Lawrence.com

Every year when I post this sort of thing I feel like I have to add the caveat that the more the internet has an influence on the way music is read, the harder it is to keep up with. It's tough enough for any one person to keep a handle on what's going on locally, and absolutely impossible to be able to have any real handle on what's happening nationally, even for those who do it for a living. Plus, of course, there's no accounting for taste. Some of my friends adore the new Girls album - it makes me want to harm small animals - and surely someone will feel the same way about some of my favorites.

Additionally, the way I interact with the internet anymore makes me honestly wonder about the effect on my attention span. I consume what seems like a LOT, but probably retain so little of it it may be no better for my little brain than watching TV.. or staring into space.

Anyway, in acknowledging my internet ADD and the different media I'm consuming more of decided to change my list around a little bit this year. I'm paring the list down to five albums and including five of my favorite podcasts. I feel that if I expanded my music list to ten, it probably would have a couple tossed in just to fill the thing out. Podcasts have been keeping me sane at work for a few years now, and this year for the first time it's possible that I spent more time with them than with music. Also, you can't argue with so much amazing legal, free content available every day.

So here goes...

Music

5 - Animal Collective - Merriweather Post Pavilion

Stare at that image...

Animal Collective is one of those bands that isn't for everyone, but because of those jarring vocals and willingness to experiment, I'm always interested. Come play here, please?

4 - Grizzly Bear - Veckatimest

Speaking of lovely vocals. Plus this video is video is awesome and creepy. I've tried to blink like this but can't get my eyes to quite do it.

3 - The xx - xx

Especially when compared with the two albums above, this album is so wonderfully subtle. Understated vocals, catchy melodies.

2 - The Antlers - Hospice

Ugh, this album is just so pretty it hurts. It's also a rare album for me in that I actually listened to the lyrics. It's pretty dark, but it's very interesting and has stuck close to me for months. Unfortunately, this has to be the only band on the internet with no videos other than handcam stuff. This one's relatively decent.

1 Matt & Kim - Grand

Most fun! Most pop! Also includes the rare amazing female drummer and a boy on a cheap keyboard.

Podcasts

5 Dan Carlin's Hardcore History

This one took me a little while to get into, but Carlin has a great way of taking a historical topic and jumping in with such crazy passion that it's like being around your favorite teacher. The four-part series on the Eastern Front during WW2 is incredible. And great to sleep to. Also like a good class.

4 Stuff You Should Know from HowStuffWorks.com

Chuck and Josh explain how everything works, from the Large Hadron Collider to zombies and spontaneous combustion.

3 Slate Gabfests

Slate has five gabfests as of now, bringing together groups of the smartest writers representing the online magazine. Includes the Political Gabfest, Culture Gabfest, Money Talks, Hang Up and Listen (sports) and the Double X (women's blog). Most have new episodes weekly.

2 The Adam Carolla Podcast

He can be obnoxious occasionally, but more often than not the guy's just funny. Usually a great guest. Past guests include Seth MacFarlane, Jimmy Kimmel, Paul Shaffer, Larry Miller, Joe McHale, Kaitlin Olson and more.

1 Radiolab

I podcast a lot of really great NPR shows that I didn't include here because their schedules on the radio are so predictable, but Radiolab really has no set time, has relatively few episodes overall and typically is just so much better enjoyed in the podcast format where you can just enjoy it in your own time and hear the whole thing. It's science made funny, fascinating and understandable... if this American Life were just about science and Ira Glass were a lot funnier. And while I do like some science Friday, it's not nearly as engrossing as the way Jad Abumrad and Robert Krulwich make their subjects. Plus NO CALL INS, thank god. I'd recommend starting with the episodes on Sleep and Time. The most recent episode was also great: Numbers.

Well, there it is. Hooray for 2009. Bye bye, whatever we end up calling this weird decade.