My favorite albums of 2009 happen to be albums which inspired some of my favorite remixes this year. Typically, I downloaded the remix of a track or several tracks and finally gave in and bought the album. For these 10, I'm so very happy that I did get the whole album. The test for me is whether the album can actually do well as a whole piece, rather than just a few choice tracks (which are remixed). All of these albums are great on their own, through and through.
1. Miike Snow - Miike Snow
Earlier this year, I downloaded the Treasure Fingers remix of Animal and loved it. Then came Burial remixed by DJ Mehdi and finally, Black and Blue remixed by Savage Skulls. Finally (duh!) I bought the album. It's amazing. This is the type of album will grow and grow with you. I fell in love from the minute I heard it and continue to fall in love on each listen. The remixes are great and so are the originals. I can't get enough of Miike Snow. Even though this group joined on a whim, I hope they continue to make lots and lots of music together.
2. Kid Cudi - Man on the Moon
This is not your typical hip hop artist or album. Kid Cudi brings a huge amount of depth to his first album, as though he's done this before. Clearly, he's been a musician for a long time. Heady themes of hope and dreams, nightmares and fears and the close proximity of both pervade this album. Plus the beats just simply rock. It's quote enjoyable. The remixes of Day n Night by Crookers and Make Her Say by Afrojack are some of my favorite this year and probably most played in my sets. I just love Cudi! I reviewed his album in more depth a few months back. Read it here.
3. Yeah Yeah Yeahs - It's Blitz!
The YYYs are one of my all-time favorite bands. And while this is not my favorite YYY album, there are definitely quite a few tracks on here will stand the test of time for them. I think they do best when they stick to their tried and true formula of Karen's chilling and raw vocals, heavy guitars and banging drums. Dull Life is definitely one of my favorites for this reason. Everyone tried to remix Zero and Heads Will Roll this year. But hardly anyone could even approach the originals. I think A-Trak's treatment (there he is again on my list) of Heads Will Roll is the best. Everyone else failed at remixing them this year.
4. Metric - Fantasies
This album is the first I had heard of Metric, but apparently they had a released an album years back. Their first in awhile, this seems to be their resurgence. What a great album. You can't help but sing along with Emily's vocals and want to scream out her passionate lyrics. They often remind me of Garbage, when Garbage was at their best. Love the production on this album!
5. Kid Sister - Ultraviolet
Chicago's best female rapper and I would even say, one of the best since MC Lyte. She's got the rhymes. A-Trak produced the record. Laying down some amazing beats with old-school drum kits. This is a really fun record and has inspired some of the year's best remixes as well. I think one of my favorites on there is Step which features Estelle singing a badass chorus throughout. Kid Sister has mad talent for rappin'. I can't wait to hear what else she does.
6. Phoenix - Wolfang Amadeus Phoenix
Prior to this year, I had only heard Phoenix on the Lost in Translation soundtrack (Too Young). Then this year came remixes of 1901, Lisztomania, and Fences. Had to get this album. All those songs in their original form are great, but the rest of the album is fantastic too. Love Like a Sunset Part I and Part II are great examples of their depth. I like this more and more and more. I think I'll need to go back to their earlier albums and catch up!
7. The xx - xx
The xx remix their own music actually and that's how I first heard them. They created an extended remix of Night Time, which just blew me away when I heard it. The moody synths, guitar and Romy's hypnotic voice create an amazing sound. The album is good. Very moody and a little emo. You might have to be in the right mood for it. But it satisfies in those moments. I hope they come back to Atlanta, because the 529 sold out way too fast.
8. N.A.S.A. - The Spirit of the Apollo
North America South America is a production team that come to the game with a helluva record full of your favorite artists. David Byrne singing behind the rhymes of Jurassic 5's Chali 2na and Blackalicious' Gift of Gab!!! Hell yeah! And Gifted, a collaboration between Kanye West, Lykki Li & Santogold. This is also one of my favorite remixed tracks of the year. This whole album is amazing. Influences from all over the world. KRS-One, Method Man, The Cool Kids and DJ AM before he passed. So many stars on this one. It shines!!!!
9. Just a Band - 82
Really great electronic band from Kenya that make house, electro, ambient, funk...even a little hip hop. Having released some dance EPs in the past few years, 82 is an album that shows their musical reach. I can't wait to hear more of what they bring in the years to come.
10. Amanda Blank - I Love You
It's been a great few years for female rappers and creative lyricists. From M.I.A. and Santogold, come Amanda Blank and Kid Sister. Blank is a little poppy at times, but overall she delivers some really fresh lyrics and a great sound. Again, the remixes of Shame on Me and I Might Like You Better are fantastic.
Most albums these days are not meant to be listened to in a progression. Download 1 or 2 of the songs on iTunes or off the web, and they have to be able to stand alone. But this album is really best listened to in a progression. Spend some time from the beginning to the middle to the end. The beginning of the album starts out as a pretty typical, young rapper's album. Rhyming about the comfort of California "trees" and p*ssy. About Cleveland, his home town, about territory. It's pretty typical and pretty boring. But then Solo Dolo(Nightmare) hits. And it's a delightful surprise of maturity from the Kid. The slow tempo, calculated rhythm and lilting melody "Why must it feel so wrong, when I try to do right?" The underlying ringing bell synths. This is where the album starts to open up and take on exciting curiosity. The piano loop, synths and the "No"s and "Yeah"s of Heart of a Lion express an angst of a growing, young rapper. No wonder the sub-title for the song is "Kid Cudi Theme Music". It's evocative and interesting. As a listener, I want to delve into the heart of this lion. I want to understand the deeper meaning contained within it. This is what makes the album progressively more interesting. I could do without the first few songs. Throughout the rest of the album, Kid Cudi introduces the listener to the darkness of his deep vocal rhymes (he has a relatively deep voice compared to some of his peers) and the darkness of themes. It's not an accident that many of the songs contain the sub-title "Nightmare". It's not the darkness of "the streets" that Lupe Fiasco rhymes about. It's the darkness of dreams. They can be hopeful, they can help us feel alive ("Everytime the moon shines, I become alive"), but they can very quickly change into nightmare, into death. In this way, the themes that Kid Cudi rhymes about are beyond his 25 years. This is where the magic happens. But don't worry, there's plenty to lighten the mood. "Make Her Say" uses samples from Lady GaGa's "Poker Face" to add a little sexual humor that works. It's could be crude and crass, but it definitely is humorous and you can't help but sing along with the sample that we know so well. (A song I didn't really like much until I heard as a sample in this song.) The collaboration with MGMT on "Pursuit of Happiness (Nightmare)" is badass. It's simple piano and rhythm is hypnotic. It's playful, like a kid in a sandbox, but he's rhyming about themes we all ponder as we grow up, as we get older; "Dreaming, dreaming, tell me what you know about dreams....about the night terrors...". I couldn't think of a better collaboration between Kid's deep vocals and MGMT's light melodies. It's a great pairing. And indicative of the sound and future of hip hop and electronic music, in general. The lines are blurring and Kid Cudi's right there in that dream-like space. "Up Up & Away" is really an indie song, not even hip hop as most know it. I can see Death Cab's Ben Gibbard singing this song. He's on the moon and many of us are still boarding the spaceship. Overall, this album is as enjoyable as a dream and as evocative as a nightmare. And like some of the best albums, I think I'll still be listening to it years from now. 
