Friday Bears: The Chieftains are 50

The Chieftains, the legendary Irish folk group, have hit their active 50th anniversary. Let that sink in. The Chieftains are now 50 years old. And while the band members continually changed over time, which isn't that strange given the circumstances, sticking together in any form for that long is a certain testament to resilience.

To celebrate the achievement, the group is planning to release Voice of Ages; a compilation effort which includes help from Bon Iver's Justin Vernon, The Decemberists, The Low Anthem, and more.

Listen to the group's collaboration with Bon Iver on "Down By The Willow Garden" below, courtesy of Pretty Much Amazing.

Bears and Bullets Top 25 Songs of 2009 (Pt. II)

We'll continue the top 25 countdown with songs #20 through #16.

#20: Feel It All Around - Washed Out

Ernest Greene, more commonly known as the solo outfit Washed Out, made his first real strides towards prevalence a couple months ago with "Feel It All Around," a dream-haze recreation of Gary Low's "I Want You." The loose, earthy semblance in Greene's sparkling vocals echo behind the rich synths and droning tones to create a spectrum of sound that sticks to the listener. Neither present, future or past captures what "Feel It All Around" is, but it isn't timeless either. It's a moment, a fraction of time between everything.

Washed Out - Feel It All Around - MP3

#19: Charlie Darwin - The Low Anthem

"Charlie Darwin," The Low Anthem's story of the American working-class, is a slow-building, harmony-driven song that sails towards the end of the world, or in this case, to a newer old world. The soft harmonica spins a solemn split between the "Oh my God," chants of the sad, sad world "Charlie Darwin" feared.

The Low Anthem - Charlie Darwin

#18: Dominos - The Big Pink

Brit pop, in most forms, took a relative backseat in 2009. The Big Pink, among very few others, seemed to emerge from the once dominating scene with "Dominos," a song that flourished under massive synth bass-lines and impossibly catchy hooks. Those "girls" that "fall like dominoes" may seem a tad more trivial than the subjects on the rest of this list, but what makes "Dominos" last is the constantly flowing rise and fall of the buzzing backdrop for a loud and constant chain of enticement.

The Big Pink - Dominos - MP3

#17: The Reeling - Passion Pit

Passion Pit landed their second slot on the Top 25 Songs of 2009 list with "The Reeling," off of Manners. The glistening, both of the electro rhythm and Michael Angelakos' vocals, invigorates the pulse of the "Reeling." It sparkles as an accessible dance track, something that Passion Pit have cultivated along well with churning and bright pop music.

Passion Pit - The Reeling

#16: Walkabout (ft. Noah Lennox) - Atlas Sound

I've mentioned more than once this year that Bradford Cox, the man behind Atlas Sound, Lotus Plaza, and Deerhunter is a total workaholic. The man churns out almost infinite amounts of music behind his three pet projects, and all seem to cling to the indie blogosphere with terrific fever. "Walkabout," the lead single from Atlas Sound's album Logos, features the creative influence of Noah Lennox, more commonly known as Animal Collective's Panda Bear. Never has Cox's music sound so blippy and uplifting as "Walkabout," a song about going away and never looking back to what may or not be left behind, the spins into dream cache'd end, asking "What did you want to be when you grew up?" The question is never answered, but that isn't anything to take away from the song.

Atlas Sound (ft. Noah Lennox) - Walkabout - MP3

Check Back Later for Tracks #15-#11.