Without much further ado I present the Top 30 singles of 2009 according to brokenbranches, all of which can be enjoyed through the means of a youtube playlist right here.

30   Spinerette

Ghetto Love

Raw, hot rock track oozing sex appeal. One can only imagine what goes on between Brody Dalle and Josh Homme. Oh-oh-oh-oh-ooh-oooooohhh, oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-ooohhhhh, Hey!

29   Peter Fox

Haus am See

A German track made it to my top 30, unlikely but true. Funky & funny track. Ich habe zwanzig Kinder meine Frau ist schön.

28   Andrew Bird

Anonanimal

From Bird’s album Noble Beast, an unassuming but deceptively intricate and charming song. Hold on just a second don’t tell me this one you know I know this one I know this song, I know this one I love this song.

27   Speech Debelle

The Key

Cheeky fresh and soulful rhymes by a bright young thing from South London. Love the Tribe Called Quest vibe in this song.

26   Radiohead

These Are My Twisted Words

One of only two officially released Radiohead songs in 2009, but I much prefer it to Harry Patch (In memory Of). This slightly eerie soundscapish track has an experimental B-side feel to it, also reminiscent of Up On The Ladder from the second In Rainbows disc.

25   The Temper Trap

Sweet Disposition

Still bummed I didn’t get to see these guys at Lowlands, it was a toss up with Bon Iver at that moment. This single, which gets loads of airplay over here, has everything a good popsong should have: a nice build up and a joyous singalong chorus.

24   Jay-Z feat. Alicia Keys

Empire State of Mind

Simply a great track, a worthy celebration of New York. I’m not usually that fond of Alicia Keys, but she definitely gives this song it’s infectious hook.

23   Noisettes

Don’t Upset The Rhythm

There’s no intricate explanation behind this gorgeous Noisettes song, who can resist it? Four three two one – Go baby go baby go!

22   Death Cab For Cutie

Meet Me On The Equinox

This is what Death Cab For Cutie does best, ominous guitar chords, swelling drums, Ben’s lyrics uttered with a sense of warning: Everything, everything ends. They sure had some smart kid making the Twilight – New Moon soundtrack.

21   Mumford & Sons

Little Lion Man

I never knew I was experiencing a lack of banjo fuelled tunes in my collection until I played Mumford & Sons’ debut Sighs No More. They specialise in the quiet-intro-waiting-to-explode-into-full-banjo-madness song structure, and it suits them. Don’t frown too much on the borderline twee lyrics, just enjoy the ride.

20   Matt and Kim

Daylight

Psychiatrists should show this ridiculously chirpy Matt and Kim video to depressed patients, surely things wouldn’t seem so bad afterwards?

19   Dizzee Rascal

Bonkers

With a little help from Armand van Helden Dizzee has made the ultimate rap – dance crossover single and club floor filler of the year. Some people think I’m bonkers, but I just think I’m free!

18   Patrick Watson

Fireweed

It’s a shame the band didn’t release Beijing as a single as that would definitely be my favourite pick, but Fireweed does the job as the perfect album opener. Gentle introduction, trademark drum shuffle, Patrick’s soft whispers, added layers of peculiar sounds and backing vocals all conspiring to make a beautiful composition.

17   Little Boots

New in Town

To be honest I was a bit disappointed with the Little Boots album, but that’s mainly because this tasty single really raised my expectations. It’s grimy and disco at the same time, and the killer chorus keeps you coming back. I don’t have a lot of money but we’ll be fine.

16   La Roux

Bulletproof

Definitely one of the catchiest songs of the year, it’s no wonder La Roux was played to death all over radio and tv music channels. I still haven’t bored of it yet actually, This time baby I’ll be bulleeeeeeeeeeeet proof!

15   David Byrne & Dirty Projectors

Knotty Pine

I just love this upbeat if slightly messy little song with it’s jangly guitar & David Byrne’s irresistible voice immediately coating it with indie cred. Which reminds me, must play Toe Jam!

