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 was listening to way too much Propagandhi while mowing my lawn today, it’s so good for the soul and the mind but it can be a bit dangerous (I was this close to burning down a slaughterhouse). All that ferocity needs to be tempered a bit, so I thought back to my youth and conjured up the most soothing, pleasant, happy-place band I could. Prefab Sprout, a staple on the mighty WHTG (106.3, Eatontown, NJ!), was just the tonic needed.

I downloaded their fabulous CD “The Best of Prefab Sprout: A Life of Surprises” (1992) and have been completely immersed in their sprightly 80s Brit pop loveliness (think ABC meets Spandau Ballet meets Squeeze, but better) for the good majority of this evening. I’m even forgoing beer for wine (pinot noir), to be in the proper macho-free mood. I am also dressed like Ducky.

Paddy McAloon was a seriously talented songwriter and songsmith with some killer pipes (shades of Paul Weller?). Every song has brilliant guy/girl vocals, spry synth hooks and sublime orchestration.

“Appetite” is my favorite song, even though he’s a dead ringer for Lieutenant Jim Dangle in this video. I dare you not to like this.

Big Phoot: Wildlife photographer Todd Marrone took a  Polaroid of a phanatic in its unnatural habitat.

Perspective: infoMania’s Ben Hoffman chimes in on the new Facebook:  F*ck My Facebook!

Top-notch Time Waster: “The 10 Best Aqua Teen Hunger Force Episodes” selected by the show’s creators.

This American Life – Live! Our pal Dave Hill will be performing with everyone’s favorite smart guy Ira Glass on April 23rd.

Ira Glass will host an actual episode of the radio program, performed onstage by some of our favorite contributors. Dan Savage, Starlee Kine, and Mike Birbiglia will tell stories. David Rakoff and Dave Hill will conduct a ‘special investigation.’ Plus a new cartoon by Chris Ware, additional visuals by Arthur Jones, and a very special appearance by Joss Whedon, creator of Buffy the Vampire Slayer! The performance will last around two hours. We’re going to capture the whole thing with a bunch of HD cameras, and send it live* to movie theatres all over the country.

More details from Dave>

Loving: Stephen Colbert Rips Apart Glenn Beck

The Comic Vs. Audience Comedy Show! Join Dave Walk and some very funny comics for a night of engaging and hilarious stand-up comedy on Monday, April 6h. Brought to you by the Philly Improv Theater and ComicVsAudience.com. More Info>

Bob Mould is Sad Again: “Ripped Out And Displayed, The Heart Of A Heart.” Sad stuff, but it makes for great music. Check out tracks from his latest  CD “Life and Times” he recorded for his Daytrotter session (Free downloads!). Sparse, acoustic brilliance. Bob is Philly: April 03, 2009, Philadelphia, PA @ North Star Bar. TIX here.

Louis C.K. USO Blog: Riveting words from a very funny man and an impressive photographer. He uses a Leica MP 35mm Rangefinder film camera. Nice.

The Big Picture Rarely Disappoints: Signs of Spring

Sehr Gut: German retro-futuristic group-dancing

Highly Recommended: Oh Canada! Sloan rocks.  I’ve been hearing about these power-pop lovin’ fellas for a long time but I never followed up and took a good listen until I heard them played twice on the Best Show on WFMU.  Thanks @scharpling for the enlightenment. Here’s a good start: “A Sides Win : Singles 1992-2005″

Nice Bit of Music: Iron Maiden’s  “Run to The Hills”  in 8-bit (via geekadelphia)

“King of Kong” Redux: Gaming champion Steve Wiebe will try to reclaim the Donkey Kong record on June 2.  (via popcandy)

Shush Shepard Shush: I think the more Shepard Fairey talks, the more he hurts his case.

TV Guideless: That unwatchable channel, made a little less unwatchable.

Gloom and Doom Break: Dog Makes Friends With Duck (via @waltpsu):

Currently Digging Hard: I cannot stop playing “Human(e) Meat” by the  Propagandhi (the entire album “Supporting Caste” is outstanding, might be their best yet). I sincerely well up when listening, the heartless slaughter and manufacturing of animals boggles my mind and boils my blood. Sorry, I try not to preach, but good lord…

Ever dig a band so much you have a hard time describing just how amazing they are? That’s how it is with this guy and Propagandhi. I’m almost speechless (lucky you), so we’ll let the record label give you taste:

Legendary and unrepentant residents of humankind’s ideological peanut-gallery, Propagandhi does not disappoint with Supporting Caste – a collection of boundless power and depth that is a 50 000 watt forward-thinking tip-of-the-hat to the giants—Voivod, Rush, SNFU, Sacrifice, Razor, Guilt Parade – that have gone before them.

Based on the two songs I’ve heard (“Supporting Caste” and “Human(e) Meat”), you’re in for another maelstrom of insanely tight, brutal and surprisingly melodic rock that pounds you repeatedly with hard-to-digest stories about human cruelty and Big-Brotherish oppression delivered by a bunch of well-read Canadian activist-types who possess a wicked sense of humor and hardcore dedication to their various causes.

They also still believe in the power of the guitar solo. Sweet.

Lastly, the artwork for the record is top-notch. This one features Kent Monkman’s The Triumph of Mischief.

Pre-Order and Download Two New Songs: www.propagandhi.com

Philly Show: March 14th at The Troc with Paint It Black and Witch Hunt.

Comforting Headline of The Day: Thousands Of MySpace Sex Offender Refugees Found On Facebook

Flight of the Conchords on Tour! They’ll be landing in Philly on April 18th for two shows at the Tower Theater and everywhere else in the U.S. See dates.

