Best music of 2009 so far (AV Club)

AV Club staff weigh in on their favorites of the year.

My favorites off the top of my head: Grizzly Bear Veckatimest, Mastodon Crack the Skye, Dinosaur Jr. Farm, Yeah Yeah Yeahs It's Blitz!, Phoenix Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix, Brakes Touchdown, Doves Kingdom of Rust, Harlem Shakes Technicolor Health, ...Trail of Dead The Century of Self, Dark Was the Night, Dark Night of the Soul, Franz Ferdinand Tonight: Franz Ferdinand, Silversun Pickups Swoon, The Antlers Hospice, Arbouretum Song of the Pearl.

New Song from The National

A new slow jam, tentatively called "The Runaway" via Q TV.

Band of Horses @ Carnegie Hall, 6/11/09

My first visit to Carnegie Hall and it's for a rock show. Why am I not surprised. As we were all exiting the venue I overheard an older gentleman say "looks like the dress code has changed with the younger crowd." Classic. We were there to see Arbouretum, who embraced the acoustic theme and turned down the "doom-folk" for a very good set. I really think this band is so close to putting out an amazing record. Dave Heumann is very talented and has an amazing voice.

The Band of Horses performance felt special and they were truly appreciative of the opportunity to play in this storied venue. They mixed in a few new songs and put a new spin on some of the greats from their first two albums. I was absolutely blown away with their rendition of "Funeral."

Set List (via):
Part One
Marry Song
Why You Never Get Older
Window Blues
A Song For You (Gram Parsons Cover)
Monsters
Compliments Down
The Great Salt Lake
Weed Party (in double time)
Wicked Gil (in half time)
The Funeral
New Song (by Tyler Ramsey)
No One’s Gonna Love You
Unknown Song
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Ode To LRC (Ben Bridwell & Tyler Ramsey)
Detlef Schrempf
The General Specific

Dinosaur Jr. "Over It"

This album is ridiculously good.

TV on the Radio @ Central Park Summerstage, 6/5/09

The steady rain last Friday was enough to scare away my lady and I was admittedly on the fence throughout the day. It only took the first few notes of "Love Dog" over a sea of umbrellas to know that I made the right decision. TV on the Radio have made great strides in their live performance since the last time I saw them. Having Antibalas on horns throughout adds a lot more depth and energy to the set and the band hit their stride early on and never let up. Then again, they can do no wrong in my book.

Set List:
Love Dog
Wrong Way
Blues From Down Here
Halfway Home
Golden Age
Wolf Like Me
Crying
Dirtywhirl
Staring at the Sun
Red Dress
Shout Me Out
Dancing Choose
DLZ
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Family Tree
Young Liars
A Method

Doves @ Terminal 5, 6/4/09

Really, what's not to love about Doves. Outside of Radiohead, I can't think of another British band that has been as consistently great this decade (Muse also comes to mind). Kingdom of Rust is no exception. While it doesn't quite reach the highs of "Cedar Room" or the insanely catchy songs on Last Broadcast ("There Goes the Fear," "Pounding," "Last Broadcast" etc.), I think it may be their best yet. Unfortunately, Terminal 5 ruined what should have been their triumphant return to NYC on Thursday. The drumming tempo was off for about half the show and the sound never felt quite right. Great bands persevere and despite the negatives, it was great to have Doves back on the scene. I really hope it's not another 4 years before they're back again.

Jetstream
Snowden
Winter Hill
Rise
Pounding
Almost Forgot Myself
10:03
Words
The Greatest Denier
Kingdom of Rust
Ambition
Black & White Town
The Outsiders
Caught By The River
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The Cedar Room
Here It Comes
Last Broadcast
There Goes The Fear

Pearl Jam on Conan

So, the album is supposedly called Backspacer and the song could be called "The Fixer." Whatever it ends up being, I'm excited and despite poor sound quality, the song last night is a good one. If that was the album cover in Conan's hands, I dig it.