Best Music of the Year, Post #1: Love of Diagrams, !!!, Bjork, New Young Pony Club

So, I didn't get around to scribbling up a year-end list for the print editon of the paper that's due out on Wednesday; I left that to our capable freelance stable. But I am going to bombard the blog for the next two weeks or so with some of my favorite songs/albums of the year.

MP3: !!!, "Heart of Hearts"
I saw this insane dance-band twice this year, once at the Duck Room -- where a near-capacity crowd sweated, grooved and gyrated to its funk-punk -- and once at Lollapalooza, where vocalist Nic Offer grinded with an (embarrassed) girl in a wheelchair. In short? Awesome. !!!'s Myth Takes was a consistent, worthy addition to the band's catalog.

MP3: Love of Diagrams, "The Pyramid"
An Australian band whose album Mosaic was a deliciously dark bit of new-wave post-punk in the vein of Joy Division, Pylon and Sonic Youth.

MP3: Bjork, "Declare Independence"
MP3: Bjork, "Earth Intruders"
I loved Volta on first listen; its structure and atmosphere so much more inviting than Medulla. The album hasn't had as much staying power for me -- especially after I saw Bjork live in Chicago in May, an experience which transcends her entire oeuvre. But the stomping, inspiring, electro-clank, Post-like "Declare Independence" and bizarre beat-making of "Earth Intruders" endure.

New Young Pony Club, Fantastic Playroom.
This album is far and away one of my favorites of the year, sounding like a cross between the kitschy new-wave of Bow Wow Wow, dance-punk of the Gossip and electro grooves of New Order.

Here's a crazy video for "Get Lucky":

-- Annie Zaleski