This year in music – 2009

There is no denying it, 2009 has been a great year for music. A semi-complete list can be found on WIkipedia (linked above; if you love them as much as I do then please donate to them today. Knowledge is priceless). Here is a sample of their list plus a few of my own additions from bands most people don’t know exist.

Green Day
AC/DC
Switchfoot
Sunset Rubdown
Bon Jovi
Dredg
The Killers
John Mayer
Alice in Chains
Phoenix
Snow Patrol – greatest hits
Dave Matthews
Pearl Jam
Reliant K
311
Fooling April
Trans-Siberian Orchestra
Bell X1
The Fray
Muse
Pete Yorn
Franz Ferdinand
Bruce Springsteen
Lily Allen
Ben Folds
Thursday
U2
Handsome Furs
Yeah Yeah Yeahs
Death Cab for Cutie
Manchester Orchestra
Depeche Mode
Taking Back Sunday
The Airborme Toxic Event
Black-Eyed Peas
Wilco
Nightmare of You
Modest Mouse
Third Eye Blind
Artic Monkeys
Smile Empty Soul
Paramore
Tegan & Sara

All had albums come out this year. Some I have heard and fallen in love with. Others are just artists I have liked in the past but unfortunately didn’t get a chance to listen to their complete new albums yet. The really noteworthy ones for me have been reviewed on this blog at one point or another (most likely close to when the album first came out, since these would be the ones I anticipated the most). I especially want to highlight Green Day, Muse, and Switchfoot, which have been the top three albums on my playlist for most of this year. Also a special shout out to that band you probably only heard about here: Fooling April. Since this is the obscure album on my list I will put special focus on it and the band now. This band has been slowly gaining popularity over in their home area (Philadelphia) for a few years now. Their new album “Three” was released over the summer and became part of my soundtrack during that time (right alongside Green Day’s “21st Century Breakdown”). They have been one of my favorite bands since I discovered their existence 2 years ago. Here is a small sample from their latest album plus an interview done before the album came out:

I highly recommend checking them out if you haven’t already. They definitely have potential to be something special.

In music news there were a few surprises this year too. We saw a reemergence of Blink 182 and No Doubt, both of which had huge tours over the summer. We also saw Nine Inch Nails, Fall Out Boy, and Foo Fighters go on hiatus. We saw Taylor Swift and Lady Gaga take hold of the year, and bid a sad farewell to the King of Pop: Michael Jackson. It certainly was an eventful year in the music world. Here are some video highlights to leave with:

January:
Franz Ferdinand – Can’t Stop Feeling (from Tonight:Franz Ferdinand)

February:
The Fray – You Found Me (from The Fray)

March:
U2 – I’ll Go Crazy If I Don’t Go Crazy Tonight (from No Line On The Horizon)

Handsome Furs – I’m Confused (from Face Control)

April:
Silversun Pickups – Panic Switch (from Swoon)

Depeche Mode – Wrong (from Sounds of the Universe)

May:
Green Day – 21 Guns (from 21st Century Breakdown)

Phoenix – 1901 (from Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix)

June:
Dave Matthews Band – Funny the Way It Is (from Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King)

Black Eyed Peas – I Gotta Feeling (from The E.N.D.)

Dredg – Information (from The Pariah, the Parrot, the Delusion)

July:
Our Lady of Peace- All You Did Was Save My Life (from Burn Burn)

August:
Artic Monkeys – Crying Lightning (from Humbug)

Artic Monkeys – Cornerstone (also from Humbug)

(I loved both these videos so much I just couldn’t choose between the two)

September:
Muse – Uprising (from The Resistance)

Pearl Jam – The Fixer (from Backspacer)

October:
Reliant K – Forget and Not Slow Down (from Forget and Not Slow Down)

(Sorry, best I could find)

November:
Snow Patrol – Just Say Yes (from Up To Now)

Bon Jovi – We Weren’t Born To Follow (from The Circle)

Switchfoot – Mess of Me (from Hello Hurricane)

December:
30 Seconds to Mars – Kings and Queens (from This Is War)

Keeping rocking on well into the new year. And have a happy one.