nzmattis's Blog

Music probably isn't the first thing you think of when you hear Syracuse (it's probably not even one of the top five things you think of) That said, there's more going on than you'd imagine if you haven't been paying attention in 2009.  Presenting perhaps the first ever year-end music list specific to the 315...

"The Top Nine Syracuse Music Happenings of 2009"

9. Dust Off Your Page Readers

20 Watts. Hold My Coat. Skipster. Otto-Tune (had to). The music blogs covering CNY and Syracuse are slowly springing up and, suprisingly, much of it is worth a look.

8. "Christmastime in Syracuse (Vol. 15)"

I'm not sure what is more impressive: the reaction you have the first time you hear the title track of this compilation or the fact that this is the 15th version of it. I searched long and hard to find an audio track from this holiday mix of songs performed by (and sometimes written by) staples in the local music scene. However, the online presence of this album is still growing. Check out this Syracuse.com podcast about the album and stay tuned to Sunny 102 for the rest of the month to maxmize your chances of experiencing Volume 15.

7. Acapleasure?

Acapella After Hours is one of the top 'Cuse music events year-in, year-out. I like to think it was heightened this year by a resurgence of acapella as an art form (thanks "Sing-Off"...even if After Hours happened well before) and an appearance on campus by one of the premier judges of acapella talent (Ben Folds, Block Party 2009 ). Best of all, at the Spring '09 event, Orange Appeal debuted this on us:

6. What Could Have Been

Did you know Passion Pit, Hockey and The Handsome Furs were all scheduled to play the Wescott Theater this year? All mysteriously bailed within days of (or on the day of) the scheduled shows.

5. The Growth of Campus DJs

Oh, you thought the self-promotion was done? There is a rising crop of young DJs at SU and I think it started well before we had the premier DJ of today headline Juice Jam as well.

4. Ra Ra Riot Redux

Our local heroes had a big 2009. One year after releasing their debut LP, Ra Ra Riot toured with Death Cab for Cutie, announced they have an album in the works and made time for a Syracuse stop as well.  Lead singer Wes Miles even quietly released one of the best electronica-pop albums of the year when he teamed up with Rostam Batmanglij from Vampire Weekend for Discovery's debut LP.

3. Phan-aticism

I don't care if they are technically from two hours east on I-90, Phantogram had an awesome for any band (not just a CNY act). I caught them opening for Ra Ra Riot and have been smitten ever since. In the course of a year, this duo went from playing Funk n' Waffles (and granting interviews to my personal blog) to getting signed by indie giant Barsuk and having the upcoming debut LP hyped by everyone from the BBC to NPR. Let's hope 'Cuse can get even a small glimpse of Phantogram in 2010.

2. Another Year, Another Load of Local EPs...

... but if you didn't download or buy any of the 2009 local(ish) EPs, you actually missed out this time.  Current campus acts like singer-songwriter Sarah Aument and DJ duo Mouth's Cradle both released small but enjoyable demos (listen to "Honey from a Stone" and try to stop the rest of the day). Former campus groups like DJ kings The LadyBoys (known to SU students as what The Smash Brothers currently do) or graduate of  the 'Cuse electronica scene, ERIKINO (formerly of Camp Camp), posted releases too.  I'll say this much - when ERIKINO releases his full-length, I'll buy it if it contains anything as simply smooth and catchy as "Electric Touch."

1. The Rise of the Wescott

Sophistafunk and other local acts still grace the stage most nights, but the theater's calendar filled out with quality national acts for the first time this year: Ra Ra Riot, Minus the Bear, Portugal The Man, Ghostface Killah, Little Dragons and The Presidents of the United States of America. Expect this to become the trend and not the exception with acts like Ani DiFranco, Brandi Carlisle and Henry Rollins already booked for 2010.

This month's SPIN Magazine is must have just for the Julian Casablancas interview they managed to nail down. Sure, the former Strokes' lead singer probably just granted it to promote his new solo album (because, everyone knows, it'll be forever until the band agrees to be out an album together), but he says some provocative things.

