[i wanted her to want me so bad it hurt]
This post is what I did instead of working this morning. My boss is out of town and I have knocked out most of my current to-do list, primarily while sitting in front of several OC reruns yesterday late afternoon.
I had a hell of a time making this list; a shitload of albums I adored, flat-out adored, got bumped out of the top ten, and then some again out of the top 25. But this is, in the end, my top ten albums of the year, in rough order; there's definitely some (a lot of) sentiment mixed in with my objectivity, here, but I can't talk about music without sentiment creeping in, so:
The next fifteen, in no particular order, are: Drive-By Truckers -- Brighter Than Creation's Dark; the Mountain Goats -- Heretic Pride; the Hush Sound -- Goodbye Blues; Panic! at the Disco -- Pretty. Odd.; Old 97's -- Blame It On Gravity; the Felice Brothers -- s/t; Conor Oberst -- s/t; Justin Townes Earle -- The Good Life; James McMurtry -- Just Us Kids; the Hold Steady -- Stay Positive; Mike Doughty -- Golden Delicious; Two Cow Garage -- Speaking In Cursive; Griffin House -- Flying Upside Down; Fall Out Boy -- Folie a Deux; Kasey Chambers & Shane Nicholson -- Rattlin' Bones.
My top ten songs of 2008, as evidenced by iTunes rating (5 stars) and playcount, were, in order: "Oh My Sweet Carolina" -- Portastatic (Some Small History); "Bones" -- American Aquarium (Bones EP); "Dreams of the South" -- the Teenage Prayers (Everyone Thinks You're The Best); "Sax Rohmer #1" -- the Mountain Goats (Heretic Pride); "Good Fight" -- American Aquarium (Bones EP); "That's Okay" -- the Hush Sound (Goodbye Blues); "Self Destructive Zones" -- Drive-By Truckers (Brighter Than Creation's Dark); "Bigger In Texas" -- American Aquarium (Bones EP); "Diamonds and Gold" -- Langhorne Slim (Langhorne Slim); "Betting Man" -- American Aquarium (Bones EP). I, uh, I really loved that EP a lot. The other two songs from it are #17 and #20 in my 5 star most played songs.
I also need to nod to two of the albums that soundtracked my year, both of which were released in 2007, though I didn't acquire either until early '08: the Jones Street Boys' Overcome, one of the most thoughtful, lovely Americana-blend albums I've ever heard, and the Rumble Strips' Girls and Weather, an infectious joyous first album by a British ska collective. Both were heavy spinners for me this year, and they're both amazing albums.
And then: the live music.
First show of the year was American Aquarium at Slim's in Raleigh on January 9. Last show of the year will be Kerbloki, Red Collar & Hammer No More The Fingers at the Local 506 tomorrow night. Furthest we traveled for a show was Chicago, for the Honda Civic Tour. Furthest I went for a show via car was ... Jason Isbell & the 400 Unit at the Satellite Ballroom in Charlottesville, VA, which is just over 200 miles from the CH, one way. Shortest distance I went for a show was any one of the 19 times I went to the Cat's Cradle, which is a mile and a half from our apartment; the Cradle is also the venue where I saw the most shows in this year. The artist I failed to see the most number of times was Justin Townes Earle who canceled not one but two shows on us in the space of six months, though we eventually got to see him, using the tickets from the original canceled show.
Ten best sets of the year, in order:
And that's that. Basically what I did this year was watch baseball, go to rock shows, and take pictures. And now I have summed most of those up, and baseball can best be summed up by saying that I do not regret all the times shep. and I drove to Cary to see the Carolina baseball team, but damn will I be glad to get back to the Bosh this year. Four minutes versus 40 minutes in traffic? YES PLEASE.
