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.

4. Karen O and the Kids – Where the Wild Things Are

The Soundtrack to Where the Wild Things Are by the Yeah Yeah Yeah’s Karen O and her consortium of friends and band mates is a beautiful tribute to the emotional connection we hold to our inner children, in this sense, it mirrors the film for which it was made.

5. Noah and the Whale – The First Days of Spring

I cannot stop listening to this album (literally); Charlie Fink dug deep into his own emotion to write this album, and to fantastic results. Watch the accompanying film if you have 45 minutes to spare.

6. Fuck Buttons – Tarot Sport

Tarot Sport is not for everyone, but give it a listen. It is minimalist electronica at it’s finest; it remains true to its roots but also has something there for the casual listener, which does not happen often in this genre.

7. The Avett Brothers – I And Love And You

The Avett Brothers beautifully blend bluegrass instrumentation with pop melodies and thoughtful lyrics to create an album that transcends multiple genres and arrives at something close to indie-folk perfection.

8. Grizzly Bear – Veckatimest

Grizzly Bear touches on several genres of the course of the 52 minutes of Veckatimest, expertly crafting an album that is a departure from their earlier work, but still is ultimately a tribute to the music they have been producing since they put out Horn of Plenty in 2004.

9. Phish – Joy

Joy should be considered among the best ever for the reformed Vermont-based jam band. Phish proves through this disc that they are not just for hippies.

10. Au Revoir Simone – Still Night, Still Light

Au Revoir Simone, despite using exclusively electronic instruments like keyboards and drum machines, produce something that feels organic and with glorious three-part harmonies evoke something more reminiscent of the 1960s acoustic folk scene, which is fairly unbelievable.

Honorable Mention

Air – Love 2; Ben Harper and Relentless7 – White Lies for Dark Times; David Guetta – One Love; Dirty Projectors – Bitte Orca; El Perro del Mar – Love is not Pop; The Flaming Lips – Embryonic; fun. – Aim and Ignite; Great Lake Swimmers – Lost Channels; Matt and Kim – Grand; Morrissey – Years of Refusal; Mum – Sing Along to Songs You Don’t Know; Regina Spektor – Far; Royksopp – Junior; The Swell Season – Strict Joy; Yeah Yeah Yeahs – It’s Blitz; Yo La Tengo – Popular Songs

-Doug Ray

Doug Ray is the co-host of Saltimbocca & Escargot, Sundays at 8-10 PM Eastern Time on WRBC.

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)

March 6: 30th Annual Trivia Night

March 21: Bates Public Art Club, Musicians Union, and WRBC collaborate to bring present “DISCHARGE” featuring numerous campus electronic musicians and artists.

March 26: WRBC helps to support the Bates College Art-In to help give student art a home in the otherwise dormant Chase Hall

May 22: First Ever WRBC Field Day

May 23: Concert by Friends Academy (With Shred Club and Class of 2010 Co-Presidents)

September 10: Fall Semester General Meeting (results in forth consecutive semester with a full schedule)

September 17: The Matt and Kim Ticket Trivia Extravaganza — A miniature Trivia Night style ticket give-away event.

September 18: Concert by Matt and Kim (With Chase Hall Committee)

October 10: Concert by Glenn Jones

November 14: WRBC and the Bates Libertarians present “unDISCHARGED” featuring Anamanaguchi and other campus electronic musicians.

November 23: The Monkey is re-established as a Blog

Additionally, we made numerous upgrades to the station throughout the year including computer upgrades and other new equipment. The board is currently developing a digital music library, online playlist tracking, and a more streamlined application process. We also had a very successful t-shirt sale.

For fiscal year 2010, we were only one of three clubs at Bates to see our budget rise from fiscal year 2009. After issues in February and March, WRBC established a healthy working relationship with the Chase Hall Committee with a new liaison program, which has benefited both clubs and the student body as a whole.

Additionally, WRBC moved up to #18 in the College Radio Rankings published by the Princeton Review and got several mentions on the pages profiling Bates in their book chronicling America’s Best Colleges. WRBC events were never poorly attend and always received positive reviews from the campus media as well as the overall student body. In 2009, WRBC was featured in newspapers throughout New England and the station was even mentioned in Iceland’s #1 newspaper. WRBC expanded its internet capabilities to include a Twitter page alongside our existing Facebook and MySpace pages, and our website received over 18,000 hits with visitors coming from all fifty states and 118 different countries including China, Pakistan, Ireland, the United Kingdom, Denmark, Japan, Saudi Arabia, Djibouti, and Australia.

It has been a busy year for WRBC, and as the station moves forward providing the best non-commercial free-format radio programming, increasing collaboration with other clubs and our role in the community, both Bates and Lewiston-Auburn, remain our top priority.

Thanks for listening.

-Doug Ray

Doug Ray is the co-host of Saltimbocca & Escargot, Sundays at 8-10 PM Eastern Time on WRBC.