Bryan’s Year In Review 2009

Articles | Dec 22nd, 2009

Bryan's Year In Review 2009

2009 is almost over and it’s time for my Year in Review. Unlike other websites, I’m just doing a year in review. I’m not doing a “Decade in Review.” I can’t even remember last year so what makes you think I can remember an entire decade!? This year was another good year in music; movies…not so much. Don’t get me wrong, there were some great films, but there were also a lot of lackluster releases as well. Maybe I just haven’t seen enough movies this year? As well as movies, music, TV, I’ve also included a bunch of random things like I always do in my list. Now, onto the vast amount of lists:

Music

My Favorite Band of the Year: Carbon Leaf
Without a doubt, no other band has entertained me more than Carbon Leaf has this year. They released their best album (“Nothing Rhymes With Women”) to date, which is also the best album of the year. They played the NY area 3 times this year, and never disappointed once! Each show was different, and a lot of fun. The band never stops touring and are probably one of the hardest working bands out there right now. It amazes me that these guys aren’t being played on the radio every half hour. It just doesn’t get much better than Carbon Leaf!

My Top 20 Favorite Albums of 2009:
1. Carbon Leaf – Nothing Rhymes with Women
2. The Rifles – Great Escape
3. Babylon Circus – La Belle Etoile
4. Frank Turner – Poetry of the Deed
5. Franz Ferdinand – Tonight
6. Madness – Liberty of Norton Folgate
7. Alternate Routes – A Sucker’s Dream
8. Jerry Fish and the Mudbug Club  – The Beautiful Untrue
9. Pepper Pots – NOW!
10. Tom Waits – Glitter and Doom Live
11. Young Dubliners – Saints and Sinners
12. Stereophonics – Keep Calm & Carry On
13. New Model Army – Today is a Good Day
14. The Levellers – Live at Royal Albert Hall
15. Great Lake Swimmers – Lost Channels
16. Pearl Jam – Backspacer
17. The Riverdales – Invasion USA
18. NOFX – The Coaster
19. Mighty Mighty Bosstones – Pin Points and Gin Joints
20. Dolores O’Riordan – No Baggage

Albums I’m Disappointed In:
1. Grand Archives – Keep in Mind Frankenstein
Too slow and boring. Not enough upbeat tracks like their debut album.

2. Lily Allen – It’s Not Me, It’s You
Every song starts out the same, where’s the ska influence tracks? I prefer her debut album over this.

3. Peter Bjorn and John – Living Thing
This album wasn’t as good as their previous stuff. Some songs are just outright annoying.

Album from 2008 I Forgot To Include:
Frank Turner – Love Ire & Song

Top 10 Favorite Concerts of 2009:
1. Carbon Leaf / Alternate Routes @ Highline Ballroom, NYC
2. Band of Horses @ Carnegie Hall, NYC
3. The Pogues @ Roseland Ballroom, NYC
4. Bad Company / Doobie Brothers @ Bethel Woods, Bethel, NY
5. Great Big Sea @ Tarrytown Music Hall, NY
6. English Beat / Bad Manners @ Irving Plaza, NYC
7. Chicago / Earth, Wind & Fire @ Bethel Woods, Bethel, NY
8. The Rifles @ Mercury Lounge, NYC
9. Saw Doctors @ Nokia Theater, NYC
10. The Cranberries @ Nokia Theater, NYC

Other Concerts I’ve Enjoyed This Year:
Sharon Shannon with Shane MacGowan, Jerry Fish & Carol Keogh @ Olympia Theatre in Dublin Ireland
Ska is Dead Tour IV @ Starland Ballroom, Sayreville NJ
Carbon Leaf / Stephen Kellogg and the Sixers @ Bowery Ballroom, NJ
Carbon Leaf @ The Loft, Poughkeepsie, NY
Green Day @ MSG (yes I like Green Day now)
Glasvegas @ Webster Hall, NYC

Boring Concert of the Year:
The Shins @ Wellmont Theatre, Montclair, NJ

The Biggest Hipster Garbage Album:
Karen O and the Kids – Where the Wild Things Are

Biggest Douche in Music:
Kanye West

Worst Bands/Artists of 2009:
Brokencyde
Family Force 5
Jonas Brothers
The Yeah Yeah Yeahs
Kanye West
Dan Deacon
Any band Jack White is in
Any band on the AP Tour
Any band that plays crunk