I had a hell of a time making this list; a shitload of albums I adored, flat-out adored, got bumped out of the top ten, and then some again out of the top 25. But this is, in the end, my top ten albums of the year, in rough order; there's definitely some (a lot of) sentiment mixed in with my objectivity, here, but I can't talk about music without sentiment creeping in, so:
- Firewater -- Golden Hour: if you put a gun to my head and said, album of the year, this album would be it. And I am the only person on the planet with this album on their list much less at the top of their list, and that's okay. I can't do the story of this album justice, so you should go read about it, but needless to say, this album is the most heartbreaking, joyful, innovative music I've heard in a damn long time. Sample track: ["Weird To Be Back Home"]
- Centro-matic/South San Gabriel -- Dual Hawks: this double album, one disc from each of Will Johnson's projects with names that are not just his own, is simply exquisite. Not a word or a sound wasted, and every single track phenomenal. Sample tracks: ["Two Seats Gold Reserve"] and ["The Arc and the Cusp"]
- Okkervil River -- The Stand Ins: An album that, I think, really requires a live performance to resonate, but since seeing them live in October, it's grown on me so hugely. Sample track: [Singer Songwriter]
- Tyler Ramsey -- A Long Dream About Swimming Across the Ocean: shep. and I saw him open for Band of Horses back in November '07, and the album blew me away even then (even though it technically dropped in 2008); it's dreamy and drifty and the perfect soothing album, all strung together with Ramsey's pitch-perfect lyrics and spectacular guitar playing. Sample track: ["Please Stop Time"]
- Langhorne Slim -- Langhorne Slim: I loved this album the first time I listened to it, a sunny Friday afternoon in May, before we saw American Aquarium open for Langhorne that night. I fell for it completely after we saw -- far more sober -- a second Langhorne Slim set later in the summer. Honest and sad, and with incomparable lyrical hooks. Sample track: ["Restless"]
- Reckless Kelly -- Bulletproof: Music for broken hearts and drunks. Sample track: ["How Was California?"]
- Mason Jennings -- In The Ever: it could have been the phone book and I would have thought it was brilliant, but instead it's not and it's still brilliant. I think I love it more than I love Use Your Voice, and I love that one a lot. Sample track: ["In Your City"]
- Hayes Carll -- Trouble In Mind: one of the best country albums released this year, Hayes is also a phenomenal live performer, his band is super tight, and his next album is going to be mind-blowing. If you like country music, that is. Sample track: ["She Left Me For Jesus"]
- American Aquarium -- The Bible and the Bottle LP/Bones EP: not just because they're my friends, but because there are some spectacular fucking tracks on these two. I can't separate the two discs, because they were released together, but I think that Bones individually is probably stronger than The Bible and the Bottle. Sample tracks: ["Clark Avenue"] and ["Bones"]
- The Baseball Project -- Volume 1: Frozen Ropes and Dying Quails: honestly, I was initially curious about this album because it was an album full of indie rock songs about baseball. But it turned out to be an indie rock album full of thoroughly well researched, catchy, heartbreaking and hilarious songs about baseball. I am the only person in the world who adored this album, I think. Sample track: ["Ted Fucking Williams"]
The next fifteen, in no particular order, are: Drive-By Truckers -- Brighter Than Creation's Dark; the Mountain Goats -- Heretic Pride; the Hush Sound -- Goodbye Blues; Panic! at the Disco -- Pretty. Odd.; Old 97's -- Blame It On Gravity; the Felice Brothers -- s/t; Conor Oberst -- s/t; Justin Townes Earle -- The Good Life; James McMurtry -- Just Us Kids; the Hold Steady -- Stay Positive; Mike Doughty -- Golden Delicious; Two Cow Garage -- Speaking In Cursive; Griffin House -- Flying Upside Down; Fall Out Boy -- Folie a Deux; Kasey Chambers & Shane Nicholson -- Rattlin' Bones.
My top ten songs of 2008, as evidenced by iTunes rating (5 stars) and playcount, were, in order: "Oh My Sweet Carolina" -- Portastatic (Some Small History); "Bones" -- American Aquarium (Bones EP); "Dreams of the South" -- the Teenage Prayers (Everyone Thinks You're The Best); "Sax Rohmer #1" -- the Mountain Goats (Heretic Pride); "Good Fight" -- American Aquarium (Bones EP); "That's Okay" -- the Hush Sound (Goodbye Blues); "Self Destructive Zones" -- Drive-By Truckers (Brighter Than Creation's Dark); "Bigger In Texas" -- American Aquarium (Bones EP); "Diamonds and Gold" -- Langhorne Slim (Langhorne Slim); "Betting Man" -- American Aquarium (Bones EP). I, uh, I really loved that EP a lot. The other two songs from it are #17 and #20 in my 5 star most played songs.
I also need to nod to two of the albums that soundtracked my year, both of which were released in 2007, though I didn't acquire either until early '08: the Jones Street Boys' Overcome, one of the most thoughtful, lovely Americana-blend albums I've ever heard, and the Rumble Strips' Girls and Weather, an infectious joyous first album by a British ska collective. Both were heavy spinners for me this year, and they're both amazing albums.
