Gypsy Boombox's LIVE SHOWS of the YEAR

5. ALBERTA CROSS - Electric Factory / Philly / 11-5

4. FREELANCE WHALES / Fanfarlo - TT the Bear's / Boston / 12-17

3. PHISH - Wachovia Center Philly 11-24 & MSG 12-4

2. PHOENIX - Electric Factory / Philly / 0-28

1. TV on the RADIO/Grizzly Bear - Tabernacle / Atlanta / 6-13

Gypsy Boombox's ALBUMS of the YEAR

20. Neko Case - Middle Cyclone         

19. Regina Spektor - Far
18. Pearl Jam - Backspacer

17. St. Vincent - Actor 
16. Monsters of Folk - Monsters of Folk
15. Edward Sharpe & Magnetic Zeros - Edward Sharpe & Magnetic Zeros
14. Raekwon - Only Built 4 Cuban Linx Pt 2

13. Here We Go Magic - Here We Go Magic
12. Them Crooked Vultures - Them Crooked Vultures
11. Sonic Youth - The Eternal

10. Russian Circles - Geneva
9.   Passion Pit - Manners
8.   Jay Z - The Blueprint III
7.   Alberta Cross - Broken Side of Time
6.   Girls - Album
5.   The xx - The xx

4.   Dirty Projectors - Bitte Orca

3.   Freelance Whales - Weathervanes

2.   Yo La Tengo - Popular Songs

1.   Phoenix - Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix

Music Video of the Year

Even in a year where music videos began to resemble porn more and more, Yeasayer melted our face, and Beyonce made "one of the greatest videos of ALL TIME",  the Boombox award for video of the year was a no-brainer... Wu-Tang is here forever, muthafuckas!
Raekwon: House of Flying Daggers Official Music Video HD from Chain Gang Productions on Vimeo.

Gypsy Boombox's Best Records of 2009

25. St Vincent - "Actor Out of Work"

24. Neon Indian - "Deadbeat Summer"

23. Pete Yorn & Scarlett Johansson - "Relator" 

22. Raekwon - "House of Flying Daggers"

21. Jay Z feat. Drake - "Off That"

20. Charlotte Gainsbourg & Beck - "Heaven Can Wait"

19. Yeasayer - "Ambling Alp"

18. Yo La Tengo - "Periodically Tripled or Doubled"

17. Monsters of Folk - "Dear God"

16. Neko Case - "I'm an Animal"

15. Animal Collective - "My Girls"

14. Them Crooked Vultures - "Gunman"

13.  Karen O & The Kids - "All is Love"

12. The Dirty Projectors - "Stillness is the Move"

11. The Avett Brothers - "I and Love and You"

10.  Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros - "40 Day Dream"

9.  The Dirty Projectors - "Cannibal Resource"

8.  Passion Pit - "Little Secret"

7.  The Big Pink - "Dominos"

6.  Fanfarlo - "The Walls Are Coming Down"

5.  Girls - "Hellhole Ratrace"

4.  Phoenix - "Lisztomania"

3.  Jay Z - "Empire State of Mind"

2.  The Limousines - "Very Busy People"

1.  Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros - "Home"

The Boom Box Bike

Introducing Broken Bells

Danger Mouse is at it again, this time teaming up with The Shins' lead songwriter James Mercer on a project they're calling Broken Bells.  The two play all the instruments on the self-titled debut, with the exception of a full string section arranged by Daneile Luppi. The album was recorded in LA, and will be released on March 8th.  The group will release a single, "The High Road", on its website December 21rst, so keep an ear out for that.

RIP Chris Feinstein

Bassist Chris Feinstein has passed away. While details remain scant, it is believed he passed away at his Manhattan home in the early hours of Monday morning. He was 42.

Feinstein was most recently known for his role in Ryan Adams & The Cardinals which he joined in 2006, replacing original bassist Catherine Popper. As a member of the Cardinals, Feinstein appeared on Adams' releases Easy Tiger, Follow the Lights and Cardinology. It was Adams who dubbed Feinstein "Space Wolf." (Jambands)

Yeasayer World Tour

Yeasayer have kept the anticipation high lately for the February release of Odd Blood, with the lead single "Ambling Alp" and its insane video, nothing has been as exciting as the massive list of tour dates released today.  They will play two shows in the US the week of the album's release, then crisscross Europe through February and March, before hitting every American market in April, with the venues ranging from larger music halls to intimate clubs.  Full dates after the jump!

