CHRIS FRANTZ (TALKING HEADS, TOM TOM CLUB)
What will you remember most about 2009?
Nearly getting blown off the stage along with my cymbals during a raging windstorm as Tom Tom Club performed to 55,000 fans at the Festival Internacional de Benicassim 2009 in Spain.
What album or albums appeared most often in your iTunes?
Los Fabulosos Cadillacs’ El Arte de la Elegancia
What was your favorite show or tour in 2009?
Caravan Of Thieves, Halloween Night, Fairfield Community Theater
What emerging band should readers watch out for in 2010?
Kid Ginseng
What artist or artists will be most synonymous with the past decade?
Lady Gaga
*****
JOSH BARON (RELIX, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF)
What will you remember most about 2009?
Getting married to my wife Rachel on August 16th in Brooklyn.
What album or albums appeared most often in your iTunes?
I tend to play new albums I get four or five times every day for about a week. Then they taper off. Those that got that treatment include M.Ward, Post War; Phoenix, Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix, Passion Pit, Manners; Hockey, Mind Chaos; Built to Spill, There Is No Enemy; BlakRoc; Miike Snow; The Avett Brothers, I and Love and You. There were also some great archival release from Phish and the Grateful that got good play- The Roxy and both Winterland sets.
What was your favorite show or tour in 2009?
My favorite show is easy: my wedding. We had some friends who were going to be at the wedding anyway play five tunes for us well into the night. The wedding band featured Joe Russo, Aron Magner, Dave Dreiwitz, Scott Metzger, Tom Hamilton, Rob Marscher, Jonah Smith, Leah Segal and my brother, Matt Otto. Our requested setlist was “Let’s Get Together,” “You Make My Dreams,” “Here Comes My Girl,” “Tonight I’ll Be Staying Here With You” and “Signed, Sealed, Delivered.” They killed it. And guess what? We forgot to tape it.
What emerging band should readers watch out for in 2010?
I don’t know if I would call them emerging but the band Citay has a pretty great record dropping next year. If you get a chance to check out the DJ/singer trio The Very Best, I would. This band Animal Kingdom from the U.K. has some potential I think. So does another British band The Macabees. And this guy isn’t emerging, at this point anyway, by a long shot but the lead singer of Sigur Ros Jonsi is putting out a solo project next year called Go. He did a lot of it with the composer Nico Muhly. I’ve listened to the record and it’s just bursting with energy in a really upbeat, fun way. If I could fly through clouds on a sunny day, this would be my soundtrack.
What artist or artists will be most synonymous with the past decade?
I’m sure people are saying the same bands but with good reason: Radiohead, Wilco, Arcade Fire. Those three- for me- really capture much of it for me. Mind you there are so many artists and records that remind me of it as well: The Strokes, The National, Ryan Adams. And as I write this, I’m thinking to myself but what about the jambands? There were some good records put about by our bands- Panic, moe., Phish- but I don’t necessarily associate them with a time. They’re not anchored or designed that way.
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