Bands Under The Radar (BUTR)

One of my favorite bands in the world is Razorlight. I can not get enough of the lyrics, melodies, and vocals plus they are one of the most exciting bands to watch live IMHO.  If you have never seen them live and want a taste, from December 9th Babelgum will be premiering ‘Rock and Roll Lies’, a documentary of one of music’s most enigmatic and controversial frontmen Johnny Borrell, and his band, Razorlight.

The documentary was filmed by award winning filmmaker Charles Henri Belleville over the course of five days during the band’s summer tour, visiting an array of obscure and grandiose UK venues including Buxton’s Opera House, a 1930s dance hall in Leamington Spa, the hallowed King Tut’s Wah Wah Hut in Glasgow and London’s monumentally proportioned O2 Arena.

Watch the documentary, trailer, and clips on Babelgum:
http://www.babelgum.com/razorlight

Here’s Razorlight’s video of Wire to Wire to get you in the mood for pure deliciousness:

What is love but the strangest of feelings?
A sin you swallow for the rest of your life?
You’ve been looking for someone to believe in
To love you, until your eyes run dry

1. The Avett Brothers – I And Love And You
2. Needtobreathe – The Outsiders
3. Florence + the Machine – Lungs
4. La Roux – La Roux
5. Muse – The Resistance
6. White Lies – To Lose My Life
7. Them Crooked Vultures – Them Crooked Vultures
8. Dave Matthews Band – Big Whiskey & The GrooGrux King
9. Charlie Mars – Like A Bird, Like A Plane
10. Norah Jones – The Fall
11. The xx – XX
12. Dawes – North Hills
13. David Gray – Draw The Line
14. Gossip – Music For Men
15. Manchester Orchestra – Mean Everything To Nothing
16. Yeah Yeah Yeahs – It’s Blitz!
17. Silversun Pickups – Swoon
18. Peter Bjorn and John – Living Thing
19. MuteMath – Armistice
20. Laura Marling – Alas I Cannot Swim
21. Vijay Kishore – 13 Rounds
22. Pete Yorn & Scarlett Johansson – Breakup
23. Monsters Of Folk – Monsters Of Folk
24. Deer Tick – Born On Flag Day
25. Band of Skulls – Baby Doll Face Darling Honey
26. Metric – Fantasies
27. Foreign Born – Person to Person
28. Starsailor – All The Plans
29. Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros – Up From Below
30. Neko Case – Middle Cyclone

More Albums I like (list will continue to grow):
31. Leopold and His Fiction – Ain’t No Surprise
32. Speck Mountain – Some Sweet Relief
33. J. Tillman – Vacilando Territory Blues
34. Alice In Chains – Black Gives Way To Blue
35. White Rabbits – It’s Frightening
36. Hockey – Mind Chaos
37. Chris Isaak – Mr. Lucky
38. Robert Francis – Before Nightfall
39. The Swell Season – Strict Joy

Honorable Mention (albums not available in U.S. yet)
*Mumford & Sons – Sigh No More
*Powderfinger – Golden Rule

Guilty Pleasures
*Adam Lambert – For Your Entertainment
*Lady Gaga – The Fame Monster

Disclaimer: Obviously some of these bands are not “under the radar”.  BUTR’s year end lists are picks of the best albums and best songs of 2009 regardless of how well-known the artist is.

Kami

P.S. Send me your suggestions for albums I missed.

FREE ALBUM from Spin Magazine: 10 Artists to Watch in 2010 featuring The xx, Foxy Shazam, Nneka, Final Fantasy, Free Energy, etc.  Download here.

FREE SAMPLER from iTunes in collaboration with Starbucks, which allows users to download 20 songs for free.  To get your free iTunes Starbucks Sampler, visit iTunes on Facebook.

30 TUNES FOR YOUR LISTENING PLEASURE FROM 2009 TO GET YOUR HEART RACING

SPACER
SPACER

SPACER

I’m all over the place with this mix so I doubt you will like all the songs. I’ve got lots of indie rock like always but threw some country, pop, and dance in there as well.  Hope you discover some new tunes in this year end playlist that you like!

I created an iMix on iTunes so it’s easy for you to buy the songs you like.  All song are available in iTunes (except “Mother Lover”): BUTR’s iMix – Top 30 Songs of 2009

Disclaimer: Obviously some of these bands are not “under the radar”.  BUTR’s year end lists are picks of the best albums and best songs of 2009 regardless of how well-known the artist is.

Kami