2009 was one hell of a year for WKNC and for North Carolina music. On our end, we had the sad departure of local radio legend DJ Stevo (you can still hear him broadcasting over at taintradio.org) but also the beginning of something new with myself taking over the Local Beat in August after DJ Mick provided a couple months of Friday evening entertainment. We have also added to our ranks several different Local Lunch DJs who have all been doing a fantastic job of providing you with non-stop local music every weekday from noon to 1 p.m.

In the local music spectra of our community, many new bands have made their way onto the scene while others have begun establishing themselves as some of the premiere musicians in the country.  Still, other groups broke up or left our region for better or for worse. Even some unfamiliar venues have begun making their mark in this region. Some amazing shows have been played and become ingrained in the memories of many and there is no doubt that more and more people within our community have been tuning into to the amazing local music this part of the country offers.

As it is a common trend in nearly every aspect of our culture at the end of the year to create some sort of countdown list in remembrance of the past 12 months many local blogs, newspapers, and magazines have been ranking their top bands, albums, and songs from 2009.

Not to be outdone, I have been preparing for this list throughout the year and after listening to every second of every song on all 154 albums that have been sent my way  by local bands and artists (an exhausting feat that nearly killed my GPA). I have whittled my way down to my top 10.  In total, I have listened to more than 1,400 local songs culminating in just less than 74 hours worth of North Carolina music from 2009.  Many of these albums and bands are unfortunately not worth mentioning but after much debate I worked my way down to 38 records that in my mind would qualify as top-10 material.

First to be chocked off were EPs. Certainly, the Tomahawks Like a Horse on a Beach EP was one of the finest groupings of four songs I had the pleasure to listen to, and Violet Vector’s EP II could have made the cut, along with Aminal’s A Face To Fight EP, Mandolin Orange’s self titled EP, and Veelee’s Three Sides EP among others, but I feel that LPs are the ones that truly stand the test of time.

Second to go were the compilations.  Hear Here will remain my number one album of 2009, but it is difficult to split the award to all 17 of those bands.  I also always enjoy the Have a Holly Raleigh Kidsmas volumes but putting a holiday album on the list didn’t seem quite right either.

I finally worked my way down to the last two dozen or so and that is where things began to get difficult.  I may never fully forgive myself for excluding I Was Totally Destroying It’s release Horro Vacui and I have no excuse for not including it.  That album kicks serious ass.  As does Americans in France’s Pretzelvania, Bowerbirds’ Upper Air, Calico Haunts’ After All, Hammer No More The Fingers’ Looking For Bruce, Old Ceremony’s Walk on Thin Air, Ryan Gustafson’s Donkey, and many others that unfortunately were not included (I will stop before I start second guessing myself).  In any case, after much rambling here it is:

10. The Bronzed Chorus: I’m The Spring

This duo out of Greensboro has seemingly come out of nowhere in the past two years.  Since recording their independently released debut thurtythurty in Adam Joyce’s bedroom, Joyce and band mate Brennan O’Brien have taken the state by storm after signing to Hello Sir Records and promptly putting out the masterpiece that is I’m the Spring. Post-rock noise ecstasy combines with powerful imagery of storms of overdriven guitar and bass pounding the skies with an untamed fury.   The effect of two musicians creating such a visual component to their music speaks volumes of what this album truly is: art.  Stay on your toes throughout this album and try not to miss a note, you won’t come back down after hearing this.  More Reviews:

• Independent Weekly
• Pinnacle Magazine

9. Starmount: Tyranny of the Sphere
Here is another instrumental album that cracked my top 10, the debut album from a newly discovered band from right here in Raleigh.  Starmount is one of the most unique bands I have ever heard and likely ever will with their blending of pedal steel guitar, upright bass, synthesizers, and a drum/electronics kit to make quite an uncommon yet entrancing sound.  Already signed to Superfan records, this album has begun making it’s mark on the community even if the group only plays a couple of times a year.  To keep it short and simple, Starmount is a band that I cannot relate with another group but one which I will now begin to compare bands to.  Their music is one of a kind and this album speaks volumes about the progressive and evolving nature of music.  In my opinion, the best way to listen to this record is go sit in a dark room, turn the music up loud and let it wash over you like a fresh cool breeze.

