Top 15 albums of 2008 (and a few more)
Okay, so instead of doing the normal answering questions thing again tonight, I thought I'd list the albums I loved this year. I mean, pretty much everyone who can read this knows the important things that happened to me this year. Instead, music has had a much happier impact on my life, so here's the 15 albums I played the most in 2008 according to last.fm, listed with the number of plays in parentheses, along with a bit of commentary on each.
1 David Bowie - Best of David Bowie 1969-1974 (314)
Ummm, yeah. David Bowie IS sex.
2 Fleet Foxes - Fleet Foxes (218)
Holy crap, such a good album. To give you an idea how much I love this, I've only had this album since the end of November, and this chart is from the entire fucking year.
3 The Mountain Goats - All Hail West Texas (212)
Thank you, Granada Theater for bringing them to my attention finally. This is the album that made me fall in love with The Mountain Goats, and it's certainly one of my favorites, for its stripped-down, lo-fi quality.
4 The Mountain Goats - Heretic Pride (151)
The most recent full-length from The Mountain Goats, this sounds completely different from All Hail West Texas, and has some wonderful little gems ("Lovecraft In Brooklyn", anyone?)
5 Morrisey - You Are The Quarry (Deluxe Edition) (144)
Mm, deliciousness from the former lead of The Smiths. I don't agree with him completely when it comes to politics, but his voice is just so sexy and so heart-breaking at the same time. Oh, and the dude can write, too.
6 David Bowie - Best of Bowie (128)
MOAR BOWIE. Yoinked from my mum.
7 Beirut - Gulag Orkestar (113)
Fuck, why didn't I find out about these guys earlier? My research for Psychology of Music last semester only made me appreciate the foreign-sounding rhythms of this album more.
8 Cursive - The Ugly Organ (109)
Mm, more literate angst. Perfectly self-referential, and one of those albums that can consistently make me cry (see: "Sierra")
9 The Magnetic Fields - The Charm of the Highway Strip (98)
Okay, my love for folksy indie rock has really come out this year. First Magnetic Fields album I ever bought, since Arcade Fire covered "Born On A Train" years back (in 2005, apparently).
10 Motion City Soundtrack - Even If It Kills Me (97)
One of the few cases where I like a band's most recent album the best. This was one of the three albums I listened to every Tuesday and Thursday on the way to Body Systems. I'd like to think it was what gave me a reason to be outgoing in the course.
11 Neutral Milk Hotel - In the Aeroplane Over the Sea (94)
Okay, holy shit. Jeff Mangum is a goddamn genius. The man needs to get back into music (his recent outing on the Elephant Six tour is promising!)
11 Simon & Garfunkel - The Best of Simon & Garfunkel (94)
I likes my old people music, okay? I grew up with this stuff, and apparently so did one of my favorite bands of the year (Fleet Foxes)
13 Amanda Palmer - Who Killed Amanda Palmer (91)
Ms. Amanda Fucking Palmer is amazing, as always. I loved her marketing for this album (hence my spray painting of the spirit rock), and I'm really upset now that I didn't shell out the $100 to get the super deluxe edition that came with the book by Neil Gaiman. What the hell was I thinking?
14 The Mountain Goats - The Sunset Tree (89)
Beautiful and heartbreaking. Knowing that this is autobiographical makes the lyrics difficult to hear, but it somehow gives me strength.
15 Goldfrapp - Seventh Tree (80)
Yum. Thank you Clarissa for introducing me to Goldfrapp. This was the goddamn soundtrack for my summer and it was fucking beautiful.
Runnahs up
These didn't make the top 15, but were albums I loved and feel are quite deserving.
Vampire Weekend - Vampire Weekend (75)
Paul Simon-influenced slightly pretentious indie pop from a bunch of Ivy League kids? YS PLZ!
Ghostland Observatory - Robotique Majestique (71)
Deliciously weird electropop from a couple of guys from Austin. Who needs drugs when you've got Ghostland Observatory? Also, this is amazing to listen to while driving down a darkened interstate.
Kaki King - Dreaming of Revenge (55)
Another fantastic result of the Mountain Goats show at the Granada Theater. I got to meet her after the show, and she was so much fun. Very Juno-esque. I would kill to play guitar like she can.
Colin Meloy - Colin Meloy Sings Morrisey (44)
Holy shit. Yum. I love Morrisey, I love Colin Meloy. So much sexy.
