Some Great Music from 2009

We're winding down to the end of the year and I've been seeing these "Best of 2009" music lists everywhere so I thought I'd do one of my own. So without further adieu and in no particular order, these are the albums that have kept me sane this year:

Grizzly Bear - Vecktimest


Mos Def - The Ecstatic


Camera Obscura - My Maudlin Career


Yeah Yeah Yeahs - It's Blitz


Devendra Banhart - What Will We Be


Animal Collective - Merriweather Post Pavilion


The XX - XX


Raekwon - Only Built 4 Cuban Linx II


The Flaming Lips - Embryonic


Real Estate - Real Estate


jj - jj n° 2


Phoenix - Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix



The Pains of Being Pure at Heart - The Pains of Being Pure at Heart


The Postmarks - Memoirs at the End of the World


Fever Ray - Fever Ray
Part 1
Part 2


M. Ward - Hold TIme


Deerhunter - Rainwater Cassette Exchange EP


And a few more here.

Millenium Falcon Bed

by Kayla Kromer

Wow. This totally owns my childhood car bed.

Christmas Light Hero

Exactly what the title sounds like:


Cool!

The Thin White Sketchbook

Yes, yes, even more David Bowie love here. The Thin White Sketchbook is an ongoing project started in 2007 by Sean T. Collins and features sketches of David Bowie from many different artists, musicians, directors, etc. A few samples are below and you should definitely check the rest of the sketches on Sean's Flickr page here.


by Jim Rugg

by Michel Gondry

by John Cuneo

by Tunde Adepbimpe of TV on the Radio

by Scott Campbell <-click the link for a very cool and funny Bowie print by him.

The Julian Scarf

Winter is upon us, why not keep your neck warm with the Julian Scarf by the Wintercheck Factory? You've probably got a drawer or closet full of scarves but I doubt you have any scarves that come with discrete zip-up pockets. Exactly. I've got the red one and it comes pretty handy when you don't want to pack your pockets full of phones, mp3 players, cameras, etc. Available here.

In case you didn't see...

G.O.A.T.

Fantastic Mr. Fox

Just caught Fantastic Mr. Fox this weekend and I have to say that it lived up to its title. Great voice-acting, animation, directing, and most importantly of all, it was great fun. Wes Anderson has done it again and this ranks among his best work. Make time for this and you won't be disappointed.

Qixen-P UNI Watch Concept

"The folks over at Qixen-P have come up with an idea for a watch that let’s you be in control of how you see the time. The concept is called UNI and features a 96 x 96 pixel, full color OLED screen that is totally programmable and customizable." from Kitsune Noir

I hope this moves forward from concept into actual production.

Sneak-It-In Disposable Flasks

from Restoration Hardware

Just like Capri-Sun!

David Bowie's response to his first American fanmail letter

"In September of 1967, aged 20 and yet to make much of an impression on the music scene, David Bowie was so enthused to receive his first American fan letter that he immediately typed out a reply from the office of his manager, Kenneth Pitt. The fan in question was 14-year-old Sandra Dodd, a young girl from New Mexico who had come to own a promotional copy of Bowie's first album as a result of her uncle running a radio station. She was impressed and decided to write to Bowie, telling him his music was as good as that of The Beatles and then offering to start a fan club on his behalf.

Below is the lovely reply she received."



From Letters of Note

This neat little gem makes me love Bowie even more.

WTF Bonus:

David Bowie & Bing Crosby - Peace on Earth/Little Drummer Boy

In the mood for...

Passion Pit - Manners


Passion Pit - Chunk of Change EP


Atlas Sound - Logos


Blitzen Trapper - Furr


St. Vincent - Actor


Cymbals Eat Guitars - Why There are Mountains


Comet Gain - Broken Record Prayers


Beck - Harry Partch


Duck Sauce - aNYway

Enjoy.