Rock is dead—long live rock.

That feeling came over me several times this past year. The importance of rock music as a communal experience seemed to lessen, thanks to our keeping to our own private soundtracks due to file-sharing and downloading, but 2009 was also a solid year for concert ticket sales, both here and on the mainland.

And while there was much to celebrate as I watched the HBO special on the 25th anniversary of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, I couldn't help but feel that it was the last relevant gasp of the music of my own baby-boomer youth—one last time before the torch is firmly grasped by a new generation.

2009 marked the death of Michael Jackson and the renewal of the Beatles. The embracing of their artistry was evident by sales, as Jackson's “;Number Ones”; collection was one of the big sellers in '09, and the magic of the Fab Four's music continued with the solid sales of their remastered and reissued albums, as well as the popularity of their “;Rock Band”; video game.

And while a brutal economic downturn threatens the well-being of the arts community here, a small and seemingly vital indie rock scene has sprung up. BAMP Project has become, hands down, the concert promoters willing to bring new music to Honolulu, and entrepreneurs Ara Laylo and Michelle “;Catwings”; Takiguchi are helping nurture promising acts like the Jump Offs (who put out a great debut of an album), GRLFRNDS, Painted Highways, Clones of the Queen and several others.

The efforts of singer-songwriter Sabrina Velazquez are bearing fruit as well, as not only did she receive much-needed funding for her next album thanks to Kickstarter.com, she also got an invite to do a showcase at March's South by Southwest music and film conference in Austin, Texas. (She should be joined by another group of Hawaii-based acts assembled by Australian SXSW rep Phil Tripp for the second year in a row.)

So hope springs as we enter a new decade, and to celebrate what has just passed, here are my lists:

ALBUMS OF THE YEAR

» “;Troubadour,”; K'naan (A&M/Octone)
» ”;Merriweather Post Pavilion,”; Animal Collective (Domino)
» ”;Hold Time,”; M. Ward (Merge)
» ”;Middle Cyclone,”; Neko Case (Anti-)
» ”;Crack the Skye,”; Mastodon (Reprise)
» ”;Veckatimest,”; Grizzly Bear (Warp)
» ”;The Ecstatic,”; pictured, Mos Def (Downtown)
» “;The Eternal,”; Sonic Youth (Matador)
» “;Dethklok: The Dethalbum II”; (Williams Street)
» “;Music for Men,”; Gossip (Columbia)

I thought rap got a shot in the arm with the work of Somalian-born K'naan and a revitalized Mos Def; indie faves Animal Collective, Grizzly Bear and M. Ward (who put on a well-received solo show here last month) held strong all year; the music of punk-art elders Sonic Youth is still relevant as ever; the best metal of the year came from Mastodon and Dethklok, whose Adult Swim animated series “;Metalocalypse”; is pure genius; and Case and the Gossip's Beth Ditto proved that they are two of rock's best female voices.

HONORABLE MENTION

» ”;The Mountain,”; Heartless Bastards (Fat Possum)
» ”;Love vs. Money,”; The Dream (Def Jam)
» ”;It's Blitz!”; Yeah Yeah Yeahs (Interscope)
» ”;Beware,”; Bonnie “;Prince”; Billy (Drag City)
» ”;Zee Avi,”; Zee Avi (Brushfire)
» ”;Hypnotic Brass Ensemble,”; Hypnotic Brass Ensemble (Honest Jon's)
» ”;Wilco (The Album),”; Wilco (Nonesuch)
» ”;Everything Goes Wrong,”; Vivian Girls (In the Red)
» ”;Us,”; Brother Ali (Rhymesayers Entertainment)
» ”;Jack Johnson en Concert,”; Jack Johnson (Brushfire)

The Vivian Girls mention is based on a fun, if sparsely attended, show here in August. The trio rocked, and bassist Kickball Katy swung more rhythmically. And we get to see Brother Ali in concert on Jan. 22.

SONGS OF THE YEAR

» ”;Nike Boots,”; Wale (Allido/Interscope)
» ”;Turnin' Me On,”; Keri Hilson featuring Lil Wayne (Interscope)
» ”;The Fear,”; Lily Allen (Capitol)
» ”;Poker Face,”; Lady Gaga (Cherrytree/Interscope)
» ”;Golden Phone,”; Micachu & the Shapes (Rough Trade)
» ”;Panic Switch,”; Silversun Pickups (Dangerbird)
» ”;Hand Me Down,”; Visqueen (Local 638)
» ”;D.O.A. (Death of Auto-Tune),”; Jay-Z (Roc Nation)
» ”;Day N Nite,”; Kid Cudi (G.O.O.D. Music/Universal Motown)
» ”;Hold the Line,”; Major Lazer featuring Santigold and Mr. Lexx (Mad Decent/Downtown)

Congratulations to former local boy Brian Aubert and the Pickups for getting a Best New Artist nod from the Grammys.

BOX SETs AND REISSUES OF THE YEAR

» ”;The Catalogue,”; Kraftwerk (EMI)
» ”;Histoire de Melody Nelson,”; Serge Gainsbourg (Light in the Attic)
» ”;Black Monk Time,”; Monks (Light in the Attic)
» ”;Coming from Reality,”; Rodriguez (Light in the Attic)
» ”;Funcrusher Plus,”; Company Flow (Definitive Jux)
» ”;Drums of Passion: Legacy Edition,”; Olatunji (Columbia/Legacy)
» ”;Bleach (20th Anniversary Deluxe Edition),”; Nirvana (Sub Pop)

I think the Kraftwerk boxed set is as important as the more-publicized Beatles set. The German quartet set the foundation for electronica dance and hip-hop (”;Trans-Europe Express”; was cribbed by Afrika Bambaataa for the seminal “;Planet Rock”;).

And, new to my lists:

MUSIC DOWNLOADS OF THE YEAR

» ”;ThruYOU”; (Kutiman Mixes YouTube) (www.thru-you.org)
» ”;Dark Night of the Soul,”; Danger Mouse and Sparklehorse (www.NPR.org)
» ”;A Glorious Dawn,”; John Boswell (www.symphonyofscience.com)
» ”;The Hood Internet Mixtape Vol. 4”; (www.thehoodinternet.com)

Israeli musician Ophir Kutiel, aka Kutiman, put together an amazing audiovisual mashup back in March made up of YouTube clips and making coherent hip-hop and dub-based songs.

Even though “;Dark Night”; is unavailable in its physical form due to a legal dispute with corporate music giant EMI, the album is still available at National Public Radio's Web site. Filled with intriguing collaborations with the Flaming Lips, Julian Casablancas of the Strokes, the Shins' James Mercer and Lynch himself, it's 2009's great “;lost”; theme album.

Boswell champions the cause of using music to spread scientific knowledge and philosophy, and he hit the mother lode with “;A Glorious Dawn,”; using the musings of an Auto-Tuned Carl Sagan, as well as Stephen Hawking.

The latest collection of hip-hop/indie rock mashups from the Chicago-based Hood Internet is now up and running on their Web site. The mixtape joins acts like Ghostface Killah with Beirut, Drake pitted against the Rapture, and Modest Mouse with Kanye West.

Goodbye to the '00s, hello to the '10s, thanks for listening and be well ...