8. Polvo: In Prism
I will be the first to line up and shamefully admit that I was never a big fan of Polvo.  The fact of the matter is that I never really gave them a chance.  However, after watching them at the Double Barrel Benefit back in February I was converted and anxiously awaited their new album after news of them hitting the studio began to spread.  What resulted was one of the grandest vindications of the year.
In Prism was Polvo’s first album in 12 years, but boy did they come back with a vengeance.  Classified from anywhere to Math Rock, post-hardcore, to psychedelic, you can put them in whatever genre you like, but to me Polvo and especially this record stands to no-one’s label but their own. The entire album plays seamlessly like a single beating entity whose life unfolds out to you through each track as it’s own but also as a part of the whole organic form Polvo creates.  Call me a noob to their works but In Prism is one of the finest, if not best album of the Polvo catalog.  Here are a couple of reviews to dignify my claim:

• Allmusic
• Independent Weekly
• Pitchfork
• PopMatters

7. Lonnie Walker: These Times Old Times
I remember the first time I saw Lonnie Walker at the Terpsikhore Collective Leap Year Extravaganza back in 2008. They played alongside IWTDI and Annuals, two of the best bands in the Southeast, but it was Lonnie Walker who stole the show and the hearts of everyone in the crowd that night. Stevo and I harassed lead singer Brian Corum that night and he brought a demo to WKNC the next week. The rest they say, is history.

These Times Old Times contains several remakes of the same songs from that first demo but also quite a few newer tracks as well. The whole album is reminiscent of Bob Dylan’s Blood on the Tracks but a bit hardier and with a more intense rock ‘n roll feel while still keeping that same folky edge that they are known for. Tunes like “Grapefruit”, “Back Home Inside With You”, and “Crochet” add on to the already set LW standards and are surrounded by short sentimental ditties like “Old Birds In The Seas”, “Horse Boots”, and “Country Crowded Trees” to create an album that never gets old after each listen. The effect of their debut release was immediate as they were one of the top headliners for Artsplosure ‘09 and named Ear Farm’s band of the week back in August and are now one of the most sought after live shows in the state for fans.

6. Avett Brothers: I and Love and You

It is becoming difficult for me to label the Avett Brothers as a local band in the past two years only because they tour so god damn much.   But these boys out of Concord have without a doubt become the shining beacon of North Carolina music in recent years and are obviously the most successful group in the past 10 years from our state.  I and Love and You is their most recent output, their major label debut, and without question their best since forming in 2000.  Known for their heartfelt and emotional songs as well as their raucous and mesmerizing live performances this album captures all of those things better than any other.   It has the ability to make your hair stand on end through one sentimental song and then the next throws you into a whirlwind of acoustic picking heaven.
Many questioned the Avett’s move to a larger label after the band promised to stay close to their roots but one listen to this record, produced by music legend Rick Rubin, proves the move right.  Just check out some of the reviews below:

• Allmusic
• Independent Weekly
• Paste
• Rolling Stone

To prove the Bros. success over the past 9 years I and Love and You peaked at #16 on the Billboard 200 best selling albums, #8 in best selling digital albums, and #7 in rock albums. Point proven.

5. Midtown Dickens: Lanterns
Much to my surprise this album dropped to number 5 on my list for when I first gave it a listen I was sure it would be in my top 3.  The two women (Kym and Catherine) founded their group back in 2005 have now expanded the band into a sextet after adding four of their best friends to play alongside them.  What results from this addition is a fuller and more satisfying full band sound to back their already magnificent song writing and singing skills.  Midtown Dickens is fun and enjoyable to listen to halfheartedly but once you take them seriously the music just opens up into something deeper and more profound than most bands can pull off.  Grab the album and take a seat because listening to Lanterns might knock you flat out.  

