matt sebastian (dot com)

The results of last year’s Village Voice Pazz & Jop poll were published this past week, and although they just don’t seem to carry they weight they once did — this year’s, in particular, seemed not to garner much attention — I figured I’d mark the occasion and post my own ballot, since I’ve written about the poll a couple times now.

It’s also worth noting that this post I wrote about P&J’s abysmal online presence in the summer of 2008 is now more true than ever; at the time of that writing, I’d voted in the poll five times, yet could only locate three of my ballots online — and now all three of those links are dead, too. The Voice is sitting on a goldmine of data going back more than 35 years. Why they don’t have a comprehensive, searchable database — or at least manage to keep recent years’ results online — is beyond me.

Anyway, enough with the rant. I already posted my favorite albums of the decade. Here are my top 10 from ’09:

1. Metric, Fantasies
2. Phoenix, Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix
3. Sonic Youth, The Eternal
4. Doves, Kingdom of Rust
5. The xx, xx
6. Neko Case, Middle Cyclone
7. Dinosaur Jr, Farm
8. Matt and Kim, Grand
9. Camera Obscura, My Maudlin Career
10. The Flaming Lips, Embryonic

Picture of Elvis and Nixon is worth a thousand words:

The next morning, it comes out that Vernon, Elvis’ father, and Priscilla, his wife, were bugging him about how he spent his money. This aggravated the king, so all by himself he got on the first plane going out, which happened to be bound for Washington. Things did not go well.

For starters, a “smart aleck little steward” with a mustache discovers Elvis is carrying a gun — it was his habit to carry at least three — and informs him he cannot bring a firearm on the airplane. Elvis, unaccustomed to being told what to do, storms off and is chased down by the pilot: “I’m sorry, Mr. Presley, of course you can keep your gun.” Elvis and his firearm reboard.

Upon arriving in the nation’s capital, Elvis decides he wants a doughnut. While waiting for his order, he encounters some unsavory types who notice his five big gold rings and three necklaces.

“That’s some nice jewelry,” one thug says.

“Yeah, and I aim to keep it,” says Elvis, raising one leg of his bell bottoms to reveal a snub-nosed revolver strapped to his right ankle.

Garage rock wunderkind Jay Reatard dead at 29