Andy Gapin

2009 was a pretty fucking awesome year! Seriously. I’ll probably make another post about the rest, but there were some amazing movies and some great records that came out.

Top 10 Albums

A lot of people are making lists for the decade, but I decided that I just couldn’t do that. It was too difficult of a task. So I stuck with just doing a top 10 favorite records for the year. In previous years, I’ve done bigger lists, but I’m keeping it small this year. And, as usual, this is a list of my favorite records, kind of like a personal playlist, rather than ones that I would say are the best.

Anyway, the list is below and I’ll also be counting this list  on The Playlist with The Reverend on 90.3 The Core tonight at 9pm! Make sure to tune in. I’ll be playing one song from each album.

1. Neko Case – Middle Cyclone – Anti
2. Frank Turner – Poetry Of The Deed – Epitaph
3. The Lawrence Arms – Buttsweat And Tears – Fat Wreck Chords
4. M. Ward – Hold Time – Merge
5. Coconut Records – Davy – Young Baby Records
6. Monsters of Folk – Monsters Of Folk – Shangri-La
7. Dear Landlord – Dream Homes – No Idea
8. Conor Oberst And the Mystic Valley Band – Outer South – Merge
9. NOFX – Frisbee/Coaster – Fat Wreck Chords
10. Future Of The Left – Travels with Myself and Another – 4AD

And besides those, there are a few honorable mentions:

• Cheap Girls – My Roaring 20s
• Sonic Youth – The Eternal
• The Decemberists – The Hazards Of Love
• Mason Jennings – Blood Of Man
• Wilco – Wilco (The Album)
• Andrew Bird – Noble Beast
• Grizzly Bear – Veckatimest
• Camera Obscura – My Maudlin Career

You know, I almost wanted to put Lady GaGa on that list somewhere. I think I’ve spent some serious time in the second half of this year discovering a love for her. I never would have thought that I’d think so highly of her, but she’s pretty friggin’ awesome. However, I just can’t say that The Fame Monster was that great overall. It’s good for a few really great songs, but there’s also a lot of filler. Oh well.

And 2010 is already looking like it’s going to be a great year with new records by Murder By Death, Minus The Bear, Against Me!, Spoon, She And Him, and more already announced. I can’t wait!

Top 10 Movies

I actually had a much harder time making my list of top 10 movies for the year. There were a TON of good flicks this year and there were so many that I just didn’t have time to see either! Ultimately, these were my favorites:

1. Inglourious Basterds
2. Star Trek
3. Up
4. The Hangover
5. Dead Snow
6. Zombieland
7. District 9
8. Paranormal Activity
9. Fantastic Mr. Fox
10. Coraline

And of course, some honorable mentions:

• Whip It
• (500) Days Of Summer
• Watchmen
• Last House On The Left
• Whatever Works
• The Wrestler

So there you have it, my favorite albums and movies of the year. I’m hoping to post another entry about other things from 2009 if I get a chance over the next week. But until then, don’t forget that I’ll be counting down that top 10 albums list tonight on The Playlist with The Reverend on 90.3 The Core!

It always sucks when you have a week off and come back to do a radio show that doesn’t go as smoothly as normal. It was a little rough last night on the mic break front, but at least it was a strong show musically. I don’t really think I’m digging the new Placebo record that much which is a shame, but I really want to check out the rest of this The Builders And The Butchers album. I really liked the song I played last night, I think the record has some serious potential. I’ll have to give it some time.

Here’s what made the show last night…

Source: 90.3 The Core

The show two weeks ago turned out to be pretty decent. I had a decent selection of music and some good flow from song to song. Unfortunately though, I haven’t really had much time recently to check out new music. I feel like I’m in one of those phases I go through from time to time where I lose interest in checking out new stuff. It should be due to end soon though, these phases rarely last long.

Here’s what made the show…

Source: 90.3 The Core

Last night’s show was fun to do. I think I got the mix just the way I wanted it to be. The only thing lacking really was anything to talk about in my mic breaks so I kept them all very short.

In other news, the posts here have been light as of late, but there hasn’t been too much to write about. I’m planning on seeing a couple movies this weekend so I’ll try to post about them when I can. The real highlight of this week was getting to expose my girlfriend to Star Wars for the first time. We only watched A New Hope so far, but we’ll get through the trilogy soon. I think she liked it, but I felt like Ted on the episode of How I Met Your Mother where he makes Stella watch Star Wars for the first time. I was nervous and watching her more than the movie.

Source: 90.3 The Core