In no particular order, here are my favorite videos of 2009:

…and this wouldn’t be a top 10 list without honorable mentions!

photo by Juliette Dalton

• London hip-hop artist Speech Debelle was just announced the winner of the Mercury Music Prize, beating out strong contenders Bat For Lashes, Kasabian, La Roux, Friendly Fires, Florence and the Machine, and Lisa Hannigan. Her album Speech Therapy (Big Dada) won for best album of the past year by a U.K. or Irish artist. Be sure to subscribe to our Song of the Day podcast, as we’ll be featuring Speech Debelle next week!

• Beck pulled together MGMT, Devendra Banhart and Wolfmother’s Andrew Stockdale to join him for the next installment of his Record Club. They recorded Leonard Cohen’s entire legendary album, Songs of Leonard Cohen. Here’s the video of “Suzanne” by this supergroup of sorts:

• Matt and Kim just released via Pitchfork a remix to their song “Daylight,” featuring verses by one of the most important rap groups ever: De La Soul. It will be featured in the new NBA Live video game.

• T-Pain and his people just put out an app for the iPhone called “I Am T-Pain.” It’s essentially a way for any Joe Shmo to spend $2.99 and sing auto-tuned awfulness to perfection. If you weren’t already tired of this mainstream rap phenomenon, get ready to hear it everywhere you never wanted.

• James Allan, frontman of the band (and other Mercury Prize nominee) Glasvegas, reportedly went missing nearly a week ago, in the days before embarking on a nationwide tour of the U.S. with Kings of Leon. When asked whether the singer would be joining the band at the shows, Glasvegas’ manager replied: “I fucking hope so.” (UPDATE: He’s turned up in NYC.)

• A newly discovered spider species is being named after David Bowie. The large, hairy, yellow species was discovered in Malaysia and given the name Heteropoda Davidbowie, which seems somewhat appropriate considering Bowie’s important album, The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars.

• Sony Walkman outsold the iPod in Japan last week! This is the first time in more than four years that the iPod has not been the number one selling digital music device there. Will the US follow suit?

• Updating an earlier news item: Liam Gallagher reportedly plans to continue fronting rock band Oasis without brother and primary songwriter Noel.

• The Lollapalooza lineup has been released and it looks like the headliner rumors were spot on. In addition to Depeche Mode, Tool and the original Jane’s Addiction, the fest is stacked with a decent mix of heavy hitters and up-and-coming acts. Though a few festival cancellations have caused panic in the music community, Coachella just capped off a huge weekend and I’m betting Lollapalooza will follow suit.

• Billy Corgan is offering rare and unreleased Smashing Pumpkins material to subscribers. Currently, the going rate is $40, which puts subscribers on a 12-week delivery cycle and includes videos fresh from the studio. I have to agree with Prefix on this one — this is the smartest, most creative thing Corgan has done is recent memory.

• Not sure how they got away with it (if they even did), but here’s Matt & Kim streaking in Time Square for “Lessons Learned”:

• The entire Pixies catalog is being reissued in June as either a CD or vinyl box set, both titled Minotaur. According to Billboard, the vinyl set will come packaged in a custom clamshell. However, as the article states, neither set will feature remastered sound or, as it stands now, bonus tracks.

• Pulitzer prize winners were announced earlier this week and the music award went to composer Steve Reich for his Double Sextet. In the piece, either two sextets play opposite each other or one sextet plays opposite an identical looped recording. Reich, a longtime representative of the minimalists, has toyed with similar song structures and techniques since the late ’60s and is considered one of America’s greatest composers. NPR has the full story. The following video shows an early rehearsal of the piece:

• Once a music pioneer, always a music pioneer. David Byrne has become to first artist to curate a stage at Tennessee’s Bonnaroo Music Festival. In addition to performing Brian Eno-related tracks from his own canon, Byrne has tapped Santigold, Dirty Projectors, St. Vincent, Ani DiFranco and Katzenjammer to play the festival Friday, June 12.

• And last but not least, courtesy of Pitchfork:
  

  [Liam is] rude, arrogant, intimidating and lazy. He’s the angriest man you’ll ever meet. He’s like a man with a fork in a world of soup.

