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  10. Swell Season - Strict Joy Success for Glen Hansard was a long time coming. After years plugging away as frontman for Irish folk-rockers The Frames, it was his starring role in the charming musical film Once that led to the widespread exposure his songs richly deserved. Hansard teamed up with film co-star Markéta Irglová, both romantically and professionally, to become The Swell Season. Just as the movie, and associated album, mirrored their real-life love story, Strict Joy charts the relationship breakdown. What sets this apart from the countless heartache-filled breakup albums is that we hear both sides of…

Following on the back of a bitter end to 2008, by all standards 2009 looked set to be one toilet of a year. From the outset, the promise of change was placed before us and the world hovered over it like all-too enthusiastic Snap players. “Things have to get worse before they get better” seemed to become the adopted mantra of choice, and it became apparent that, well, change kind of sucked. And if the banner year for crap couldn’t have been anymore filled with malaise and confusion, the musical world decided to contribute a few more crop-circles for your…

10.  Sonic Boom – KISS One of the best surprises of 2009 for me was the announcement early in the year that KISS was working on a new album. They hadn’t released an album of new material since the putrid Psycho Circus over a decade ago. The memory of that disc, however, was blown away after just the opening track of Sonic Boom, an instant KISS classic, “Modern Day Delilah.” More ballsy rockers follow with “Never Enough,” “Danger Us,” and “I’m An Animal” being among the best of them. A great return to form from possibly the best KISS lineup…

While I've always enjoyed making "Best Of" lists, the last two years have been fairly lackluster. I still stand by giving The Hold Steady's Stay Positive "Album Of The Year," but it was hardly an "Album Of The Decade" contender. Unlike '67, '77, '87 and '97, 2007 wasn't a year where music underwent a massive change. It seemed like music genres were so fractured, it was nearly impossible to find any releases that were able to have any universal appeal. But it seems like popular music was just saving itself for 2009. This year felt like a huge cram session.…

Looking back on 2009, most of us will remember the plunging DOW, Obama’s first year in as Commander-In-Chief, Kanye West’s antics, Disney superstars reigning supreme, and a whole slew of cultural and newsworthy events. I’ll remember where I was when I heard U2’s much-anticipated new album, how Bon Iver kept winning my heart, and how John Darnielle of the Mountain Goats musing on religion made me rethink my own hodgepodge of Jewish-agnosticism. More than ever, music has the power to soothe and uplift, to show that no matter would, creativity and artistry will persevere. When all else is lost, music…

It was a strange year out there, with big changes everywhere, in politics, music and even my own little corner of the world.  What cut through the clutter of news about beginnings and endings, of new ideas fighting for space alongside old paradigms in disarray, was some truly amazing new music.  In a year that demanded inspiration, we got it in spades (and hearts and diamonds).  “I still believe you could save me from me,” sang Switchfoot’s Jon Foreman, and like so many of his musical brethren, this was the year he made me believe yet again in the healing…