Favorite Albums of 2008
Say it with me. Dave is not a music critic. Dave just likes to listen to music. Dave just likes to talk in the third person and make lists. So below I've compiled some of my favorite albums of the year, some of the ones I thought were pretty good, and some that let me down.
Please note: I didn't go through all the music I hated. You won't find Katy Perry on this list (who I seriously doubt actually kissed that girl) because I don't really like her voice or her music at all. It's just an unsaid thing. I didn't want to make a list about things I hated that I heard. Instead what you'll hear me gripe about are albums I was genuinely looking forward to that bummed me out a bit.
Also, having a problem with LJ cuts, so apologies if you're trying to just scroll on by...
Favorite Plays:
Stay Positive -- The Hold Steady
When I first got this album, I emailed Bart because the pianos were just on fire and I thought he'd dig it. I did it with the caveat that I thought it was a fun album, but didn't have much substance. Boy, after a couple more listens was I wrong. If you like dark stories from the fringes of society, check out what Craig Finn and the Hold Steady do. It all sounds like music to a barroom brawl with the jangling pianos and cutting guitars, but it's got serious heart.
Lost Horizons -- Abney Park
I had no ideas who these guys were before Variant Frequencies production of Saint Darwin's Spirituals, but after hearing their tracks on the show, I explored more. Airship pirates, clockwork angels, post-apocolapse punk...yeah, I really like these guys.
Vampire Weekend -- Vampire Weekend
A perfect album to jam to while driving up the coast on PCH.
Viva La Vida -- Coldplay
Yeah, I like Coldplay. I know you wouldn't expect a badass like me to sing aloud in the car to the title track or "Lovers in Japan," but there it is.
Accelerate -- R.E.M.
Whoever thought R.E.M. would have an album this good again? I mean, I kinda dig some of the stuff R.E.M.'s put out in the past few years, but this album rocks harder than I thought Stipe and Co. had in them.
Conor Oberst -- Conor Oberst
I'm not a big fan of Oberst's band Bright Eyes, but this solo album gets my Chamberlain award for the year. It's great, folksy rock. "Cape Canaveral," "Sausalito," and "Souled Out" all have a great vibe to them, but I think "Moab" might have one of my favorite lyrics of the year.
Other albums I really enjoyed:
The Stand-Ins -- Okkervil River
This album maybe should be in the list above, but since I picked it up so recently, I don't feel that comfortable putting it in there. Still, I'm playing the hell out of it right now. Kind of throwback rock.
Loyalty to Loyalty -- Cold War Kids
I'm not sure if this album is better or more even than Robbers and Cowards, but some of the songs like "Mexican Dogs," "I've Seen Enough," and "Something is not Right With Me" I love to tiny little pieces.
April -- VAST
A lot of people shat on this one, saying it wasn't experiemental enough. Maybe it wasn't, but I think out of all the things Jon Crosby's done, this is the most haunting.
Live From Paris -- U2
I'm an Achtung, Baby kind of guy, so I was pretty surprised by just how much I loved this CD. Nothing incredibly new here, except some longer cuts, especially on "With or Without You" (almost 10 minutes) and "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For."
Let-Down Albums:
Sea-Sew -- Lisa Hannigan
I was looking forward to this. I always thought Hannigan punctuated Damien Rice's albums, kind of completed them. But something felt like it was missing on this one. And now that she and Rice have parted ways, I'm worried that neither of them will make a great album again.
Pull the Pin -- Stereophonics
It's okay, but it's not up to par with some of their other stuff. And why the hell did it take a year to get across the pond, anyway?
Boy, October, War Reissues -- U2
Not so much a let down, I guess. They're still great albums and everything, and I know now they're remastered, but still. No Line on the Horizon, dudes. No Line on the Horizon.
So, that's what I got. I know, it's pretty incomplete. Feel free to fill in the holes in the comment section and tell me what did and didn't like.