Best and worst of 2009

I think 2009 was a pretty good year generally speaking and I read lots of books and listened to lots of music and noticed many things I liked, some of which are on this list. Heaps and bounds are not though, since they weren't ”made” this year, which skips categories like books (since apparently I do not under any circumstance read any books published in the current year) and also makes sure that there are loads of great unlistened albums that wont feature anywhere on my best of-list. Thats due to me being slow on the uptake, and has little to do with the possible greatness or littleness and also makes this list only slightly representative of this year releases. Which makes it maybe...a little.. irrelevant? Nonetheless! Here it is.

Worst fashion trends – two looks that I hope will fade into oblivion in the near future.
The harem pant – awful awful awful. Why anyone would want to walk around with a sack for pooping (is it full? Is it empty? The suspense!) between the legs is beyond me. Not even the skinniest, most attractive people on the planet can pull of this awful awful garment.

The return of acid wash. How very Tonya Harding of you, Fashion. Mind you, not all things deserve a revival.


















Best fashion trends.
Strong shoulders. Moremoremore! Heres for bigger, stronger, weirder shoulders in 2010. Love love love anything shoulder.

















In that same trend anything drapey, structural, sculptural and architectonic strikes a HUGE chord with me. However much I love simple fashion, this artistic, very technical trend is something I hope to see more of in 2010 and is a very warm welcomed revival in my book.


In the movies: 
Many films have been seen this year, again, not that many of them made this year. So here are two that actually came out this year and made big impressions with me.

District 9: Sci fi at its best. One of the movies this year that managed critical social commentary with a great sense of humour, perfect character design (with Wikus Van Der Merwe as the great cowardly antihero of the year) and sufficiently welldesigned actionscenes to make it delightful to watch, while comtemplating the utter vileness of the human race. Well played, Neill Blomkamp.

Moon: Sam Rockwell times two in another classic sci-fi tale, with Kevin Spacey as a genuinely friendly version of HAL. This movies is reminiscent of some of the greatest sci-fi litterature even written (in my book) by greats like Robert Sheckley and made me feel both happy and sad. A film that was not afraid to be quiet and strange and cynical and warm all together.

In music:
I have about ten 2009 albums that I still have yet to give more than a brief listen and surely, some of them are on other peoples' and places' lists for the year, but none on mine.
Best albums:

Neko Case – Middle Cyclone
This woman is amazing and Middle Cyclone is her masterpiece (so far). Apart from being a member of The New Pornographers,she has previously released two solo albums, The Tigers Have Spoken and Fox Confessor Brings The Flood (besides her work with Neko Case and The Boyfriends) and she has gone from some kind  of straight up country, which I hated, to something else that still draws heavily on a country influence, but has taken on a form that is Ms. Case's alone. She is an amazing songwriter and storyteller and this album is a haunting, humourous, confessional and powerful piece of work that grows with each listen and is worth spending a great amount of time getting acquainted with. I really believe it IS the devil she loves and that she might have made a devious deal with him to make such a flawless album. Heres just one of the many great tracks that feature on the album.


The XX – The XX
Just a great debut album. Really really great and deserving of as many mentions as I can give them.


Other honorable best album mentions:
St. Vincent -  Actor
Shaky Hands - Let it Die
Official Secrets Act - Understanding Electricity
M. Ward - Hold Time
Dirty Projectors - Bitte Orca



Best song:
Knotty Pine by Dirty Projectors & David Byrne. Newbies and a grand old man working it out to perfection on indiefamed compilation Dark Was The Night.

And heres a Musical newcomer that will make you poop your harempants with joy.
The Rumour Said Fire -  Wonderkids from Copenhagen Denmark impresses wildly with EP Death of Male body, especially, specifically and wonderfully opening track The Balcony, which just happens to ALSO be one of the best single songs to come out in 2009. Don't believe me. Have ye a listen here.


Great musical things to come in the new year:
Good Shoes, a somewhat underappreciated GEM of a band and an all time favourite british band of mine, JUST came out with their second album, No Hope No Future. They are currently tour in Europe and I urge everyone who gets a chance to check them out.
To round of this awfully belated new years post, is the first video from the album, Under Control.