#10 Album of 2009: Flight of the Conchords

It shouldn't be a surprise to anyone that Flight of the Conchords will not be doing a third season of their HBO series, despite its excellence. Their most recent album can tell you exactly why: while it's still a very enjoyable album, it just isn't as comedically polished as their self titled major release. It was a hasty release.

"Too Many Dicks (On the Dance Floor)"

#10

I Told You I Was Freaky
Flight of the Conchords

Even though I Told You I Was Freaky is not as good as its predecessor, this album still makes my top ten for the year. It is well put together, pulls from a wide array of genres, and is funny: all of the things I expect from The Conchords.

Their last album contained songs they had written years ago. They were already hits from their stand-up performances and radio program. The HBO series capitalized on this and created excellent music video-like segments for these songs. Everything was put in place very nicely.

From what I gather, Bret and Jemaine weren't quite prepared for the pace of a second series, and the songs and show both suffer a bit as a result of this increased pace.

There is a lot to like on I Told You I Was Freaky, though. I'm partial to the electonic-leaning songs like "Sugarlumps" and "Too Many Dicks", but the retro "Fashion is Danger" and the album's title track are both very fun.

"Carol Brown" and "Friends" are actually rather earnest and heartfelt tracks, and unlike one of the other comedy albums of the year (that I'll talk about further up in the list), they remind us that comedy can be touching too.

I didn't buy a ton of music this year, and I'm also not the type of person who will put an album on my list just becuase it is "supposed" to be good. In order to put together a top ten this year, I'm choosing albums that are inspiring to me as a performer and home recording artist. I Told You I Was Freaky makes the cut because it does a good job of reminding me, as a musician, that it's important to find the balance between making music and taking time.

It also serves as a reminder that music has to stand alone. Some of the songs from The Conchords excel ONLY when tied directly to their video counterparts, while some can be listened to and enjoyed even if you've never seen an episode of the show. The most glaring flaw of this album is that it relies too heavily on the audience's familiarity with the HBO series.

Tomorrow: I talk about someone who has my dream job.