And then: the live music.
First show of the year was American Aquarium at Slim's in Raleigh on January 9. Last show of the year will be Kerbloki, Red Collar & Hammer No More The Fingers at the Local 506 tomorrow night. Furthest we traveled for a show was Chicago, for the Honda Civic Tour. Furthest I went for a show via car was ... Jason Isbell & the 400 Unit at the Satellite Ballroom in Charlottesville, VA, which is just over 200 miles from the CH, one way. Shortest distance I went for a show was any one of the 19 times I went to the Cat's Cradle, which is a mile and a half from our apartment; the Cradle is also the venue where I saw the most shows in this year. The artist I failed to see the most number of times was Justin Townes Earle who canceled not one but two shows on us in the space of six months, though we eventually got to see him, using the tickets from the original canceled show.
Ten best sets of the year, in order:
- Okkervil River, the Soapbox, Wilmington, NC. 10.03.08. I have rarely been in crowds that went as nuts as this crowd did, and Will Sheff drank every single drop of that up and gave it back to us. Set highlights included "Singer Songwriter", "Calling And Not Calling My Ex", "Maine Island Lovers", "The War Criminal Rises And Speaks" and "Okkervil River Song".
- The Mountain Goats, Cat's Cradle, Carrboro, NC. 11.05.08. The Mountain Goats are the best of both my musical worlds, in that odd way -- a national touring band whose frontman lives in the next town over from me and who is a regular fixture at various venues here when he's not on the road. And he came home to us, a week before the tour was done this time, the day after the election with everyone in town vibrating with barely contained joy and hope, and then he played "Going To Georgia".
- the Weakerthans, the Cat's Cradle, Carrboro, NC. 04.09.08. Speaking of John Darnielle, actually, he bum-rushed backstage at this show and made John K. Sampson duet on a Propagandhi song during the encore, and that was just another yet high point on the evening.
- Jason Isbell & Browan Lollar, the Berkeley Cafe, Raleigh, NC. 03.21.08. My birthday show -- a quiet sad hopeful set that included "Thank God For The TVA", played for me, and "The Day John Henry Died" and a gorgeous cover of "Just To Know What You've Been Dreaming". (Also, whenever I listen to the boot of that show, I am reminded of how cheerfully, rowdily wasted we all were that night, save quicknow -- Jason's banter with people off-stage is killer hilarious.) (No, seriously, I love this set. I was listening to it while I wrote this post, and it's just spectacular in so many ways. The dueling acoustics finger-picked intro to "Psycho Killer" is one of the oddest, most beautiful things I've ever heard.)
- Centro-matic/South San Gabriel, the Local 506, Chapel Hill, NC. 11.20.08. There's not much better than Will Johnson opening for himself, unless of course Will had also played the middle set in his solo-real-name incarnation.
- American Aquarium, the Lincoln Theatre, Raleigh, NC/the Pour House, Raleigh, NC. 08.30.08/04.26.08. I couldn't pick one of these -- the DVD filming set, or the CD release set. Both spectacularly wildly drunken and amazing shows.
- Josh Ritter, the Cat's Cradle, Carrboro, NC. 04.30.08. This would have been higher -- based just on Josh's set -- but the evening included Ingrid Michaelson, who I wish would fall off the face of the motherfucking Earth, and a smart-assed teenie who wouldn't stop using her camera flash.
- Cobra Starship, various locations and dates. The Cobras never provide a revelatory set, but they're always so much fun that I'm lumping the four dates I saw them this year into one epic Cobra-show.
- the Old Ceremony, the Pour House, Raleigh, NC. 06.21.08. Saturdays are double tall Long Island night at the Pour House. I'm just saying.
- The Rumble Strips, the Cat's Cradle, Carrboro, NC. 10.06.08. Adorable ska-playing boys from Britain. The only people at this show who had more fun than I did were the boys on the stage.
And that's that. Basically what I did this year was watch baseball, go to rock shows, and take pictures. And now I have summed most of those up, and baseball can best be summed up by saying that I do not regret all the times shep. and I drove to Cary to see the Carolina baseball team, but damn will I be glad to get back to the Bosh this year. Four minutes versus 40 minutes in traffic? YES PLEASE.