Stop Tagging Me in Those Semi-Nude, Face-in-Toilet College Photos I am Secretly Proud of! 10 Privacy Settings Every Facebook User Should Know (via @jodyferry)

Also, please follow Scott Shrake’s Golden Rule for Tagging:

When tagging photos, practice the Golden Rule: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. If you tag a picture where I look as fat and old as I actually am, I’m just gonna de-tag myself anyway, and for good measure I will find the worst picture I can of you and tag you in the middle of the night so it’s up there for several hours for your friends in different time zones to gawk at before you get to de-tag it.

Enjoy a One Night Stand with Todd Marrone! Drink some delicious FREE Victory beer this Friday, Feb 6th, with Todd and a bunch of other talented “young” artists who will be showing at The Main Line Art Center’s One Night Stand. (FYI, it’s Todd’s last year of eligibility due to his advanced age).

For one night only, Main Line Art Center opens our galleries to artists of all mediums ages 21-35. Emerging painters, jewelers, sculptors, photographers, potters, and multi-media artists are invited to bring up to three works to be displayed, viewed and sold. Over 25 artists have signed up already! Come grab a beer, thanks to sponsor Victory Brewing Company, support emerging artists and purchase one-of-a-kind affordable artwork.

Your WordPress Plugin Plug of the Day! “Widget Logic” is a great plugin to control sidebar widget placement on a specific page or post. I just implemented it on one of my client’s sites and it works well, you just need to know a little about Conditional Tags. It’s a snap. Thanks Alan Trewartha!

Thank You, Jesus! For bringing together two of my most favorite bands. The legendary Propagandhi will be in Philly on March 14th with hometown heroes Paint It Black. The Trocadero will be insane, bring your earplugs. If you can, buy your tix at the Troc box office. Fucking Ticketmaster wanted an extra $6.90 for one lousy $14 ticket (yes, I’m going alone). Show Info.

Battlestar Gets Brutal! Wow, Friday’s rebellion episode was quite a bloody good affair! As much as I HATE watching President Roslin and Gaius Baltar’s annoying faces and momentum-halting dialogue–so much so, I stopped watching last year–I came grovelling back for the final episodes. So far, I’m glad I did. Watch latest episode here.

Patrick Bateman Would Be Impressed: Card Observer, focuses on top-notch business card design.

Don’t Be Shy: What’s your guilty pleasure?

FREE MP3!: Dave Hill and his hot rock band Valley Lodge just posted a new song from their forthcoming CD. Download: “If It Takes All Night” (via Internet Explosion)

Mad Props: The venerable Mad magazine gives us: The First 100 Minutes of the Obama Presidency [via laughingsquid]

It’s Electric! Our pals at Geekadelphia are throwing a shindig honoring America’s greatest geek Ben Franklin. Yup, that long-haired, fat bastard invented a ton of stuff (or so they say) and he’s arisen from the dead and looking for some fun in Philly. Bonus: You know that guy who plays Ben at all the big events? Yeah, well he’s not invited (he’s a real cockblock). Details:

Ben Franklin’s B’Day @ National Mechanics – January 17th, 2009: Drink Specials @ 9PM

National Mechanics
22 South 3rd Street, Philadelphia, PA‎
(215) 701-4883
www.nationalmechanics.com

Christ Almighty, More Ring Tones: When I want the latest in music news, I always hit up the Wall Street Jour… wha? Anyway, good read: How the Music Industry Can Get Digital Satisfaction.

Conan Go Bye Bye: Our Favorite freckled giant is leaving NYC for L.A. soon (boo!), get tickets now to his last shows:

After 16 seasons on the air, the curtain is coming down on Late Night with Conan O’Brien as Conan prepares to head out to L.A. to take over The Tonight Show. Would you like to be a member of one of Conan’s last studio audiences in New York? Here’s your chance!

For an opportunity to obtain FREE tickets, please e-mail your Name, Address, Phone Number, & E-mail Address to: conangobyebye@nbc.com

Old News: Actor Eric Christian Olsen is 31 and looks it, but that didn’t stop him from playing a high school jock in the upcoming awful movie “Fired Up!” Let’s add him to the list: Old School! Too Old to Play Teens

Ale Yay!: Philly Beer Week Just added 20 more events to the calendar – Standard Tap, Good Dog, Grey Lodge, P.O.P.E, 12 Steps Down & TJ’s Everyday. Brewers include: Dock Street Brewing Company, Dogfish Head Brewery, Flying Fish Brewing Company, Troegs Brewing Company, Victory Brewing Company, Yards Brewing Company and many more of your favorite beer slingers. March 6-15th. Stay informed: join mailing list or Twitter.

Jon Wurster = a relentless volcanic eruption of comedy and music!

Language, Please! Kathy Griffin started it, and hopefully Tina Fey has ended it. Let’s put “Suck it!” on that high shelf where we completely forget about things, it’ll fit in nicely with “Bitch!” and some other never-funnies that can be heard regularly in Manayunk bars and also as a greeting on the Preston & Steve morning zoo.

Comic vs Audience, Now with 100% More Sound: I just spent a delightful half hour listening to local comedian Chip Chantry chat with host Dave Walk. You can too! Totally free. Listen up: Podcast.

More Props: Music maven @largeheartedboy reminded the twitterverse that Propagandhi finished their latest in November and should be available soon. We’ll keep ya posted. That is rockin’ good news. In honor, let’s fire up some some ferocity… a nice Bush send-off.

Download MP3: Die Jugend Marschiert