  -Noel Gallagher

Gregory A. Perez

Every Monday through Friday, we deliver a different song as part our Song of the Day podcast subscription. This podcast features exclusive KEXP in-studio performances, unreleased songs, and recordings from independent artists that our DJs think you should hear. Today’s featured selection, chosen by Morning Show host John Richards, is “Daylight” by Matt & Kim from their  2009 album Grand on Fader Label.

Matt & Kim are one happy pair and their music plays like it. “Permasmile” would be a good term to describe them both. A wonderful Brooklyn pop/punk duo with a cult following, Matt & Kim are really Matt Johnson and Kim Schifino, who met while attending college in New York back in 2004 and have been performing together ever since. With Matt on vocals and keyboards and Kim on drums, their simple sound is not much more than well executed dance beats and synths over quick sung-shouted lyrics, but it’s the passion in which they execute their songs that makes them so special. And they have a loyal and rabid fan-base to prove it, as they’ve already after just their first album become an Internet and MTV sensation and have played to fervent crowds of cheering, dancing at the Siren Music Festival, Lollapalooza, and our own Capitol Hill Block Party. Let’s just say the kids dig these two.

Grand, their second album, on a new label, shows the pair continuing to grow. Recorded in Matt’s parents house in Vermont, the entire album remains within the DIY spirit, and the minimalist keyboard, retro synths, and nonstop beat are still intact, but new layers and overdubs complicate their quick punk rhythms, slowing some songs down so that some of us older folks can dig it too. No matter who you are, you can catch Matt & Kim as they begin their North American tour in the Northwest this week. They’ll be in Vancouver on the 28th, at Seattle’s Chop Suey on the 29th, and in Portland on the 30th. Check out their MySpace page and website for more details. Here’s the incredibly infectious “Daylight” to put a smile on your face and a bounce to your step:

There has never been a better time to release a dance pop album. With bands like MGMT and Vampire Weekend dominating the scene, Matt & Kim’s new album Grand, to be released today, January 20, on Fader Label, will have no problem fitting right in. Grand, the follow up to their 2006 self-titled album, is a really solid display of nonstop power pop fun. The Brooklyn duo relies heavily on synth and drums (a la Mates of State) to create a great range of sound, from the bass-heavy “Good Ol’ Fashion Nightmare”, to the video game feel of “Cinders”, all while still managing to keep things relatively simple.

The lyrics are playful and clever, touching on topics ranging from living a hectic life (”Don’t Slow Down”), to just letting go and having fun (”Daylight”). Just under two minutes long, “I wanna” is a cute little song about trying to get things accomplished, from simple things like sleeping “I wanna sleep through the weekend”, to child-like dreams “I wanna bring back the bison”.

All in all, Grand is a pretty solid album. Matt and Kim show a lot of skill in their musicianship, though the vocals can be a little bit grating after a while. The album is cute and fun, but this band seems like they’d be a stronger live act than they are recorded. People that are already fans of Matt & Kim will most likely enjoy Grand, but for people who don’t like them, I doubt the album will change any minds.

If you live in the Seattle area, Hey Marseilles is a name you may have heard come up before. Though they haven’t done much headlining yet, this seven-man band from Seattle has opened for such acts as local notables Mt. St. Helens Vietnam Band, as well as Parts & Labor. Hey Marseilles also self-released a stellar first full-length album in late 2008 entitled To Travels & Trunks.

This album’s a hard one to put down. Within a week of buying To Travels & Trunks, I listened to it all the way through twenty or so times. They kind of sound like if Bishop Allen took on Fionn Regan as a vocalist, and contracted Zach Condon to arrange their music (light on the horns). The instrumentation is beautiful and dynamic, ranging from lamenting cello to joyful trumpets and everything in between: mandolin, trombone, accordion, and even hand claps, not to mention the other ten or so instruments that are played on this album. These are all delicately balanced and masterfully arranged in a way that I find atypical of a first release. Though the music is beautiful, Matt Bishop’s lyrics are not to be outshined. His words are complex and clever, often addressing realizations we all must come to as we grow up. For instance, in the title track Bishop talks discusses coming out of the delusion of “perfect” love, only to realize “the sky isn’t green anymore”, saying that “all I want is love eternally”, but finding the whole idea to be unrealistic. In Rio, Bishop urges not growing up too fast, to experience everything you can (while you still can) “I will go where the days left to breathe are not gone, are still long, I am travelin’ on”, and not to let a broken heart hold you back, “There are always Brazilian boys to discover”.

