EWB's Favourite 102 Artists for 2009!

[YI]

30. IRON MAIDEN (57pts - 9 | 8 | 2)

PLACE LAST YEAR: #9

COUNTRY: England

STUDIO ALBUMS: 14

RAAAWWWWRRR: ...epic live, I will say that much

29. ALICE IN CHAINS (60pts - 8 | 7 | 5)

PLACE LAST YEAR: n/a

COUNTRY: United States

STUDIO ALBUMS: 4

SOMETHING: ...

28. BEN FOLDS (FIVE) (60pts - 10 | 6 | 4)

PLACE LAST YEAR: #26

COUNTRY: United States

STUDIO ALBUMS: 6

TALLY OF ARTISTS THAT MY DAD LIKES: 5

27. BIFFY CLYRO (60pts - 10 | 7 | 3)

PLACE LAST YEAR: #89

COUNTRY: Scotland

STUDIO ALBUMS: 5

I LIKED BIFFY BEFORE THEY WERE POPULAR: Excuse me, prick! When exactly was that?!?! WAS IT WHEN MTV2 WERE PLAYING THE EVER LOVING SHIT OUT OF SINGLES ON THEIR DEBUT ALBUM?!?!! OH YEAH...FUCK OFF...DICK!

26. LADY GAGA (60pts - 9 | 4 | 1 | 1)

PLACE LAST YEAR: n/a

COUNTRY: United States

STUDIO ALBUMS: 1

GAGA - BEFORE SHE WAS FAMOUS: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YIWD4LVpyEs

[Guest Mr. Potato Head]

Hmm. Guess there was more meh to come.

[GoGo Yubari]

RAPID FIRE using my default middle school yearbook I Don't Know/Care About You response mostly because to be honest, I'm in the same boat as Jayzon a lot of the time except for the part where we really really really do not like the same music at all.

64. Bob Dylan - sadly I'm in a similar boat to Jayzon here. Yes I know, Bob Dylan is a big deal, but I've just never really had a major desire to get into any of his music. Part of it is I'm just not into his voice. "The Times They Are A'Changin'" fell into favor with me after seeing its use in Watchmen, though, so maybe there's hope down the line.

64. The Smashing Pumpkins - Okay. Okay. There are two Pumpkins for me; the Pumpkins who write really beautiful music like "Tonight Tonight," "1979," and "Porcelina of the Vast Oceans" and the Pumpkins who put out whiny teenage angst lyrics like "DESPITE ALL MY RAGE I AM STILL JUST A RAAAAT IN A CAAAAAAAAAGE!" Billy Corgan is a sophisticated wrestling fan, though, so I like that about him. Also "Tarantula" was a shockingly great single, though I stopped caring about the Billy Corgan + ???? Smashing Pumpkins incarnation after that.

63. Pendulum - Have a great summer!

62. Coheed & Cambria - There are no words for how glad I am that people have more or less stopped mentioning them every five seconds on this board. Do not want.

59. Marilyn Manson - because of him Christopher Daniels had great entrance music. Also he had a funny interview on Late Night once. That's all.

59. Ryan Adams - Have a great summer!

59. Sunset Rubdown - Have a great summer!

58. Cobra Starship - Have a great summer!

57. Eminem - Sometimes I listen to "My Name Is" and remember how cool and different that seemed in 1999 to me. But he's been absolutely terrible for the past half-decade from everything I've heard of him and I only liked his music when he was on top of the world some of the time.

56. The Fall - Okay, Skummy, make recommendations here too. I need music to listen to when I play poker at work.

55. QOTSA - Eh. Josh Homme had funny stage banter when I saw them live at a music festival, though.

52. Dream Theater - Have a great summer!

52. The Libertines - Have a great summer!

52. Say Anything - Have a great summer!

51. The Arctic Monkeys - Have a great summer!

50. Judas Priest - Not into metal.

49. Kiss - Let's not.

48. Wintersun - See 50.

47. Nirvana - Love them, they should be higher. Like the other EWB Music Nazis, I've already written about why they were a good band more than enough in the past.