14   Thunderheist

Nothing 2 Step 2

Yes thank you very much Thunderheist for this dirrrty, funky, head bobbing hip shaking number. Loving the eighties synth, loving the cow bells. I Want You To Know That I Ne Ver Meant To Walk A Way From You.

13   The Decemberists

The Rake Song

Is it a bad thing to love a song about murdering children? The Decemberists made me do it! This most harrowing tale on the Hazards of Love concept album is a burst of percussion and acidic lyrics, with the instant impact chorus Alright, alright, alright! Brilliant song that will have you singing along in no time.

12   Dragonette

Fixin to Thrill

Who is this strange creature in the flesh coloured leotard? For some reason Dragonette had never popped up on my radar before this buttkicking single came out, but I’ll definitely be keeping an eye on them from now on.

11   Beyoncé

Single Ladies (Put a Ring On It)

This is the only decent thing Beyoncé released over the last year or so, but it hits the spot. You tell ‘em B! Sassy, utterly danceable and let’s not forget the most copied video clip of 2009. If you like it then you should’ve put a ring on it, oh oh oh…

10   The Maccabees

Can You Give It

Ah yes The Maccabees, the band that made it to my number one slot on the Best Albums chart. There’s just so much exciting material to choose from on this album, but I’m sticking with the group-hug-sing-along-with-all-your-pubmates thriller Can You Give It.

9     Metric

Help I’m Alive

Such an addictive song this lead single from Metric’s fourth album release Fantasies. Emily Haines vocals are disconnected and desperate at the same time. I tremble, they’re gonna eat me alive. Can you hear my heart beating like a hammer…

8     Gossip

Heavy Cross

God bless Beth Ditto, first and foremost for rocking it out, secondly for adding some very necessary different scenery in between all the MTV polish and veneer. Here’s another inescapable monsterhit by the Washington based threesome.

7     Fanfarlo

Howard T. Wilkins, or How to Wait for a Very Long Time

This band “had me at hello” when they played a great gig at Lowlands this year despite lacking half the band members due to a missed flight. They play a happy brand of orchestral pop, not afraid to amp up the drama and throw in some trumpets and violins. Howard T. Wilkins is probably the best track on the album.

6     DM Stith

Pity Dance

The Spanish guitar strumming combined with strange electronic sounds and DM Stith’s plaintive wailing make for an odd but seductive concoction. By the time the dramatic piano comes in you feel like doom is on your doorstep and there is no escape.

5     Bat for Lashes

Daniel

Although an entire Bat for Lashes album can sometimes be too much of a good thing, this single is a work of art. Natasha Khan took everything that is beautiful about Kate Bush’s Cloudbusting and Running Up That Hill, mashed it up and updated it to 2009.

4     Clues

Remember Severed Head

When ex-Unicorns and ex-Arcade Fires mingle, this overwhelming severing of heads is what happens. A psychedelic and bizarre but utterly terrific romp of a song. You never quite know what’s around the corner, but you’re looking forward to it all the same.

3     Fever Ray

If I Had a Heart

Surely one of the most exciting releases of this year, If I Had A Heart is the lead single from the self titled album. It simultaneously scares and moves me. I read somewhere it was about post natal depression, which seems to make sense. What an amazing way to deal with such a delicate subject.

2     Florence + The Machine

Rabbit Heart (Raise It Up)

I could have chosen any of the singles Florence + the Machine released this year, but this is the one that, well, enchanted me seems the right expression. Such drama such passion, and what a refreshingly different sounds to everything else out there. This is a gift, it comes with a price…

1     Grizzly Bear

Two Weeks

With Two Weeks this Brooklyn foursome, who are about as far removed from a grizzly bear as imaginable, have produced the best single of 2009 by far in my opinion. The attention grabbing opening chords on the piano, the glowing harmonies, the spacey sounds that kick in with Would you aaaaaaaaaalways, it’s just a perfect package.

