Music Video: The Congos - Chain Gang (2009)

Try not to smile during this reggae Sam Cooke cover...

...well the end is a bit somber but regardless, the song and video are awesome, big up to The Congos for still making great music at their age.

K'Naan - The Troubadour

Artist: K'Naan
Album: The Troubadour
Genre: Rap/Hip-Hop
Release Date: Jan 13, 2009
Qualities: Catchy, Chorus Based, World Fusion
Mood: Aggressive, Party, Somber
Rating: ***

Born in Somalia, rapper, K'Naan's lyrics often reference his struggles as a child living in a war torn country, boasting that he comes from a true street life. And although this album is packed with guest musicians, it appears not a single African musician is credited (perhaps some contributed as numerous songs such as "Somalia" are African fusion). One can't help but wondering if K'Naan is so proud of his roots don't you think you could have hired at least one great musician from your home continent to replace the likes of at least one of the ridiculous guest stars such as Kirk Hammet (Metallica)?
One of K'Naan's strengths is his unique voice, which is, of course, a valuable asset for any rapper to have. K'Naan is instantly recognizable. Unfortunately this is countered by hit-and-miss flow and lyrics. It can go from downright awful (as on "I Come Prepared" where he is vastly overshadowed by pop dancehall heavyweight, Damian Marley) to good but rarely impressive.
This album is incredibly chorus based, every song has an attempt to be a hook. And although, this fails on a few songs (most heavily on "15 Minutes Away" where the chorus is repeated too many times even though K'Naan is delivering some of his most interesting rhymes in between each recital). Regardless, ultimately the choruses are the album's saving grace, as a good fourth of the songs end up being quite catchy bringing the listener back for numerous replays, at least to the good stuff (as about half of it is quite forgettable).

1. T.I.A. *****
2. ABCs *****
3. Dreamer ****
4. I Come Prepared *
5. Bang Bang ****
   
6. If Rap Gets Jealous *
7. Wavin' Flag ****
8. Somalia ***
9. America ****
10. Fatima ****
11. Fire in Freetown ****
12. Take a Minute ***
13. 15 Minutes Away ***
14. People Like Me ****

No MoreTags

I've decided to remove tags from the posts as they just clutter things up and are pretty annoying to put in, requiring new ones for almost every post (also it's hecka difficult to make such small graphics resemble stuff). This system was pretty restrictive and I couldn't always tag the things I wanted because it was too time consuming. Instead I'm going to add two new categories to each review. First is "Qualities" with phrases like "Club Music" or "Catchy". The second is going to be "Mood" which will detail more abstract ideas about the music such as "Aggressive" or "Soft". These categories will hopefully give you guys a better picture of what kind of music you're reading about quickly, without looking at the full review. Specific songs might have little notes written by them if I feel the need to. An exclamation mark will will be added to five star songs that standout above the rest (looking like this: *****!).

The old tags won't be removed from the older reviews, but the tags key will be taken from the side bar, and all the tags ever used are documented in this post:

- A classic album, go buy this right now
- Standout track, like a 6th star
- this song is catchy, plan to be playing it over and over
- impressive vocals
- songs for the dancefloor, will move your body
- song has great lyrics, deserving attention
- a love song
- experimental, trailblazing, cutting edge
- happy, bright, feel good
- angry, fiery, agressive
- excellent production values
- Night music
- A cover song by another artist
- Amazing album cover artwork

Favorites of the Year (2009)

Sorry this is late, I was on Christmas vacation and didn't have access to my computer to sort mp3s by year released.

Like I said with the decade one about best of lists , I make no claims the following are the absolute greatest albums of 2009, but I will say they are my favorites, and highly recommended. Again, the list is extremely subjective, and subject to change, as there's naturally gaps in my listening. So here is my favorite albums of 2009 by genre:

Reggae/Dancehall/Dub:
Buju Banton - Rasta Got Soul

Although it isn't quite as good as some of his mind blowing other albums it is still quite excellent. It was great to hear Buju bring back the genre mix of dub, ska, and roots reggae influences in this album compared to his 2006 album, Too Bad, which was largely just dancehall. This proof of Buju still being able to write amazing songs makes the news of his Cocaine charges all the more disheartening.

Rap/Hip Hop:
Aceyalone - The Lonely Ones

This rock n' roll/doo-wop/hip-hop album is really refreshing. And it's inspiring to see an underground legend continue to explore new sounds.
Other Contenders: Rakim's Seventh Seal, K'naan's Troubadour, and Mos Def's The Ecstatic

Metal/Hardcore/Emo:
Converge - Axe to Fall

This album is great, and didn't come off at all proggy like most early speculations. It's blazingly fast though and really enjoyable to listen to, one of Converges' best since Jane Doe.
Other Contender: Trapped Under Ice's Secrets of the World

Jazz
Jimi Tenor and Tony Allen Inspiration Information Vol. 4

This album was great afrobeat experimentation, and Jimi Tenor and Tony Allen made a great combo. The Inspiration Information series has proven itself as one to watch. Along with Nomo's release this made me almost want to make a seperate afrobeat category.
Other Contenders: Nomo's Invisible Cities, Allen Touissant's the Bright Mississippi

Pop/Rock/Indie
Richard Swift's The Atlantic Ocean

I remember being super pumped for the LP based on the excellent EP. And although it was a bit of disappointment at first, in retrospect it's still pretty great, even if all the best songs were on the EP. Wonderful indie rock crossed with early American pop music influences.
Other Contenders: BPA's I Think We're Gonna Need a Bigger Boat

Latin

Frederico Aubele - Amatoria
This home studio, synth and acoustic fused collection of love songs from young Argentinian, Aubele, is sexy at times and heart wrenching at others.
Other Contenders: Aguilas and Cobras' Brownout

Singer,Songwriter/Folk
Somi - If the Rains Come First

Somi could be included in the Jazz section, or some additional African based category, but this World fusion jazz album features Somi's voice and songwriting abilities so well that I considered her a singer songwriter.
Other Contenders: Jenn Grant's Echoes

And without further ado the...
THE BEST ALBUM OF 2009 (according to my extremely subjective, single viewpoint):
Dam-Funk - ToEachIzOwn

It's extremely ambitious to make your first release a double album, but synth-funk wizard Dam-Funk (pronounced "dame") did just that, successfully. And although it might not be a perfect album, it does lull a bit at points (as most of even the best doubles do) it is still the year's best and extremely refreshing. What Dam does here is to enter into what I might consider Post-Modernist music. Just like a Post-Modern visual artist, he doesn't necessarily do something entirely new, trailblazing, or genre defying; he simply utilizes techniques/concepts already developed, rearranges them, and combines them to achieve his own vision. And within this vision comes uniqueness. Dam-Funk revives the blatant use of synth and so called "dated" sounds to show that it isn't just OK to use them, but actually that they could in fact have many advantages over modern production. Highly, highly recommended, a fully fleshed out review of both discs will be coming soon, and later I'll even review the 5 LP vinyl.

For that matter, I hope to get all of the great albums named here reviewed eventually. But that's going to be some work. Any who, thanks for reading.

P.S. 2009 also saw the release of the In the Christmas Groove funk compilation by Strut records that everyone should check out.

Linton Kwesi Johnson - Five Nights of Bleeding (reading)