Best of 2009 by Ben Van Houten of The Bay Bridged

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Who: Ben Van Houten, Co-founder
Blog: The Bay Bridged
Twitter: @thebaybridged

The OCMD Best of 2009 Questionnaire

  1. Best Album: Girls – Album / The Fresh & Onlys – Grey-Eyed Girls
  2. Most Overlooked Album: Sonny & The Sunsets – Tomorrow is Alright / Former Ghosts – Fleurs / Jeffrey Lewis & the Junkyard – ‘Em Are I
  3. Best Song: Girls – “Hellhole Ratrace” / Garrett Pierce – “Can I Stop Breathing?” / Odawas – “Harmless Lover’s Discourse”
  4. Best Live Show: The Mountain Goats at the Swedish American Hall for Noise Pop / Every time I see Thee Oh Sees
  5. Band/Artist I am most happy to have discovered: Grizzly Bear (I finally get it with Veckatimest)
  6. Band/Artist I kick myself for missing: Cass McCombs/Papercuts/Girls show at Great American Music Hall.  Catacombs is an unreal album that I just started getting into a month too late.
  7. Band/Artist everyone seems to love but I just can’t get behind: Girl Talk. He puts on an energetic live show, but I just can’t get into the albums.  I appreciate the technique and skill involved, but I can’t really sit down and listen to a Girl Talk record.
  8. Favorite SF Band: THEY’RE ALL MY FAVORITES.
  9. One to Watch in 2010: Adam Stephens

the OCMD Mixtape: Best Electro/Pop 2009

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  1. “Lock and Key” – Lilofee
  2. “On My Way” – The Sweet Serenades
  3. “Creeper” – Islands
  4. “New Theory” – Washed Out
  5. “Ecstacy” – JJ
  6. “You’ve Got the Love (The XX Remix) – Florence & The Machine
  7. “Want Me Too” – Tune-Yards
  8. “Kundalini Express” – The Flaming Lips
  9. “Beast In Peace” – Bear In Heaven
  10. “Feeling Pulled Apart By Horses” – Thom Yorke
  11. “When I Grow Up” – Fever Ray
  12. “Version” – Stripmall Architecture
  13. “A Happening” – Hyperstory
  14. “Testimony” – The Phenomenal Handclap Band

Best of 2009 by Anna of Stranger Dance

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Who: Anna, Local Music Editor
Blog: Stranger Dance
Location: San Francisco
Twitter: @strangerdance

The OCMD Best of 2009 Questionnaire

  1. Best Album: Tie – Various Artists – Dark Was the Night / The Rural Alberta Advantage – Hometowns. Not sure if some will count Dark Was the Night as year-end worthy because it’s a compilation, but I just can’t leave it out.
  2. Most Overlooked Album: Brendan Benson – My Old, Familiar Friend. Maybe some won’t consider this album as overlooked, but I felt like I should have seen more coverage of it across the blogosphere.
  3. Best Song: Tie – The Books ft. Jose Gonzalez – “‘Cello Song” (Nick Drake cover)/Fanfarlo – “I’m a Pilot”
  4. Best Live Show: Tie – The Tallest Man on Earth, the Independent, 7/2/09 / Bon Iver, Fox Theater, 9/24/09
  5. Band/Artist I am most happy to have discovered: Fanfarlo
  6. Band/Artist I kick myself for missing: J. Tillman, both at Cafe du Nord in August and the Great American on December 4th. D’oh!
  7. Band/Artist everyone seems to love but I just can’t get behind: Dirty Projectors. And Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros (except for that “Home” song, that song warms my lil’ heart).
  8. Favorite SF Band: There are so many, but I always come back to Or, the Whale. Grand Lake is probably my latest local favorite.
  9. One to Watch in 2010: Sleepy Sun – local and fabulous.

theOCMD Mixtape: Best Garage Rock 2009

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the OCMD Mixtape: Best Garage Rock 2009

  1. “Heavy Krishna”- Jeff the Brotherhood
  2. “Pine On” – Obits
  3. “Fog Machine”-  The Fresh & Onlys
  4. “Lovely One” – Ty Segall
  5. “L Mansion”-  Sic Alps
  6. “Wrapped in Fog”-  Dan Melchoir und das Menace
  7. “Blew It Again” – Electric Tickle Machine
  8. “English Teeth Invasion”-  English Teeth
  9. “Goddamn”- Girls
  10. “Burden”- The Mantles
  11. “Over the Ocean”- Best Coast
  12. “Can You See”- Thee Oh Sees
  13. “Boneyard”- Nobunny
  14. “I Won’t Lie To You”- Let’s Wrestle
  15. “What’cha Gonna Do About It”- Condo Fucks

Gift Idea: Indie Rock Coloring Book

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Couldn’t resist posting about this cool Hanukah present little Judah got from Aunt Sarah last week. Cool for kids and adults alike, the humanitarian endeavor by the Yellow Bird Project features over 25 hand-illustrated designs dedicated to indie musicians, including Iron & Wine, Bloc Party, The National and Devendra Banhart. So if you’ve ever wanted to color Devendra Banhart’s beard, wiggle yourself through the intricate Broken Social Scene maze, marvel in the colourful carnival of Clap Your Hands Say Yeah or slide down the psychedelic playground of MGMT, look no further. Profits from this colourful venture will go towards the charities YBP supports.

