Top 15 Albums of 2008

I first started writing this blog because I wanted to be a journalist and I figured this would help me hone my writing skills. I no longer have any aspirations involving journalism, yet I keep writing for reasons mostly unknown and nonsensical. And anyone who actually read my blog back then knows that the only difference between then and now is that now I have a wider range of authors whose style I try and emulate. Likewise, I first started compiling 'best of' music lists to improve my writing and to show people how awesome my musical taste was. I now realize that I make people aware of my musical tastes whether or not they read my year end lists. Mainly because I'm a loud, obnoxious blowhard when it comes to music*. Yet I digress.

This year I made a conscious decision to be more analytical in my actual life and less analytical in the “arts” that I encounter. Why do this you ask, well I felt like there wasn't enough duality in my life. Actually that's not true, mainly I just figured that if I liked something I shouldn't have to justify it to myself. So for the first time ever this list is wholly made up of my favorite records of the year. In years past I'd allow my inner music critic to take over and I’d put albums I thought were better ahead of albums I liked more. So in turning over this new leaf I'll start with the honorable mentions and go from their.

Honorable Mention
Plants and Animals - Parc Avenue
Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin - Pershing
Paavoharju - Laulu Laakson Kukista (Not a made up band or album, their just Finnish)
Crooked Fingers - Forfeit/Fortune

15. Vampire Weekend - Vampire Weekend: A very solid album whose charm dissipates upon multiple listens. There are still some amazing highlights off this album though whose awesomeness haven’t weaned over time.

14. French Kicks - Swimming: I'm not sure why I like this French Kicks album better than there older stuff, perhaps it's because they sound more relax, more sure off themselves. It as if they're no longer concerned with trying to save the world by rocking and now they just wanna play good music. I actually can't explain why I like this album so much, but hopefully my ambiguity covered that up...

13. Hayden - In Field and Town: As I grow older I've found that my fantasies are becoming more and more grounded in reality. Where as a teenager I dreamed of being an me exceedingly rich multi-media celebrity which would allow me to bed any and every beautiful woman on the planet. Now my daydreams consist of a day off work where it's breezy and I have no responsibilities and can just sit and read in the shade. If such a day ever arrives, this album will be the soundtrack to it. Never did I imagine myself being this boring and neutered at the age of 23.

12. Fleet Foxes - Fleet Foxes: This album/band answers the age old question of what it would sound like if Fleetwood Mac and the Beach Boys had a musical love child. The Answer: F*cking Awesome

11. The Notwists - The Devil You, and Me: I feel like this album is made a lot better by the fact that it's the Notwists first album in over 6 years. Such distance between records is sure to augment it one way or the other. Luckily for the Notwists, the break plays in there favor. And since I have nothing else to say I’ll allow avid reader and musical enthusiast Marko Wilson to give a one word review of this album:

“Catchier”

10.The Walkmen - You and Me: Anyone who read my blog back when I was living in Chicago knows how truly miserable I was during the 6 month long winter there. This album, oddly enough, makes me miss those winters. The whole thing sounds like a soundtrack to those dark, bleak and freezing months. If I were still living there I can guarantee this album would have been one of my 3 favorite to come out this year.

9. The Dodos - Visiter: Every so often I feel as if an album is made with me specifically in mind. This is one of those records. It's perfectly constructed alt. folk with a curveball thrown in, which pretty much describes anything I'd ever want in a record. What makes this record better so many similar ones, like the over-hyped Department of Eagles LP, is their use of percussion and harmonies. Considering the album is almost entirely acoustic, it's very unique and awesome to hear the drums and bass lines up so high in the mix.

8. Lil Wayne - Carter III: I've gone back in forth on this album all year. Sometimes it sounds like the most brilliant, enjoyable music that's ever been put out. Other times it's so painfully obnoxious it makes me what to punch someone in the face. As of the time of writing this, it's the former. I'm currently amazed how Lil' Weezy raps the way jazz musicians play music.

7. Sigur Ros - Med Sud I Eurune Vid Spilum Endalaust (With a Buzz in Our Ears We Play Endlessly): This was easily the biggest surprise of the year in my mind. No so much that the album was as good as it is, though it is Sigur Ros most complete record, but what surprised me the most was how the album was so good. The fact that a band that's famous for making atmospheric post-rock and signing in a made up language could write such brilliant pop songs is really quite astounding. The best song on the album, Festival, does sound like a classic Sigur Ros song, but good portions of this album are borderline twee-pop. Even typing this I'm still flabbergasted that it works as well as it does.


