.

It begins with a dreamy pop tune by Deerhunter. From there it hits a lot of my favorite songs in the past few years and closes with an 11 minute song from one of my all time favorite artists. Even though this was made for someone in my life I feel like this mix is for everyone in the mood for a steady arrangement of alluring songs.

-nicholascaywood

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Track Listing

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[01/19] Hazel St. - Deerhunter

[02/19] Poison Cup - M. Ward

[03/19] Slow Night, So Long - Kings of Leon

[04/19] Golden Cage - The Whitest Boy Alive

[05/19] I Love You - The Zombies

[06/19] Born On A Train - Magnetic Fields

[07/19] Louise - Mazarin

[08/19] Men in Black - Frank Black

[09/19] Carmen Cross - Butterglory

[10/19] Jelly-Bean - Gaze

[11/19] Fine Day For Sailing - Go Sailor

[12/19] Twin Of Myself - Black Moth Super Rainbow

[13/19] Buenos Aires Beach - The War On Drugs

[14/19] Montreal - Of Montreal

[15/19] The Fool - Neutral Milk Hotel

[16/19] "slighted" - The Microphones

[17/19] Took You Two Years To Win My Heart - Final Fantasy

[18/19] A Sweet Summer's Night on Hammer Hill - Jens Lekman

[19/19] Karen Revisited - Sonic Youth

Come in, Come in

This mix isn't really much of anything. I was bored today and put it together. I just finished finals last week, and the lack of responsibility has put me in a weird state of mind. This is kind of a compilation of the stuff I've been listening to for the past month or two or three. I suppose. Enjoy!

"Come in, Come in"
[CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD]
1 "40 Day Dream" Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros (3:54)
2 "Self Esteem" Andrew Jackson Jihad (1:37)
3 "England" Adicts (2:35)
4 "3rd Planet" Modest Mouse (3:59)
5 "Even the Good Wood Gone" Why? (4:19)
6 "Lucky Number Nine" Moldy Peaches (2:08)
7 "Mr Grieves" Pixies (2:06)
8 "See No Evil" Television (3:59)
9 "Love Henry" Judy Henske (3:50)
10 "You Are Jaguar" Evangelista (4:02)
11 "I Only Said" My Bloody Valentine (5:34)
12 "Green Grass of Tunnel" Mum (4:13)
13 "Glass" Bat for Lashes (4:33)
14 "A Woolgathering Exodus" Benoit Pioulard (3:26)
15 "Grain of Sand" The Back Pockets (3:31)
16 "Dayvan Cowboy" Boards of Canada (5:01)
17 "Auberge Le Mouton Noir" Do Make Say Think (7:05)
18 "Corsica" Coastal (4:27)
19 "Lucy's Sad" HRSTA (4:20)
20 "Tetrishead" Zoe Keating (7:40)

-W