MY FAVORITE SONGS OF 2009

This may or may not be my final "best of" list... it all depends if I can think of anything else by tomorrow. However, in case it is, I think that it is only fitting that I would close the same way I started... with my first love, music.

Having said that, I've never before complied a list of my favorite songs from a year. I've made many "best of" album lists, and I've also put together plenty of song "mixes" (or "mix tapes" for those of you over the age of 30), but never before have I taken the time to try and look back on the music of the year by strictly focusing on my favorite tunes.

If you compare this list to my favorite albums and/or Jen and my "best of 2009" track list, you'll see some overlap in artists, but not necessarily the same songs... that's because typically if I loved an album, it's because of all the songs together, and when choosing a track for the mix cd, I'll more likely go with a lesser known song than one you've probably heard by that artist before (in less I absolutely love a certain track, like a few you'll see near the top 10 of both lists). In addition, there are many artists here who I might not have even considered for the album list, either because I didn't listen to their entire album or because I only particularly enjoyed a couple of songs. Either way, I know that this list is just as subjective as all the others, but I'll stand behind every one of these songs as the ones that I will most likely go back over the next two to fifty years and still be diggin'.

My 33 Favorite Songs Of 2009:

1. Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros – Home (from Up From Below)

2. Andrew Bird – Anonanimal (from Noble Beast)

3. Ida Maria – I Like You So Much Better When You’re Naked (from Fortress ‘round My Heart)

4. The Thermals – Now We Can See (from Now We Can See)

5. Miike Snow – Animal (from Miike Snow)

6. The Swell Season – Low Rising (from Strict Joy)

7. Animal Collective – My Girls (from Merriweather Post Pavillion)

8. Dead Man’s Bones (featuring The Silverlake Conservatory of Music Children’s Choir) – My Body’s A Zombie For You (from Dead Man’s Bones)

9. K’naan – Wavin’ Flags (from Troubadour)

10. Bon Iver – Blood Bank (from Blood Bank EP)

11. Theresa Andersson – Birds Fly Away (from Hummingbird, Go!)

12. Dawes – When My Time Comes (from North Hills)

13. Yeah Yeah Yeahs – Heads Will Roll (from It’s Blitz!)

14. Peter, Bjorn, & John – Nothing To Worry About (from Living Thing)

15. The Low Anthem – Charlie Darwin (from Oh My God, Charlie Darwin)

16. Lissie – Little Lovin’ (from Why Are You Running?)

17. BLK JKS – Lakeside (from After Robots)

18. The Avett Brothers – I And Love And You (from I And Love And You)

19. White Rabbits – Percussion Gun (from It’s Frightening)

20. Cory Chisel & The Wandering Sons – Born Again (from Death Won’t Send A Letter)

21. Ben Kweller – Fight (from Changing Horses)

22. Brandi Carlile – Dreams (from Give Up The Ghost)

23. Passion Pit – Little Secrets (from Manners)

24. Fanfarlo – The Walls Are Coming Down (from Reservoir)

25. Matisyahu – One Day (from Light)

26. The Decemberists – The Rake’s Song (from The Hazards Of Love)

27. Grizzly Bear – Two Weeks (from Veckatimest)

28. YACHT – Psychic City (Voodoo City) (from See Mystery Lights)

29. Dirty Projectors – Stillness Is The Move (from Bitte Orca)

30. Cage the Elephant – Ain’t No Rest For The Wicked (from Cage the Elephant)

31. Wilco – Wilco (The Song) (from Wilco (The Album))

32. Wild Light – California On My Mind (from Wild Nights)

33. The Rosebuds – Nice Fox (from Life Like)

Let me know what you agree with... what you disagree with... what you've never heard of... what you assume you hate even though you've never heard it... and what kind of beer you would pair with each song.

MY FAVORITE RESTAURANTS OF 2009

If you thought I was out of "best of" lists, you were wrong... but I'm getting close. I don't know how many I've got left, but we're gonna keep this thing alive as long as we can. Why? Because we love you.