6. Blind Pilot - 3 Rounds and a Sound: Speaking of album's that seem like they were made exclusively for me, I present Blind Pilot's debut LP. Much the same way boy bands were created out of the dreams and wishes of teenagers girls and gay men over the age of 40, so Blind Pilot was created for me. It's like Pandora and the Itunes Genius function combined powers, look through my musical collection and then gave birth to Blind Pilot based on all that data. And if that wasn't enough, they biked to every venue on their first tour, which is incredible awesome. There's nothing about this band and their stunningly beautiful music that I don't love.

5. Destroyer - Trouble in Dreams: Another great album by Destroyer which I undersell because it came out only two years after Rubies. If you like Destroyer you'll love this album. If you don't like Destroyer then there is probably something wrong with you. I also question whether or not you have the ability to truly love anything.

4. Okkervil River - The Stand Ins: This probably would have been my album of the year if were just a 4 song EP featuring: Lost Coastlines, Blue Tulips**, Calling and Not Calling My Ex and Interview with Bruce Wayne Campbell. That's not to the say the other 4 non-instrumental songs on this album are bad, quite the opposite in fact. Those songs main problem is the fact that they're paired with the aforementioned 'Big 4'. I also probably would have had this album higher if I hadn't played it for a 2 months straight followed by other members of my family playing it for two more months straight. That's a pretty good recipe right there for how to OD on an album.

3. Bon Iver - For Emma, Forever Ago: I'm sure I've written or talked about this analogy before in regards to other albums, but I don't really care. Bon Iver's debut album reminds me of the Shaq-Kobe Lakers teams that were a mini-dynasty at the beginning of this decade. You've got two iconic superstars: Skinny Love and the title track. And there surrounded by a slew of great role players, who don't necessarily stand out on their own, but they compliment the two superstars perfectly. I feel like this is the best possible explanation for this great album. And for those of you wondering, Flume is obviously ‘Big Shot’ Bob Horry in this analogy.

2. Girl Talk - Feed the Animals: Some people might frown upon Girl Talk's inclusion on this list, since none of this album is original material, it's all mash-ups. My justification, not that I feel like I need one (see the 2^nd paragraph of this post), is that while all the songs Gregg Gillis is using were originally other people's, they now belong to him. Much the same way as when Johnny Cash covers a song, it then becomes one of his songs^. Hurt is no longer a Trent Reznor or NIN song, it's a Cash song. I feel the exact same way about the music in Feed the Animals, anytime I hear a song that’s on here out of the context of this mash-up it feels foreign and wrong. And that's why this album is on this list, because even though he's breaking multiple copyright laws and getting sued out the a$$, the songs on this album now belong to Mr. Gillis. And they're all pretty damned amazing.

1. Spiritualized - Songs in A+E: What can I say about this album that I haven't already written or forcefully told people who didn't want to hear about it? I've been playing this record at least once a week for the past 6 months and I've yet to tire of it. The sum of its whole is better than the individual parts, which is a marking of any great album. I don't want to be hyperbolic, but Songs in A+E is pretty much perfect.

Until We Meet Again
* Context probably not necessary...
** Be sure to hit up youtube and check out Bon Iver's cover of this son
^ With the exception of his covers of Bridge of Troubled Water and In My Life and maybe one or two other songs I'm currently forgetting

Here I Am. Rock You Like a… Something Other Then a Hurricane

Ok so I haven’t written anything in a few weeks, but that’s because I’ve been to busy rocking. Literally. Over the past two weeks I’ve been able to watch an amazing string of shows thanks to my going to San Diego Street Scene and thanks to some great bands traveling through Tucson on their way to Austin City Limits. Below is a list of all the bands I got to see as well as some brief comments from me about the show. So have fun with this or just ignore it since it’s something only I would enjoy reading.

Street Scene

Chester French

Likes: When it ended

Dislikes: Because I’ve done some growing up, I no longer hate people. In fact I try not to dwell on anyone long enough to even actively dislike them. However, I’ll make in exception to all this to both openly and actively hate the a--hole who fronts Chester French. I only saw this band because they were the first band playing at Street Scene and because the next two bands I wanted to see were playing on the same stage. I should have known what was coming when this douche took the stage and announced that “Today is all about grabbing boobs and tearing pubes out”. Not only was he dead serious, but he also thought it was really cool to say it. I could literally fill up 3-4 paragraphs as to why this guy is one of the bigger tools alive, but he’s probably got a proximity boner just knowing that someone in the world is actually talking about him, so I’ll stop now.