4. Megafaun: Gather, Form, and Fly

If you have ever seen Megafaun live you will know what I mean when I confess that watching these guys play is like having a deep religious experience.  So believe me when I say that listening to Gather, Form, and Fly is nothing short of transcending.  Megafaun has always been terrific whether as the original lineup of DeYarmond Edison before the split or on their first album Bury The Square, so it is difficult to say they have “matured.”  I prefer the word “evolved” instead as Megafaun has taken their already well-developed earthy sound and transformed it into music so beautiful and sententious that the sheer vastness of the sound is almost indescribable.  This album moves and breathes around you as you listen to it almost as if the whole world starts opening itself up to a Megafaun induced dream.

3. Luego: Taped-Together Stories
A second reincarnation of this band Simply put Luego is the catchiest band around.  With Patrick Phelan heading the gang and welcoming the likes of Jeff Crawford, Peter Holsapple, Nick Jaeger, Rob DiMauro, Cameron Lee, and Charles Cleaver Luego is as close to a local music supergroup as one might find.  Taped-Together Stories is a one of a kind in today’s music world with personal and heartfelt lyrics that anyone with a soul can relate to combined with bluesy rock/pop and craftily set beats that are easy to move your feet to all underneath Phelan’s raspy and grabbing vocals.  It’s all based off of that fun jangly pop and lo-fi production technique so popular among bands in our area (ie: Max Indian) but with an indie spark to complete the album’s character.  Simply put, it’s the catchiest local album of the year.  In 20 years this will be one of those albums you look back on and say “I was there.”

2. Horseback: The Invisible Mountain

As difficult as it is to describe this album, I am going to try, so bear with me as I fail to give this album it’s due indulgence.  Only four songs long, this masterpiece takes on 38 minutes of grinding harsh satanic laced vociferations backed by acrid droning that comes together like a choir of demons singing straight from the pits of hell.  It’s dark, malicious, and pierces the soul with a pointed tip but finally salvation is granted in the form of the nearly 17 minute finale “Hatecloud Dissolving into Nothing”, one of the most breathtaking and articulate pieces of instrumentation to grace my well worn ears.  Its beautiful, heart wrenching, and sincere.  Every note on this album is well placed and delicate to the overall fabric of the sound, nothing is taken for granted and nothing is overdone.  It’s perfect.
After listening to this album for the first time I found myself sitting on the edge of my bed staring at nothing for almost an hour trying to absorb what I had just heard.  Do yourself a favor and give this a try.

1. Bombadil: Tarpits and Canyonlands

After hearing the first and then second song from Bombadil’s new album I knew that all of my expectations for it were going to be fulfilled.  After the eighth song I realized that this might be the best album of 2009.  After the third or fourth listen to Tarpits and Cayonlands it occurred to me that this album was one of the greatest records I had ever heard.  Few albums have ever reached me quite like Tarpits has and I am having a difficult time writing this piece so that it fully encompasses my true
The first review I ever read on Bombadil was after their first EP came out.  The review read “It sound’s like a group of hobbits from Durham got together and made some kickass folk music.”  Nothing could have been truer then.  Their songs were joyful expressions of life and bewilderment and innocence at the world.  Listening to their old stuff makes you want to kick off your shoes and go frolicking in a grassy field next to a lazy stream.  But as Tarpits and Canyonlands, their second full length began to emerge through live performances and hearsay I knew that this album would be different.  Many critics will ramble about the tides and maturation of bands and either bombast their new ways or extol progressive features from album to album.  Overall it really is what the band decides to do with their sound that makes a difference.  Fortunately for us, in Tarpits Bombadil did very little to their style.  The upbeat melodies and piano heavy chords are still wrapped in their folk tinged harmonies and buoyant  vocals, but something is different, something hard to put your finger on.  What arises is a sense of depth and emotion lacking from their previous works, a sense of death and not just life, of powerful heartbreak arising from potent love, of creating a fulfilled legacy, and a justification to experience all of these sensations without remorse.
When I first heard the album back in April I could not stop listening over and over.  It’s a work that speaks to each person in their own individual way and makes its mark on the listener.  From the ever present goosebumps during the very first song “I Am” through the seemingly drifting ‘Kuala Lumpur” (my personal favorite) all the way to the final four songs of redemption, loss, and ultimate love, Bombadil grabs you by the ears and the mind and takes you on a journey of illumination and enlightenment.
Overall this masterpiece is nothing short of lyrical genius coinciding with  instrumentation that matches the mood perfectly.  If you enjoyed their old albums, you will find this better.  If you never did like Bombadil before, this one will grab you.  Tarpits and Canyonlands isn’t just the best local album of 2009, it is one of the best album of any regard in the past decade.

