For the 7th year in a row, that means the following things:
-The Detroit Lions lose at football. (....and in life? 34-12)
- Black Friday went off with only minimal fatalities (but let's face it..Zhu Zhu Pets...totally worth it)
-You've enjoyed Turkey in non-sandwich form for the 1st time since last Thanksgiving....
.......and most importantly....Matty B releases the official rules for the:
"7TH ANNUAL TOP TEN ALBUMS LISTS OF 2009!"
*and for extra credit Best of the Decade!!!
That's Right!! Milwaukee's music geeks annual celebration of the finest albums of the year!
Time to lock yourself inside, harness your inner obsessive, crank your stereo, start making the tough decisions & post your favorite albums on my weblog:
http://www.lettershomefromcamp.blogspot.com
and...new this year...follow the lists on Twitter! @TopTenAlbums
JUSTIFY YOUR EXISTENCE AS A MUSIC FAN!!
In it's 7th year, this is a BIG DEAL! Not only is this a great way to prove your superior taste & knowledge to your peers in list form, this is also an excellent opportunity to find out about loads of awesome music you might have missed or overlooked this year.
AND FOR EXTRA CREDIT
This year also marks the end of the 2000s.... Extra Credit for all those music-obsessed enough to make the mind-bendingly arduous task of making a "Best of the Decade" list (yay! I've been waiting all year for that!!)
and of course, let's not forget the gala event of the lists: "The Top Ten Albums LISTENING PARTY" upstairs at Trocadero on Sunday December 27 8pm
This year's Top Ten Party takes place upstairs at Milwaukee's outstanding "Trocadero" 1758 N Water St Milwaukee WI
Enjoy free Riverwest Stein with creation of your list (while supplies last ), talk music & compare lists with like-minded music freaks like yourself!!!
We're doing a "Mix CD Swap" so make sure to bring a bunch of mix CDs of your fave songs with copies of track listings & trade them with your friends. PLUS- Make sure to bring your loaded up iPod or fave CDs so YOU get to play GUEST DJ throughout the evening.
(and please come ready to eat...as the good folks at Diablos Rojos have graciously donated the room....least we can do to thank them is order some food)
so without further ado...pressure's on....let's get to:
TOP 10 ALBUMS OF 2009
POSTING
All lists are posted at lettershomefromcamp.blogspot.com
here's how...
Login at:blogspot.com
Username: top10albums
Password: oftheyear
under "Manage Your Blogs" go to "New Post" & get listing!!
(or just e-mail them to me at top10albums@gmail.com & I'll put em up for you")
and now....
THE RULES
1. Albums of must have a release date between November 1 2008 & January 1 2010- always rule #1... always the hardest one to follow. For the end of Decade lists revise that to November 1 1999 thru January 1 2010. Haven't listened to 10 worthy albums yet? Get crackin...in the age of file transfers & ubiquitous downloads....as long as you have a computer...you have access.. Good sources for verifying album release date: allmusic.com amazon.com lala.com itunes.
2. Every selection must be accompanied with a short yet thoughtful explanation- Because what's the point of telling us what your favorite albums are if you don't tell us why? (right?) I've been known to write some pretty lengthy descriptions....although a sentence or two will suffice (perhaps a haiku?)...point is...if it's good enough to make your list....it should be worthy of some thoughtful description.. a few examples from last year... here here and here
3. Make a Top 10 Albums of the Decade List for Extra Credit- Not a requirement but highly recommended since you only get to do this one every 10 years! Shorter, more succinct descriptions suggested (or no descriptions if you must....) However this is definitely going to be a topic of conversation so all you overachievers should take a crack as this. Pitchfork, Paste, NME & a number of others have already posted theirs.... Overachieving music geeks should be all over this one...
4. NO GREATEST HITS ALBUMS!!!- Sorry dude....not budging on this.... Unless the greatest hits album contains all songs that came out this year (which i guess in Lady Gaga's case...might end up being possible)...let's try our best to keep it to new or previously unheard music.... Reissues, B-Sides compilations & other non-new material should be taken on a case by case basis.
5. Leaked & Internet only albums- You get music on the internet? And sometimes before the artists intended release date??? And you haven't been arrested by the RIAA? This year we'll call it the "Beach House" rule..only the 2nd year directly addressing the omnipresent possibility of albums with future release dates that you've already heard. Leaked albums are acceptable however a couple of things apply. Let's try to stay away from putting the same album on a list 2 years in a row & secondly...make sure you have the actual copy....that could be embarrassing otherwise...
6. Audio & Visual Aids encouraged- CD Covers, embedded video, album inspired art....whatever you need to make your point! (if you need help getting those posted, just drop me a line at top10albums@gmail.com & i'm happy to help)
7. Positive/Negative Comments welcome- This is all about dialogue & discovery of music. Positive comments are good, although nothin wrong with mixin it up with a little debate though... If for instance you just don't see the true inner-beauty of Wavves or the didn't think Raditude was all that rad afterall...let em know (although if your gonna go negative...better make sure your list is up for the thrashing too.... mmkay?)
8. PLEASE share this with your music loving friends- Everyone's invited to participate. Everyone's invited to the listening party. (doesn't matter if we know you or not...we want your list....we want you to come to the listening party!)
9. In order to be taken seriously your list must be posted in a timely fashion- Sure....we'll still read your list, however we'll be forced to assume that the reason I didn't see it til FREAKIN JULY was because you just wanted to make sure nobody would read it....Listening Party is December 27. That cool? cool...
10. Any of these rules can be bent, broken or reinterpreted at any time for any reason- So am I telling you that after reading all of these rules that what I really meant to say is that none of the rules matter at all? ....yeah...that's pretty much what I'm telling you.... don't freak out.
That should just about do it!
Have a list-worthy day & we'll see you at The Listening Party December 27 at Trocadero!
Cheers
-Matty B
PS questions/concerns etc, you can always e-mail me at top10albums@gmail.com or shoot me a call at 414-333-6634
PPS- Top Ten Party Public Service Announcement....
-The Top Ten Party is a Listener Supported Event. Beer, giant notepads, sharpies, wristbands & other random odds & ends all cost money....a small donation for party attendees is greatly appreciated
-Diablos Rojos has graciously donated the space at Trocadero & provided beer at a very reasonable cost..... The least you can do is have a little bite to eat at the party...their food is awesome...plan on eating there if ya can...
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