When asked about his original vision for The Strokes, "I realize now, my idea was always to take undergroundish, cool music and make it mainstream. That was my goal, and we haven't achieved it. We got to the top of the underground, but we never got as big as Green Day or Creed or any of the bands we were supposed to be replacing in 2001. So, in my mind, here's still a step to take." Via SPIN Online

+ There's some great news for indie rock lovers otherwise. Google just announced they are going to begin implementing a music-specific search (partnering with a few other companies including Lala and MySpace Music). On their official Google blog they explain, "Now, when you enter a music-related query -- like the name of a song, artist or album -- your search results will include links to an audio preview of those songs provided by our music search partners MySpace (which just acquired iLike) or Lala" Via BrooklynVegan

+ This is too cool to ignore. Peter Gabriel is releasing an album entirely of covers ("Scratch My Back") in 2010. He'll do the typical, paying homage to groups like The Kinks or David Bowie. However, Gabriel also plans on sampling from more recent acts like Arcade Fire, Radiohead and Bon Iver. Can't you totally picture this man singing "Idioteque?" Via NME.com

+ Finally, there are some show booking challenges going on in Syracuse right now. The first, TMobile has launched a contest for universities to show the most Weezer love in exchange for a free show from the band (similar to Death Cab for Cutie doing this last year). I don't know how much Weezer love exists in the land of Orange (after all, we're one of the few Crayola original 8's to not be featured on a Weezer album cover), but a Facebook group has already popped up to rally support.

Second, Syracuse is really overbooking this Nov. 17 date. University Union just announced their next Bandersnatch show will happen on that date featuring The Academy Is... The Wescott Theater has Minus The Bear booked that night for awhile now too.  The Black Communications Society even started promoting Harry Belefonte (you know, "Day-O" and "Jump In The Line") coming to talk about his TV, music and theater career that evening. Decisions, decisions....

(Though to be fair, there's only one decision in my mind that evening. His likeness is now on the syr.edu homepage and his last name rhymes with pass.)

Syracuse University via kwout

After blogger Jett Wells offerred his most overrated acts for 2009, it was time to switch focus to bands everyone should be paying more attention to. Wells and fellow blogger Nathan Mattise debated the most underrated acts of 2009 on the first Otto-Tune Podcast.

The only rules to abide by:

1) Each blogger gets only three choices

2) The act/artist must have released an album in 2009

3) Only two indie selections per blogger

Download the podcast to hear the Otto-Tune selections and feel free to share your own below.

Recognize this guy? Probably not, but get familiar. He's one of the most underrated acts of the year.

Does it get any better than beginning a week of blog material with Christopher Cross performing "Ride Like The Wind" while backed by the Roots? Jimmy Fallon developed his Monday Yacht Party just for me and my Time Life Soft Rock Classics obsession (over/under on how many times I've viewed the entire infomercial? Eight? It's more than just a collection of songs, it's a collection of emotions). Via Late Night with Jimmy Fallon

+Vampire Weekend is taking a page out of the Phoenix playbook by releasing the single "Horchata" early off their upcoming album "Contra." Sounds like you can expect more of the same - pseudo world music with electronic keys, the best part is always Ezra Koenig's vocal work. Via SPIN Online.

+If you agree with Pitchfork, they're one of the best bands out there. If you agree with us, perhaps that's a bit of an exaggeration. Either way, people will listen if the rumored Animal Collective December release proves to be true. Via Pitchfork

Twitter / Tokyo Police Club: Hey friends, its your old ... via kwout

+If you want an impromptu release from a band that's horribly underrated, check out this quick solo piece from Graham Wright (keyboardist, Tokyo Police Club). Via @TokyoPoliceClub

+Finally, before they broke up this year, Kendrick Strauch (keyboardist, The Harlem Shakes) spent his last days before a summer tour recording an entire cover album of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs "Fever To Tell." Via BrooklynVegan