Below is a brief list of my top 10 Local albums of 2009 as well as DJ Ray’s my awesome assistant in the Local Music department at WKNC:

Beginning Sunday, October 18, the Cherry Bounce alternative music festival will return to downtown Raleigh. The main stage will be set up on Hargett St. in front of the Raleigh Times on Saturday, October 24.

Here is the schedule for the week-long event:

Sunday, October 18
Angie Aparo at Deep South

Monday, October 19
Brian Corum of Lonnie Walker at The Raleigh Times

Tuesday, October 20
Veelee, Naps, Americans in France and Gray Young at Slims, hosted by Music.MyNC.com

Wednesday, October 21
Mount Weather at The Busy Bee

Thursday, October 22
Gross Ghost, The Poles and Free Electric State at Tir Na Nog, hosted by WKNC

Friday, October 23
Rooster for the Masses, Colossus, The T’s and The Infamous Sugar at Berkley Cafe hosted by New Raleigh

Saturday, October 24
Peggy Sue, Schooner, Sky Larkin, Old Avenue, Fin Fang Foom, The Hood Internet and Man Man on the main stage on Hargett St.

New Raleigh has beaten us to the punch announcing this month’s Local Beer Local Band, but we are just excited as everyone else.  This could possibly be the best month’s lineup yet, and features three extra dates not on Thursday!  Check it out:

Wednesday, September 2- The American Princes with Magic Mike (FREE)

Thursday, September 3- Max Indian & Mount Weather (FREE)

Saturday, September 5- Lonnie Walker with Americans in France & Anti-Bubble ($5 cover)

Thursday, September 10- The T’s & Embarrassing Fruits (FREE)

Saturday, September 12- Rollergirl after party featuring Red Collar, I Was Totally Destroying It, The Demon Beat, & Pink Flag ($5 cover)

Thursday, September 17- Sparkcon kick off featuring Bright Young Things, The Jackets, Aminal, & Starmount ($5 cover)

Thursday, September 24- Future Kings of Nowhere & Dry Heathens (FREE)

Every week WKNC interviews our Local Beer Local Band bands, so be sure to check back to the blog for dates and times of live, on-air, interviews.

Also, don’t forget that every week the Hear Here compilation will be on sale at Tir Na Nog!

Brian Corum of Lonnie Walker

Brian Corum, front- man for everyone’s favorite Lonnie Walker, has graciously given us his top song list this week.

Make sure to check out Lonnie Walker September 5 at Local Beer Local Band at Tir Na Nog with Americans in France and Anti Bubbles.

“I couldn’t put any kind of order to this list so these are just 10 of my favorite jams right now,” Corum writes.

2. Girls – Lust for Life
“This song is ridiculously catchy and the first line is a guy singing, ‘oh I wish I had a boyfriend’ which I’ve caught myself singing out loud before and in turn have gotten some strange looks from people.”

3. Fleetwood Mac – Not that Funny
“It’s got this weird tone that comes in and out of the mix and I really like the snarl in Buckingham’s vocal delivery.”

4. The Rentals – Sweetness and Tenderness
“I hadn’t really listened to the Rentals much since high school, but I played the album Return of the Rentals the other day while driving and was over-flooded with sweet memories.”

5. Americans in France - Nose Job
“I really like the snotty nose brat aesthetic that this band does so well — and they are local. I got the album Pretzelvania, and I think it’s great. We’re playing together on Sept. 5 at Tir Na Nog too, along with a new band called AntiBubbles. I’m real excited about this show!”

