Top 5 Albums Of 2009

Top 5 Albums Of 2009:

1. Rooftops – A Forest Of Polarity
The debut album from Bellingham based Math Rock band Rooftops came out of left field. It’s style and complexity were enough to make fans of the genre happy and yet accessible enough for most anyone to enjoy the music.

2. Lady Gaga – The Fame Monster
After crafting possibly the most solid pop album of the decade, the Lady reissued, repackaged and renamed the album with an additional eight tracks that were not some throw away b-sides but another round of singles.

3. Dan Auerbach – Keep It Hid
The solo debut of the Black Keys guitarist showed that Auerbach can step away from his songwriting companion and hold his own. Although very reminiscent of a would be Keys album, there are some fun surprises and solid songwriting.

4. Franz Ferdinand – Tonight
The boys from Glasgow got over their sophomore slump in 2009. With a fist full of poppy singles, some new recording techniques and help from vintage synths the album they brought forth a solid effort in their junior release.

5. NASA – The Spirit Of Apollo
It’s hard to go wrong when you bring together two great producers like Squeak E. Clean and DJ Zegon, but when you add in artists like MIA, David Byrne, RZA, Tom Waits and George Clinton, it would take some effort to mess it up.

Top 5 Tracks Of 2009:

1: Supernova – Mr Hudson
2: Night By Night – Chromeo
3: Bad Romance – Lady Gaga
4: Run This Town – Jay Z feat. Kanye West & Rihanna
5: I Want Some More – Dan Auerbach

This Week In Music That Matters: Rooftops/Pan Pan/The Mission Orange

Here’s a quick run down of all the good things going on with the artists I work with:

Rooftops – Not only is their new album selling very well, a new teaser video is available for your viewing pleasure.

They will be featured on the New Album Spotlight page in the January edition of Electronic Musician so look for that when it comes out. You can also now request tracks from their new album “A Forest Of Polarity” on Pacific Northwest Radio Stations KUGS Bellingham and KEXP / 107.7 The End KNDD / Hollow Earth Radio / KCPR Seattle. You can stream songs from the album on the Rooftops Myspace Page, Last.fm or Lala and download the album on Itunes, Amazon or buy a copy from the Clickpop Records Store.

Pan Pan – Coming off her performance opening for The Books, Sarah and company have officially released the album “New Arms” digitally on Emusic, Itunes and Amazon (Follow The Links To Download The Album) And continues to get praise from local publications. Look for a studio full length sometime in 2010 as well as their apperiance in the 2010 EMP Sound Off! in Seattle on Feb. 20th! Check out the Pan Pan Myspace and don’t forget to become a fan on Facebook!

The Mission Orange – The duo gained some nice praise from Don Project of SunBreak for their show at The Rogue Hero last month, saying that that while “Sporting a huge sound for a duo” they “wove wonderful melodies around powerful rhythms.” And although younger  “they bring a swagger and a complexity to the stage that rivals their legally adult compatriots.” This show also got them the December Rock And Roll Moment of The Month in What’s Up! Magazine. They are working on finishing their new full length album that will probably see the light of day in Early Spring 2010. Check out the Mission Orange Myspace and become a fan on Facebook.

Rooftops “A Forest Of Polarity” Available Today!

Today, Rooftops debut album “A Forest Of Polarity” is available worldwide via an assortment of online music retailers such as Itunes, Amazon and Lala.

You can find samples of the music as well as links to buy digital and physical copies of the album below:

Stream Five Tracks Via Rooftops Myspace

AFoP through Clickpop Records (Physical)

AFoP on Itunes (Digital)

AFoP on Amazon (Digital)

Rooftops Official Website

Enjoy This Live Video As Well.

Rooftops: “A Forest Of Polarity” Out November 17th

Rooftops’ debut album “A Forest Of Polarity” (CP014) will be released on November 17th, 2009 on Clickpop Records. With Drew Fitchette, Mark Detrick, and Jonathan McIntyre on guitars and Wendelin Wohlgemuth on drums, Rooftops craft intricate, mathy pop rock with dense counterpoint and sparse vocals. However, the band’s tapped notes, and complex, cross accentuated rhythms are balanced by emotive melodies and moments of delicate beauty. If you need a comparison, imagine the complex power of Don Caballero or Battles, but with the emotional tug of Explosions In The Sky or Mono. AFP expands on the bands intricate math rock sound by adding layers of acoustic guitars, vocals, horns, strings and percussion.