If you’re a brokenbranches regular you’ll know that even a selection of 30 is a painstaking process for me, with many casualties along the way. Here are some of the beautiful losers:

Alberta Cross – ATX

Animal Collective – My Girls

Antony and the Johnsons – Crazy In Love

Basement Jaxx – Raindrops

Beirut / Realpeople – Venice

Bell X1 – The Great Defector

Bowerbirds – Northern Lights

Dirty Projectors – Stillness Is the Move

Dodos – Fables

Emilíana Torrini – Jungle Drum

Friendly Fires – Kiss of Life

Girls – Lust For Life

Hockey – Song Away

Jack Peñate – Be The One

Jay-Z – Empire State of Mind (feat. Alicia Keys)

Julian Casablancas – 11th Dimension

Lady Gaga – Poker Face

Le Le – Luxe Benen

Lily Allen – It’s Not Fair

Mando Diao – Gloria

Micachu & The Shapes – Golden Phone

Neko Case – People Got a Lotta Nerve

Passion Pit – Moth’s Wings

Phoenix – 1901

Portugal. The Man – People Say

St Vincent – Actor Out of Work

The Killers – Spaceman

The Low Anthem – Charlie Darwin

The Raveonettes – Last Dance

The Veils – Sit Down By The Fire

The Very Best feat. Ezra Koenig – Warm Heart of Africa

Thom Yorke – All For The Best

Vampire Weekend – Horchata

Yeah Yeah Yeahs – Heads Will Roll

It really doesn’t get any easier. My perfectionist personality doesn’t help either, it makes me read through the entire list of the 2009 album releases, 5000 albums give or take, just to make sure I don’t overlook anything. Then comes the relistening, the scrapping, the adding, the positioning, the turmoil. But eventually I get to my destination, invariably feeling hopelessly incomplete and doubting my final list before it even hits this screen.

Ah well, sod it. Here are my top 10 albums of 2009. I will be soon posting the best single releases list too, just need to get a xanax refill first. 

10. Rock Plaza Central

…at the Moment of Our Most Needing, Or If Only They Could Turn Around, They Would Know They Weren’t Alone

No mechanical horses this time, but there’s still plenty of off beat story telling on Rock Plaza Central’s 2009 lengthy titled album. Arguably RPC singer, or often narrator, Chris Eaton’s voice is a bit of an acquired taste, but hey, so was your first beer. Do try and stick with him, because you will reap a great reward of orchestral Canadian quirkiness!

9. Fanfarlo

Reservoir

Fanfarlo’s album is an unassuming little number but it packs a multi instrumental punch. From the toe tapping crescendo of songs like I’m a Pilot and the amazing Howard T. Wilkins, driving piano chords and banjo strumsincluded, to the gentle meandering of Comets, this album is bursting at the seems with love for making music.

8. The Decemberists

The Hazards of Love

Say the words ‘concept album’ and most folks, brokenbranches included, usually won’t be overexcited. The risk of overworked, far fetched constructions looms dangerously. In a way Hazards of Love is indeed far fetched with it’s tales of fauns, forest queens, impossible love and wicked baby murdering rakes, but how wonderfully weird it is! 

7. Gossip

Music for Men

Beth Ditto does it again. She gives you a kick up the arse directed towards the dance floor and gives your hair an orange mohawk makeover in the process. Heavy Cross is without doubt one of the best singles of the year, but the rest of the album is not to be sniffed at. Yes it’s shaky in parts, no it isn’t very innovative, but this is ROCK ladies and gents. Not for wall flowers.

6. Patrick Watson

Wooden Arms

What a great idea of Patrick & co to record and tour with The Wooden Arms! They add such warmth to this album and lift their trademark cinematic compositions to new heights. Stand out track Beijing showcases Robbie Kuster’s status as percussion genius, the pretty Big Bird in a Small Cage superbly shows their radio friendly side and Man Like You is bound to be their new Great Escape. 

