But who cares about me….you’re here for music.  Specifically, lists about music.  Even more specifically, lists about good music that came out in 2009, which is what I promise to deliver.  While I could easily write a top ten (or twenty….or fifty) list of my favorite CD, vinyl, cassette, reel-to-reel, wax cylinder, etc. releases from this glorious annus horribilis (didn’t this year suck?  and doesn’t that phrase look like “horrible anus”?  didn’t he steal that joke from “Saxondale“?), I’ve decided instead to focus on some of the amazing reissues that came out in 2009.

Why focus on reissues?  Well, partly because in this post-modern age with ever-advancing technology, I believe in a work of art as a living document, and I’m amazed by how a great technician can improve on an already great album and introduce it anew to a modern generation.  Or I’m just an old fogey who’s locked in the past.  Tomayto, Tomahto.

Ok, less talky, more listy.  Here ’tis.

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10) Warp20 box set

Like many of you, I came of age musically in the early-to-mid 1990′s, a epic time of musical innovation, especially in electronic music.  While genres such as House and Jungle were finally starting to reach much broader audiences (did anyone over the age of 15 in 1995 not know at least one person with a set of turntables & a mixer?), more esoteric forms of electronica were starting to show up in the underground.

While most of the electronic music showing up in clubs had steady beats and easy ambient trance synthlines, more avant-garde explorers of the format were creating harsh digital glitches and cut-and-paste rhythms that were anything but danceable.  While the music went under many different names, it was most commonly known as “IDM”, or Intelligent Dance Music.  At the forefront were artists such as Autechre, Aphex Twin, Squarepusher, Plaid, Prefuse 73, Richard Devine and Jamie Lidell.  While there music varied greatly, they all shared one thing in common—Warp.

“From MTV intros to movie soundtracks to television commercials, the sounds of Warp became a pervading part of the cultural landscape, almost subversively gaining mass appeal through its rapid appropriation.”

Warp Records (founded in 1989) was one of the first, and most definitely the most prominent, of IDM record labels.  Starting in 1989, Warp blended cutting-edge album artwork with music that challenged both the mind and emotions.  In many ways, Warp releases became the soundtrack of the mid-90s, a fractured timespace of pre-millennial chaos and exploding technological change.  From MTV intros to movie soundtracks to television commercials, the sounds of Warp became a pervading part of the cultural landscape, almost subversively gaining mass appeal through its rapid appropriation.  I certainly can’t think of another example where avant-garde music so quickly and completely became embraced by the mainstream media.

However, the hottest fires burn out the fastest, and as the confusion of the late 1990s led to post-millenial malaise, IDM quickly lost its fanbase.   Taken out of its cultural context, the music failed to have the same appeal, and experimental audiences turned in droves to  the sedate post-rock, ambient and drone sounds coming from labels such as Kompakt, Kranky and Constellation.  However, Warp somehow soldiered on as a label, continuing their excellent taste in artists with releases by Boards of Canada, Grizzly Bear, Broadcast, Bibio and many others.

To celebrate its 20th birthday, Warp released the Warp20 box set this year, a massive 4xCD, 3xLP collection of some of the best tracks they ever released.  This is one set that truly looks as good as it sounds as well, featuring Warp’s famous minimalist white-and-purple design style and abstract 3D imagery.  My only complaint about the set would be the lack of a DVD of Warp’s highly influential music videos, but a great collection of Warp videos already exists and can be purchased separately.  For anyone who wasn’t old enough to have heard this music at the time of its creation, or for those of you who want to relive your halcyon days, this is your time to get a true Warp experience.

9) King Crimson “In the Court of the Crimson King”/ “Red”

Ok, I’ll admit it—I’m not a big prog rock fan.  As much as I appreciate the complex time signatures and love the analog synth riffage, it’s just a genre that appeals more to me in theory than in practice.  That said, I was still pretty blown away by listening to these two reissues by the legendary King Crimson.

First off, I’ve been doing a lot of production lately so I’m becoming more and more of a tech geek by the day.  As a result, I’m always in awe of a really good remix or remastering of an album.  It’s amazing how some fader tweaks & a bit of EQ and compression in the right hands can make a dull album shine like a diamond (or vice versa in the wrong hands–think Metallica’s latest).  For “In the Court of the Crimson King” and “Red”, the great Robert Fripp teamed up with Steven Wilson to create a new (and MUCH better) stereo mix of each album, as well as a 5.1 surround sound version.  Each album also features a bonus disc of alternate takes or mixes of album tracks.

Another reason to love these albums—King Crimson isn’t your standard sterile virtuoso prog band.  There are some absolutely beautiful moments on these albums, full of true emotion.  And did I mention these guys can rock a metal riff?  Some very Sabbath-like moments on here. So whether you’re a prog fan or not, these albums are worth picking up.