Today's list features my favorite restaurant experiences over the last year. What made them the best restaurants, in my opinion? First and foremost, the food, dummy... but also the atmosphere, who I was with, the occasion (many of these were on special occasions... I'll let you know the ones I remember), and anything else that made it a fun time.

My 10+ Favorite Restaurants of 2009
(NOTE - Each entry includes the following:
Name of the restaurant - Location, Date(s) I Went There in 2009, who I was with + info. on the occasion(s) - Whatever I can remember eating there)

1. Graham Elliot - Chicago, 12/20 with Jen (as part of my Christmas present) - Heirloom Beet Salad, Cheddar & Bratwurst Risotto, Pork Belly with Grits & Collard Greens, Orange Dreamsicle Dessert

2. Mader's - Milwaukee, 11/14 with Jen, Pops, and Terry (Jen's Mom) - Turkey Schnitzel, Bratwurst in Sauerkraut, Almond Crusted Trout

3. Triskele's - Milwaukee, 8/5 with Jen (the day of our proposal) & 10/17 with Jen and Pops - Cream of Crab Soup, Baked Macaroni and Cheese, Mussel Stew

4. Palomino - Milwaukee, 4/11 with Jen, 5/14 with Jen and Pops, and 10/29 with Jen - Fried Chicken with Mashed Potatoes and Corn

5. English - Chicago, 2/28 with Jen (celebrating our 2-year anniversary) - Newcastle-battered Fish & Chips

6. Karl Ratzsch's - Milwaukee, 2/21 with Jen, Terry, and MaryLou - Apple Pancakes & Bratwurst

7. Cafe Lulu - Milwaukee, 7/25 with Jen, Mom, and Mary (for my 30th birthday) - Moroccan Chicken with Lulu Chips, Roasted Vegetable Pita

8. La Tapitia - Racine, 4/16, 4/25, 5/24, 6/13, 9/19, and 11/8 with Jen, etc. - Chicken Tacos, Bean Tacos, Beans & Rice

9. Cliff's Boathouse - Racine, 2/20 with Jen, Pops, Terry, and MaryLou, 3/27 with Jen, Pops, Bill, and Amanda, and 5/15 with Pops, Sally, and my Aunt Carol - Friday Fish Fry with Potato Pancakes

10. Beans and Barley - 2/20 with Jen, Terry, and MaryLou, 3/27 with Jen, Bill, and Amanda, 5/15 with Jen, Pops, and Sally, and 8/26 with Jen - Vegetarian Chili, Walnut Burger, Burritos

Runners-Up (i.e., I'm sick of typing so I'm just giving the names of the last restaurants, not the rest of the info.):
11. Guanajuato - Milwaukee
12. St. Paul Fish Company - Milwaukee
13. The Old Feed Mill - Mazomanie, WI
14. Bombay Sweets - Milwaukee
15. Bosley On Brady - Milwaukee

Alright, I'm hungry... time for dinner.

MY FAVORITE BOOKS OF 2009

Whoever said books are dead was wrong.

Did anyone actually say books are dead? Actually, I think that was newspapers. But I digress...

I read some really good books in the last year... in fact, I'm pretty sure that any of the top 5 on this list could make a list of my favorite books of all time: #5 is probably my favorite sports book of all time, #4 and #3 are my 2nd favorite books of all time by my two favorite authors of all time (if that makes sense to you, give yourself a quarter), and #2 and #1 are easily two of the best works of fiction that I've ever read and I would highly recommend to anyone. But even beyond that, I'd recommend any of the following 13 books, which were my favorites over the last twelve months...

