top 10

[Jeffrey Burka]

Y'know, it's funny, but it seems like I put together top 10 lists and then never get around to posting them to ecto. I know, lame. Of course, then I go back and look at them and think they're wrong -- partially because I end up with things the year after they come out and realize how much better they are than what I was listening to at the time.

Which I guess is just a way of saying that these top 10 lists are just snapshots of how I *think* I remember what I've been listening to all year. And when I struggle to put together a top 50 for the 00's, it's going to be even worse!

But it can't hurt to try, can it?

I usually don't try to put these in order, but I think this is actually pretty close to my 10 in order from 1 to 10... I'm quite certain that _Messages Sending_ was the album I listened to the most in the past year, in much the same way that _A Broke Machine_ was way out in front last year.

Messages Sending, Casey Stratton
Lungs, Florence + the Machine
Ellipse, Imogen Heap
Sainthood, Tegan and Sarah
Inland Territory, Vienna Teng
Swoon, Silversun Pickups
We Are Not an Island, Vib Gyor
Fight Like Apes and the Mystery of the Golden Monkey, Fight Like Apes
Remind Me Where the Light Is, Great Northern
Two Suns, Bat for Lashes

I threw in a few runners-up -- things I liked and listened to an awful lot, but just not quite as much.

Far, Regina Spektor
Middle Cyclone, Neko Case
The Mystery and the Hum, Peter Himmelman
Memories and Photographs, Casey Stratton
Coquette, Katy Carr

Also, I think I need to give Casey Stratton a shout out as the person who released the most ridiculous quantity of music in a year EVER. This year he released a remix album as well as a collection of songs he wrote when he was a student at Interlochen (_Boy in Blue_), a full-on release that he spent a year or two on (_Memories and Photographs_), a b-sides collection to go with it (_More Memories and Photographs_), an singer-songwritery album with lush orchestral arrangements (_Messages Sending_), and a holiday album, _A Winter Moon_ featuring an incredibly odd yet surprisingly good mashup of "God Rest Ye Merry Gentleman" and "Like a Prayer." And that's not counting the bi-weekly podcast featuring live music and covers he's recorded in the past...including Loreena McKennitt's "Snow," Kate Bush's "This Woman's Work", and other goodies.

jeff
n.p. _Messages Sending_, Casey Stratton

[Jeff Hanson]

I also listened to a lot of Casey Stratton this year--from podcasts, to latest
albums, to his complete Holiday

download release (minus the new album--still haven't received that).

THe more I listen to him, the more I realize he definitely belongs in the
male-ecto.B He definitely has his own

unique sound, but his cover of Loreena McKennitt's Snow on his podcast sounds
uncanningly like Loreena.

And while listening to the Ipod the other day, his song Dog's Mercury from the
remastered Lily Sleeps CD

sounded uncannily like a Jann Arden song.B He's definitely a chameleon.

Jeff

----- Original Message -----
From: "Jeffrey Burka" <jef...@burkas.net>
To: ec...@smoe.org
Sent: Monday, December 21, 2009 11:35:55 AM GMT -07:00 US/Canada Mountain
Subject: top 10

Y'know, it's funny, but it seems like I put together top 10 lists and then

never get around to posting them to ecto. B I know, lame. B Of course, then I

go back and look at them and think they're wrong -- partially because I end up
with things the year after they come out and realize how much better they are
than what I was listening to at the time.

Which I guess is just a way of saying that these top 10 lists are just
snapshots of how I *think* I remember what I've been listening to all year.

B And when I struggle to put together a top 50 for the 00's, it's going to be
even worse!

But it can't hurt to try, can it? B

I usually don't try to put these in order, but I think this is actually pretty

close to my 10 in order from 1 to 10... B I'm quite certain that _Messages
Sending_ was the album I listened to the most in B the past year, in much the

same way that _A Broke Machine_ was way out in front last year.

Messages Sending, Casey Stratton
Lungs, Florence + the Machine
Ellipse, Imogen Heap
Sainthood, Tegan and Sarah
Inland Territory, Vienna Teng
Swoon, Silversun Pickups
We Are Not an Island, Vib Gyor
Fight Like Apes and the Mystery of the Golden Monkey, Fight Like Apes
Remind Me Where the Light Is, Great Northern
Two Suns, Bat for Lashes

I threw in a few runners-up -- things I liked and listened to an awful lot,
but just not quite as much.

Far, Regina Spektor
Middle Cyclone, Neko Case
The Mystery and the Hum, Peter Himmelman
Memories and Photographs, Casey Stratton
Coquette, Katy Carr

Also, I think I need to give Casey Stratton a shout out as the person who

released the most ridiculous quantity of music in a year EVER. B This year he

released a remix album as well as a collection of songs he wrote when he was a
student at Interlochen (_Boy in Blue_), a full-on release that he spent a year
or two on (_Memories and Photographs_), a b-sides collection to go with it
(_More Memories and Photographs_), an singer-songwritery album with lush
orchestral arrangements (_Messages Sending_), and a holiday album, _A Winter
Moon_ featuring an incredibly odd yet surprisingly good mashup of "God Rest Ye

Merry Gentleman" and "Like a Prayer." B And that's not counting the bi-weekly

podcast featuring live music and covers he's recorded in the past...including
Loreena McKennitt's "Snow," Kate Bush's "This Woman's Work", and other
goodies.

jeff
n.p. B _Messages Sending_, Casey Stratton

[Jeffrey Burka]

On Dec 21, 2009, at 3:42 PM, Jeff Hanson wrote:

> He definitely has his own unique sound, but his cover of Loreena McKennitt's Snow on his podcast sounds uncannily like Loreena.