8 ) The Rolling Stones – “Get Yer Ya-Ya’s Out” (40th Anniversary box set)

Ah, The Rolling Stones.  Say what you will about their laughable entries into psychedelia in the mid-60s….or their even more laughable forays into reggae in the 70s….or their just plain piss-poor attempts at a return to blues-rock form in the 80s.  One thing you can’t deny however is that from 1968′s “Beggar’s Banquet” until 1972′s “Exile on Main Street”, these guys were untouchable.  And while their albums from this period are masterpieces of down-and-dirty rock and roll, many who lived through the period would argue that the studio tapes just didn’t capture their best work, which was happening on stage during their raunchy and drug-fueled live performances.

“Get Yer Ya-Ya’s Out” is the Stones’ sole official live release from this era, capturing what is arguably their greatest performance ever, a November 1969 show at NYC’s Madison Square Garden (along with a few songs from a Maryland show on the same tour).  Some of you may know this show from the Maysles’ brothers’ documentary “Gimme Shelter”.  While the film helps give the performance context, you don’t need images to release that this show was pure electric magic.  With Mick’s vocals ranging from seductive purr to brutal lion howl and Keith’s guitar licks cutting like a razorblade, it’s no surprise that the great Lester Bangs said ” I have no doubt that it’s the best rock concert ever put on record.”

This year, to celebrate the fortieth anniversary of the performances, the album was reissued in box set form to include previously unreleased bonus tracks from the concerts, as well as tracks by show openers B.B. King and Ike & Tina Turner.  Long live rock and roll.

7) The Stone Roses, “The Stone Roses”

I will always remember the first time I heard The Stone Roses.  It was 1997 and I just couldn’t shut up about Radiohead.  My friend Mike, who was a few years older than me, was getting pretty sick of it & decided it was a good time to try to turn me onto something else.  He asked me “Have you ever listened to The Stone Roses? No? Then borrow this.  But it’s my favorite album, so I want it back.”

Skeptical that I could appreciate anything other than OK Computer entering my earholes at that moment in time, I reluctantly took the album.  Half just to humor Mike, and the other half because I was intrigued by the Jackson Pollock-esque cover art (which I later discovered was created by the band’s guitarist, John Squire).  I went back to my apartment and popped the CD into my stereo.  About 30 seconds into “I Wanna Be Adored” I was completely sold.

While the Ian Brown‘s ethereal siren song vocals and the lush production is enough to make this album a classic, it’s really the tremendous variety of sounds encompassed during its 11 tracks.  From the post-punk overtones of “I Wanna Be Adored” to the jangle-pop of “She Bangs the Drums” to the abstract looping beauty of “Don’t Stop” to Irish folk song on “Elizabeth My Dear”.  I can hear echoes of everyone from The Beatles to The Kinks to Syd Barrett to Joy Division to Happy Mondays to…..you name it.  This is truly a postmodern pop album, completely unafraid of genre-hopping and paying homage to influences.  NME’s claim that this is “the greatest debut album ever” is more than arguable, but it’s definitely a contender.

This year, on the 20th anniversary of the album’s release, “The Stone Roses” was reissued as either a single CD, a single LP, a 2xCD & 1xDVD deluxe set, and a massive “collector’s edition” 3xCD, 3xLP, 1xDVD set for the true obsessives.  No matter what version you pick up, you’re in for a treat.

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That’s all for now folks.  Look for part two of this saga, selections #6-4, next week!

Here are some sound bites to wet your appetite:

Boduf Songs – “There’s a thread of unease running through these eight minimalist reveries, a hint of supernatural dread, and yet also serenity and loveliness. They are so quiet that you really have to listen—no car CD, this one—but once you do, you are drawn in to a mysterious other space. ” – Jennifer Kelly (Dusted)

To Kill a Petty Bourgeouisie – “The Patron’s best moments. “The Man With the Shovel is the Man I’m Going to Marry” slowly evolves from a soothing synth pattern into swirl of chattering drum machines and effect-heavy layered loop-cannons of Wilhelm’s tiny voice. On “Long Arms”, buzzing samples and distortions give way to a swelling march that recalls the spacey-headed crescendo rock bands.” – Pitchfork

Ben Vida & Greg Davis – Now a Burlington resident Greg Davis will be playing with long time friend & collaborator Ben Vida (Birdshow, Town and Country)

“Vida has concocted a rich, febrile soundscape populated with buzzing, droning, scything strings, wheezy harmoniums, distant voices and the chatter of insects.” – BBC Music

“Davis is a Carpark vet and a former Keith Fullerton Whitman collaborator, a computer musician with a varied background in classical guitar, jazz, hip-hop, and improv.” -Pitchfork