5. Fever Ray

Fever Ray

Karen Dreijer Andersson possesses the rare talent to explore the darker side of life without alienating you. When she sings If I had a heart I would love you, you feel her desperation. In When I grow up you simultaneaously experience the joy of being a child and the pain of still waiting to be acknowledged as a grown up. It is haunting and sincere, a thing of sheer beauty.

4. Grizzly Bear

Veckatimest

All of a sudden there it is, the album you know will see you through the year. Right from the magnificent opening composition Southern Point (preferred concert opener and rightly so), stunning lead single Two Weeks (the creepy video is a must see) all the way through to the fragile still-life closer that is Foreground. Harmonies that Brian Wilson would take notes from.  Repeat.

3. DM Stith

Heavy Ghost

Take Patrick Watson’s soundscapy experiments, add some falsetto Antony Hegarty come Jeff Buckey vocals, warm strings, electronic glitches blips and bells, a dash of slightly unsettling multi layered vocal arrangements and you might get an idea of what DM Stith’s debut album Heavy Ghost sounds like. I am entirely seduced. Possibly one of the most accomplished debuts ever.

2. Florence + The Machine

Lungs

When I first heard Florence I was intrigued; who is this Kate Bushy vixen? The album sucks you into every song, despite the potentially off-putting variation of styles. But what all the songs have in common, whether they discuss coffins, one eyed girls, fist fights or drums, is the unabashed and irrisistible celebration of love. I think the world could do with some more colour and heartfelt drama and I think Florence is the one to do it.

1. The Maccabees

Wall of Arms

What a sneaky little gem of an album took the lead! On first listen I didn’t really take that much notice, but enough to keep it in rotation. Then, slowly but very surely, it completely won me over. This is an album full of pent-up excitement, like wanting to tell your major crush you fancy the pants off them but only just managing to keep a lid on it. Practically every song on this album is single worthy, but Young Lions, Seventeen Hands, Can You Give It, William Powers and No Kind Words I just want to lock up in a box for safekeeping.

Incidentally I was lucky enough to see both my numbers 1 and 2 live at Lowlands this year and Florence admitted she had a massive crush on Maccabees singer Orlando Weeks and could later be seen jumping around and singing along to their gig at the side of the stage.

If anyone is remotely interested to see the debris of my album list turmoil, here are the runners up in alphabetical order:

Andrew Bird – Noble Beast

Animal Collective – Merriweather Post Pavilion

Antony and the Johnsons – The Crying Light

Arctic Monkeys – Humbug

Basement Jaxx – Scars

Bat for Lashes – Two Suns

Beirut / Realpeople – March of the Zapotec / Holland

Bowerbirds – Upper Air

Clues – Clues

Daniel Merriweather  – Love & War

Dirty Projectors – Bitte Orca

Discovery – LP

Dodos – Time To Die

Editor – In This Light and on This Evening

Flight of the Conchords – I Told You I Was Freaky

Julian Casablancas – Phrazes for the Young

Metric – Fantasies

Portugal. The Man – The Satanic Satanist

St Vincent – Actor

The Hidden Cameras – Origin:Orphan

The Low Anthem – Oh My God, Charlie Darwin

The Raveonettes – In and Out of Control

The Swell Season – Strict Joy

The Veils – Sun Gangs

Them Crooked Vultures – Them Crooked Vultures

Wilco – Wilco 

[scroll to the end for some beautiful pictures of The Decemberists' performance]

If you dislike raving reviews you might want to avert your eyes dear reader, for I feel a few coming on. The second night of Crossing Border was sublime in my modest opinion. Where to start…

I started the evening with Londonders Mumford and Sons, up in the unbearably hot room suggestively named Paradise. Although I like their debut album Sigh No More, I didn’t know what to expect live. As it turns out these four fetching young folkers managed to get everyone dancing in no time, what an infectious bunch! Yes they use the simple but effective method of building up layers of instruments and gradually picking up speed in most songs and yes the lyrics can be a bit twee, but who cares when it sounds like this? Plus, they can say appelbollen.

