Do you agree with NPR’s listeners on the best songs and albums of 2009 so far?
Check out the poll results here.
I like a lot of their choices, but it’s clear to me that NPR listeners need to hear Joe Henry’s Blood from Stars when it drops later this summer, as well as Aaron Strumpel’s Elephants, and Over the Rhine’s marvelous double-live album Live from Nowhere Vol. 4.
July 29th, 2009 at 8:50 pm
Interesting that Dark Night of the Soul made the list even though hasn’t really been released. As far as I know, NPR is still the only place to listen to it.
July 30th, 2009 at 5:21 am
… and maybe some music made by non-white people.
July 30th, 2009 at 5:28 am
Dark Night of the Soul hasn’t been released? How was I able to buy a copy at my local music store *and* order it through the public library? I’m confused…
July 30th, 2009 at 6:07 am
Are you thinking of Dark Was the Night, Jeffrey?
July 30th, 2009 at 6:54 am
The Amazon page for Dark Night of the Soul says that “The book Dark Night of Soul [with the Lynch photographs] comes packaged with an art-printed CD-R, but for legal reasons, the enclosed CD-R contains no music.” The official website for the album redirected me to the same Amazon page, too.
July 30th, 2009 at 7:03 am
This Rolling Stone story explains the controversy.
http://www.rollingstone.com/rockdaily/index.php/2009/05/15/danger-mouses-dark-night-of-the-soul-album-threatened-by-lawsuit/
July 30th, 2009 at 9:16 am
Andrew Bird’s Noble Beast isn’t one of my favorites of his or favorites of the year…but these videos of him playing a few songs from that album are really, really good and might make me reconsider: http://pitchfork.com/tv/#/episode/1999-andrew-bird/1
July 30th, 2009 at 10:30 am
Wow, Josh, is your comment very similar to others at the NPR site! I guess that NPR is mostly listened to by white people? It is a reader’s poll – I don’t think that the people at NPR influenced it by making the decisions. Maybe NPR needs to have some kind of initiative to encourage more non-white listenership? It would appear that whatever they are doing now (if anything), it ain’t working.
July 30th, 2009 at 12:06 pm
I’m confused, too. According to everything I’ve read, Dark Night of the Soul is only released as book of photographs and blank CD-R. Perhaps you’re thinking of Dark Was the Night. Similar name and I’ve made the same mistake myself several times.
Re: NPR’s list. I agree with Josh, it’s mostly white, indie artists. Although I’ve enjoyed most of the music on that list, my favorite two albums this year have been by African-Americans: Mos Def and Allen Toussaint.
July 30th, 2009 at 3:04 pm
I *was* confused, yes. I was thinking of Dark Was the Night… which I wouldn’t have been surprised to find in the top ten. Now that I realize it isn’t, I’m surprised… Sorry about the mixup.
July 30th, 2009 at 3:19 pm
Doug, if memory serves, NPR selected the list of nominees for these lists, and I don’t recall there being many non-white/indie albums there, either.