• 10,000 new R.E.M. songs to buy source

• 1. It’s strange to listen to this and realize that Sade, the band (led by Sade, the singer) has been around three decades, and their lack of output in two of those decades hasn’t significantly hurt their popularity or their quality. Their last studio album – from 2000 – sold 3 million copies, as did the album before that – which hit in 1992. But the downtempo “Soldier of Love” is pretty much timeless, built from elements that sound modern.
• 2. Banjos and video game blips have never fit together so well as they do in the uniquely dense world of the Freelance Whales (who have the best name, ever). The lyrics on “Hannah” carry a sort of cleverness that pokes, but doesn’t prod.
• 3. Lucero (one of our recent one-word album reviews) mines a territory midway between The Hold Steady, the Drive-By Truckers (more Mike Cooley than Patterson Hood) and The Gaslight Anthem, but – having been around since 1998 – already has a long history already behind them. On “Hey Darlin’ Do You Gamble,” they earn their Springsteen chops.
• 4. “What We Do Matters” is a pretty bold name for any song by any band releasing their debut album, but lo-fi rock rattlers The Mantles at least make a good argument for it in under three minutes. It’s no Girls, but that’s OK, because it’s not trying to be.
• 5. Speaking of Girls, the band’s “Album” is certainly proving its value beyond 4th quarter ’09 into 1st quarter ’10. Beyond the well-loved “Hellhole Ratrace,” “Laura” has one of the most piercing Roy Orbison-esque choruses this side of … well, Roy Orbison.

• 
  emerging
• 
  swilling
• 
  expansive
• 
  guffawing
• 
  sweaty
  

• This isn’t the full song, but it’s enough to let you know that Michael Jackson still had it late in his life. “Another Day,” a collaboration with Lenny Kravitz reportedly recorded last year (unlike earlier “Dangerous”-era tune “This is It”), sounds like the work of the someone who had something to say. It’s sad that we won’t get the full answer as to what that is.

• Remember these guys? Of course you do. The first shot in the Grunge revolution, Soundgarden, plans to reunite in 2010, according to Billboard. And just in time, too. Lead singer Chris Cornell has had a post-Soundgarden career that’s among the worst in rock music, including these missteps:

• moody Cornell’s first solo album, “Euphoria Morning,” was way closer to Jeff Buckley’s sound than Soundgarden.
• super Cornell then turned most of the members of Rage Against the Machine into mush with Audioslave.
• sleepy Cornell’s second solo disc, “Carry On,”  was worse than Audioslave and had a boring “Billie Jean” cover.
• wtf?? Cornell then made “Scream,” one of 2009’s worst records, with Timbaland. Atone for your sins! source

• 1. Folk: The Avett Brothers had a pretty good 2009, with a large major-label mainstream breakthrough in the form of “I and Love and You.” As folk goes, their sound – influenced by ramshackle punk and Beatlesque melodies as much as traditional Guthrieisms – seems ready to define folk-rock for the next decade. And unlike Ryan Adams, they have a fairly consistent musical plot, which means they won’t screw this up so easily.
• 2. Punk: Fucked Up may perhaps be the most interesting thing to happen to hardcore punk in a couple of decades. There’s a distinct level of risk in their performance style (they’re known for being violent and confrontational) and their sound (their most well-known album, “The Chemistry of Common Life,” opens with a flute solo – not exactly hardcore), and it’s a definite blueprint for punk’s future that could win them fans over time.
• 3. Electronic/Noise: HEALTH has two pretty good albums to their name, and with a brutal live set (punctuated by pin-drop changes in dynamic), a tie to one of L.A.’s best scenes at The Smell, and an ear to the potential of electronic music (2007’s HEALTH//DISCO remix album proved to be a great evolution of their sound), they’re bound to come up with a great album eventually.
• 4. Pop: Chromeo is perhaps the most influential pop band that currently isn’t getting heavy play on the radio. Mainstream acts are riffing on their retro sound (which itself riffs on Hall & Oates, with a little French electronica mixed in there) left and right, and they come up way more often in articles about pop music than they do on iPod playlists. With a third album in 2010, expect them to get an even bigger profile.
• 5. Rock: Titus Andronicus perhaps has one of the most interesting conceits for an album in 2010 – “The Monitor,” a concept piece on the Civil War, anchored by a song called “The Battle of Hampton Roads.” The scrappy indie rockers, if they pull it off, could win the kind of respect handed to guys like Craig Finn of The Hold Steady. The band already has a history the with concept album, so it should be intriguing.

• Best of the year:

• 
  obvious
• 
  spazzy
• 
  ragged
• 
  beautiful
• 
  hypnotic
  

• Best of the decade:

• 
  balanced
• 
  literate
• 
  yes!
• 
  better
• 
  pioneer*

* – We know this choice is somewhat controversial, because people hate Ben Gibbard for no good reason. But we’re going to say it now: Without this album, you would not have the popular success of indie rock that you see today. “We Have the Facts and We’re Voting Yes” made it cool. At least cooler than Dashboard Confessional. Which as you might notice, is not on the list. Do you want us to put it on there? Or do you even want to remember “Screaming Infidelities”? Good. Death Cab’s album, beyond being a gateway drug for any college student, also has some pretty amazing songs on it. ‘Nuff said.

• If you’re like us and think mainstream pop (besides Taylor Swift, she’s dreamy) blends into one another, you’ll appreciate this mashup of the top 25 songs of 2009, which turns 25 mediocre songs into one awesome one. Somewhere, Gregg Gillis/Girl Talk is in a dimly-lit, noisy, sweaty room somewhere, screaming, “I got here first!”