There was no avoiding my dear beloved Patrick Watson, I gave in to my slight obsession yet again. What a venue for Watson and his Wooden Arms, perfect for their favourite party trick: the acoustic song (this time Man Like Me) on the edge of the stage. It wasn’t their best show I’ve seen, a bit too short too, but they still make my Crossing Border top three.

I love the way the band plays the songs differently each time I’ve seen them. The only one that has lost its sparkle in a new rendition is The Storm, too rushed an none of the wonderful backing woooo’s. Luscious Life and Beijing still the golden nuggets for me.

No time to waste, off to the venue next door to get in for The Decemberists nice and early. The great thing about Crossing Border is that there is always something going on, and so we managed to catch three poets/ authors in between bands (Flemmish rock ‘n roll poets Andy Fierens and Stijn Vranken and Dutch columnist and language buff Paulien Cornelisse). I would recommend reading all three of them; funny and ripe with sharp observations.

The atmosphere in front of the stage before The Decemberists was one of giddy anticipation. Right in front of me stood a gorgeous little 4 year old girl dressed up like a fairy and her mom, who turned out to be Becky Stark’s sister. They had flown out especially to see the band perform The Hazards of Love in its entirity for the very last time.

The band came on without being announced, I guess to keep the atmosphere of a performance piece rather than a Decemberists gig, and did as promised: they played the Hazards of Love from start to finish. There was the blossoming love between faun and white fairy (Colin Meloy and Becky Stark), there was the jealous mother come forest queen (the absolutely amazing Shara Worden) and the tragic trade off so the lovers can once more be together. Drama! Passion! Tragedy! Guitars! Drums! (one drum even broke from sheer force of pounding) What’s not to like?

The band were obviously really enjoying this last performance together, smiles all round. The girls were an absolutely amazing addition and were clearly sad to be ending their collaboration with the band, Colin Meloy gave them a warm thank you at the end. We were lucky enough to get a six song encore after The Hazards of Love, what a great perfomance. 

After all that excitement there was one more must see on the list: Monsters of Folk. When we walked in the room there was a really cool juxtaposition of the poshness of the room with the excitedly hollering and dancing crowd to be seen. We caught the last 40 minutes of their near 2,5 hour set (!), and I’m glad we did.

As a band I think their material is a bit all over the place and not all of it is particularly good, but what a joy to see Conor Oberst and Jim James on stage together! They were clearly having a great time playing, Conor in particular bouncing all over stage and jumping up onto the drum kit, their energy spreading to the crowd. I was glad to hear a few Bright Eyes songs in the set and sad not to have seen the whole show. 

In fact, how dare those Bordercrossing organisers, having Decemberists and Monsters of Folk play the samen timeslot! Though to be honest, that would be my only complaint about this great little festival. Next year a little less folk perhaps?

Thanks to Guus Krol here are some beautiful pictures of The Decemberists with Becky Stark and Shara Worden:

Last night saw the start of 2009’s Crossing Border festival in the Royal Theatre of The Hague, so much to see so much to choose!

We started off where most people seemed to: Yo La Tengo in the majestic main room of the theatre. Yo La Tengo is one of those bands I always read a lot of good things about,  but I never got into them. As we stood there in this suffocatingly quiet almost funerial atmosphere with people ssshhhh-ing you for even saying something to your friend, and the band playing these extremely low fi songs with shrill vocals, it just wasn’t clicking. Unconvinced and uncomfortable, we ran after three songs.

We were planning to go and see Montreal based indie hiphop twosome Beast, but due to a change in schedual we walked in on the raucous finale of Dead Confederate, headbanging allowed. Then we wandered into another band we’d never heard of: Madensuyu. A Belgian outfit who’s music friend MvS accurately described as “two frustrated teenage boys who didn’t get what they want and are taking it out on their instruments”. They delivered an industrial wall of drums & guitar noise peppered with the occasional grunt & shouted lyrics, as if on speed. A lot more entertaining than I would have thought from that description.