New Yeasayer Album Art

Yeasayer are set to release Odd Blood on February 9th, and as the anticipation rises, things just keep get weirder.  As if the video for "Ambling Alp"(NSFW) wasn't insane enough, today they released some rather psychedelic, ocularly challenging artwork for the new album.  You've been warned.                                                                        

Jonsi from Sigur Ros Readies Solo Debut

Jón "Jónsi" Thor Birgisson, lead singer and guitarist from my favorite band, Sigur Ros, will release his solo debut album on March, 23rd.  Go will consist of nine songs, most of which will be sung in English, a revelation that has me on the verge of hyperventilation.  The key collaborator on the project is pianist and composer Nico Muhly, who arranged the brass, woodwind, and strings along with piano on each of the album's tracks.  Jonsi is expected to tour extensively throughout 2010.  


I'd also like to take the opportunity to post one of my favorite photographs of all time, taken at a Sigur Ros show in Iceland a few years back.  Cheers!

Also love this one... Thank God for Sigur Ros

Beck's Record Club with Feist & Nels Cline

Record Club: Skip Spence "Weighted Down" from Beck Hansen on Vimeo.

As previously reported by the Boombox, Beck's latest Record Club installment covers Skip Spence's 1969 folk album, Oar, and Mr Hansen recently posted this video of his version of "Weighted Down (The Prison Song)" which features Leslie Feist on lead vocals, and Nels Cline getting celestial on acoustic guitar.  Great stuff here... can't wait for the whole project to be released.  Enjoy! 

Volume Two from She & Him

She & Him, the collaboration between M. Ward and Zooey Deschanel, will release their second album on March 23rd, 2010.  In a bold move, they will title the disc Volume Two, since the sophomore effort follows 2008's Volume One.  Eleven new original tunes written by Deschanel (Mmmmm), and covers of NRBQ's "Ridin in my Car" and Skeeter Davis' "Gonna Get Along Without You" will comprise the album.  The first single "In The Sun" also features guest vocals from Tilly and the Wall.  The only question now is How many great bands can M. Ward be in at one time?

Arcade Fire!!

Canada's indie darlings Arcade Fire are finishing up a new album, and will hit the road in the summertime for a string of dates, Billboard reports.  The album is being produced by Markus Dravs, who engineered Arcade's 2007 gem Neon Bible.  Let's keep our fingers crossed.  Read the Billboard article here.

Listen to "Wake Up", easily one of my favorite records of the decade.  Enjoy.

More Phoenix

My Parisian obsession, Phoenix, were nominated for the Best Alternative Album Grammy last week for the consistently great Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix.  The band recently hit the streets of the city of love to perform as part of filmmaker Vincent Moon's concert series La Blogotheque's "Take Away Shows".  Check out the performances of "Liztomania" and "One Time Too Many" below.  And if for some reason you don't have this album yet, run.
Phoenix - Lizstomania / One time too many - A Take Away Show from La Blogotheque on Vimeo.

North American Air

French duo Air will tour the United States in March. This will be the first time the group, JB Dunckel and Nicolas Godin, have performed in North America in 3 years.  Their recent album, Love 2, is a dreamy blend of dance pop and atmospheric electronica, somewhat akin to Thievery Corporation's mellow side.  Tickets for the US shows go on sale this Saturday, December 12th. 

Full list of Air tour dates after the Jump

Back from Manhattan

I'm back, and fully recovered from Phish's three night run at Madison Square Garden last week.  The shows were fantastic, but as usual the city stole the show.  Highlights of the "weekend" included the first cover of Zappa's "Peaches en Regalia" since '99 on the first night, a ridiculous run in the second set of night two to that included "Fluffhead", "Cities" into "Free", and "Halley's Comet" into "2001".  The final show included rarities "Glide" and "Dinner and a Movie", while the second set featured a fierce "Mike's Song" and gigantic "You Enjoy Myself".  The quartet closed out the run with an encore of The Rolling Stone's "Shine A Light", ending the week on a note of bliss.

Phish begin their New Years Eve run at Miami's American Airlines Arena on Dec 28th.

A shout out to the employees at The Local for taking such good care of us, as well as Lisa for the Harlem accommodations,  Vlad for the security detail, Jim from Georgia for the entertainment and Johnny Walker, and Erin for, well, everything.  What a band.. What a venue.. What a city.... Street Food for Life!

Taking a Few Days Off...

The Boombox is going on vacation for a few days.... but I'll be back soon, with stories to tell no doubt... Forward my calls to