46. Guns N Roses - The fact that they're just above Nirvana is hilarious and also tragic. Generally dislike them but "Welcome to the Jungle" is without a doubt an awesome song to play at obnoxious volumes.

45. Streetlight Manifesto - Have a great summer!

44. Bjork - My mom loves her.

43. Green Day - American Idiot and how viciously overplayed it got has almost retroactively ruined the music they made prior to that. I've become such a Top 40 music recluse that I cannot identify a single song of theirs off their new album and I'm glad of that.

41. Los Campesinos - Have a great summer!

41. The Magnetic Fields - I really want to get into them but I never remember to.

40. M.I.A. - I am so fucking sick of "Paper Planes" you don't even know. Seriously, enough of that, Every Movie Trailer in the Past Two Years. I just never got into her in the way most people I know did.

39. Killswitch Engage - Um. Well. They did CM Punk's theme, and... yeah. But I mean, he's a headliner and he's been friends with the members of AFI since forever it seems, I know it's an indy dweeb's pipe dream but I want him to go back to "Miseria Cantare." ... maybe with a shorter intro. Anyway, Killswitch Engage. Have a great summer, guys.

38. Minor Threat - Have a great summer!

37. Brand New - Have a great summer!

36. Belle & Sebastian - I want to get an album of theirs off of eMusic because I like their music when it pops up on my Slacker station. Which one should I get, fellow Music Nazis?

35. A Wilhelm Scream - Have a great summer!

34. Reuben - Have a great summer!

33. Kid Cudi - Have a great summer!

32. Bruce Springsteen - See Bob Dylan except for all of the specifics there.

31. Rammstein - WE ARE LIVING IN AMERIKA, COCA COLA, WONDERBRA. I have very little use for them other than seeing that music video in Norway at two in the morning and finding it awesomely surreal.

30. Iron Maiden - See 50.

29. Alice in Chains - My least favorite of the Four Horsemen of the Grungepocalypse. Pearl Jam might actually be worse on the whole but they gave me "Evenflow" and "Do the Evolution."

28. Ben Folds Five - One of my favorite bands, only further solidified by me finally appreciating Reinhold Messner a year ago. Ben Folds himself, post-breakup, is really iffy, I think I could maybe throw together one full album of songs he's done that I like. Saw him in concert with the Seattle Symphony last month, though, and that was pretty fun if not quite worth the fifty bucks I spent.

27. Biffy Clyro - This is seriously the first time I have ever heard of them. And they're #27. Either this is a UK thing or I am really musically reclusive these days.

26. Lady Gaga - AND SPEAKING OF ME BEING MUSICALLY RECLUSIVE. I have maybe heard "Poker Face" two or three times to my knowledge. I mostly know her as a media personality with bizarre fashion sense who everyone keeps making reference to and there keeps being "hilarious" covers of her songs by unlikely sources.

[METALMAN]

Iron Maiden are good fun. they've got plenty of good songs and don't take themselves too seriously. I don't see how anyone could hate Iron Maiden.

Alice In Chains were pretty good. Haven't heard the new album. Will get round to it soon.

Ben Folds is a difficult one. the Ben Folds Five self-titled album is like one of my top five albums ever, he hasn't had any album since then that is good from beginning to end. the other two Ben Folds Five albums are quite good while his solo work goes quite good, mediocre, bad. Still has a few decent songs but Ben Folds Five were so much more than Ben Folds, and he's all the worse for it now.

Biffy Clyro are a local band. My dad taught Simon Neil. What fun. As a result I've known them for ages, and to be honest, they really weren't all that good before they became "famous". (which for the sake of this post will be defined as "after the release of Puzzle, further intensifying after the release of Mountains".) Vertigo of Bliss is good, but I'd still say that Puzzle is their best. New album quite good. Infinity Land is ewwww except from Recovery Injection and Blackened Sky is bleurgh. I know an absolute cunt who complained to Simon Neil after the gig about Biffy not playing very many old songs because he "preferred them before they were famous". Obviously the fact that they were promoting their new album and not Vertigo of Bliss is irrelevant Not to mention he himself had never heard of them until they became famous. Cunt. But yeah...local lads. So I'll always like them.

