My Top 10: 2008 Edition!
now, last year was a pretty great year for music. it was easy to pick favorites, while the year before seemed a little lackluster. this year didn't excite me as much as last, but there was still some REALLY great music this year. here's my favorite music from 2008:
10. Sunset - The Glowing City:
Sunset was a pheonix from the ashes of the less-than-exciting Sound Team, whose capital records debut came and went with little to no fan fare. the glowing city is sort of like a love letter to the great noise pop and lo-fi acts of the late 90's (flaming lips, sparklehorse, and we'll go ahead and throw the polyphonic spree in there as well). there are some great psychedelic songs on here, and the production has a warm lo-fi feel to it. as enjoyable as the music is, the record is 80 minutes long. to say it overstays it's welcome is perhaps an understatement. little bits of this record at a time are good. they could have pared it down to something a little more immediate, but that probably wasn't the point. it's a fairly epic record, and the songs flow from one to another, but many work on their own as well.
Theme from "A Perfect Light Awaits Me" - Sunset
9. Santogold - Santogold
she's pretty good at mixing stuff up. it seemed like no one could tell if they were supposed to like this or not, but just listen to it. if it's fun to you, then you like it. it's nice to be reminded how simple it is to just like something because you enjoy it. there are reference points galore on here, from m.i.a. to pixies, so if you're not bothered by someone wearing their influences (and producers) on their sleeve, dig in.
Creator - Santogold
8. The Music Tapes - Music Tapes For Clouds And Tornadoes
Julian Koster actually made neutral milk hotel MORE interesting. imagine the creative energy that takes! well, he's left to his own banjo/saw playing devices on this record. while it lacks the strong song-writing of jeff mangum, it has that strangely haunting feel that neutral milk hotel fans loved so much. he might have recorded this thing on an answering machine. it's unbelievably lo-fi, which makes the music seem to come from ghosts hiding in a tape recorder. don't listen to this with the lights out.
Majesty - The Music Tapes
7. No Age - Nouns
I hated "weirdo rippers". I thought it was amateurish and dull. I didn't understand what all the fuss was over this no age band. they were just a bad liars rip off, right? well then this came out, and after some convincing, I gave it a listen. I won't talk badly of no age anymore. unless they put out something as awful as weirdo rippers again. but this is gold. anyone who loves energetic noisey indie rock with influences ranging from my bloody valentine to bob dylan to the aforementioned liars should give this a shot. even the off-key vocals didn't put me off.
Eraser - No Age
6. Women - Women
are we noticing a trend? lots of great lo-fi this year. women is made a big impact on me, not only because of their bad ass single "black rice," but also because *gasps* the rest of the record is pretty great too! they blend late 70's post-punk, 60's psych rock, hook-laden melodies, and good ol' 90's math rock (or whatever fugazi did) into a pretty consistently awesome lo-fi record. PLEASE listen to this. at least give it a chance. this band deserves a lot more exposure than they've received.
Black Rice - Women
5. The Ruby Suns - Sea Lion
apparently everyone forgot about this. when it came out back in march, it was SURE to be on top lists across the board. but no, I haven't seen it on a single one. is it because microsoft used their "oh, mojave!" for their windows vista commercials? because heck, props to them for taking bill gates' money as far as I'm concerned. this record doesn't know if it's an ode to world music, a lo-fi record, or a new wave record. I can't help but enjoy the confusion. it's ALL good.
Tane Mahuta (Album) - Ruby Suns
4. Atlas Sound - Let The Blind Lead Those Who Can See But Cannot Feel
you have to let this album in. it will get in your bones and you can just feel it. it's electronic, but warm. if brian eno made indie records in his bedroom (all about visits to the hospital and growing up as a sick and dying child), they might have sounded like this. there's no shortage of atlas sound available on the internet, but he certainly chose some of the the cream of the crop for this release.
Cold as Ice - Atlas Sound
3. MGMT - Oracular Spectacular
technically this came out last year, but didn't get a physical release until january of this year. I was skeptical at first, but I bought it on sale for pretty cheap. it ended up being such a complete retooling of progressive rock through a 3 minute pop song lense. every song is memorable. every melody sticks with you. it's completely enjoyable.
Kids - MGMT
2. Jay Reatard - Matador Singles '08
I was a late comer to this record, but as soon as I heard it, I knew it was one of the best things I heard all year. the genius of releasing a singles album from material only released that year seems obvious. why wouldn't everyone just do that? because even though people like jay reatard make it sound easy, writing really great singles is actually pretty hard. yet here's a record of 13 awesome songs, not a single stinker in the bunch. it's all of 33 minutes long, not a single minute a dull one. don't count this guy out. I almost did. as it turned out, I was only denying myself one of the best records of this decade. I'd put this up there with the buzzcock's "singles going steady" or the smiths' "singles" any day. solid.
Always Wanting More - Jay Reatard
1. Deerhunter - Microcastle
it's not a secret that I love deerhunter. cryptograms was the greatest modern incarnation of shoegaze I've ever heard. here they get less "cryptic," but keep the same psychedelic energy. this is purely enjoyable space rock, people. oh, and when it leaked early, they responded by recording a bonus disk to reward the people who waited to buy a copy. how awesome is that?