6. Gillian Welch – By the Mark
“The best song about Jesus Christ, ever. So pure, and her voice. I love her voice.”

7. Talking Heads- Animals
“Super paranoia — this song is pretty strange even for the Talking Heads. It’s filled with a bunch of jagged rants about how the animals are laughing at the human condition.”

8. Angelo Badalamenti – The Straight Story Soundtrack
“The Straight Story is one of my favorite David Lynch films. It’s tame compared to a lot of his stuff, but you can still tell Lynch made it. The score fits so great, too.”

9. Magnetic Fields – Kiss Me Like You Mean It
“The line, ‘come here baby and kiss me like you mean it,’ sounds like it should be an old Humphrey Bogart quote.”

10. Cluster – Zum Wohl
“The album Sowiesoso was playing at Schoolkids one day while I was looking around and I ended up buying it instead of everything else. It’s a super warm sounding electronic album, great to work to, and I thank Brad for talking me into buying it.”

It’s hard to believe 2009 is half over.

There have been tons of albums out in months one through six that our DJs have released over the airwaves, some of which resulted in countless requests and songs that got stuck in our heads for days on end. It’s hard to narrow them down, but a few of the WKNC music directors have made their picks for the top five albums of the year so far in their respective formats.

Local Music Director Adam Kincaid selected…

Bombadil's Tarpits and Canyonlands

1. Bombadil: Tarpits & Canyonlands
2. Colossus: Drunk On Blood
3. The Love Language: The Love Language
4. Lonnie Walker: These Times Old Times
5. Embarrassing Fruits: Community/Exploitation

With honorable mentions for…

Americans in France: Pretzelvania
Hammer No More The Fingers: Looking For Bruce

Disagree with Adam’s picks? Send him an email and let him know which albums you would have chosen.

Daytime Music Director Jenna St. Pierre selected…

Cotton Jones' Paranoid Cocoon

1. Cotton Jones: Paranoid Cocoon
2. Dirty Projectors: Bitte Orca
3. Animal Collective: Merriweather Post Pavillion
4. Harlem Shakes: Technicolor Health
5. Screaming Females: Power Move

With honorable mentions for:

Akron/Family: Set ‘Em Wild, Set ‘Em Free
Phoenix: Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix

Are there albums you think should have been on the list? Email Jenna to discuss.

Underground Music Director Damion Sledge chose…

Saigon and Statik Selektah's All In a Day's Work

Saigon and Statik Selektah: All in a Day’s Work

If you have Underground albums to add to the list, email Damion.

Stay tuned for the next six months of albums on WKNC, and we’ll see which ones come out on top in December!

Here are the top 30 records at WKNC for last week, compiled by Daytime Music Director Jenna St. Pierre:

1. Technicolor Health by Harlem Shakes
2. Three Sides by Veelee
3. Eating Us by Black Moth Super Rainbow
4. Actor by St. Vincent
5. American Folklore by American Folklore
6. Ascenseur Ouvert by Kingsbury Manx
7. Kingdom Of Rust by Doves
8. Inside Your Guitar by It Hugs Back
9. Power Move by Screaming Females
10. Telekinesis by Telekinesis
11. Pretzelvania by Americans in France
12. Manners by Passion Pit
13. Walking On A Dream by Empire of the Sun
14. These Times Old Times by Lonnie Walker
15. Oh Tall Tree In The Ear by Roman Candle
16. Set Em Wild, Set Em Free by Akron/Family
17. The First Time by Embarrassing Fruits
18. To Lose My Life by White Lies
19. Fantasies by Metric
20. It’s Blitz by Yeah Yeah Yeahs
21. Welcome To Mali by Amadou and Mariam
22. The Love Language by The Love Language
23. Suckers [EP] by Suckers
24. Devotion Implosion by Gliss
25. Pilgrim by Red Collar
26. Jupiter by Starfucker
27. Seven Days Now by Xu Xu Fang
28. Bunny Gets Paid by Red Red Meat
29. Bromst by Dan Deacon
30. Hazards Of Love by Decemberists