Asobi Seksu - Citrus (33)
Hurray for cute Japanese girls playing fantastic, shining shoegaze.
School of Seven Bells - Alpinisms (32)
I first heard of this album as I was pulling out of my parking space at my apartment to head home for the winter break. NPR did a short bit on it, and I knew I just had to have this from the first snippet of song they played. I get the feeling that this will get a lot more plays from me in the new year.
M83 - Saturdays = Youth (31)
Ok, I totally buy into all the hype. I fucking love these guys.
Arcade Fire & David Bowie - Live EP (Live at Fashion Rocks) (21)
Apparently this was recorded as a benefit concert for iTunes after Hurricane Katrina? I hate myself for not finding it earlier, but this is the first (and so far, only) album I've actually bought from iTunes.
Foals - Antidotes (20)
The first artist that I actually discovered through last.fm. Goddamn, this makes me want to dance
dead black hearts - Five Gallant Steeds (20)
These guys were the opening act for the What Made Milwaukee Famous show I went to over the summer. The first track reminds me of how much I love Adam.
Gnarls Barkley - The Odd Couple (19)
I resisted this for a long time, since I thought they were too mainstream (ugh, fuck my pseudo-elitism), but only came to discover that this is a hell of a fun album, and not so much a guilty pleasure.
Flight of the Conchords - Flight of the Conchords (19)
fdsjkaljlk;fsda I want their Kiwi babies.
Explosions in the Sky - All of a Sudden I Miss Everyone (17)
The only way I can explain the low play count on this is how few songs are on it. Then again, I'm forgetting that it came out in spring of 2007, not 2008 ::facepalm::
Sigur Rós - Með Suð Í Eyrum Við Spilum Endalaust (15)
This should've got a lot more attention from me. Sigur Rós manage to retain their beautiful characteristic sound, while updating it just enough to keep things interesting.
Andrew Bird - Armchair Apocrypha (12)
Another under-appreciated album for me. Certainly deserving of far more listens.
A Hawk and a Hacksaw - Darkness At Noon (11)
This was brought to my attention by the Radio UTD lecture on the Elephant 6 Collective. The band's connections to Neutral Milk Hotel and Beirut were more than enough to get me to give them a listen, and I think more listens are certainly merited.
Juno OST (yeah, no idea how many plays on this one since last.fm splits the damn thing up by artist)
I don't know how they came up with a soundtrack that matches my tastes so perfectly.
Haha, now to see if anyone gives a shit.
1 David Bowie - Best of David Bowie 1969-1974 (314)
Ummm, yeah. David Bowie IS sex.
2 Fleet Foxes - Fleet Foxes (218)
Holy crap, such a good album. To give you an idea how much I love this, I've only had this album since the end of November, and this chart is from the entire fucking year.
3 The Mountain Goats - All Hail West Texas (212)
Thank you, Granada Theater for bringing them to my attention finally. This is the album that made me fall in love with The Mountain Goats, and it's certainly one of my favorites, for its stripped-down, lo-fi quality.
4 The Mountain Goats - Heretic Pride (151)
The most recent full-length from The Mountain Goats, this sounds completely different from All Hail West Texas, and has some wonderful little gems ("Lovecraft In Brooklyn", anyone?)
5 Morrisey - You Are The Quarry (Deluxe Edition) (144)
Mm, deliciousness from the former lead of The Smiths. I don't agree with him completely when it comes to politics, but his voice is just so sexy and so heart-breaking at the same time. Oh, and the dude can write, too.
6 David Bowie - Best of Bowie (128)
MOAR BOWIE. Yoinked from my mum.
7 Beirut - Gulag Orkestar (113)
Fuck, why didn't I find out about these guys earlier? My research for Psychology of Music last semester only made me appreciate the foreign-sounding rhythms of this album more.
8 Cursive - The Ugly Organ (109)
Mm, more literate angst. Perfectly self-referential, and one of those albums that can consistently make me cry (see: "Sierra")
9 The Magnetic Fields - The Charm of the Highway Strip (98)
Okay, my love for folksy indie rock has really come out this year. First Magnetic Fields album I ever bought, since Arcade Fire covered "Born On A Train" years back (in 2005, apparently).
10 Motion City Soundtrack - Even If It Kills Me (97)
One of the few cases where I like a band's most recent album the best. This was one of the three albums I listened to every Tuesday and Thursday on the way to Body Systems. I'd like to think it was what gave me a reason to be outgoing in the course.
