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best 2009 indie rock

best indie rock 2009

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  • Blogger threadogg // 10:25 PM
  • Blogger Kissel // 9:17 AM

  • SANTA CRUZ, CA - Last night Billy Corgan and "Friends" (as one local reporter called it) rocked the historic Santa Cruz Civic Auditorium (1769).

    As expected, the show was sold out with rockers ranging in age from teens to guys in their 50s. Remember, The Smashing Pumpkins will be two decades old next year. Rock on older rockers!
    The younger rockers are likely to be fans of Corgan's newer music, such as the popular YouTube music video "Tarantula." (watch video)

    Many fans, including myself, were somewhat let down by the show. For $35 (scalped tickets went as high as $120), you'd expect to see The Smashing Pumpkins. But we only got half a pumpkin, singer/songwriter Billy Corgan (who I happened to pass on the street two hours before the show) and drummer Jimmy Chamberlin.

    Original Pumpkin guitarist James Iha and bassist D'Arcy Wretzky left The Smashing Pumpkins in 2001 to launch Scratchie Records, a division of Mercury Records, which is thankfully not one of the major labels. Nevertheless, since that day, and until there is an actual "reunion", The Smashing Pumpkins cease to exist in my opinion.

    Nevertheless, the filler, or substitute, members performing with Corgan were good, but it was definitely was missing that magic of the days when The Smashing Pumpkins were on top.

    The show was almost painful at times to watch because the band didn't really seem to gel together on stage; it felt like they were just going through the motions. It was like that feeling you get in the pit of your stomach that says "hey, these people really don't want to be here."

    In fact, I could have not bought a ticket and sat outside on the auditorium lawn and listened to it just fine. Arggg. I had already seen Corgan on the street. But people like me will pay extra in order to not miss a chance to see "The Smashing Pumpkins," or even a half of Pumpkin.

    Anyways, the show was alright. Corgan, dressed in all white, was not at his best vocally, but he definitely sounds better in a smaller hall than say an outdoor arena (as he himself has bitched about in the past).

    There was no real highlight of the show, at some points the light show was better than the music. Absent was the 'wow' factor of days of old when The Smashing Pumpkins captivated masses of thousands of fans at big concert venues with their electrifying, epic-like music, light shows and stage presence.

    As for the Santa Cruz gig, Corgan interacted with the audience a few times and bragged that "their" new album is No. 2 in US and No.1 in Canada. He then raised his hands and pointed towards the crowd as a beam of light reflected off his shiny head and said "it's because of you guys. We love you."

    Awesome Billy, but who exactly are "we"?

    My disappointment may come off strong, but I'm much more interested to see the original three Pumpkins reunite and go on tour.

    For that tour, you bet I'm setting the mail alerts on TicketMaster. Since next year is the 20th anniversary of the bands beginning, I think it would be ultimate if Dary and Ian jumped back in to the fray with Billy and announced a real reunion tour.

    The band is book to co-headline the Virgin Festival in Baltimore next week.





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      8:10 PM July 29, 2007    2 Comments     Vote Songs on Hypem    MP3 Policy   
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    Current and upcoming releases (US dates)

    12/7/09 Ólafur Arnalds - Dyad 1909
    1/12/10 Vampire Weekend - Contra
    1/19/10 Cold War Kids - Behave Yourself EP
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    1/26/10 Beach House - Teen Dream
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    2/23/10 Shout Out Louds - Work
    2/23/20 Shearwater - The Golden Archipelago
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    3/9/10 Frightened Rabbit - The Winter of Mixed Drinks
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    3/23/10 She & Him - Volume 2
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    Best 2009 Indie Releases

    2009 best indie albums
    Favorite 2009 indie albums in no particular order; strongly recommend these for your music collection.