Here are some new albums we’ve added to our library, which you can look forward to hearing:
Veckatimist by Grizzly Bear
Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix by Phoenix

Here are the top 30 records at WKNC for this week, compiled by Daytime Music Director Jenna St. Pierre:

1. Telekinesis! by Telekinesis
2. Ascenseur Ouvert by Kingsbury Manx
3. To Lose My Life by White Lies
4. The First Time by Embarrassing Fruits
5. Inside Your Guitar by It Hugs Back
6. Technicolor Health by Harlem Shakes
7. Power Move by Screaming Females
8. Pretzelvania by Americans in France
9. Walking on a Dream by Empire of the Sun
10. The Love Language by The Love Language LOVE LANGUAGE
11. (A)spera by Mirah
12. Set Em Wild, Set Em Free by Akron/Family
13. Everybody Come Outside by Pomegranates
14. It’s Blitz by Yeah Yeah Yeahs
15. Devotion Implosion by Gliss
16. Romanian Names by John Vanderslice
17. Fantasies by Metric
18. Jupiter by Starfucker
19. Mama, I’m Swollen by Cursive
20. Seven Days Now by Xu Xu Fang
21. Bromst by Dan Deacon
22. Bunny Gets Paid by Red Red Meat
23. Welcome To Mali by Amadou and Mariam
24. Looking For Bruce by Hammer No More The Fingers
25. Mouthful Of Bees by Mouthful of Bees
26. Hazards Of Love by Decemberists
27. Suckers [EP] by Suckers
28. Outside Love by Pink Mountaintops
29. Kid Moves by Kinetic Stereokids
30. Cold Warrior by Grandchildren

Here are some new albums we’ve added to our library, which you can look forward to hearing:
These Times Old Times by Lonnie Walker
Pilgrim by Red Collar
American Folklore by American Folklore

Wow, what a day.  We started off the Local Beat with an interview and in-studio performance by one of my favorite bands around, Bombadil.  They played previously unreleased “Kate and Kelsey” and were also kind enough to let us spin a few tracks off of their yet-to-be-released album, Tarpits and Canyonlands (see video below)
http://www.vimeo.com/3382352.

We talked about the imminent loss of Stuart, Daniel’s injured hand, the NC State Brickyard preachers, and how none of these things will stop the momentum that Bombadil has with new album to be released soon.

Lastly, they provided a hint as to their concert garb for the evening (see pictures below).  Check out the interview.

Bombadil performing in WKNC studio 4/10, c/o Mike Gray

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As Bombadil was leaving the studio, we were shuffling Double Barrel Benefit 6 band Lost in the Trees (2/13 of them, anyway) into the studio.  They also played a previously unreleased track called “A Church that Fits our Needs,” a stunningly beautiful song with, as we noted, a touch of folk.  We also talked about their upcoming date at the Shakori Hills Festival and some work the band is doing in schools (promoting rock, or pop, or whatever it should be called). Finally, we talked about the band’s next album, which should be released sometime this fall (check the Trekky Records website for more info).  They also spoke a little about the show that night at the Lincoln Theatre.

Check out the Lost in the Trees interview below.

Lost in the Trees performing in WKNC Studio 4/10, c/o Mike Gray

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The lineup for that show was as follows:

Lost in the Trees

Benji Hughes (who put on just about the drunkest, most hilarious act I’ve seen in a while)

Bombadil

Our last guest of the evening was Ryan Richardson of the Kingsbury Manx, who joined us by phone.  We talked about the band’s label, Odessa Records (owned and managed by band member Paul Finn).  Odessa was having its “label release” party at Cat’s Cradle that night, which included all 3 bands on the label:

Americans in France

Impossible Arms

Kingsbury Manx

Check out the interview below.

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Check out the pictures from the Lincoln Theatre show below and visit http://www.flickr.com/photos/not_a_photographer/ for more of the same.

Lost in the Trees at the Lincoln Theatre 4/10, c/o Mike Gray

Benji Hughes at the Lincoln Theatre 4/10, c/o Mike Gray

Benji Hughes napping on the Lincoln Theatre stage, c/o Mike Gray

Bombadil Harmonizing at the Lincoln Theatre 4/10, c/o Mike Gray

Bombadil performing "Cavaliers Har Hum" at the Lincoln Theatre 4/10, c/o Mike Gray

Enjoy!

