While I am fully aware that the NPR music-centric program All Songs Considered has its name because of the public-radio network’s news block All Things Considered, it still pained me to see the results of their reader poll for The Best Music Of 2009 So Far (Because The Music-News Well Is Dry And We Need Some Pageviews, Now, Don’t We). If Camera Obscura’s brilliant “French Navy” showing up way too low on the best-songs list was the only issue I had with it, I probably wouldn’t be posting. But two Decemberists songs in the top 10? A Lily Allen track that isn’t the unnerving “Everyone’s At It”? No Micachu/Ida Maria/Dinosaur Jr.? Not even a token No. 30 mention for Kelly Clarkson? Sigh. So, perhaps we can spend a chunk of this hazy, news-free afternoon coming up with our own rebuttal list of their rundown of best songs? And then we can all have a little blog contretemps, or at least a mix-CD exchange. The NPR list after the jump.
1. “My Girls” Animal Collective
2. “Two Weeks” Grizzly Bear
3. “Blood Bank” Bon Iver
4. “The Rake’s Song” The Decemberists
5. “Lisztomania” Phoenix
6. “Zero” Yeah Yeah Yeahs
7. “This Tornado Loves You” Neko Case
8. “Sleepyhead” Passion Pit
9. “Laughing With” Regina Spektor
10. “The Wanting Comes In Waves/Repaid” The Decemberists
11. “Train Song” Feist and Ben Gibbard
12. “Knotty Pine” David Byrne & Dirty Projectors
13. “Daniel” Bat For Lashes
14. “Summertime Clothes” Animal Collective
15. “One Wing” Wilco
16. “The Fear” Lily Allen
17. “Heads Will Roll” Yeah Yeah Yeahs
18. “Wilco (The Song)” Wilco
19. “Stillness Is The Move” Dirty Projectors
20. “Help, I’m Alive” Metric
21. “Anonanimal” Andrew Bird
22. “On No” Andrew Bird
23. “No You Girls” Franz Ferdinand
24. “I And Love And You” The Avett Brothers
25. “French Navy” Camera Obscura
26. “Magpie To The Morning” Neko Case
27. “Woods” Bon Iver
28. “Black Hearted Love” PJ Harvey and John Parish
29. “While You Wait For The Others” Grizzly Bear
30. “Panic Switch” Silversun Pickups
The songs on this list that I might consider putting on mine: Nos. 6, 13, 16, 23, 25. And, uh, maybe No. 30, which I heard at the gym the other day and which works very well in the working-out context.
The Best Music Of 2009 (So Far) [All Songs Considered]
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The Top 30 Songs Of 2009 List Put Forth By The Listeners Of “All Songs Considered” Surely Did Not Consider All The Songs Released This Year
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I’ll take “1901″ and “People Gotta Lot of Nerve” by Phoenix and Neko Case, respectively, over the two they chose.
PS Is there any way to change my password on the new Idolator?
When I saw that headline I immediately thought “I bet it’s going to be Animal Collective and Grizzly Bear as one and two.” (I’m pretty much willing to bet my collected savings that that’s how Pitchfork’s albums of the year list looks, too.)
The only surprise (to me) is that Wilco doesn’t appear until #15.
BREAKING: WILCO WUZNT ROBBED
A Lily Allen track that isn’t the unnerving “Everyone’s At It”?
Choosing “The Fear” is a fair thing, seeing as it was a single. But there’s no excuse for The Decemberists being anywhere on this list (except for the fact it’s curated by All Songs Considered). They stink, and the latest album is particularly stinky even for them.
The new Franz Ferdinand is awful. I swear, it’s like the Emperor’s New Clothes up in here.
I’m still more for “Honey in the Sun” than “French Navy” (though it is a great track). Here We Go Magic sounds vaguely NPR-ish … maybe “Tunnelvision.”
I’m down with a few of the songs here (”Zero” is my jam) but couldn’t they have at least made an effort get 30 different artists on this list? And in the process maybe make room for some black people? I’ve heard they make a lot of music.
Too much Grizzly Bear.
I have nothing further to add to this list, as my mind is currently clouded by The Hold Steady’s album from last year.
I stopped reading when I saw #1.
This gave me a cold-yet-totally-bored shiver.
I like “Zero” a lot…other than that, this list thumbs my dumper.
This list has a certain boring elegance to it, and despite the fact that it sucks, it’s also kind of fascinating. Weren’t all of these songs on the same record?
this looks like the tracklist of an Urban Outfitters ‘Indie’ compilation. Seriously, NPR–can’t you find room on the list for one non-white artist?