    Roman Candle - Oh Tall Tree In The Ear
    Built to Spill - There Is No Enemy
    Fanfarlo - Reservior
    Family of the Year - Songbook
    The Middle East - The Recordings of the Middle East
    Freelance Whales - Weathervanes
    Echo & The Bunnymen - The Fountain
    The Sun - Don't Let Your Baby Have All The Fun
    Kings of Convenience - Declaration of Dependence
    Foreign Born - Person To Person
    Real Estate - Real Estate
    Elephantom - Swim. Towards The Sun
    Wiretree - Luck
    Them Crooked Vultures - s/t debut
    Volcano Choir - Unmap
    Au Revoir Simone - Still Night,Still Light
    Phoenix - Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix
    The Raveonettes - In and Out of Control
    Ramona Falls - Intuit
    Holiday Shores - Columbus'd The Whim
    Why? - Eskimo Snow
    Neon Indian - Psychic Chasms
    Cage The Elephant - Cage The Elephant
    The Dead Weather - Horehound
    Portugal The Man - The Satantic Satanist
    Port O'Brien - Threadbare
    Broken Records - Until The Earth Begins To Part
    Headlights - Wildlife
    Bango or Freakout - Upside Down EP
    The Clean - Mister Pop
    Sin Fang Bous - Clangour
    Passion Pit - Manners
    The Flaming Lips - Embryonic
    Brazos - Phosphorescent Blues
    Spring Tigers - Spring Tigers EP
    Sea Wolf - White Water, White Bloom
    The Big Pink - A Brief History of Love
    Bodies Of Work - Flyers
    The XX - XX
    The Black Hollies - Softly Towards The Light
    Sonic Youth - The Eternal Youth
    Dinosaur Jr. - Farm
    Modest Mouse - No One's First and You're Next
    Generationals - Con Law
    BLK JKS - After Robots
    White Denim - Fits/Exposion
    Rodrigo y Gabriella - 11:11
    Monsters of Folk - Monsters of Folk
    Atlas Sound - Logos
    The Avett Brothers - I And Love And You
    Califone - All of My Friends Are Funeral Singers
    Taken By Trees - East of Eden
    Chet - Chelsea Silver, Please Come
    Julian Casablancas - Phrazes for the Young
    Washed Out - Life of Leisure
    Camera Obscura - My Maudlin Career
    Deer Tick - Born On Flag Day
    The Clientele - Bonfires of Heath
    Iron & Wine - Around The Well
    Pete Doherty - Grace/Wastelands
    It Hugs Back - Inside Your Guitar
    Peter Bjorn and John - Living Thing
    Conor Oberst & The Mustic Valley Band - Outer South
    Paper Route - Absence
    Grizzly Bear - Veckatimest
    Throw Me The Statue - Creaturesque
    The Dodos - Time To Die
    Animal Collective - Merriweather Post Pavilion
    M. Ward - Hold Time
    Deastro - Moondagger
    The Decemberists - Hazards of Love
    Matt & Kim - Grand
    The Antlers - Hospice
    Arctic Monkeys - Humbug
    The Brakes - Touchdown
    Andrew Bird - Noble Beast
    Wilco - Wilco (The Album)
    Yo La Tengo - Popular Songs
    Franz Ferdinand - Tonight
    Frightened Rabbit - Quietly Now
    We Were Promised Jetpacks - These Four Walls
    The Times New Viking - Born Again Revisited
    A Sunny Day in Glasgow - Ashes Grammar
    Pet Lions - Soft Right
    Paramore - Brand New Eyes
    Bonnie "Prince" Billy - Beware
    Bishop Allen - Grrr
    Cage The Elephant - Cage The Elephant
    Birds of Avalon - Uncanny Valley
    Sunset Rubdown - Dragonslayer
    Ben Kweller - Changing Horses
    The Acorn - Heron Act
    The Twilight Sad - Forget The Night Ahead
    AC Newman - Get Guilty
    Dan Auerbach - Keep It Hid
    Cursive - Mama, I'm Swollen
    Beirut - March of the Zapotec & Realpeople: Holland
    The Most Serene Republic - And The Ever Expanding Universe
    Patrick Watson - Wooden Arms
    Woodpigeon - Treasury Library Canada
    Wye Oak - The Knot
    Vica Voce - Rose City
    Pomegranates - Everyone, Come Outside!
    Dananananaykroyd - Hey Everyone
    Dirty Projectors - Bitte Orca
    Akron/Family - Set Em Wild, Set Em Free
    Lemon Sun - Run With the Faithless
    Eels - Hombre Lobo
    Fruit Bats - The Ruminant Band
    Mellow Down Easy - Cosmisutra
    The Mary Onettes - Dare EP
    Odawas - The Blue Depths
    The Veils - Sun Gangs
    Yeah Yeah Yeahs - It's Blitz
    White Rabbits - It's Frightening
    Loney Dear - Dear John
    The Lonely Forest - We Sing The Body Electric
    The Uglysuit - self-titled debut
    Handsome Furs - Face Control
    Vampire Hands - Me & You Cherry Red/Cuz It's a Beach Funeral


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