1    AMADOU AND MARIAM    Welcome To Mali    (Nonesuch)
2    TELEKINESIS     Telekinesis!    (Merge)
3    MIRAH    (A)spera    (K)
4    WHITE LIES    To Lose My Life    (Interscope)
5    SOFT TAGS    Blue House    (Self-Released)
6    BURNING HEARTS    Aboa Sleeping    (Shelflife)
7    AMERICANS IN FRANCE     Pretzelvania    (ODESSA)
8    KINETIC STEREOKIDS    Kid Moves    (Overdraft)
9    POMEGRANATES    Everybody Come Outside    (Lujo)
10    GRANDCHILDREN     Cold Warrior    (Self-Released)
11    DEAD HEART BLOOM    In Chains    (KEI)
12    YEAH YEAH YEAHS    It’s Blitz    (Interscope)
13    IT HUGS BACK    Inside Your Guitar    (4AD)
14    GRAY YOUNG    Firmament
15    HAMMER NO MORE THE FINGERS     Looking For Bruce    (Churchkey)
16    DAN DEACON    Bromst    (Carpark)
17    OBITS    I Blame You    (SUB POP)
18    THOUGHTS    Consider The Bear    (Brass Tax Collective)
19    MAX INDIAN    You Can Go Anywhere, Do Anything    (Self-Released)
20    SHOLI    Sholi    (Quarterstick)
21    BEN KWELLER    Changing Horses    (ATO Records)
22    LOVE LANGUAGE    The Love Language    (Bladen County)
23    SUPERCHUNK    Leaves In The Gutter [EP]    (Merge)
24    RED RED MEAT    Bunny Gets Paid    (SUB POP)
25    ROBYN HITCHCOCK AND THE VENUS 3    Goodnight Oslo    (Yep Roc)
26    HANDSOME FURS    Face Control    (Sub Pop)
27    ELVIS PERKINS IN DEARLAND    Elvis Perkins In Dearland    (XL)
28    VEILS    Sun Gangs    (Rough Trade)
29    GLISS    Devotion Implosion    (Rykodisc)
30    THIEVES LIKE US    Play Music    (Shelflife

Radio Adds:
1    SCREAMING FEMALES    Power Move    (Don Giovanni)
2    KINGSBURY MANX    Ascenseur Ouvert!   (ODESSA)
3    HARLEM SHAKES    Technicolor Health    (Gigantic)
4    METRIC   Fantasies (Self Released)

Word up.

The Independent Weekly has chosen their top 40 tracks from the Triangle music scene from 2008.  The list features brief summaries of each band and their song, plus free downloads of all 40 chosen songs.  Very cool.  To access the list click here.

Some notable gems that even we at WKNC missed include Lois Deloatch’s traditional piece of “Down By The Riverside,” a fantastic jazzy/blues number,  Michael Holland’s country tune “Ballad of Eric Rudolph,” and Kooley High’s hip-hop track ”Kool With It” from the Summer Sessions.  Be on the lookout for these tunes to hit the Local Lunch & other WKNC formats in the near future.

A couple of songs I might have been able to survive without out that made the list include Bryce Clayton Eiman’s static laced “The Black & The Black” and ambient/indie band Boyzone with their song “Six Hunkth,” but its no secret I shy away from ambient/experimental tunes, and you gotta make everyone happy, right?  I am also a tad bit confused on how Oregeon folk singer David Karsten Daniels made the list.  I understand he plays the Triangle frequently, but would appreciate any knowledge on his relation to the Triangle.

Some notable exceptions include Greg Humphreys, Lonnie Walker, Tift Merritt, & Violet Vector & the Lovely Lovelies.  But alas, only room for 40, and I think the Indy always does a fantastic job with these sorts of lists.  By the way, does anyone consider Ryan Adams, Hotel Lights, or Roman Candle local anymore?  Just a thought…