Actually, when I was listening to that podcast, I decided I must have been confused about whether he was playing the LM song or his own cover of it; for a moment I honestly thought it was Loreena...and as I explained to Casey via twitter afterward, I've seen Loreena McKennitt in concert more than I've seen Casey Stratton!

jeff

[Paul Blair]

Wow. I have a hard time believing that's *not* Loreena. For interested
folks, it's at the end (30:38, or -5:06) of this podcast:

http://www.caseystratton.com/podcasts/CaseyStrattonPodcast.12.04.09.mp3

I compared a few phrases with my Loreena recording; interestingly, her
voice has more of an edge to it, while his is softer.

He has that mashup of "God Rest Ye, Merry Gentlemen" and Madonna's
"Like a Prayer" available for free download here:

http://store.caseystratton.com/track/god-rest-ye-merry-gentlemen

On Mon, Dec 21, 2009 at 8:07 PM, Jeffrey Burka <jef...@burkas.net> wrote:
> On Dec 21, 2009, at 3:42 PM, Jeff Hanson wrote:
>

>> B He definitely has his own unique sound, but his cover of Loreena McKennitt's Snow on his

[CollectedSounds]

I finally got my best of 2009 up if anyone's interested...

It's not 10 (I think it's closer to 20, of just the ones I reviewed, then a
bunch I didn't)

http://www.blog.collectedsounds.com/?page_id=6418

[Michael Quinn]

Right now my top 10 for the year would look something like:

1. The Legendary Pink Dots - "Seconds Late for the Brighton Line"
2. Thea Gilmore - "Murphy's Heart
3. Brendan Perry - "Ark"
4. The Besnard Lakes - "Are The Roaring Night"
5. Stripmall Architecture - "Feathersongs For Factory Girls Part 1"
6. Retribution Gospel Choir - "2"
7. Laurie Anderson - "Homeland"
8. The Arcade Fire - "The Suburbs"
9. Cowboy Junkies - "Renmin Park"
10.Lisa Gerrard and Marcello De Francisci - "Departum"

The new Over the Rhine album might crack the list. I haven't heard it yet.

Mike

-----Original Message-----
From: owner...@smoe.org [mailto:owner...@smoe.org] On Behalf Of Jeff
Hanson
Sent: December-01-10 10:26 AM
To: ec...@smoe.org
Subject: 2010 lists

It is still a bit early, but here are the top 14 albums that I liked
best/listened to most this year....(in order

of acquisition rather than favorite)

Lisa Ekdahl - Give Me That Slow Knowing Smile

B B B Lisa's done albums in her native Swedish, jazz standards in English,
and
an album of poetry by boyfriend

B B Salvador Poe--this is an all original English album that captures her
quirky pop/jazz with a bit of hte

B B B South American flavor of the Salvador Poe album

Sarah Slean - The Baroness

B B B To me one of my favorite Sarah Slean albums - a bit more
restrained/reserved, but some really

B B B beautiful material on this one

Tom McRae - The Alphabet of Hurricanes

B B B Another strong effort from Mr. McRae

Haris Alexiou - Love WIll Find You Wherever You May Be

B B B And another strong effort form Greek singer Haris Alexiou, including
collaborations with Motorcycle

Diaries score composer Gustavo Alfredo Santaolalla, and others.

B B B
Robin McKelle - Mess Around - a great fun, funky album--a bit more lively
than
her past standards

albums

Polly Scattergood - a weird little debut that I find quite absorbing

Ryan Star - 11:59 - first discovered Ryan when he was a contestant on
Rockstar
Supernova.B This isn't

as good as some of his covers on that show (his "Losing My Religion" can
still
send chills up my spine),

but a good solid effort

Red Horse - great "Cry, Cry Cry" style ablum from Lucy Kaplansky, Eliza
Gilkyson and John Gorka

Antony and the Johnsons - Swanlights--amazing packaging (if you get the full
book), not quite as

emotional as some of his earlier releases, but still a beautiful album.B
Only
complaint is that lyrics

get really repetitive on a couple of the songs

Casey Stratton - Myths and Stars - a double album of songs inspired by Greek
Myths from one of

the most prolific indie songwriters around

Kim Wilde - Come Out and Play - a great "comeback" album from one of my 80's
favorites

Over the Rhine -The Long Surrender -- worth waiting for Adam--this is a
great
album--carrying on

from where The Trumpet Child left off

Lynn Miles - Fall for Beauty - another great solid effort from one of my
favorite Canadian folkies

Jann Arden - Spotlight - a combo live album/DVD.B Live album focuses on
recent releaes--DVD includes

some great interview footage and all of her videos