The 13 Best Books I Read in 2009:

1. The Story of Edgar Sawtelle - David Wroblewski
2. A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole
3. All The Pretty Horses - Cormac McCarthy
4. *** Zeitoun - Dave Eggers
5. *** Strokes of Genius: Federer, Nadal, and the Greatest Match Ever Played - L. Jon Wertheim
6. *** The Wild Things - Dave Eggers
7. The Wordy Shipmates - Sarah Vowell
8. Consider The Lobster and Other Essays - David Foster Wallace
9. *** My Custom Van ...And 50 Other Mind-Blowing Essays That Will Blow Your Mind All Over Your Face - Michael Ian Black
10. Burr: A Novel - Gore Vidal
11. Free Darko Presents The Macrophenominal Pro Basketball Almanac: Styles, Stats, and Stars in Today's Game
12. The Defining Moment: FDR's Hundred Days and the Triumph of Hope - Jonathan Alter
13. Crazy '08: How A Cast of Cranks, Rogues, Boneheads, and Magnates Created The Greatest Year in Baseball History - Cait Murphy

*** = Books That Were Published in 2009

MY FAVORITE CONCERTS OF 2009

For all the reasons why I've enjoyed moving back to Wisconsin, the live music scene has to be near the top of the list. Our proximity to venues in both Milwaukee and Chicago, as well as many of my favorite music festivals, has made living here with Jen that much better. So for today's "best of" list, I've decided to take a stab at ranking some of my favorite live shows/ festivals from the last 12 months.

While there's obviously no scientific way to go about ranking these concerts, I've tried to use the same criteria on all of them, regardless of whether is was just one act or a full festival. Most important was the music itself, but close behind were things like the venue, the sound, and the audience/atmosphere (which is why Pitchfork is ranked lower than it might've been if I based it on the performances alone). I've also included a couple of stand-up acts, so my definition of "concert" is pretty loose. Finally, as with all of my lists, I've only included performers, festivals, and venues that I would recommend to others (although, again, Pitchfork wouldn't be here if not for some really good acts... the audience pretty much sucked). And for festivals, I've included only performers that I saw there and would be willing to pay to see on their own.

My 15 Favorite Concerts/ Live Performances/ Festivals of 2009

1. Winnipeg Folk Festival (Arlo Guthrie, Josh Ritter, Okkervil River, Xavier Rudd, Iron and Wine, Great Lake Swimmers, Deep Dark Woods, Kobo Town, Dala, etc.)- Bird's Hill Park (Winnipeg, Manitoba) - 7/9-7/12
2. Dan Deacon - Turner Hall Ballroom (Milwaukee) - 5/5
3. Lollapalooza (Jane's Addiction, The Low Anthem, Andrew Bird, Ida Maria, Bon Iver, Fleet Foxes, Kings of Leon, Vampire Weekend, Dan Deacon, Band of Horses, Arctic Monkeys, etc.) - Grant Park (Chicago) - 8/7-8/9
4. The Decemberists/ Blind Pilot - Riverside Theater (Milwaukee) - 5/29
5. Andrew Bird/ St. Vincent - Pabst Theater (Milwaukee) - 10/17
6. Joshua Redman - Old Town School School of Folk (Chicago) - 3/1
7. The Swell Season - Pabst Theater - 11/1
8. Brandi Carlisle - Pabst Theater - 4/9
9. Michael Showalter/ Michael Ian Black - Turner Hall Ballroom - 10/14
10. Summerfest (Cory Chisel and The Wandering Sons, Conor Oberst and The Mystic Valley Band, Brett Dennen, Margot and The Nuclear So & So's, etc.) - Summerfest Grounds (Milwaukee) - 6/25, 6/26, 6/29, 7/5
11. Rachael Yamagata/ Cory Chisel - Turner Hall Ballroom - 3/24
12. Yeah Yeah Yeahs - The Rave (Milwaukee) - 5/31
13. Ben Kweller - Turner Hall Ballroom - 2/18
14. Pitchfork Music Fest (Flaming Lips, The Thermals, Blitzen Trapper, Frightened Rabbit, etc.) - Union Park (Chicago) - 7/19
15. Todd Barry - Turner Hall Ballroom - 5/17

I'd say to comment, but I've learned that no one comments... so do whatever you want, homeboy.