Lady Gaga - in "Paparazzi" and "Lovegame" she's had two of the better big mega super hit singles of the year. More surprisingly, she's also made a very decent album as well. Probably the best female breakthrough this year. By that I mean she is better than pretty-but-boring Little Boots, slightly-better-but-more-annoying La Roux, and the even-better-but-still-more-annoying Florence and the Machine. I like Lady Gaga, but she cannot sing and her just-piano version of Poker Face is genuinely painful to listen to. She is also shit live. Very good album though. two fantastic songs also.

First set where I actually like everyone I think.

[METALMAN]

Oh and Gogo, for Belle & Sebastian you should get their EP compilation called "Push Barman to Open Old Wounds" it is a double disc thing and completely brilliant. If it counted as an album (which it doesn't really) it would be my favourite album ever.

Although there's a further 3 Belle & Sebastian albums I'd also toss into the top 10 of this list were I to make it.

[GoGo Yubari]

Hmmm. That's 25 song credits out of my sixty remaining, though, I'm not sure I want to make that investment this time around. Which of their albums would you go with?

[LittleDaniel]

If You're Feeling Sinister is a fan-dabi-dozi album, I'll have to check out their EP.

[METALMAN]

If you want good production and playing of instruments, go for http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=He0aIxpItBw.

If you want bad production and rudimentary playing of instruments, go for http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bSX73YsJrqc.

Both are quite different but equally wonderful.

All of their albums are good though. Except from Storytelling which doesn't really count because it's a soundtrack. they're one of those irritating bands that have just as many excellent songs that are singles only or B-sides as they do on albums. Which is why I like the EP Compilation best.

[Skummy]

THE SHADOW OF THE WICKER MAN IS RISING UP AGAAAAAAAIIIIIN. I went out with a girl who may or may not (probably not) be the illegitimate lovechild of Bruce Dickinson. Maiden are good enough - not really liked anything they've done since The Wicker Man, but Bruce seems like a lovely man.

Alice In Chains were good, and Jerry Cantrell is wonderful - but I really can't bring myself to be remotely interested in their new music. If I have heard it - which, as I DJ for a heavy metal night, I probably have at some point - it can't have made much of an impression on me. One of the few "grunge"-era bands that I can still listen to without feeling like an awkward teenager all over again, but I wouldn't really go out of my way to listen to them.

I don't know that much Ben Folds. Bits are good, bits are dull. Brick, predictably, is one I know and love.

MON THE BIFFY. I really don't know them. My Mum likes them - third time in the list. I remember them first time round on MTV2 and finding them agreeable, but really didn't notice them becoming successful then suddenly...lots of women like them? What? Where did that come from? I couldn't name you a single song. Just inoffensive, really.

Lady Gaga is a prime example of my complete ignorance towards pop music. I don't watch television, and up until the last few months I've not listened to the radio - now I listen to Radio 2 in the mornings. So I never have the faintest idea of what's actually in the charts, or if I've heard a name, I still haven't necessarily heard any of their stuff. Anyway - yeah, I went months not knowing who Lady GaGa was before I heard Let's Dance - which is an alright song. And my friends were appalled that I had never heard Poker Face for god knows how long after it came out. I've still only heard one other song by her, I think. That "wanna take a ride on your disco stick" one. It's shit. But Poker Face is okay. And Let's Dance is good pop.

Recommendations; for The Fall, I'd go with almost anything. But Peel Sessions are always a good start. Some tracks to check out;

Blindness, We Are Sparta FC, Free Range, 50 Year Old Man, Cruiser's Creek. Really, just dive in though.

As for Belle & Sebastian...I have a soft spot for "Dear Catastrophe Waitress". Oh "Push Barman To Open Old Wounds" is wonderful. And was my desktop wallpaper for months.

Edited November 17, 2009 by Skummy

[METALMAN]

Belle & Sebastian is actually perfect walking about Glasgow music. Ever since I've moved to Glasgow I've just liked them more and more.

