Best of 2009

2010 is just around the corner and I'm already getting excited about the music that's to come in the new year. As for music this year, I feel like there were a lot of great albums but not many that really grasped my attention for very long. My first choice was really easy but the other four were hard to rank. But I've re-listened to the ones I remember the most and the five that are posted are the ones that my ears seemed to like the most this year.

Number 1

Röyksopp - Junior, March 2009

Hands down, this was the best album of the year in my opinion. It was almost like a Scandinavian celebration album. With Lykke Li, Robyn, and Karin Dreijer Andersson (The Knife and Fever Ray) as vocalists for more than half of the songs on the album; I was very pleased and impressed. Even the songs without the vocals are amazing. "Röyksopp Forever" is an instrumental that is some kind of emotional and passionate electrorchestra. I'm not going to lie, I probably listened to "The Girl and The Robot" over 100 times this year. The bass is so intense, I imagine the whole world shaking every time I play it. This album makes love to my ears every single listen.

Röyksopp - The Girl and The Robot


Number 2

Vitalic - Flashmob, September 2009

Vitalic is classified as techno/trance but I would say Vitalic is just completely electronic. I feel like Vitalic put a lot of thought into the songs on Flashmob. Don't be discouraged by the description, the album isn't a complete dance fest. There are slow songs as well. This French artist has done a remarkable job of producing and creating his own music. Flashmob is an explosion of noise, i.e. beautiful noise.

Vitalic - Poison Lips


Number 3

La Roux - La Roux, June 2009

La Roux came out of England with some great 80s-inspired dance songs. I heard her first single, "In for the Kill", on Hype Machine. This song was followed up with "Bulletproof" and the album had a hold on me. "Colourless Colour" and "Tigerlily" are definitely my faves. One thing that really stands out on this album is the amazing lyrics. All the lyrics on this album are powerful, coherent and clear; an album well done.

La Roux - In For The Kill


Number 4

Phoenix - Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix, May 2009

Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix was a great, upbeat summer album. I remember taking a ridiculously intense summer course and listening to this entire album while studying in the library; it kept me from going completely insane. It was also a great road trip album. It had two major hits: "Lisztomania" and "1901." These were great but my favourites were "Rome" and "Love Like A Sunset Part I & II." It will always remind me of the summer of 2009.

Phoenix - Lisztomania


Number 5

Muse - The Resistance, September 2009

Even though The Resistance wasn't completely what I would have liked, it was still an album that was produced and thought-out well. This may sound strange but Muse has some kind of extra-terrestrial side to them that I've always liked. This album really exudes their out-of-this-world feature. The last three parts of "Exogenesis: Symphony" are amazing and finish up the album very well.

Muse - Undisclosed Desires



Best remixes/mash-ups of 2009:

1. Bag Raiders vs. Chromeo - Shooting Stars/Call Me Up
To be honest, any version of Bag Raiders' "Shooting Stars" is unbelievably elating.

2. N.A.S.A. feat. Kanye West, Lykke Li and Santigold - Gifted (Steve Aoki Remix)
Aoki remix of an already amazing song, enough said.

3. Fever Ray - If I Had a Heart (Fuck Buttons)
This remix has followed me throughout Vancouver for the entire year.

4. Lykke Li - Little Bit LIVE (Death to the Throne remix)
The amazing live version of "Little Bit" remixed into an 8-bit masterpiece with a heavy bass.

5. GRUM - Runaway (SymbolOne Remix)
Image: dancing in circles with confetti falling all around and pink lights flashing.

2010, here we come!

Blackout

A good majority of the time I spent in the States this week was consumed by Muse. I'm sure everyone has heard this but I'm gonna write it anyways: Muse is coming to the Pacific Coliseum in Vancouver on April 1st. The presales for the concert were a little fishy but whatever, I'm over it. My seats are decent, though I would've loved floor seats (obviously).

So putting my stress over Muse tickets aside, my favourite part of this trip was probably the train ride I took from Seattle to Vancouver. After that, I never want to take an Amtrak bus again. I loved the train. It was very dark out and it took a long time but it was so relaxing, going by lit up houses, freeways and water while listening to Muse's "Blackout" at one point. I can't wait to take this train again.

Muse - Blackout

The Resistance

Muse's fifth album, The Resistance, has been officially released in North America now (Sept 15). After listening to it many times, I've decided to do a song-by-song review because I can't sum this album up completely without taking every song into account.

"Uprising"

This song is the first song of the album and the first single. With a groovy bass line, the song starts off making you want to dance or move in some sort. The clapping hands captivate a unitary feeling of rebellion alongside the lyrics. Then, the guitar comes in and the song gets a little more intense. At the end, a multitude of Matthew Bellamy voices come at you and your imagination starts to march at this point. I think this is a good song for a first single. It's similar to the structure of "Time is Running Out" from Absolution but is a little more rebellious.

"Resistance"

In my opinion, I think this song should've started the album off. The faded-in extra-terrestrial sounds and synths would've made a great start to the LP. Maybe it wasn't chosen as the beginning song because it's the title track of the album. At first, I didn't really like this one. The chorus put me off; the short "it could be wrong"'s got to me for some reason. But I did really like the beginning/end and the verses so I gave the song another chance. And now I'm convinced the song is about the love E.T. and Elliott shared, which makes me really happy.

"Undisclosed Desires"

This song starts off mischievous and has many electronic aspects to it. I can imagine the remixes that will be produced with this one in the near future. I really like the lyrics of this song and the quiet whispering that goes along with them. "Undisclosed Desires" could definitely be used as the second album single.