MY FAVORITE TV SHOWS OF 2009

While I wouldn't say that 2009 was a bad year for television (because I could never say anything negative about tv), I will admit that there weren't as many shows that excited me in the last year as in the previous few. This may have to do with the abundance of reality shows and/or the lack of new original programming, or it might just be that I'm getting old and cranky. Either way, there were still plenty of my favorite shows that continued to keep me entertained, as well as a couple of new favorites and one show that grew leaps and bounds in its second season (shout out to Amy Poehler). So here for your reading pleasure is my take on everyone's favorite excuse for not reading more often:

My 17 Favorite Television Shows Of 2009:
1. Breaking Bad (AMC)
2. Mad Men (AMC)
3. Top Chef: Las Vegas (Bravo)
4. Parks and Recreation (NBC)
5. Modern Family (ABC)
6. The Late Show With David Letterman (CBS)
7. United States of Tara (Showtime)
8. Lost (ABC)
9. Michael and Michael Have Issues (Comedy Central)
10. The Office (NBC)
11. It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia (FX)
12. How I Met Your Mother (CBS)
13. Tosh.O (Comedy Central)
14. The Daily Show (Comedy Central)
15. 30 Rock (NBC)
16. Scrubs (ABC)
17. Man vs. Food (Travel Channel)

Let's add them up: 9 comedies, 3 dramas, 3 talk/variety shows, and 2 reality shows... on 9 different channels including every major network except FOX (not done on purpose, but funny).

So what do you think I should be watching? And please don't say The Dish.

MY FAVORITE MOVIES OF 2009: PART THREE

It the third and final day of my movie lists... AND THE EXCITEMENT IS PALPABLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Okay, not really, but let's move on anyway... This list is kind of cheating and kind of not. It's cheating in that I've not actually seen any of these movies. But it's not in that I want to see all of them soon. Of course "soon" could mean anytime in the next 0-5 years, but whatever.

Enough rambling, here's the list, in order of how much I want to see them, but not necessarily how soon I will see them (since I'll probably wait until DVD to see some, if not all, of them):

The 15 (+1) Movies That Came Out In 2009 That I'm Most Excited To See:

1. Fantastic Mr. Fox
2. Big Fan
3. Up In The Air
4. The Hurt Locker
5. A Serious Man
6. Zombieland
7. The Road
8. Gomorrah
9. Precious
10. Crazy Heart
11. Anvil! The Story of Anvil
12. Food Inc.
13. The Cove
14. District 9
15. Departures
And one bonus movie, thanks to the suggestions of Jess and others... Star Trek

What am I missing? Which of these have you already seen? Who wants cake?

MY FAVORITE MOVIES OF 2009: PART TWO

Yesterday I posted my ten favorite movies that I watched last year and that also came out last year. But I saw even more films in 2009 that came out earlier than that year (see the explanation in the last post if you missed it). So as promised...

My 10 Favorite Movies That I Got Around To Seeing In 2009, But That Came Out Before Then:

1. Wall-E
2. The Wrestler
3. Role Models
4. Man On Wire
5. The Visitor
6. Horton Hears A Who
7. Cloverfield
8. Slumdog Millionaire
9. Wendy and Lucy
10. Rachel Getting Married

Questions? Comments? Observations? Poorly worded sentence fragments?
Go ahead and share...