It is perfect walking through the Botanic Gardens to uni in the morning music. Which is what I do.

Also the flat I stayed in last year was in one of their music videos. that was cool. Oh and Stuart Murdoch is my friend's mum's cousin. We're almost brothers.

Oh "Push Barman To Open Old Wounds" is wonderful. And was my desktop wallpaper for months.

the lady on the cover is very pretty. I think I love her.

[Skummy]

Oh and Stuart Murdoch is my friend's mum's cousin. We're almost brothers.

When this is done, I'm going to six-degrees-of-seperation myself from every band on the list.

Edited November 17, 2009 by Skummy

[New Damage]

Quite shocked that Alice in Chains didn't get on the list at all last year. For those of you wondering about the new album, if you liked the old Facelift/Dirt stuff, you should like Black Give Way To Blue. The title track is a phenomenal Jar of Flies type track. In fact I'd probably say that of the heavy albums, BGWTB is my favourite.

[YI]

25. BLUR (63pts - 8 | 7 | 6)

PLACE LAST YEAR: #10

COUNTRY: ENGLAND

STUDIO ALBUMS: 7

HE DRESSES INCORRECTLY, NO ONE TOLD HIM SEVENTEEN: He not mean enough!

24. JOHNNY CASH (63pts - 9 | 9 | 3)

PLACE LAST YEAR: #38

COUNTRY: UNITED STATES

STUDIO ALBUMS: 96 (shitting fuck)

WELL IF JOHNNY CASH IS UP IN HEAVEN, THEN HE'S BORED TO DEATH AND PROBABLY WONDERING: Where the hell the jukebox is, and he misses his guitar...

23. JAY-Z (63pts - 10 | 7 | 4)

PLACE LAST YEAR: n/a

COUNTRY: UNITED STATES

STUDIO ALBUMS: 11

JAY-Z's PROBLEMS: The rising price of petrol, global warming, why women find Andy Sugden attractive, the smell of scotch egg, his bitch, weak tea...

22. THE PRODIGY (66pts - 9 | 8 | 5)

PLACE LAST YEAR: n/a

COUNTRY: ENGLAND

STUDIO ALBUMS: 5

AND "OMEN" IS THEIR BEST SONG: If you don't agree you're a nonce

21. OASIS (69pts - 10 | 10 | 3)

PLACE LAST YEAR: #5

COUNTRY: ENGLAND

STUDIO ALBUMS: 7

SUNSHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINE: ...

[Skummy]

Other than Johnny Cash, I don't care about a single band on that list. And Oasis I absolutely detest.

Johnny Cash is one I have a problem with, though - and I've argued this on EWB in the past - too many people suddenly became Johnny Cash fans after he died, and after "Walk The Line". I know there was a resurgence of interest in his work towards the end of his life, through the American Recordings, which was when I started wishing I'd listened to my father and my grandfather telling me to listen to him for years before that, but it just irks me that so many people I know that listen to nothing but generic alt-rock and pop-punk claim to be huge Johnny Cash fans - yet probably would never listen to another country singer if their life depended on it. You could argue that it shows the crossover appeal he had, but I'm far too cynical to agree with that. Besides, as Mark E. Smith quite rightly said "if you listened to Johnny Cash in the '80s and '90s, people thought you were a racist".

He is incredible, and I suppose there's no "right" reason to listen to certain artists, but it doesn't sit right with me to see somebody like Johnny Cash having his position in musical history adjusted by the Hot Topic crowd who, before he died, would have turned their nose up at the prospect of listening to a 70-something year old country singer.

I was never into the Britpop scene, so maybe that's why I don't "get" Blur? I've never been able to see anything special about them at all.

I just don't like Jay-Z. He's in a style of hip-hop or rap or whatever that just doesn't appeal to me.

Couldn't give a toss about The Prodigy. Saw them live once, wasn't any more interested then.

I shouldn't have to explain why Oasis are terrible.