To Travels & Trunks is available only online and at a few local record stores, but you’d be hard pressed to find them there — copies of it sell fast. I can’t say I can see Hey Marseilles staying unsigned much longer.

Animal Collective’s new album cover deserves to be viewed larger than life. Just roll your eyes across this bad boy and feel the underwater movement the band tried to emulate in the recording of today’s release, Merriweather Post Pavilion (apparently, it was the lagoon at the outdoor venue in Maryland that inspired the concept). Freaky… and beautiful. And that’s exactly what’s available to you this week as the new release deluge begins. The Freaky? New albums from John Frusciante plus Six Organs of Admittance, Psychic Ills, and Frog Eyes frontman Carey Mercer’s project, Blackout Beach — all good if it’s freak folk, ambient drone, or other weird music you’re after (and who’s not?). The Beautiful? Try the latest from Antony & the Johnsons, A.C. Newman (of New Pornographers fame), Andrew Bird, Bon Iver, and Robert Pollard. Largehearted Boy’s list contains one great album after another. Other worthwhile releases come from Matt & Kim, The 1900’s, New Model Army, Cut Off Your Hands, local acts Blue Giant and J. Tillman, and Roger O’Donnell, a keyboardist who’s played with the Psychedelic Furs, Thompson Twins, and The Cure. There’s plenty to be had on this most hopeful of hopeful days, so get out there and help boost our economy!

The 1900s - Age of Metals (MP3)
from Medium High EP on Parasol Records

Kyle Andrews - Sushi (MP3)
from Real Blasty on Badman Recording Co.

Animal Collective - My Girls (MP3)
from Merriweather Post Pavilion on Domino Records.

Andrew Bird - Andrew Bird - Fitz and The Dizzyspells (MP3)
from Noble Beast on Fat Possum

Antony and the Johnsons - Another World
from The Crying Light on Secretly Canadian

Atmosphere - trailer for the Sad Clown Bad Dub 4 DVD
included with God Loves Ugly (reissue) on Rhymesayers

Blackout Beach - Astoria, Menthol Lite, Hilltop, Wave of Evil, 1982 (MP3)
from Skin of Evil on Soft Abuse

Blue Giant - Target Heart (MP3)
from Target Heart EP on Amore!Phonics

Bon Iver - Blood Bank (MP3)
from Blood Bank EP on Jagjaguwar

Coconut Records - Any Fun
from Davy on Young Baby Records

Cut Off Your Hands - Turn Cold (MP3)
from You & I on Frenchkiss

Fiction Family - When She’s Near (MP3)
from Fiction Family on ATO Records

Ladyfinger - Little Things (MP3)
from Dusk on Saddle Creek

Matt & Kim - (MP3)
from Grand on Fader Label

Modern Skirts - Soft Pedals (MP3)
from the self-released All Of Us In Our Night

A.C. Newman - Submarines Of Stockholm (MP3)
from Get Guilty on Matador

Roger O’Donnell - Tiny Pieces of You (feat. Erin Lang) (MP3)
from Songs From The Silver Box on Great Society/World’s Fair

Or the Whale - Call and Response (MP3)
from Light Poles and Pines on Seany Records

Robert Pollard - Imaginary Queen Anne (MP3)
from The Crawling Distance on Guided By Voices Inc.

Psychic Ills - Fingernail Tea (MP3)
from Mirror Eye on The Social Registry

Saeta - When Will You Find Love (MP3)
from Else Another Light Might Go Out on Tarnished Records

Six Organs of Admittance - Resurrection (MP3)
from RTZ on Drag City

J. Tillman - Steel on Steel (MP3)
from Vacilando Territory Blues on Western Vinyl

Titus Andronicus - Titus Andronicus (MP3)
from Airing of Grievances on XL Recordings

Zero Boys - Civilization Is Calling (MP3)
from Vicious Circle on Secretly Canadian

Zero Boys - Livin in the 80s (MP3)
from History of on Secretly Canadian