"United States of Eurasia (+ Collateral Damage)":

I've had some troubles with this one. I enjoy the beginning and the end a lot but the middle, I'm still not too sure of. The beginning starts off with piano, voice and orchestra. Then, an explosion of guitar and Queen-like vocals come into place. This part just doesn't sound like Muse to me. The lyrics are Orwellian and I do like that effect but I don't really like the end of "United States of Eurasia", where it's just Matthew Bellamy saying "Eurasia" in different octaves over and over. But then the song transcends into "Collateral Damage" quickly after this. This part is a beautiful piano-based and orchestra/vocal-accompanied sample of Chopin's "Nocturne in E Flat Major". And in the background of this part, there are sound clips of airplanes flying and children playing; it lets your imagination float away into a movie.

"Guiding Light"

This song has an epic-rock guitar solo but that's about it. It's more like an extended interlude to me.

"Unnatural Selection"

Organs are always good in my books. They don't last long but the song quickly turns into something that kind of reminds me of "Citizen Erased" and "New Born" from Origin of Symmetry. I'm not really into the "Hey!"'s during the chorus but I appreciate the relation they have to the overall essence of the song. Near the end of the song, the music slows down, which I really like. The organs come back at this point and a guitar solo pops up. Then, it goes back to the original structure of the song and I'm kind of reminded of System of a Down for some reason...

"MK Ultra"

Perhaps some background knowledge of the title of this song is necessary. MK-ULTRA was apparently an undercover research program dedicated to the chemical interrogation of an individual's brain. Besides the meaning of the song title, this one is well produced and kind of reminds of "TSP" from Absolution.

"I Belong to You/Mon Cœur S'ouvre à ta Voix"

When did Matthew Bellamy learn French? I guess that is a question that's straying off on a tangent. This song is really good and was obviously influenced by different genres; it slightly resembles an R&B/50s song with a modern Muse twist. Very romantic.

"Exogenesis: Symphony, Pt 1: Overture"

Here's where things get really good. Things get really dark in this song, which I love. A large orchestra is used for most of it with eerie guitar effects and vocals. I'm starting to think that Muse should start producing film soundtracks.

"Exogenesis: Symphony, Pt 2: Cross-Pollination"

Finally, an amazing piano solo. There's one of these on every Muse album and it's one of Matthew Bellamy's many talents. This part goes from a piano solo to more orchestral rock music then back to more piano and classical-inspired music. At the end, it sounds like a choir is present, which is a really nice touch to the end of this part.

"Exogenesis: Symphony, Pt 3: Redemption"

The beginning of this part reminds me of Beethoven's "Moonlight Sonata" except less depressing and more averring; obviously a really nice end to the album. It's like everything is "starting over again".

So there you have it. Apologies for some short song reviews but all-in-all, I like the album. It's not my favourite but it is a well produced and thought-out album (I would hope so, it took them 3 years). And whether you enjoyed my song-by-song review or not, The Resistance can be interpreted however you like. To me, it seems like this album could go alongside an Orwellian movie about romance, aliens, oppression and rebellion, which in the end, finishes with a happy ending.

Muse - Uprising (2009 VMA Performance)

Muse - Uprising

New album artwork and another song to listen to. You can buy it from iTunes/Muse's website.

I definitely like "Uprising" more than "The United States of Eurasia." "Uprising" sounds more like Muse while "USE" sounds too much like Queen for my liking. There's nothing wrong with Queen; I'm just not really keen on the idea of Muse sounding like them. Though, I do like the piano in "USE"; especially the end/"Collateral Damage" part.

But "Uprising" makes me a little more excited for the new album, The Resistance (to be released: September 15).

Muse - The United States of Eurasia

Resistance - 09.14.09

YES! Muse is going to release their fifth album, Resistance, on September 14th! And of course, there are no North American dates set for their Resistance Tour yet. All the dates are in Europe and Britain. Hopefully, there will be some North American dates in the new year.

Here's the most recent Muse remix I can find. It's "Supermassive Blackhole" remixed into a hardcore ravey dance beat, produced by a Emre B.

Muse - Supermassive Blackhole (Emre B remix)

Muse - Fury (Live at Royal Albert Hall 2008) (B-side/bonus track from Absolution)


I don't know if I can wait until September...

Sucked into the supermassive black hole

Looking for a sexy remix?
Look no further.
Muse - Supermassive Black Hole (Phones Control Voltage 7 Mix Edit)
I'm sucked into it.

Muse - Supermassive Black Hole

Muse rocks. You can't deny it.

Yea, that's right. You can't deny it. And if you try to, I will show you the way of Muse.
I recently watched a live performance of Muse on my mp3 player because my plane's entertainment system was down. It reminded me of the fact that Muse is amazing and always has been.

I used to watch this video non-stop when I was 15. This was back when smashing your instruments was cool.
Showbiz (Nulle Part Ailleurs 1999)


After watching that video, I thought about the amazing performance of Hoodoo at Wembley Stadium in 2007.
Check out the new and the old.
Hoodoo (Wembley Stadium 2007)


Then, there's this amazing B-side that I think everyone should listen to: Muse - Hyper Chondriac Music

Knights of Cydonia

Finally, a worthy remix of this EPIC song.
Download this shizz

Muse - Knights of Cydonia (Ocelot Remix)

Ocelot's MySpace

And then the video...