I find it increasingly difficult to keep up with all the music being released these days.  And, perhaps due to my increasingly crotchety old man disposition, I find myself favoring old-timey indie rock (although, I still enjoy plenty of current music, as you’ll see below).

So, without any further caveats, here is some of the music (and music-related) stuff I liked from this past year:

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Forty minutes of Fugazi stage banter

Note that I wrote, “music and music-related” favorites from this year!  If you’ve ever seen Fugazi, you’ll know that their live stage banter is an indispensable part of the experience. Let Ian & Guy school you in the fine art of tough-guy mockery and ticket-scalper scolding.

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Sunny Day Real Estate lives again

Sunny Day is one band I wish I could have seen live back in the day, so when they reunited and went on tour this year, I made sure to take my wife and catch them in Anaheim.  The reissues of Diary and LP2 sound great — and they might have been the most joyful live performance I’ve ever seen. Songs like Seven and In Circles had the entire crowd singing along, but Iscarabaid was sublime.

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Jawbox reunites (for a night)

Just to keep this mid-90s post-punk thread going… somehow Jimmy Fallon booked Jawbox to play on his show in early December (in support of their re-release of For Your Own Special Sweetheart).  You can find videos from that night on my posterous site.

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Various Animal Bands

Just to confirm that I’m not completely stuck in a 1999 timewarp, I did enjoy music released during 2009, including albums by Animal Collective, Grizzly Bear, Handsome Furs, Andrew Bird, Phoenix, and the Jesus Lizard (sorry, couldn’t resist including their relentless reissues).  I also enjoyed non-animalish releases from Dirty Projectors and The Silent Years.

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And, how could I forget? Support truly independent music!  Our friend Mia Kim released a fantastic album, Who Is Sukey Rose? through authentic DIY means, raising support from fans and involving them every step of the way. As Angry Asian Man writes: Produced by veteran indie rock musician and producer Jason Martin, the album is a mix of alternative pop-rock tunes exploring the identity of a fictional character named Sukey Rose. It’s got a good mix of catchy rock-out songs and more moody, contemplative tunes. Listen to some sample tracks here.

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As a special bonus, listen to this wonderful cover of Nick Drake’s Cello Song by The Books + Jose Gonzales from the Dark Was The Night compilation:

Produced by veteran indie rock musician and producer Jason Martin, the album is a mix of alternative pop-rock tunes exploring the identity of a fictional character named Sukey Rose. It’s got a good mix of catchy rock-out songs and more moody, contemplative tunes. Listen to some sample tracks here. Produced by veteran indie rock musician and producer Jason Martin, the album is a mix of alternative pop-rock tunes exploring the identity of a fictional character named Sukey Rose. It’s got a good mix of catchy rock-out songs and more moody, contemplative tunes. Listen to some sample tracks here.