Overlooked in '09
Musical taste is an individual thing. One man's Red Red Meat is another man's Poison. Having said that, it's hard to understand when one of my favorite songs of the year is described in AllMusic as "the overlong 'Mary Is Mary,' which clearly aims to be epic but falls more in the merely lengthy category." That song touches me deeply. It's hard to remain unmoved when singer Jenn Wasner is clearly questioning the motives of the prime mover: "And oh, high and mighty, what is your game?"Wasner told Daytrotter, "I wrote this song after a week in which there was a dead body found in the woods behind our house." I can't make out all the lyrics, but I think there is a reference to that "sparrow" that isn't supposed to fall without Him knowing. Listen to Mary Is Mary (from the Daytrotter session) and decide for yourself.
I strongly recommend the Wye Oak album The Knot, and I strongly disagree when I see words like "derivative" and "formulaic" bandied about in the Allmusic review.
Another of my favorites -- and similarly haunted in its mood -- is Prince of Truth, the new album by Evangelista. The band Evangelista is led by the sorceress Carla Bozulich. If you haven't heard Evangelista, a good place to start is this SXSE session. The song "Hello Voyager" is exceptionally brave and emotionally naked, and the band does a memorable cover of the Low song Pissing.
Labels: Best of 2009
