Okay, not better, but hopefully a bit different than most lists out there. 2009 was not my favorite year for music or for Jennifer Garner/Matthew McConaughey romcoms, but we’ll save that hot-button topic for another day. For the most part, the belles of the blog ball left this cranky old fella yawning, not fawning — either too twee or too quirky or just too lifeless, take your pick — but I won’t harp on that. I’m here to offer you only sparkling gems and I promise not to mention any of the listless turds of ’09 like Monsters of Folk, Wilco and Kings of Leon, I swear, not a peep about them. Here’s the goodness in no particular order.

Click song link to download. Click arrow to play. Click CD title to buy.

Malcolm Middleton – “Subset Of The World”
CD: Waxing Gibbous

Tegan and Sara - “Hell”
CD: Sainthood

The Lawrence Arms – “The Slowest Drink At the Saddest Bar on the Snowiest Day in the Greatest City”
CD: Buttsweat and Tears

Propagandhi – “Night Letters”
CD: Supporting Caste

Sky Larkin – “Molten”
CD: The Golden Spike

Kevin McAdams – “A Different Kind of Love Song”
CD: “It’s My Time to Lose My Mind”

Obits – “Pine On”
CD: “Good Friends, Bad Habits”

Owen – “Good Friends, Bad Habits”
CD: New Leaves

Mumford & Sons – “Little Lion Man”
CD: Sigh No More

Chris Wollard And The Ship Thieves – “All the Things You Know”
CD: Chris Wollard & the Ship Thieves

Tortoise – “Prepare Your Coffin”
CD: Beacons Of Ancestorship

No Age – “You’re a Target”
CD: Losing Feeling

Ted Leo – “Even Heroes Have To Die”
CD: The Brutalist Bricks (March, 2010)

The Bomb – “The Kids”
CD: Speed Is Everything

Paint It Black – “Bliss”
CD: Amnesia

O Pioneers!!! – “The Architect of Disney World”
CD: Neon Creeps

Frank Turner – “The Road”
CD: Poetry of the Deed

Maserati - “Monoliths”
CD: Passages

We Were Promised Jetpacks – “Quiet Little Voices”
CD: These Four Walls

Mystery of Two – “Repeat It”
CD: Mystery of Two

Mission of Burma – “1, 2, 3, Partyy!”
CD: The Sound the Speed the Light

And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead – “Bells of Creation”
CD: The Century of Self

Bonus Videos!

Hell from Tegan and Sara

Sky Larkin – Molten

Tortoise – Prepare Your Coffin from Thrill Jockey Records

Owen – good friends, bad habits from Hobbledehoy Record Co

Munford & Sons – ‘Little lion man’ from Ben Magahy

We Were Promised Jetpacks – Quiet Little Voices from WWPJ

I hear Billy Bragg meets Against Me! What’s not too like.

More: www.epitaph.com

More Sleeveface: Are you in a pissy mood like me? Here’s a little sleeveface to brighten your dark soul.

Need Another Reason to Dislike Denis Leary? I don’t. This pretend-fireman, pretend-hockey player and legit joke thief has been ripping off comedians (entire bits from Bill Hicks) for years.  His comedy career-defining bit “I’m an Asshole” was stolen directly from Louis C.K. If that’s not enough, Leary attacks autism for no good reason (a lame attempt at keeping the edgy, angry guy thing going, huh?). Did he once play a pretend-neurologist, is that how he became an expert on the topic? I guess he’s never met a child who has to live with the disorder.  At least he’s spot-on about the “I’m an Asshole” part.

Vote Wisely: Or else… you’ll see a lot more of this… and god forbid, this!

A Clean Break in Philly: “A vacant lot becomes a prefab neighborhood for two weeks with full-scale modern, sustainable, affordable homes designed by international architects.” Sounds interesting!

Blinded by Science? Trust no one! Even scientists, Jeff?  Yes friends, especially those Bunsen burning bastards! Read The Great Betrayal:

Judson’s cast of characters includes a dermatologist who claims he can graft skin from black mice to white — but turns out to have colored the grafts with a Sharpie. Another scientist creates bogus data before the very eyes of his stunned colleagues. And a Nobel Prize winner defends the publication of a co-author’s concocted data by saying it’s the scientific community’s job to verify it.  [via veryshortlist]

If you want to fear your doctors too, I recommend: Complications: A Surgeon’s Notes on an Imperfect Science by Atul Gawande.

Not Dead: Just Asleep.

We Need Backup! Wow, this handsome little fella seems like a good deal: Iomega releases 1TB network hard drive for $299. Speaking of Iomega, you designers remember good ol Zip drives? How’s about the dreaded SyQuest disk, the absolute worst and most unreliable thing you could ever attempt to save a file to.

Checking in with Stewie: Tired Old John McCain Just Recycling Speeches At This Point

New Lego Store in KoP: Grand Opening Photos: Life Size Lego Batman and more Legotatsic photos from Rob Bender.

Download Free MP3: “Revival Road’
It’s a nice little ditty featuring Chuck Ragan, Ben Nichols, Tim Barry, Frank Turner, Digger Barnes, Jon Gaunt, Todd Beene. Want more, check out their Revival Tour info and dates here.