NOTE: I'm going to make the font of the winner black, so you don't accidentally give it away by scrolling down. HIGHLIGHT IT to see the winner xD!!
The awards that will be given out are:
- Best Rock Album
- Best Folk Album
- Best Metal Album
- Best Post-Rock Album
- Best Alternative Album
- Absolute Worst Artist
- Absolute Worst Song
- Best Album To Fall Asleep To
- Biggest Letdown
- Stupidest Things To Do In Public
- Best Album Art
Let's get started! Haha I feel a little silly doing this xD
Best Rock Album
And the nominees are:
- "Backspacer" by Pearl Jam
- "Them Crooked Vultures" by Them Crooked Vultures"
- "Sound Awake" by Karnivool
- "Journal For Plague Lovers" by Manic Street Preachers
And the winner is...
Them Crooked Vultures!
The most straightforward rocking album of the year. With Josh Homme singing and playing guitar, John Paul Jones of Led Zeppelin fame on the bass and Dave Grohl doing what he does best, the drums, how could they really go wrong?
Best Folk Album
And the nominees are:
- "What We Will Be" by Devendra Banhart
- "The First Days Of Spring" by Noah And The Whale
- "Roadsinger (To Warm You Through The Night)" by Yusuf
- "Sigh No More" by Mumford & Sons
And the winner is...
Roadsinger (To Warm You Through The Night)!
I'll admit a possible degree of bias. I've always been a huge Cat fan. His first return-to-pop was kind of shit, but this second go at it... wow. It's magnificent. Tip of the hat goes to Mr. Mumford and his sons, for also making a brilliant album. It just can't match up with Cat himself.
Best Metal Album
And the nominees are:
- "Monoliths & Dimensions" by Sunn O)))
- "Wavering Radiant" by Isis
- "The Ichthyologist" by Giant Squid
- "Crack The Skye" by Mastodon
And the winner is...
Monoliths & Dimensions!
If, by metal, you think I mean any number of the multitude of Bullet-imitators, then you may not like this record. It is hard to listen to. Best heard very loud in a very dark room, with headphones. Enjoy.
Best Post-Rock Album
And the nominees are:
- "The Other Truths" by Do Make Say Think
- "Sagamartha" by the Appleseed Cast
- "Spirit Animal" by Zombi
- "And So I Watch You From Afar" by And So I Watch You From Afar
And the winner is...
And So I Watch You From Afar!
This is post-rock as you've never heard it before. This year was full of some fairly stock standard post-rock albums, notably efforts by Mono and DMST. While they were good, this Scottish powerhouse's debut is completely original and won't make you cry like Mono, but will rock your fucking socks off. Best enjoyed loud with jumping room.
Best Alternative Album
And the nominees are:
- "No More Stories Are Told Today, I'm Sorry, They Washed Away, No More Stories, The World Is Grey, I'm Tired, Let's Wash Away" by Mew (hereafter referred to as "No More Stories" :P)
- "Embryonic" by the Flaming Lips
- "The Crying Light" by Antony & The Johnsons
- "Riceboy Sleeps" by Jónsi & Alex
And the winner is...
Embryonic!
Okay, so I may be biased on this one too, but I tried my best to avoid it. I listened to as much as possible, and the best alternative (in my description) album was this one. It was long, hard to listen to, devoid of commercial potential, spacey and completely brilliant.
Best Album Art
And the nominees are (click on the link for the artwork):
- "Riceboy Sleeps" by Jónsi & Alex
- "Sigh No More" by Mumford & Sons
- "Journal For Plague Lovers" by Manic Street Preachers
- "Merriweather Post Pavilion" by Animal Collective
And the winner is...
Journal For Plague Lovers!
This album art was painted by the same artist who did their last masterpiece in 1994. It is creepy, disturbing, and brilliant.
Best Album To Fall Asleep To
And the nominees are:
- "No More Stories" by Mew
- "Hymn To The Immortal Wind" by Mono
- "Sometimes I Wish We Were An Eagle" by Bill Callahan
- "The Dark Side Of The Moon" by The Flaming Lips, Stardeath & White Dwarf, Peaches, and Henry Rollins
And the winner is...
Hymn To The Immortal Wind!
Grand, sweeping, mournful and emotional post rock will demand your attention and slowly drift you to sleep if that's the mood you're in. If you're in a tightly strung mood, you will cry. 'Nuff said.
Absolute Worst Song
And the nominees are:
- "Tik Tok" by Kesha
- "Hotel Room Service" by Pitbull
- "Don't Trust Me" by 3OH!3
- "Good Girls Go Bad" by Cobra Starship feat. Leighton Meester
And the winner is...
Tik Tok!
The tale of a dirty slut doing daily slutty things. When you hear the memorable opening line, you know you're in for a bumpy ride.
Absolute Worst Artist (to be eligible, artist must have had at least 2 singles)
And the nominees are:
- 3OH!3 (for Don't Trust Me and Starstrukk)
- BrokeNCYDE (for Freaxxx and 40Oz.)
- Pitbull (for I Know You Want Me and Hotel Room Service)
- Lady Gaga (for LoveGame and Bad Romance)
And the winner is...
BrokeNCYDE!
None other than our most loved crunkcore band could ever win this award. As I stated in a previous blog, this is ear rape.
Biggest Letdown
And the nominees are:
- "The Resistance" by Muse
- "Black Gives Way To Blue" by Alice in Chains
- the New Moon Soundtrack
- "Hymn To The Immortal Wind" by Mono
And the winner is...
The Resistance!
Their first album was brilliant, their second a masterpiece. Since then, they've been slipping, and their fifth album is really a mediocre record with so much ripped off of Queen that I had to stop and replay certain bits during my first (and only) listen. And I was so hoping for a new Origin.
Stupidest Thing To Do In Public
And the nominees are:
- Interrupting Taylor Swift, as done by Kanye West
- Die, as done by Michael Jackson
- Prosecute music piraters, as done by Lily Allen
- Release an album, as done by BrokeNCYDE
And the winner is...
Interrupt Taylor Swift!
Honestly, dying was probably the best thing that MJ could have done to boost record sales. No, this man deserves this award cause, hey, it was stupid. Even the President himself called him a jackass.
And so concludes the awards for this year! Stay tuned for the 10 top records of 2009, and the 100 top of the decade :). Until then, stay peachy!
Matt
Now listening to "Little Waves" (2007) by Cresent