Next up the band I was most looking forward to: The Low Anthem. Again in the posh grand room of the theater, but this time the atmosphere was much more relaxed. We got nice and close, the perfect spot to be bowled over by the folk styled Low Anthem magic. The first half of their set was very easy going, beautifully arranged songs packed with meloncholy and that dusty old folk feel. Ben Knox Miller has the perfect voice to pull this off, and it was nice to hear Jocie Adams switch from backing vocals to howling gal during Cigarettes and whiskey and wild wild women. Great show!

We finished off the evening with the psychedelic harmonies of the Grizzly Bear boys, who were much more at ease than at Melkweg just ten days earlier. I prefered this show, so I was happy I went for a third visit this year. They closed their set with a goosebump inducing acoustic performance of All We Ask because “this is such a beautiful place”, thanks Royal Theatre after all!

Photo thanks to Diana Broeders

As we walked into Het Paard last night it was practically empty. Are these the only 12 people that got tickets for the concert we wondered? By the time support act The Postmarks started playing we might have made it to 20. They played a suitably sullen few songs until for some reason the lead singer cheered up and the band made us all come closer to fill in the big awkward gap. Much better.

By the time Bell X1 took the stage the room had just about enough people in it to not be embarassing. Thankfully, what we lacked in numbers we made up for in enthusiasm. There was a warm reception for all the songs, particularly from a small but noticeable Irish delegation of ladies. The band played a diverse setlist, making sure to play their better known material such as Flame, Bad Skin Day, Rocky Took a Lover and of course their modest Talking Heads soundalike hit The Great Defector. Even the song that first brought the band to my attention: Eve the Apple of my Eye.

I went to this show because friend and Bell X1 advocate CoR invited me. I know and like a few of their songs, but was never properly grabbed by the Bell X-bug. I would have to say that this remains the same after the concert. In a way that’s odd, because I can’t fault the band. Paul Noonan has a good voice and puts his soul into his performance, the band is solid and their songs are decent. Maybe it’s a classic case of “It’s not you, it’s me” for me and these Dublin boys.

I really enjoyed the show all the same. The intimate setting was a nice change from some of the overcrowded sardine tin concerts I’ve recently been to. Highligts for me were the frenzied performance of Tongue, and Noonan’s very impressive attempts to speak Dutch! Hoofd, schouders, knie en teen!

Thoughts whilst on my own waiting for a gig to start:

• Must find a good spot. Now that socialising is not a factor I should at least see the band properly.
• Must check my email. And Twitter. And Facebook.
• Ok, try not to look self conscious.
• God these two girls in front of me never shut up!
• Why does the woman in the pink mumu keep looking at me?
• People must think I’m some sort of social outcast! No no, there are many completely normal reasons I could be here alone. Maybe the person I was going with suddenly died. Hmm that’s a bit dramatic. Swine flu perhaps.
• Wow that Dave Grohl of a guy over there is cute!
• Have I checked my mail yet?
• Right, I am now embracing my new found coolness as lone gig attendee. I am an independent cultured young woman about town.
• Is mumu lady trying to cruise me!?
• Maybe I should write all of this down.
• Oo now I might look like some hip music journalist type who goes to gigs alone all the time, professionally. Excellent!
• I should check my mail.

And what was the actual gig you might wonder? It was Grizzly Bear at the Melkweg and it was wonderful! Opener Southern Point was stunning and towards the end Foreground was breathtaking, not a noise in the room.

But I have realised that when it comes to this Brooklyn foursome there is only so much of their dream sequence soundscapesque harmonious ooh- ing and ahh-ing I can take before I crave one of Daniel Rossen’s lead vocal songs that at least resembles the concept of a song and has vaguely intelligible lyrics.

Other than that: fantastic!

Photo by Fotografieke

The Machine started playing, the Melkweg crowd waited in anticipation, and suddenly on walked two metres worth of legs in killer heels, attached to the rest of Florence. As she stood behind her flower covered mic stand, spotlight bouncing off her intense red hair, she had already won half the match.