MY FAVORITE MOVIES OF 2009: PART ONE

I am not good at seeing movies when they come out. I used to be better. But now I am not. At any given time, I'd say I have a list of 20-30 movies I want to see: of those, probably 5-10 are currently in theaters, another 10-15 were in theaters in the last 6 months, and whatever's left is available on DVD. And unless I really want to see a movie (and many times, even if I do really want to see it), I don't usually get around to watching it until it's been on DVD for a while. That means that many of the films I saw in the last year didn't actually come out in the last year. So I am making three lists:
(1) Today's list is of my top ten movies that came out in 2009 and that I saw in 2009.
(2) Tomorrow's list will be my favorite movies that came out before 2009 but that I watched for the first time in 2009.
(3) Thursday's list (if I haven't gotten sick of this by then) will be of movies that came out in 2009 and that I haven't watched yet, but that I want to see.

Confused yet???

Anyway, I promise that in both today's and tomorrow's lists, I've included only movies that I thoroughly enjoyed and would recommend to others.

Enough already...

My 10 favorite movies that came out in 2009:

1. I Love You, Man
2. Where The Wild Things Are
3. Sin Nombre
4. Inglourious Basterds
5. Drag Me To Hell
6. Up
7. Sugar
8. Away We Go
9. Observe and Report
10. Tyson

Again, I'm not giving comments as to why I picked these films... instead, it's your job to tell me what you agree and/or disagree with, as well as what I've missed.

JEN AND ARLO'S FAVORITE ALBUMS OF 2009

There was so much good music this year, which made it especially hard to quantify. However, I did my best to whittle it down to my 25 favorites, as well as a few more that just barely missed this list. I won't bore you with how I went about putting together my list, other than saying that the primary factor in ranking each album was how much I've listened to it so far and how much I plan on listening in the future. Each of these albums comes highly recommended by me; if you're wondering why, just ask. In addition, immediately after my list I've added Jen's top 19 cd's. Why 19? Because that's how many she remembered enjoying. After checking this out, feel free to look back over my last post to see how many of these ended up on our "Best of 2009" mix cd.

My Top 25 Cd's of 2009:

1. The Low Anthem - Oh My God, Charlie Darwin
2. The Swell Season - Strict Joy
3. Ida Maria - Fortress 'Round My Heart
4. Andrew Bird - Noble Beast
5. The Decemberists - The Hazards of Love
6. Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zero's - Up From Below
7. Heartless Bastards - The Mountain
8. Cory Chisel & The Wandering Sons - Death Won't Send a Letter
9. Ben Kweller - Changing Horses
10. Yeah Yeah Yeahs - It's Blitz!
11. Norah Jones - The Fall
12. Passion Pit - Manners
13. Dan Deacon - Bromst
14. Brandi Carlisle - Give Up The Ghost
15. The Avett Brothers - I and Love and You
16. A.A. Bondy - When The Devil's Loose
17. Paolo Nutini - Sunny Side Up
18. Various Artists - Dark Was The Night
19. Langhorne Slim - Be Set Free
20. Hoots and Hellmouth - The Holy Open Secret
21. The Thermals - Now We Can See
22. The Deep Dark Woods - Winter Hours
23. Dan Auerbach - Keep It Hidden
24. Manchester Orchestra - Mean Everything To Nothing
25. Karen O and the Kids - Where The Wild Things Are Soundtrack

Other CD's I enjoyed: St. Vincent - Actor, Animal Collective - Merriweather Post Pavillion, Great Lake Swimmers - Lost Channels, Bishop Allen - Grrr..., Blind Pilot - Three Rounds and A Sound, Metric - Fantasies, Xavier Rudd - Dark Shades of Blue, Levon Helm - Electric Dirt, Wilco - Wilco (The Album), Olatunji - Drums of Passion (remastered), Mason Jennings - Blood of Man

Jen's Top 19 Cd's of 2009:

1. Paolo Nutini - Sunny Side Up
2. Ida Maria - Fortress 'Round My Heart
3. Brandi Carlisle - Give Up The Ghost
4. Ingrid Michaelson - Everybody
5. The Swell Season - Strict Joy
6. Norah Jones - The Fall
7. Dan Deacon - Bromst
8. Bishop Allen - Grrr...
9. Ben Kweller - Changing Horses
10. Andrew Bird - Noble Beast
11. Hoots and Hellmouth - The Holy Open Secret
12. Dala - Everyone Is Someone
13. Karen O and the Kids - Where The Wild Things Are Soundtrack
14. The Avett Brothers - I and Love and You
15. Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zero's - Up From Below
16. The Decemberists - The Hazards of Love
17. Cory Chisel & The Wandering Sons - Death Won't Send A Letter
18. The Low Anthem - Oh My God, Charlie Darwin
19. Blind Pilot - Three Rounds and A Sound

HAPPY HOLLERDAYS... HERE'S MY GIFT TO YOU!

It's 2010 and although I haven't blogged nearly as much as I hoped over the last couple of months, I'm starting the new year off right by posting not only today but for at least the next couple of days. I'm starting today with my post-holiday gift to all of you. Then I'll be following it up with as many "Best of 2009" lists as I can think of, hopefully posting at least one a day until I run out. Likely lists will include my favorite cd's, books, movies, tv shows, meals, etc. from the last year... I'm not sure how interested anyone is in this, but since I keep track of these things, I feel like I should be recording it somewhere. So anyway, I'll do my best to post daily and likely share updates on Facebook for those of you interested. But before that happens, I want to share this musical treat:

As those who are in anything close to regular contact with me may have realized by now, Jen and I normally send out Holiday/Xmas cards, but didn't get around to it this year. However, we were able to put together our other annual tradition, our "Best of 2009" mix. For at least the last 5 years, I've put together a cd at the end of the year featuring some of my favorite songs and artists. Since I've met Jen, it's turned into a collaboration between the two of us; I put together a list of all the cd's I've/we've listened to that came out this year, then we each rank them individually, and then use those rankings to create a playlist that includes many of our favorites. And I can safely say that this year's is one of my all-time favorite "best of"s! Here's the track list:

1. Ida Maria – Oh My God (from Fortress ‘round My Heart)

2. The Swell Season – Feeling The Pull (from Strict Joy)

3. Andrew Bird – Anonanimal (from Noble Beast)

4. Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros – Home (from Up From Below)

5. Norah Jones – Waiting (from The Fall)

6. The Low Anthem – Champion Angel (from Oh My God, Charlie Darwin)

7. Paolo Nutini – Pencil Full Of Lead (from Sunny Side Up)

8. Brandi Carlile – Dreams (from Give Up The Ghost)

9. Hoots & Hellmouth – You And All Of Us (from The Holy Open Secret)

10. Ben Kweller – Fight (from Changing Horses)

11. Cory Chisel & The Wandering Sons – Longer Time At Sea

(from Death Won’t Send A Letter)

12. The Avett Brothers – Kick Drum Heart (from I And Love And You)

13. Yeah Yeah Yeahs – Dull Life (from It’s Blitz!)

14. Dan Deacon – Of The Mountains (from Bromst)

15. The Thermals – Now We Can See (from Now We Can See)

16. The Decemberists – The Wanting Comes In Waves/ Repaid

(from The Hazards Of Love)

17. Passion Pit – Sleepyhead (from Manners)

18. Ingrid Michaelson – Everybody (from Everybody)

19. Heartless Bastards – Sway (from The Mountain)

If you've read any of my blog postings in the last year, you'll probably recognize some of the artists. But even if you haven't, trust me in saying that they're all amazing and will blow your earholes off (in a good way).

So here's the deal:
Since I probably won't see most of you anytime soon to give you the cd myself, I'm offering it up here to anyone who is interested. Just post a comment below and/or send me an email and let me know that you want one, and I'll send you the cd in the mail asap.

And as a final reminder, keep checking back for lists of my favorite stuff from the last year. Tomorrow I think I'll start by sharing both Jen and my own favorite cd's, so you can see how they compare with the artists and songs we decided to put on the "Best of" cd.

BOO YAH.