Editor’s Picks: 10 Best Albums of 2009

December 21st, 2009 • Commentary, Electronic, Folk, Op-Ed, Rock, Top Ten
Tags: 2009, Animal Collective, au revoir simone, best albums, Fuck Buttons, Grizzly Bear, Jonsi and Alex, Karen O and the Kids, Noah and the Whale, Phish, Phoenix, The Avett Brothers, Top Ten

Now, just 10 days remain in the decade, and as such, another top ten list is in order. This time, I am looking at what I think are the ten best albums of the past year.

1. Jonsi and Alex – Riceboy Sleeps

This is one of the finest ambient albums ever made. This album is both enigmatic and idiocyncratic; it really grows on the listener such that it may be true that each time one listens to it, Riceboy Sleeps feels like a whole new album. Despite being produced by Sigur Ros lead singer Jón Þór Birgisson and his boyfriend Alex Somers, this album has a unique quality to it that fans of post-rock should hope continues in the future with Jonsi’s upcoming solo release, Go, which is due out early in 2010

2. Phoenix – Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix

It’s light and poppy; it’s deep and lyrical; it’s Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix. This album is about contradictions and while that might not normally make for a stellar album concept, French rockers Phoenix have really produced a piece on indie-pop gold in this, their fourth full-length studio album.

3. Animal Collective – Merriweather Post Pavilion

Delightfully weird, as one should come to expect from the Animal Collective, Merriweather Post Pavillion is a tour-de-force of the dream-pop scene, which is developing in and around Baltimore of all places. Read more »

2009 – The Year in WRBC

December 18th, 2009 • 1 comment Commentary, Maine, News
Tags: 2009, Anamanaguchi, Art-In, Black Taxi, FM Belfast, Friends Academy, Glenn Jones, Matt and Kim, Retrospective, Trivia Night

2009 was an interesting year in the history of WRBC. The saw several key changes and its prominence on campus grow to a significant degree. It was a year marked by a variety of concerts, excellent programing, and a few bumps along the way. The WRBC board and the station at large has worked hard to make 2009 one of the best years in our over 50 year history on FM and hopes to build on that momentum in 2010.

Thus, here is a partial rundown of everything that was accomplished over the past year.

January 15: Winter Semester general meeting, we welcome new members onto the board and completely fill the schedule for the third semester in a row.

January 17: Concert by Black Taxi (With Class of 2010 Co-Presidents and Bates Musicians’ Union)

February 28: Concert by FM Belfast (With Bates Musicians’ Union) Read more »