The Most Un-Shocking break-up:
Oasis

Funniest Punk Song of the Year:
Creeping out Sara – NOFX

Funniest Metal Album of the Year:
Austrian Death Machine – Double Brutal

Reunion I want to see in 2010:
The Specials

Top 10 Bands/Artists I Want To See in 2010:
1. Madness
2. The Levellers
3. Tom Waits
4. Hard-Fi
5. Billy Bragg
6. Babylon Circus
7. Band of Horses
8. Frank Turner
9. The Pogues
10. Stereophonics

I Want To Hear New Albums From:
Band of Horses
The Rifles
Hard-Fi
The Levellers
Tom Waits
DeVotchKa
Gaslight Anthem
The Shins
She & Him
Gogol Bordello
Glasvegas
The Kooks
Swingin’ Utters

Movies

Top 8 Favorite Movies Of The Year (That I’ve Seen):
1. Up
2. Star Trek
3. Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince
4. Capitalism: A Love Story
5. Zombieland
6. Bruno
7. I Love You, Man
8. Boondock Saints II: All Saint’s Day

Movies I Haven’t Seen Yet That I’m Sure I Would Like:
1. Inglorious Basterds
2. District 9
3. Sherlock Holmes
4. Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs
5. (500) Days of Summer
6. Pirate Radio
7. Avatar
8. Invictus
9. The Road

Worst Movies Of The Year (Ones I’ve Seen):
1. Miss March
2. Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
3. Jennifer’s Body
4. X-Men Origins: Wolverine
5. The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard

Overrated/Over-hyped Movies of the Year:
The Hangover
Paranormal Activity

Best Movie Intros of the Year:
Watchmen (Bob Dylan’s “The Times They Are A-Changing”)
Zombieland (Metallica’s “For Whom the Bells Toll”)

Movies I Know Will Suck:
Twilight: New Moon
Paper Heart

Top 5 Movie Scores/Soundtracks:
1. Up
2. Adventureland
3. Star Trek
4. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
5. Angels and Demons

Top 15 Movies I’m Looking Forward To In 2010:
1. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Pt 1
2. Iron Man 2
3. Robin Hood
4. Toy Story 3
5. Tron 2
6. Shrek Forever After
7. Alice in Wonderland
8. MacGruber
9. The Wolfman
10. The A-Team
11. Get Him to the Greek
12. Clash of the Titans
13. Hot Tub Time Machine
14. Cop Out (aka Couple of Dicks)
15. Edge of Darkness

TV

Top 10 Favorite Shows of 2009:
1. LOST
2. Modern Family
3. The Office
4. Fringe
5. House, M.D.
6. Californication
7. Rescue Me
8. Burn Notice
9. South Park
10. Family Guy

Other Shows I Enjoyed This Year:
The Soup
Ghosthunters
Flash Forward
Real Time with Bill Maher

Favorite DVDs of 2009:
Blackadder Remastered
The Unit Giftset
Bruno
Fawlty Towers Remastered
Up
Man Stroke Woman Complete Series
Fringe Season 1
X-Men Volume 1-4

My Guilty Pleasure TV Show Of 2009:
Desperate Housewives (whatever, there are hot women on the show!)

Show That I Watch Even Though It’s Not As Good As Used To Be:
24

Shows That Need to Throw In The Towel:
Saturday Night Live
The Simpsons

I’m Glad I Stopped Watching:
Heroes

You Won’t Catch Me Watching:
Glee
Jon and Kate Plus 8
Glenn Beck
The Hills
Jersey Shore
Grey’s Anatomy

Show I’ll Like Better on DVD:
Community

1 Thing TV Series Need To Stop Doing…
Music montages at the end of every episode (i.e. Flash Forward)

I Can’t Believe People Actually Watch:
Jon and Kate Plus 8
Jersey Shore
Anything on MTV
Anything on VH1
WWE
The Real Housewives of [insert city]
Dog the Bounty Hunter
Tyra

Weirdest Show I’ve Seen This Year:
The Mighty Boosh

Books I Started To Read or Almost Finished This Year:
Beyond Band of Brothers: The War Memoirs of Major Dick Winters
The Da Vinci Code
The Lost Symbol

Favorite Magazines of 2009:
Entertainment Weekly
Rolling Stone
Alternative Press

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