[Jayzon]

Don't know - Ben Folds (Five), Biffy Clyro

Hate -

Dislike -

Neutral - Lady Gaga, Jay-Z, Oasis

Like - Alice In Chains, Blur

Love - Iron Maiden, Johnny Cash, The Prodigy

This time, I've heard of every artist. Guess that's inevitable seeing how we're getting closer to the top. I've never listened to any Ben Folds (Five or not) or Biffy Clyro, but I do recognize the names.

I sorta like Lady Gaga, her music is harmless fun. I don't care too much of the person, though. Jay-Z is fine, and while I never got why Oasis was such a big deal, they're not bad by any means. Just kinda there.

Alice In Chains is really, really fan-dabi-dozi, as is Blur. Okay, not as fan-dabi-dozi as AIC, but still very good. Haven't listened much of Blur lately, though. And I still need to check out AIC's new album!

Iron Maiden, Johnny Cash and The Prodigy are all probably in my Top 15 artists/bands ever, with Cash easily being in the Top 5. I admit it, I first got into Cash via the American albums, but have since fallen deep in love with his earlier material. The two CD Essential Johnny Cash compilation is probably my "desert island album". And via Cash, I've found other country artists too, such as David Allen Coe. He rocks.

I've seen Maiden live once, on the Somewhere Back In Time tour, and they absolutely killed. Dickinson is such a magnificent singer. Didn't care too much about the A Matter Of Life And Death album, though, but the two other albums they've released this decade are really fan-dabi-dozi. And of course, their 80's albums are just golden.

My love for The Prodigy goes way back, all the way to "No Good (Start The Dance)". It was one of the first music videos I ever saw, and when "Firestarter" came out, my mind just blew. For a few years, The Fat Of The Land was my favorite album, and it still is pretty high on my all-time list. I also love the two first albums (Experience & Music For The Jilted Generation), as well as Always Outnumbered, Never Outgunned. I haven't really gotten into Invaders Must Die, though, but it's not a bad album either. The Prodigy is on my list of "bands I haven't seen live but should see ASAP" with Rob Zombie, Primus, Rammstein and Motörhead.

Edited November 17, 2009 by Jayzon

[NobBe Nobbs]

MAIDEN

MAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAIDEN

MAIDEN

\m/

Thank you.

[probablyoliver]

I have missed almost all of this. I will do a retrospective when we hit the top 10. I have lots to say.

[YI]

20. DAVID BOWIE (76pts - 9 | 6 | 3 | 1)

PLACE LAST YEAR: #89

COUNTRY: ENGLAND

STUDIO ALBUMS: 25

I'M IN THE BUSINESS OF MISERY, LET'S TAKE IT FROM THE TOP: She's got a body like an hourglass, ticking like a clock

19. WEEZER (76pts - 10 | 3 | 3 | 3)

PLACE LAST YEAR: #14

COUNTRY: UNITED STATES

STUDIO ALBUMS: 7

THE BLUE ALBUM, THE GREEN ALBUM: The shit album

18. KANYE WEST (78pts - 9 | 9 | 8)

PLACE LAST YEAR: #31

COUNTRY: UNITED STATES

STUDIO ALBUMS: 4

I SING THE SELFISH SONGS OF THE SEA: ...I'M LIKE A FISH!!!

17. RUSH (88pts - 10 | 8 | 3 | 1)

PLACE LAST YEAR: #30

COUNTRY: CANADA

STUDIO ALBUMS: 18

WELL SEEING AS I'M REGURGITATING JOKES: ...

16. STRUNG OUT (90pts - 10 | 10 | 10)

PLACE LAST YEAR: #22

COUNTRY: UNITED STATES

STUDIO ALBUMS: 8

SO HERE I SIT ALL TIED UP, ALL ALONE WITH ALL MY THOUGHTS, WHEN WILL I LEARN TO WALK AWAY?: FROM THE THINGS I DO TO MAKE ME FEEL THE WAY I FEEL WHEN I'M WITH YOOOUUUUU!! Now it's me, myself and I...

Edited November 17, 2009 by YI

[METALMAN]

Your "funny" bits haven't been funny since like number 85 >_>

[YI]

Your "funny" bits haven't been funny since like number 85 >_>

I know, I couldn't be arsed with them anymore.