The Best Albums of 2009 (in Haiku!)

The Sound of Young America

50 records I enjoyed this year; as always, the ordering is arbitrary, and had this list been published yesterday or tomorrow, there's about 10–15 records bubbling under the surface that could have made the cut. And this year it's all haikus!

50. Sunset Rubdown – Dragonslayer (Jagjaguwar)

Is it possible?

Wolf Parade a side project?

All signs point to "yes"

49. Camera Obscura – My Maudlin Career (4AD)

Belle and Sebastian

Could stand to learn a lesson

From their fellow Scots

48. Dave Bazan – Curse Your Branches (Barsuk)

Au revoir Jesus

Goodbye Pedro the Lion

Life is full of doubt

47. Lil Wayne – No Ceilings (mixtape)

Stop selling albums

Lil Wayne gives it all away

Unbeatable price

46. Neko Case – Middle Cyclone (Anti-)

Crouching Neko Case

On a Mercury Cougar

No hidden dragon

45. Cass McCombs – Catacombs (Domino)

Keep on keeping on

Karen Black guests on a track

Like Family Guy

44. Yeah Yeah Yeahs – It's Blitz (Interscope)

Brooklyn survivors

She's probably not dating

That guy from Liars

43. Sonic Youth – The Eternal (Matador)

Zombie alt-rockers

Do not bury until dead

Put that shovel down

42. The-Dream – Love vs. Money (Def Jam)

Sexy, humorous

But that hyphen in "The-Dream?"

Unnecessary

41. Pajo – Scream With Me (Black Tent Press)

I love the Misfits

Sure enough, so does Pajo

Four-track recordings

40. The xx – The xx (Young Turks)

Dry and hollow sound

Why listen to that racket?

But you would be wrong

39. Micachu & the Shapes – Jewellery (Rough Trade)

The new bricolage

No one cares if it will last

The English love it

38. Morrissey – Years of Refusal (Lost Highway)

What about The Smiths?

Stop asking about The Smiths

Go ask Johnny Marr

37. JD Twitch – 60 Minutes of Fear (RVNG)

Yeah, it's a mixtape

But in the future, format

Is irrelevant

36. Pink Mountaintops – Outside Love (Jagjaguwar)

Black Mountains are great

This guy has another band

Pink Mountains are great

35. Mos Def – The Ecstatic (Downtown)

No more bad movies

Please stick to the rivers and

Streams you are used to

34. The Pains of Being Pure at Heart –
The Pains of Being Pure at Heart (Slumberland)

Band's name is too long

I'm stupid for choosing an

All-haiku format

33. Condo Fucks – Fuckbook (Matador)

Oh fictional bands

Still, they are funnier than

Flight of the Conchords

32. Double Dagger – More (Thrill Jockey)

As in "Baltimore"

When someone says "Drum 'n' Bass"

They do not mean this

31. The Rural Alberta Advantage – Hometowns (Saddle Creek)

Saddle Creek, you say?

And not a Bright Eyes album?

Hope for the future

30. Bibio – Ambivalence Avenue (Warp)

Sampledelica

Everything falls into place

The Campfire Headphase

29. Bonnie 'Prince' Billy – Beware (Drag City)

Lots of weird photos

The music is not so weird

Mr. Consistent

28. The Thermals – Now We Can See (Kill Rock Stars)

Perfect power pop

Move to Portland, Oregon

And stack that paper

27. jj – No. 2 (Sincerely Yours)

One million dollars

For a picture of jj

Please do not redeem

26. Green Day – 21st Century Breakdown (Reprise)

Obama's in charge

Everyone said "chill out," yet

The war continues

25. Yo La Tengo – Popular Songs (Matador)

Across the river

No Hanukkah shows this year

Is it Chanukkah?

24. Depeche Mode – Sounds of the Universe (Mute)

They're printing euros

Best Mode since Violator

Goth love never dies

23. Nirvana – Live at Reading (Geffen)/

Bleach Deluxe Edition (Sub Pop)

They were awesome live

The greatest rock band ever

At last, evidence

22. El Perro Del Mar – Love is Not Pop (Licking Fingers)

El Perro Del Mar

What does that mean in English?

"The dog of the sea"

21. No Age – Losing Feeling EP (Sub Pop)

Half the length of Nouns

I enjoyed it twice as much

Just my opinion

20. Mount Eerie – Wind's Poem (P.W. Elverum & Sun)

Hey Phil Elverum

Your underground secret lair

Must be a nice place

19. Reigning Sound – Love and Curses (In the Red)

Back to the garage

Where do these guys park their cars

Out in the driveway?

18. The Horrors – Primary Colours (XL)

Remember Strange House?

Well neither do The Horrors

Gravy train whistle

17. Bill Callahan – Sometimes I Wish We Were an Eagle (Drag City)

Dark, light, dark again

Who needs molasses indie?

This guy is funny

16. Best Coast – When I'm With You 7" (Black Iris)/

Make You Mine 7" (Group Tightener)

Suburban sprinklers

Let's give Real Estate a prize

While we ignore this

15. Amesoeurs – Amesoeurs (Profound Lore)

A marriage of French,

Black metal, and The Cure, that

Ended in divorce

14. Lady Gaga – The Fame Monster (Interscope)

Is she a genius?

Inauthentically brilliant

Like a bad romance

13. Handsome Furs – Face Control (Sub Pop)

At last Bruce Springsteen

Indie rock gives you your due

Skip Sam's Town, buy this

12. The Raveonettes – In and Out of Control (Vice)

White Stripes stole thunder

Not better than White Blood Cells

Better than Horehound

11. Cold Cave – Love Comes Close (Heartworm/Matador)

Signed to Matador

Interpol, or Early Man?

Only time will tell

10. Animal Collective – Merriweather Post Pavillion/

Fall Be Kind EP (Domino)

You could have slept through

All of Two Thousand and Nine

Wouldn't have mattered

9. Raekwon – Only Built 4 Cuban Linx 2 (Ice H2O)

Branding failed Jay-Z

Better than The Blueprint 3

In Raekwon we trust

8. Hunx and His Punx – Gay Singles (True Panther Sounds)

More like "yes homo"

Beats Reatard at his own game

Not Monopoly

7. Brilliant Colors – Introducing (Slumberland)

Girls, girls, girls j'adore

Twenty-eight minutes and out

Leave 'em wanting more

6. Sunn O))) – Monoliths & Dimensions (Southern Lord)

Play this record loud

No one can live forever

Sonic Death Monkey

5. Phoenix – Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix (Glass Note)

Yes, Phoenix are French

Hey, Mozart was Austrian

Pop or rock, who cares?

4. Girls – Album (True Panther Sounds/Matador)

Jerry Lee Lewis

If he were raised in a cult

Lover, not Killer

3. Emeralds – What Happened (No Fun)

Hypnagogic pop

Inapposite to describe

The beautiful float

2. Fever Ray – Fever Ray (Rabid/Mute)

More people would care

If this were released under

The Knife moniker

1. The Dutchess and the Duke – Sunset/Sunrise (Hardly Art)

Sounds like Side A of

The Rolling Stones' Aftermath

This year's number one