Five brand new songs from “A Forest Of Polarity” are now streaming on the bands Myspace page that you can find at: www.myspace.com/rftps

The album is available for pre-order now on Clickpoprecords.com, and will be available in local stores, on itunes, amazon.com on the 17th. You can also pick up copies from the band directly at the following release shows next weekend:

November 20th 2009
w/ The Mission Orange & Pan Pan
The Rogue Hero
1313 N State St. Bellingham, WA
9:30pm/$5/21+

November 22nd 2009
In-Store Peformance
Everyday Music
115 E Magnolia St. Bellingham, WA
7:00pm/FREE/ALL AGES

Please check out the following links for more information:
Rooftops-
www.myspace.com/rftps
www.rooftopsmusic.net

Clickpop Records-
www.clickpoprecords.com

The Mission Orange-
www.myspace.com/themissionorange

Pan Pan-
www.myspace.com/thepanpan

Pan Pan Live @ The UGCH (You Are We Are Blog)

Pan Pan is Sarah Jerns, the 21 year old Multi-Instrumentalist from Bellingham, WA. Above are a couple of videos supplied to us, the masses by the good people at the You Are We Are blog. The videos are from an October 23rd performance at WWU’s Underground Coffeehouse. You can click over to You Are We Are at the link below to see footage of the whole show as well as “10 Questions with Sarah Jerns.”

youareweare.com

If you’re in the Bellingham area you can catch Pan Pan next weekend:

Friday Nov. 20th 2009
@ The Rogue Hero
w/ The Mission Orange and Rooftops (CD RELEASE!)
10pm- $5

Saturday Nov. 21st 2009
@ WWU PAC Mainstage
w/ The Books
7:30pm – $7 for WWU Students / $10 General Admission

For More Pan Pan goodness:

www.myspace.com/thepanpan

Dear Friends, have you met Sol?

Sol is an up and coming MC from Seattle, WA. Today is the drop date for his new digital release, the “Dear Friends” EP which you can download for free at the link below. Check this stuff out:

www.solsays.com

2008 Top Northwest Albums List

The following are my picks for the top local albums of the year. They are in no particular order:

The Love Lights- Young Lions
The Mission Orange- Seasick
The Oregon Donor- Somethings
Black Eyes & Neckties- Apparition!
Wallpaper- On The Chewing Gum Ground
The Nextdoor Neighbors- Magic Vs. The Machine
Wooden Wings- Swan Songs
Mt. St. Helens Vietnam Band- Weepy EP
PWRFL Power- PWRFL POWER

Someone Get Me 900 Large Right Now! Replinger/Hossner, Seattle

Modern Dwelling has the EB1 Home By Replinger Hossner Architects of Seattle on the market. This West Seattle home is amazingly styled and set in a great hilltop location with views of Seattle and the Puget Sound. It’s a 3 Bedroom 2.5 Bath for only $895,000! That is a steal!

For more info and pics: http://vicaso.net/iflyer/12025

One Step Backwards: Racetrack

Racetrack was an Indie Powerpop band from Bellingham, WA. They broke up in 2006 after releasing there final album “Don’t Sit On The Pickets.” They played in the same circles as The Thermals, Smoosh, Headphones and Harvey Danger and released there first album “City Lights” through Seattle’s Skrocki Records. Since the breakup the members have all moved on to new projects, Meghan Kessinger (vocals, guitar) is now in another Bellingham band called Connecticut Four, Jackson Long (drums, vocals) plays with Seattle band BOAT and is an engineer at Chris Walla’s “Hall Of Justice” recording studio, and Chris Rasmussen (vocals, bass) plays with the Seattle band Police Teeth.

Recomended Track: One Step Forward (find it and all of their material on Last.fm)

www.myspace.com/racetrack

Off The Block: Pb Elemental

Pb Elemental is a Seattle based Modern Architectural Firm. There work explores the uses of space in urban infill areas by using modern mateials and construction techniques to create dwellings and comerical buildings. The company is made up of a collection of Architects, Engineers and other talented professionals. Pb Elemental is a member of Built Green.

www.elementalarchitecture.com

(PS Once I Can Afford It, This Is My Personal Choice Of Arch Firm For My First House)