BY RAYMOND CHALMÉ


Driving = a music moment for me. Now, I can hit the local record stores whenever I damn well please and blast music with the windows down for the sheer enjoyment of it.


(Raymond's Jaguar...the bar mitzvah money had to go somewhere!)


Seeing Islands in a bowling alley;  It was a pleasant Tuesday afternoon, when I got home and saw an e-mail that made my heart sing: Why the hell would such a band choose to play in a bowling alley 10 minutes from my house on the night of the record release? The most impromptu show I have ever attended.


Suburban Kids With Biblical Names released new material; One of the most wrongly under-appreciated bands of all time. They are Swedish and four octaves lower than Ian Curtis. The music they make is like having a party but you forgot to buy decorations so you put everything together with childhood arts and crafts and the band you hired is sick so you go into the attic and dig out some weird looking tape player thing and you put on a hell of a show with it. Whew.


(Raymond's favorite press photo)


Writing for Groovemine; I've always been listening to music and writing, so when I came across a chance craigslist posting looking for contributors, I knew I had found what I was looking for. Each review I add to the ever-expanding site gives me a sense of unbelievable pride, and I couldn’t ask for anything more.


Merriweather Post Pavilion; - Late January, Hotel Room, 2:34 AM: "Hmm, this is kind of weird, I mean it's just sort of drifting around and I'm noHOLYCRAPDIDJAHEARTHATTRANSITION?!?!?". This is how my obsession began.


Seeing Los Campesinos! perform twice; Now that an original member (Aleks) has gone back to school, I consider myself extremely lucky that I saw them when I did. They put on a hell of a show, well worth missing my cousin's cousin's wedding for. If you ever get the chance to see them, don’t pass it up!


Feeling smug because I know that I am a better live performer than MGMT; My grandfather (bless his soul) died over 20 years ago and he probably has more charisma with a crowd than MGMT. Their live shows are like karaoke, but the song gets cut off in the middle for a really bad guitar solo that doesn't fit the genre of music it was played over.


My first voyage to Williamsburg; The hipsters, the life, and the music: all deliciously blended into one ultra-hip little town. Be sure and visit Monster Island Basement for great intimate concerts and cool artwork as far as the eye can see, and of course the lovely Sound Fix for in-store performances and a great record selection.


The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart; Oh my god. Everything I have ever loved about music is rolled neatly into this Straight Outta Brooklyn, bona fide Hipster package. If I had to nominate an album for "Most Consistently and Enjoyably Listenable", it would be this one.


ATP New York 2009 (music festival), Curated by The Flaming Lips; - Do I really need to say it? I went with my great friends for an entire weekend of bands I absolutely adored. I left with friends from a few other continents, 25 pounds of band merchandise, documentary footage my friend Noury shot and memories and stories for years to come.


(Raymond on-stage at ATP)

"Hey, remember when we danced on stage with The Flaming Lips / Met Deerhunter / Had a Cheez-It® inspired party in the lobby of our hotel / explored the Shining-esque building / gambled with Steve Albini / etc.........???"

For anyone who is even considering attending a future ATP... DO IT. YOU WILL NOT REGRET IT.



MORE OF THE BEST....
> Best of 2009 main page
> Alec Brinegar's Top Nine Albums of 2009
> Lukas Clark-Memler's Top Five Albums and Top Five Album Covers of 2009
> Sam Houghton's Top Five Albums of 2009
> Neil Levens’ Top Five Albums of the Year