@ChrisB.: I’m kinda surprised that they went with “Two Weeks” — I guess “While You Wait for the Others” got burned out from the KCRW performance last year.
Also, “Stillness is the Move” is the jam. I don’t care how many skinny white guys line up behind it.
This list is the sound of white people.
Number of black people considered - Zero.
Another list that makes me feel worse for the parts I agree with than the rest of it. Just because I love Bon Iver doesn’t mean I want to be lumped in among the NPR listeners who, it seems, only listen to vaguely melodic non-threatening music put out by white people. Multiple songs by Neko Case, Andrew Bird AND the Decemberists? Really?
Also, will someone please explain to me why anyone listens to the Decemberists? Do people choose to listen to Colin Meloy on purpose, or is it a big hoax, a conspiracy instigated by the music industry.
(And didn’t “Sleepyhead” hit a full year ago?)
@Lucas Jensen: It’ should be titled “All middlebrow white indie considered”.
Ok, ok sure. It’s easy to mock, for sosososo many reasons. But the fact remains that NPR has a demographic, it caters to that demographic, etc.
But it is a little chilling that three (yeah, I’d put it at three) white dudes set the zeitgeist for this entire demographic.
I’m a huge NPR stan and laugh at that list, but, you know, it’s NPR, am I right? This list should shock/affront absolutely NO ONE familiar with NPR.
That said: “What?!? No GUCCI MANE? No Aaron Dilloway? No Mika Miko? etc.”
I could do that all day.
They didn’t even pick the best Passion Pit song. I also can’t believe no one considered any of the tracks off of that Kurupt/DJ Quik record.
replace “All Songs Considered” with “Paste Magazine,” same thing.
also, “Zero” is awesome! I totally fuck with “Zero.”
in a way it’s lame that so many artists have multiple entries on this list, ain’t it? aren’t there more MOR soft-indie figureheads releasing feel-good jamz in 2009?
okay, okay, i’ll stop.
or “feel bad jamz,’ same diff, whatever
@ILL WITH THE COMPOSITION: i actually have more of a problem with that than with any individual entries. you mean to tell me there’s so much music out there, etc.
i know, right? it’s like everyone has blinders on.
I know nerds like us (OK, like you) care more about this stuff, but still. Nobody eats only Italian food. Nobody wears only yellow clothes. Nobody watches only Twilight movies. Why is that when it comes to music some people are only prepared to listen to music in one mood? I’m not expecting the average NPR fan to love Converge or anything, but still.
I voted in this, and there weren’t many choices beyond this. An earlier poll, in which I did not vote, determined these choices. I think, beyond indie rock, the NPR All Songs Considered listener has such diverse tastes that this is where they converge. I think they listen to older stuff too, which obviously can’t be included here. Bob Boilen does try to put a lot of different music on his show (K’naan, Micachu and Asa seem to be some of his faves), which, for some reason, never gets represented in these polls.
I was much, MUCH more annoyed with their end of year program last year which focused on Fleet Foxes and a bunch of other crap.
I love the shows when the four main contributors (Bob, Robin Hilton, Carrie Brownstein & Stephen Thompson) do a round table and talk about things they like. Some of it is obvious, but some is actually pretty surprising.
I *get* that it’s NPR, but if you can’t get through the top 10 without having two different Decemberists album tracks, why even make a list of *songs* in the first place? This thing is just redundant, given their album list.
I’d take Maura’s list plus 19 and 20.
@fabulousrobots: That’s a really good theory — points to you. I mean, the NPR audience does have its head stuck deep in the yuppie-indie hole (one thing I love about Chicago NPR’s “Sound Opinions” is DeRo and Kot making all these tweedy indie-boys listen to reviews of hip-hop and pop records all the time, which I know must drive a big chunk of their listenership crazy). But yeah, a big part of this is just statistical averaging and common denominators and such.
Oh, and word to Halfwit: “Stillness Is the Move” is one of my jams of the year. Blows almost everything else on this list away totally.
I’m guessing all you people who are complaining of the lack of black artists are in fact white yourselves. You wouldn’t accuse Vibe magazine or some hip hop blog of the same thing.
@k21: See, if you actually frequented this site, you’d know that plenty of us on here are black. And that this is not the first time we’ve had to listen to a snotty comment like this one.
Bummer about the Animal Collective and Grizzly Bear part but, otherwise, list looks pretty solid to me. I only wish a few Green Day tracks could have made it.
i only wish more people liked “Bluish” off MPP as much as i do.
Anonanimal by Andrew Bird is a seriously legit song. So good.