Scene intern Lance Conzett contributed this post.
There's a certain point in December where "best of" lists hit critical mass and our brains start turning to mush at the sight of yet another indie rock slapfight over which Radiohead album released this decade is the king of popular music until 2019. But then a major news organization will throw out a list so bizarre that it demands our attention.
The Associated Press released their picks for the best records of the year today and, inexplicably, put Sam & Ruby's debut The Here and the Now at the top slot. That's right—AP thinks that Sam & Ruby released the best album of 2009. Here's what AP writer Nekesa Mumbi Moody had to say about them:
"The Here and the Now," Sam and Ruby: This Nashville duo has been deemed exotic because of their ethnicity — she's a black woman from Ghana, he's a white dude from Wisconsin. But their blend of acoustic folk, country and soul sounds homespun, as though they've been making music together for a lifetime. And they've reached near-perfection with this CD.
Really? Sam & Ruby? Near-perfection? Why?