Since seeing Florence + The Machine at Lowlands in August they seem to have gone for a more down tempo approach in quite a few songs in the set. Particularly early on, songs like My Boy Builds Coffins and Kiss With A Fist were performed slower and more drawn out. Halfway through, the energy picked up when Florence instructed the audience to start jumping during Dog Days Are Over.

Photo by Fotografieke

I really enjoyed the next few songs, highlights would have to be Howl, Cosmic Love and Fever Ray’s If I Had A Heart introduction to a beautiful performance of Blinding. There was a two song encore with You Got The Love and, of course, Rabbit Heart.  It was quite a short set, I was left wanting more. Shame, because I’m sure some of her demo material, Hardest Of Hearts for instance, would stand up fine.

All in all a wonderful evening with the beautiful spellbinding songstress Florence and her Machine. Although, dare I say I did miss a bit of oomph in songs like Drumming Song and Hurricane Drunk, and a bit of sparkle compared to the magic of Lowlands?

SETLIST

01 Bird song
02 My boy builds coffins
03 Kiss with a fist
04 Are you hurting the one you love
05 I’m not calling you a liar
06 Hurricane drunk
07 Two lungs
08 Dog days are over
09 Howl
10 Druming Song
11 Cosmic Love
12 Blinding (intro: Fever Ray’s If I had a heart)
— encore —
13 You got the love
14 Rabbit heart (raise it up)

You’ve got to hand it to the innovative folks at Dutch copyright organisation Buma/Stemra, they’ve done it! They’ve found a clever way to battle all this file sharing malarky the kids seem to be so caught up in these days. I mean, the whole “internet thing” has onviously gotten way out of hand and somebody needs to step up to the plate.

By making interwebbers pay an alltogether reasonable fee, starting at 130,- euro for 6 embedded YouTube videos, they’ve managed to crack down on all those morally bankrupt people stealing material from its rightful owners.

In fact, I have some additional suggestions for Buma/Stemra. Just today I saw two people in the train sharing the two ear plugs connected to a single iPod. Best case scenario one of them might have paid for that music, but what about the other one? Perhaps train ticket collectors could be authorised to issue fines for this sort of blatant theft.

Another great idea comes frome a fellow concerned Buma/Stemra supporter, posted on this website. His suggestion is that the organisation should further explore the cash potential of ringtones and frequency of use. If a chatterbox gets more phonecalls than average, transmitting the ringtone more frequently, why not charge him more for its use?

Oh and Buma/Stemra, if you choose to implement any of the above mentioned ideas, I will be expecting compensation at a rate of let’s say 130,- euro per person fined/ charged additional costs. Are we good?

extra extra read all about it:

• Buma/Stemra announce new policy
• Bloggers, twitterbugs & co are outraged, start petitions, write letters
• Even politicians raise an eyebrow
• Buma/Stemra’s repsonse is as jurassic as it is brief: “Voor niets gaat de zon op” (the sun rises for free).

After the Lowlands euphoria of the last week brokenbranches is now off to the South of France for two weeks of blissful nothingness. I’ll see you on the other side!

Je n’ai pas peur de la route
Faudrait voir, faut qu’on y goûte
Des méandres au creux des reins
Et tout ira bien là
Le vent nous portera

Sunday, the last day of the festival, absolutely crammed with must sees. Still sunshine galore and sweltering heat, but there’s no time to work on my tan, the race begins!

First stop of the day is the charming Fanfarlo: “We’re missing half our band because they missed the plane, we fucked up!” said frontman Simon Balthazar with an apologetic grin, “will you help us with clapping and singing?”. Not a problem!
With no drums or strings they had to adjust their set a bit, but it made the gig ll the more spontaneous and the crowd loved it. In fact, they wouldn’t stop cheering until they came back for an encore, at the Charlie stage! Unusual and justified. I enjoyed their Bonnie Prince Billy cover of A Minor Place too.