MGMT

Likes: Time to Pretend and Kids

Dislikes: No, I’m not the type of guy who sees bands just for their singles, but these were the only two songs by MGMT that I could remotely enjoy because of the audience. MGMT’s fanbase apparently consists of a bunch of young hipsters who have never been to a show before. There was bandanas and faux-Days of Thunder sunglasses as far as the eye. I, who am by no stretch of the imagination a small individual, got trampled during this show just because these young f*cks had no idea what to do at a concert. It was pretty embarrassing for everyone involved.

New Pornographers

Likes: I’ve seen the New Pornographers 3 times before and they’re always amazingly tight and together for everyone of their shows. This show was no exception.

Dislikes: The absence of band mates Neko Case and Dan Bejar, my two favorite members of New Prono’s. A.C. Newman’s topical political commentary. Shocking as this maybe to some of you, I didn’t go see the New Pornographers took learn the political takes of some Canadian band’s lead singer. The only time any band should announce their political leanings is if they’re playing at a show to support a particular candidate. And by playing that show you’ve given everyone all the commentary they need, so just stick to music. Honestly.

GZA

Likes: Hearing my favorite rap album of all-time almost all the way through. Also, GZA was half and hour late and while me and my friend James waited for him to show up we debated why GZA was late. We decided he most likely was: A.) Bidding on a Rockaway shirt on Ebay B.) Playing Duck Hunt or C.) Deconstructing “Fear and Trembling” with the RZA, a.k.a. Bobby Digital*

Dislikes: GZA being over half an hour late and therefore having to cut his set short.

Devotchka

Likes: If you’ve never listen to Devotchka’s music or seen them live I highly recommend doing both, because they’re pretty effing awesome.

Dislikes: Thanks to GZA’s late start, Devotchka also had to cut their set short, and thus they failed to play most of the songs I wanted to hear.

Spiritualized

Likes: I started the 2nd day of Street Scene about as perfectly as it possibly could. I was literally in the front row for Spiritualized who put on one of the best shows I’ve ever seen. Just wall to wall distortion the entire set. The band even employees two gospel singers to take the backing vocals and in now way are they even remotely gimmicky, much to my pleasant surprise. In fact, they didn’t even play half the songs I wanted to hear and it was still an incredible show. I’m going to ignore the obvious pun implications and say that Spirtitualized’s live show was very near a religious experience for me.

Dislikes: When it ended

Cold War Kids

Likes: Um…

Dislikes: I don’t think I was able to accurately judge the Cold War Kids because they literally went on right after Spiritualized and I was still in a fog from that show. That and I only saw about 20 minutes of their show. Even then though, the Cold War Kids were kinda of embarrassing. Watching them it feels like they’re trying way too hard to act like a rock band. It’s like they had no idea what to do on stage so their manager gave them videos of Thom Yorke, Angus Young and Nirvana-era David Grohl and told them to study up. Watch some of their live clips on Youtube or even one of their music videos and you’ll see what I’m talking about.

Tokyo Police Club

Likes: While I was still in a semi-fog from the Spiritualized show, Tokyo Police Club managed to knock me out of it by rocking, hard. Just about everything that I like about them transfers over perfectly in a live setting. Just a very, very solid show.

Dislikes: Their lead singer’s voice is mainly neutral, not adding or taking away from anything, on most of their records, but it seems to be their only weak spot in the bands live shows.

The Hives

I didn’t really see the Hives play, but they were performing across the way from the stage I was waiting at. I never really liked the Hives, and their lead singer appears to be an egotistical jackass. For the few songs that I had to watch them perform on the jumbo screen, it appears this man is totally and unequivocally in love with himself. He seems like the kinds guy who listens to his own music at home and in his car and requests that females wear a mirror over their face when he makes love to them. Just an all around douche baggy performance by, you guessed it, a giant douche.

Tegan and Sara

Likes: Just about everything. For being lesbian twin sisters, Tegan and Sara put on a pretty great show. They were humorous, gracious and musically sound. Pretty much everything I want from a band whose music I’m only vaguely familiar with. They also took 30 seconds of their show to cover “Umbrella” . Tegan, or was it Sara, then said that Rhianna was her future wife, which was funny. They find Rhianna attractive, I find Rhianna attractive, we’ve have a lot in common.

Dislikes: Not knowing which team all the attractive girls at this show were playing for. Never has checking girls out at a concert out been so confusing.