11 Neutral Milk Hotel - In the Aeroplane Over the Sea (94)
Okay, holy shit. Jeff Mangum is a goddamn genius. The man needs to get back into music (his recent outing on the Elephant Six tour is promising!)
11 Simon & Garfunkel - The Best of Simon & Garfunkel (94)
I likes my old people music, okay? I grew up with this stuff, and apparently so did one of my favorite bands of the year (Fleet Foxes)
13 Amanda Palmer - Who Killed Amanda Palmer (91)
Ms. Amanda Fucking Palmer is amazing, as always. I loved her marketing for this album (hence my spray painting of the spirit rock), and I'm really upset now that I didn't shell out the $100 to get the super deluxe edition that came with the book by Neil Gaiman. What the hell was I thinking?
14 The Mountain Goats - The Sunset Tree (89)
Beautiful and heartbreaking. Knowing that this is autobiographical makes the lyrics difficult to hear, but it somehow gives me strength.
15 Goldfrapp - Seventh Tree (80)
Yum. Thank you Clarissa for introducing me to Goldfrapp. This was the goddamn soundtrack for my summer and it was fucking beautiful.
Runnahs up
These didn't make the top 15, but were albums I loved and feel are quite deserving.
Vampire Weekend - Vampire Weekend (75)
Paul Simon-influenced slightly pretentious indie pop from a bunch of Ivy League kids? YS PLZ!
Ghostland Observatory - Robotique Majestique (71)
Deliciously weird electropop from a couple of guys from Austin. Who needs drugs when you've got Ghostland Observatory? Also, this is amazing to listen to while driving down a darkened interstate.
Kaki King - Dreaming of Revenge (55)
Another fantastic result of the Mountain Goats show at the Granada Theater. I got to meet her after the show, and she was so much fun. Very Juno-esque. I would kill to play guitar like she can.
Colin Meloy - Colin Meloy Sings Morrisey (44)
Holy shit. Yum. I love Morrisey, I love Colin Meloy. So much sexy.
Asobi Seksu - Citrus (33)
Hurray for cute Japanese girls playing fantastic, shining shoegaze.
School of Seven Bells - Alpinisms (32)
I first heard of this album as I was pulling out of my parking space at my apartment to head home for the winter break. NPR did a short bit on it, and I knew I just had to have this from the first snippet of song they played. I get the feeling that this will get a lot more plays from me in the new year.
M83 - Saturdays = Youth (31)
Ok, I totally buy into all the hype. I fucking love these guys.
Arcade Fire & David Bowie - Live EP (Live at Fashion Rocks) (21)
Apparently this was recorded as a benefit concert for iTunes after Hurricane Katrina? I hate myself for not finding it earlier, but this is the first (and so far, only) album I've actually bought from iTunes.
Foals - Antidotes (20)
The first artist that I actually discovered through last.fm. Goddamn, this makes me want to dance
dead black hearts - Five Gallant Steeds (20)
These guys were the opening act for the What Made Milwaukee Famous show I went to over the summer. The first track reminds me of how much I love Adam.
Gnarls Barkley - The Odd Couple (19)
I resisted this for a long time, since I thought they were too mainstream (ugh, fuck my pseudo-elitism), but only came to discover that this is a hell of a fun album, and not so much a guilty pleasure.
Flight of the Conchords - Flight of the Conchords (19)
fdsjkaljlk;fsda I want their Kiwi babies.
Explosions in the Sky - All of a Sudden I Miss Everyone (17)
The only way I can explain the low play count on this is how few songs are on it. Then again, I'm forgetting that it came out in spring of 2007, not 2008 ::facepalm::
Sigur Rós - Með Suð Í Eyrum Við Spilum Endalaust (15)
This should've got a lot more attention from me. Sigur Rós manage to retain their beautiful characteristic sound, while updating it just enough to keep things interesting.
Andrew Bird - Armchair Apocrypha (12)
Another under-appreciated album for me. Certainly deserving of far more listens.
A Hawk and a Hacksaw - Darkness At Noon (11)
This was brought to my attention by the Radio UTD lecture on the Elephant 6 Collective. The band's connections to Neutral Milk Hotel and Beirut were more than enough to get me to give them a listen, and I think more listens are certainly merited.
Juno OST (yeah, no idea how many plays on this one since last.fm splits the damn thing up by artist)
I don't know how they came up with a soundtrack that matches my tastes so perfectly.
Haha, now to see if anyone gives a shit.