photo: 3voor12

After that there was some more Brooklyn based indie on the menu: Vampire Weekend. I’d been looking forward to their show as I missed them last year, but have to say I was a bit underwhelmed. They play their songs adequately, all the hits are in there and some new stuff too (bit more electropoppy it seemed), but therejust wasn’t any magic. Was it the heat? Or their lack of stage presence? They could do with a bit more livening up as far as I’m concerned.

photo: 3voor12

Next stop: the dogg pound in the Alpha tent. As there wasn’t really anything else decent on at that time, absolutely everyone was headed to see Snoop Dogg. I decided to admire from a far, but was still entertained by the greatest hits machine on stage. It would be nice to see Snoop’s darker side a bit more, but in this case it was a well oiled crowd pleasing festival set.

photo: 3voor12

After heated internal debate I decided to go and see Little Boots in stead of Patrick Watson, who were programmed in the same slot. Reason being I’d seen Patrick  four times before, but never miss Boots.
As I stood listening to her in the half empty India tent though, I got cold feet. Sure Little Boots gave a solid performance, but there wasn’t much excitement there. You can see the potential in songs like New In Town and Remedy, the rest is a bit bland and needs polishing. So after about 4 songs I couldn’t resist any longer, Patrick wait for me!

photo: 3voor12

I rushed into the front of the Grolsch tent which luckily had enough room for me to wriggle in and felt immediately at home. Truth is I could go and see Patrick Watson & is guys ten times a year and it still wouldn’t bore me. They had no problem mesmerising that big old circus tent right to the back with the clever build up of their songs.
For the encore Patrick asked the crowd if they wanted to hear The Great Escape or To Build A Home. What!? “TO BUILD A HOME!!” I yelled at the top of my lungs, but alas.. He let some girl at the front decide and the dimwitted child went for the familiar Great Escape instead. Grrr. Maybe I’ll get my chance at Crossing Border in November.

And now, for the most anticipated act on my Lowlands logistical schedule, Florence and The Machine. I went to the Charlie stage over half an hour beforehand thinking I could get right in front, think again! Obviously the Florence buzz has spread, there were already quite a lot of people sitting on the floorboards to mark their territory.
I find it hard to describe what happened the 45 minutes after she took to the stage. This is going to sound horribly cheesy, but it was as if everybody there was temporarily transported to planet Florence, where there is love, drama, fairytales, hate, moon and stars and twilight. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone, particularly at the age of 22 (!!!), be so vulnerable, real and compelling at the same time.

She stood there, red locks blowing in the wind, black dress floating up just enough to show gold sequined shorts, belting out one after another amazing song. The hopeful Dog Days Are Over, the tongue in cheek Kiss With A Fist, the hypnotising Cosmic Love, a more sultry version of My Boy Builds Coffins, each one a gem.
At the end of Drumming Song she spun around so vigorously she fell to the ground laughing. In between the songs she’s this slightly mad & chatty young girl, all giggles and funny stories. But then within seconds she has the ability to move you in a song. During her powerful version of You Got The Love a girl in front of me teared up and turned to her boyfriend for a big hug, I almost had a lump in my throat myself.
Florence seduced, mesmerised, shook, twirled, sparkled and sang her way right into my Lowlands 2009 no. 1 spot. My two “Florence virgin” friends who tagged along were also completely bowled over and gobsmacked. Can’t wait to see her full concert later this year!

Still on a high, we stuck around Charlie stage to see The Maccabees. The first few rows are filled with jumping indie teenagers, by the look of them all Brits. They sure know how to get a party going and Maccabees guitarist Hugo White plays on this to great effect. They perform a crackling set that thrives on their specialty of suppressed tension building up and the cool vocals of Orlando Weeks.
Although the Brit brigade love the more jumpy early work, the songs off their last album get a great crowd reception too. It seems their turning the corner towards bigger and better, I’m interested to see where it takes them.

As Lowlands draws to a close and pretty much everyone is on their way to see the Arctic Monkeys, I decide to take the road less travelled with a bit of Grace Jones (hula hooping her way through Slave To The Rhythm) and some festive Mongolian throat singing courtesy of Hanggai. Only at Lowlands.