I can’t help but think that had this 2009 Canadian film about a rock n’ roll band of vampires been released at some other time (that time being any time when there wasn’t a Twilight or a Trueblood, etc.), I might have enjoyed it more, but as it is it just feels like another bite (yes, really) at the fang craze, and even its backdrop of a gigging band searching for stardom, its numerous rock star cameos, and small but smart doses of humor, doesn’t help push it past being just another fad. Of course, it doesn’t help that the music in this rock n’ roll spoof is completely lame — that it, yes, sucks. That’s probably what offended me most about Suck, especially given the obvious influences guiding writer/director/star Rob Stefaniuk. I understand that in order to properly spoof the industry, to lay waste to the shticks people will rely on to help make ‘em famous, you have to have a shitty band with a shitty name (in the this case The Winners) because the majority of mainstream bands are truly terrible, but The Winners’ insipid, whiny brand of rock n’ roll just made me angry. I got it, but I didn’t enjoy swallowing it.* Of course, as mentioned earlier, Stefaniuk was obviously guided by some strong influences, and Suck isn’t so much a great movie to watch as it is a great game to play.

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Michael Monroe, Sami Yaffa, and Ginger together in a new band. Holy shit my head just exploded. So did my cock.

I realize there’s still over a month to go in 2009, but hardly anything good ever comes out in December. The rock n’ roll release season always seems to peak in October and after that it’s a slow slide into a new year and, hopefully, new good music. So I like to get a jump on my end of the year list in the hopes that it will provide you with some killer bands and albums to catch up with before the year is out. It also gives me a chance to try and remember all the new shit I heard over the last 11 months. That’s not an easy task. In fact, some of this stuff may not even be from 2009, but so it goes.

As with all best-of lists, this one has its disclaimers. The big one here is that this list includes only the albums I listened to, so if I didn’t include Slayer’s new album or Immortal’s new album it’s because I haven’t heard them…yet. So don’t get your panties in a knot if there are some glaring omissions. And, of course, this list is exclusive to the music I listen to; it’s my favourites for the year…and hopefully some of yours.

Oh, and why 39? Because it’s one better than 40. If 666 is the number of the beast, think of 39 as the number of the beard.

All right, enough screwing around. Let’s get to it…

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