You can buy the book ($10) online or at the Heath Ceramic’s retail store in Sausalito.

Girl Crush: Charlotte Gainsbourg

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Charlotte Gainsbourg – “IRM”

Typically I loathe the actor turned singer/songwriter schtick. But Charlotte Gainsbourg is the exception. The arbiter of everything cool and indie, the woman can do no wrong.  At least in my eyes, but I admittedly have a crush. So let me break it down for you and see if you agree.

She’s the daughter of British actress, singer and style icon Jane Birkin and French actor/singer Serge Gainsbourg. (That pedigree alone is enough cool quotient to last a lifetime.) Is a critically acclaimed, award winning actress in her own right with an impressive roster of cool indie films under her belt – like La Bûche, Jane Eyre, Lemming. This year she won Cannes Film Festival Best Actress for her role in Antichrist. Musically, she’s turned out two albums and has worked with the likes of her father Serge, Madonna and French pop star Etienne Daho. And her upcoming album, IRM, was produced by non other than Beck himself.

Due out January 26, the minimalist album title, IRM, (French for MRI) was inspired by Gainsbourg’s frequent MRI’s she endured after suffering a brain hemorrhage from a water-skiing accident in 2007. “I had to do so many [MRIs] and every time I was in that tube I was thinking it would make great music,” she’s quoted as saying. And great music it did make. Her lyrics on the album’s single, “IRM”, offer a detailed, psychedelic journey into her experience and sets the tone for the album. Which, you can hear, is amazing.

Only Charlotte can make an MRI cool and straddle the realms of indie film and music with credibility and aplomb.  She’s effing rad. If I could be half as cool as her I’d be so happy.

Best of 2009: Dany, FutureSounds

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Who: Dany
Blog: FutureSounds
Location: LA
Twitter: @futuresounds

The OCMD Best of 2009 Questionnaire

  1. Best Album: tie between A Balloon Called Whirring by the Joy Formidable + Journal for Plague Lovers by Manic Street Preachers
  2. Most Overlooked Album: Hello Seahorse! “Bestia”
  3. Best Song: The Joy Formidable “Whirring”
  4. Best Live Show: The Joy Formidable @ The Great Escape, May 2009 in Brighton, UK
  5. Band/Artist I am most happy to have discovered: NewIslands and The Good Natured
  6. Band/Artist I kick myself for missing: Florence + the Machine (but I finally got into them a few months ago)
  7. Band/Artist everyone seems to love but I just can’t get behind: Animal Collective
  8. Favorite SF Band: LoveLikeFire
  9. One to Watch in 2010: NewIslands and The Joy Formidable (I cheated and picked two)
  10. Band that broke up that I still miss: Elle Milano

Best of 2009: Cian, See What You Hear

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Who: Cian
Blog: See What You Hear
Location: UK
Twitter: @seewhatyouhear

The OCMD Best of 2009 Questionnaire

  1. Best Album: at the moment it’s a tie between Real Estate – S/T and Grizzly Bear – Veckatimest
  2. Most Overlooked Album: Patrick Watson – Wooden Arms
  3. Best Song: Girls – “Lust for Life”
  4. Best Live Show: Patrick Watson / Spiritualized
  5. Band/Artist I am most happy to have discovered: Kurt Vile
  6. Band/Artist I kick myself for missing: I missed a Nobunny show; I missed Primavera, and as I write this, I am about to miss a special intimate gig by Beach House. But I broke my personal best for shows this year, so I can’t complain!
  7. Band/Artist everyone seems to love but I just can’t get behind: Wilco
  8. Favorite SF Band: Thee Oh Sees
  9. One to Watch in 2010: Joseph Childress

The OCMD Mixtape: Best Covers 2009

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The OCMD Mixtape: Best Covers 2009

  1. “Steel and Glass” (John Lennon) – Alberta Cross
  2. “Walk A Thin Line” (Fleetwood Mac) – Atlas Sound
  3. “Kundalini Express” (Love and Rockets) – The Flaming Lips
  4. “My Boys” (Animal Collective) – Taken By Trees
  5. “Too Many People” (Paul McCartney) – Earlimart
  6. “Military Madness” (Graham Nash) – Woods
  7. “Hospital Beds” (Cold War Kids) – Florence and The Machine
  8. “He Hit Me” – Grizzly Bear
  9. “Waltz #2” (Elliot Smith) – Audrye Sessions
  10. “Running to Standstill” (U2 ) – Elbow
  11. “Here I Go Again” (Whitesnake) – Botticellis
  12. “Ocean of Noise” (Arcade Fire) – Calexico
  13. “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun” (Cyndi Lauper) – Pyramid (aka Starfucker)
  14. “Crazy On You” (Heart) – Blitzen Trapper

The OCMD Best of 2009 Starts…Now!

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December is a good month for those afflicted with OCMD. Lots of checklists, organizing, labeling, sorting and prioritizing. Oh, it feels so good. This year at The OCMD we’ve been working hard extra hard reflecting on the past year of music – the good, the bad and the forgotten. We’ve made our lists, and are checking them twice.  In addition to our picks, I’ve also reached out to some of my personal favorite music blogs and resources for their take on the year in music.  It’s been a fun project and over the course of the remaining weeks you’ll get to see the fruits of that labor.  And hopefully discover some great new music you might have missed this year.  I know I have.  Enjoy. See you on the other side.