The National

Likes: I ended the second day at Street Scene the same way I began it: with a transcendent show from one of my favorite bands. I could gush for several pages about how amazing this show was and how much I love The National, but that would just make everyone whose still reading really uncomfortable so I’ll just say that they were amazing and leave it at that.

Dislikes: When it ended.

Shows in Tucson

Vampire Weekend

This was a really unusual show. It was thrown together so Vampire Weekend and Hot Chip could make some money while traveling from California to ACL. Vampire puts on a pretty good show, but for the most part they seem like a band who doesn’t want to be famous. Maybe they just didn’t give two sh*ts about this particular show, but they seemed very distant the entire time. The drummer was the only band member with any consistent energy, as well as being the only one of them who looks like he should be in a rock band. I imagine there’s no difference between the show Vampire Weekend put on for us then when they’re all stoned and playing at one of their beach house in the Hamptons. My favorite member of Vampire Weekend was their keyboardists, who seems utterly conflicted on stage. It’s like his Dad’s pissed that he became a rockstar instead of being a CPA. It appears to really be eating at him, like he doesn’t know whether he should honor his father or rock out. Just a lot going on in
this young man’s mind… Or at least that’s what I told myself.

Hot Chip

This show was best summed up by my friend Billy who said: “This is everything I want in a live show and nothing I want in a band”. I couldn’t agree more. Although I could probably do without a fat keyboardist continually humping his instrument.

Zygos

Zygos put on a very good show for an opening band. At the end of their set all the members of Okkervil River joined them on stage to sing their last song. It was a giant sausage fest as 15 or so dudes attempted to rock out on a stage that can’t be more then 10 x 20 feet. Both bands were really, uncomfortably into each other. I imagine this exact same scenario takes place each night after their shows except there’s no audience and none of them are wearing pants.

Okkervil River

Likes: 3 years ago in Chicago I saw Okkervil River open for the Decemberist and became a much bigger fan of theirs after that. They’re an amazing band that puts on an equally as amazing show. They don’t play all their hits or their up tempo songs either, which I liked. I really respect a band that goes out of their way to alienate their fans

Dislikes: Their lead singer, Will Sheff, was very drunk and tweaking on one or multiple drugs. He was still able to sing all the songs and in most cases play the guitar. Although at one point he had his capo on the 6th fret and was still playing chords on the first fret, which was funny. They started every song way off because of Sheff’s intoxication, but they’d generally pull it together about midway through the first verse, which is an even greater testament to how talented they are. Also, I feel certain that Sheff’s going write a terrific album recovering from whatever drugs he’s currently on, so the show wasn’t an entire bust.

Until We Meet Again
* If they were in fact doing this I can only imagine they were saying things like “There’s some real shit in here man” and “That’s the leap of faith right there my n*gga”. No, I’m not racist. Why do you ask?

Six Word Memoirs (of My Summer)

At some point during my 3 months absence from the world of blogging I stumbled upon a book called Not Quite What I Was Planning: Six-Word Memoirs by Writers Famous and Obscure. As you already should have figured out, this book is made up six-word memoirs from people of all different ages, walks of life, etc. Now I didn’t buy this book, for the same reason I don’t shop at places like Table Talk and Sharper Image, but I was fairly intrigued/amused by the premise of it. So in the spirit of this book I’m just going to give you all a 6 word synopsis of the major events in my life that transpired since I last wrote.

Life

Summer Camp: Not like ‘Wet Hot American Summer’

Current Unemployed: Half-heartedly searching for return to misery

My Return to the Blogesphere: Lazy, but too legit to quit

Music

Spiritualized - Songs in A & E: Already a transcendent album for me

Blind Pilot – 3 Rounds and a Sound: How did Sub Pop miss them?

Mason Jennings – In the Ever: Miles better then his last one

Fleet Foxes – Foxes: Too early for Neil Young Comparisons?

Attending the Mile High Music Festival

Josh Ritter: The man from Idaho rocks, hard

Lupe Fiasco: Only black man at the festival

Andrew Bird: On different level then everyone else

Tom Petty: 300 yards away, still Free Falling

Movies

Dark Knight: Holy F*cking Sh*t (x2)

Indiana Jones 4: Lucas and Spielberg can blow me

Wall-E: I completely and unashamedly loved it

Sports

1^st Week of the Olympics: Rooting for America out of obligation.

Missing the NBA Finals: Kobe and Boston, f*ck ‘em both

Ok so a couple of these are truly embarrassing, but I’m ok with that. This was a nice easy way for me to back in to this. There’s better things to come, I promise.

Until We Meet Again