Little Kids - Deerhunter
10. Sunset - The Glowing City:
Sunset was a pheonix from the ashes of the less-than-exciting Sound Team, whose capital records debut came and went with little to no fan fare. the glowing city is sort of like a love letter to the great noise pop and lo-fi acts of the late 90's (flaming lips, sparklehorse, and we'll go ahead and throw the polyphonic spree in there as well). there are some great psychedelic songs on here, and the production has a warm lo-fi feel to it. as enjoyable as the music is, the record is 80 minutes long. to say it overstays it's welcome is perhaps an understatement. little bits of this record at a time are good. they could have pared it down to something a little more immediate, but that probably wasn't the point. it's a fairly epic record, and the songs flow from one to another, but many work on their own as well.
Theme from "A Perfect Light Awaits Me" - Sunset
9. Santogold - Santogold
she's pretty good at mixing stuff up. it seemed like no one could tell if they were supposed to like this or not, but just listen to it. if it's fun to you, then you like it. it's nice to be reminded how simple it is to just like something because you enjoy it. there are reference points galore on here, from m.i.a. to pixies, so if you're not bothered by someone wearing their influences (and producers) on their sleeve, dig in.
Creator - Santogold
8. The Music Tapes - Music Tapes For Clouds And Tornadoes
Julian Koster actually made neutral milk hotel MORE interesting. imagine the creative energy that takes! well, he's left to his own banjo/saw playing devices on this record. while it lacks the strong song-writing of jeff mangum, it has that strangely haunting feel that neutral milk hotel fans loved so much. he might have recorded this thing on an answering machine. it's unbelievably lo-fi, which makes the music seem to come from ghosts hiding in a tape recorder. don't listen to this with the lights out.
Majesty - The Music Tapes
7. No Age - Nouns
I hated "weirdo rippers". I thought it was amateurish and dull. I didn't understand what all the fuss was over this no age band. they were just a bad liars rip off, right? well then this came out, and after some convincing, I gave it a listen. I won't talk badly of no age anymore. unless they put out something as awful as weirdo rippers again. but this is gold. anyone who loves energetic noisey indie rock with influences ranging from my bloody valentine to bob dylan to the aforementioned liars should give this a shot. even the off-key vocals didn't put me off.
Eraser - No Age
6. Women - Women
are we noticing a trend? lots of great lo-fi this year. women is made a big impact on me, not only because of their bad ass single "black rice," but also because *gasps* the rest of the record is pretty great too! they blend late 70's post-punk, 60's psych rock, hook-laden melodies, and good ol' 90's math rock (or whatever fugazi did) into a pretty consistently awesome lo-fi record. PLEASE listen to this. at least give it a chance. this band deserves a lot more exposure than they've received.
Black Rice - Women
5. The Ruby Suns - Sea Lion
apparently everyone forgot about this. when it came out back in march, it was SURE to be on top lists across the board. but no, I haven't seen it on a single one. is it because microsoft used their "oh, mojave!" for their windows vista commercials? because heck, props to them for taking bill gates' money as far as I'm concerned. this record doesn't know if it's an ode to world music, a lo-fi record, or a new wave record. I can't help but enjoy the confusion. it's ALL good.
Tane Mahuta (Album) - Ruby Suns
4. Atlas Sound - Let The Blind Lead Those Who Can See But Cannot Feel
you have to let this album in. it will get in your bones and you can just feel it. it's electronic, but warm. if brian eno made indie records in his bedroom (all about visits to the hospital and growing up as a sick and dying child), they might have sounded like this. there's no shortage of atlas sound available on the internet, but he certainly chose some of the the cream of the crop for this release.
Cold as Ice - Atlas Sound
3. MGMT - Oracular Spectacular
technically this came out last year, but didn't get a physical release until january of this year. I was skeptical at first, but I bought it on sale for pretty cheap. it ended up being such a complete retooling of progressive rock through a 3 minute pop song lense. every song is memorable. every melody sticks with you. it's completely enjoyable.
Kids - MGMT
2. Jay Reatard - Matador Singles '08
I was a late comer to this record, but as soon as I heard it, I knew it was one of the best things I heard all year. the genius of releasing a singles album from material only released that year seems obvious. why wouldn't everyone just do that? because even though people like jay reatard make it sound easy, writing really great singles is actually pretty hard. yet here's a record of 13 awesome songs, not a single stinker in the bunch. it's all of 33 minutes long, not a single minute a dull one. don't count this guy out. I almost did. as it turned out, I was only denying myself one of the best records of this decade. I'd put this up there with the buzzcock's "singles going steady" or the smiths' "singles" any day. solid.
Always Wanting More - Jay Reatard
1. Deerhunter - Microcastle
it's not a secret that I love deerhunter. cryptograms was the greatest modern incarnation of shoegaze I've ever heard. here they get less "cryptic," but keep the same psychedelic energy. this is purely enjoyable space rock, people. oh, and when it leaked early, they responded by recording a bonus disk to reward the people who waited to buy a copy. how awesome is that?
Little Kids - Deerhunter