And now time for your ... <>
TOP 10 ALBUMS OF 2008 as presented by Tony I Wilson, or "the original TI" as I like to say.
So this year's list as I've been bragging incessantly about recently was by far the hardest to compile. This year's crop of albums was amazing. Whereas a typical year has me date checking to see if I can squeeze in a few from the previous year this year was full up on worthy additions. Admittedly though I do feel like there were a few albums that came out late in '07 and never made it into my ears until '08. But this year had too many noteworthy albums to stray from the course.
10. Portishead - Third - a top three on everyone's year end list for good reason. i've never owned a portishead album before this one. now i feel like douche for having been a decade and a half behind the curve. Though I could not have hoped for a more incredible introduction ... and hopefully the world will not have to wait another decade for the follow up ...
9. Los Campesinos - Hold on Now, Youngster: Woah ... dude, have you not heard these guys yet? They released another album that is getting a lot of cred. Personally i think the new one is shit. These guys are fucking tits ... brit indie kids with weird names and goofy lyrics and awesome keyboards and tons energy and crazy rock outs with totally wack song titles and a sweet cover pic and you have yourself a definite top 10 piece of work. If you're listening to the radio and you notice at least 3 of these things listed in the last sentence happening and then you reach up and your face is melting off ... you're probably listening to lost campesinos.
8. Titus Andronicus- true arteurs would probably thrash my pinings on this band. maybe i am just a "pitchfork zombie". honestly i try
my best to be open minded. maybe even pitchfork hates these guys now. that said ... this i would give the medal for "most serious contender". there are things being done by an indie rock band, that in my short time as an indie rock fan I have never been in the front row for. There is a seriousness here on many fronts which excites and entices me
- dude, did this kid just rip off conner oberst and join a rock band
- dude, did this kid just "write" lyrics by reading the poetry from his high school diary?
- dude, why am I 28 and still think its cool to reference the bible
- umm, was there a bad song here ... answer= false, amazing top to bottom
anyways, i think maybe my tastes are becoming a little predictable and this album is the height of that notion. But its like people who think Toby Keith is the shit. They just don't know any better.
7. Cut Copy - In Ghost Colours - i sometimes believe i am the only person i know who likes this album. and it makes me sad. because seriously if there was one other person on board here ... we'd be soulmates. we could dance and dance and dance some more. The way I feel about this album is the same way I felt about the Kala last year. But apparently it takes an extra year and a hollywood blockbuster comedy to make music cool so here's hoping tina fey does a comedy next summer that has hearts on fire in the commercial, that way, a year after cut copy comes to north america I can leave my usual lame ass remark of "yeah, no shit, they're amazzing and they were here like 6 months ago and no one liked them and when i asked everyone was not interested in going to see them. Bitterness aside ... Cut Copy is a tremendous mix of electronica, enthusiasm, and somehow like 80's brit pop (aussie pop perhaps?) melded together ... and this album is just incredibly fun to shake your ass too ... cross your fingers that I get to see them on their tour this spring .
6. The Walkmen - You & Me: apparently I didn't just have some epiphany about this album. I've seen it popping up all over the place all of a sudden. Its not coincidence. This fucking album completely knocked my socks off. It took more than the initial listen, but not much more. If you haven't heard it yet, you should. And I don't say that about every album. This list is more about my personal musings on the music year in review than it is about making recommendations. However when an album I KNOW would appeal to pretty much anyone who could possibly come across this page ... i need to let them know. THIS ALBUM YOU WILL LIKE ... who the f doesn't like a canadian indie chill bob dylan? thats pretty much the best slew of adjectives i could use to derive how I feel about this fucking amazing album ... do it now!
5. Foals - Antidotes - this band was my biggest surprise band and also a rarity in that I saw them live, then went and got their album, and was not disappointed. Also, i tagged the album as being lame after about a week and a half of non stop listening ... we are now entering month 5 and this album NEVER NEVER lets me down ... it is fucking sweet.. that is of course if you like dour brits, math-rocky time signitures, and sweet dance rhythms...
4. Fleet Foxes - i'm not a huge fan of folk. but this albums is downright special. dude, i just had a dream stroke and after my stroke was done i can tell you i just died and saw fleet foxes at asbury hall in b-lo ... and by the way, it was the most amazing show in the history of amazing shows ever ... i cried ... but honestly ... this album made a genre that doesn't naturally appeal to me make me feel like i only wanted to wear clothes made from hemp, grown dreads, give up working for the man, learn to play hacky sack, smoke a pound of gange, live in a field, eat wheatgrass exclusively, save a puppy ... well you get the idea ... i still have not listened to the Sun Giant EP but i expect more of the same .
3. Omar Rodriguez Lopez - Old Money - i'm not going to beg and plead for anyone to listen to this. i only say the following and if you need to know more you should contact me.
2. Iron & Wine - shepard's dog - With the exception of number 1 I found this album to be an exceptional piece of work. Also helping this was the luxury of catching some of the work performed live. Initially a brief introduction to their work here was had during a random passing by at Lollapalooza. Actually moved by the intensity of the aural melodic confluences, I soon after sought this album out. This turned out to be more than I could have hoped for, and immediately dissolved all of my misconceptions about Iron and Wine. Much like fleet foxes there was some trepidation because the category I had generalized this group under is not what I could consider my top priority on the musical taste list. However, I think probably that is why I regard this album so highly. It was so amazing it broke down some serious musical barriers for me. The thing I love most about music the fact that at any time a new album can make me feel like I'm growing as a person by expanding what I thought I knew about myself. This album to me ended up being one of those experiences, and for that I am truly greatful... this album is a true example of the type that encourages this hobby and my enthusiasm and makes me excited about the future ...
1. Why? - Alopecia - I tried to hard to write this. Over pumped from the previous year's splendor of circumstance being that the album
I speak of was also attempting the over the top emotional onslaught. But that is not what this album is about. If you have not listened
to alopecia ... do ... if you have already ... starting listening to it again. If you are not in the mood, then i am not in the mood for you.
At one point I had a theory about secrets. I thought this album was ambitious in its elusiveness. Maybe its not really, and I just don't
know a lot of people who would put this album on the same pedestal. Regardless this album was by far my favorite that was released this year.
For starters I found the album to be lyrically brilliant. Are they actual thoughts, they truly read like a traveled man's diary. More interesting though I thought that instrumentally Why? offers some very unassuming musical layers. Stuff that isn't going to hit you in the face, but upon further review the power of the incredible lyrical delivery is equally matched by its musical complement. I think a really corny way I might explain it would be to say that I seriously feel like at point on any day I can turn on ANY song and immediately feel like I am swept away to my own personal paradigm. Singular,subtle, sublime ...
Still after more than 9 months since this record fell in my lap I'm still trying to find out what exactly they're hiding. Though I'm content with continuing to try and discover just what that is.
So that is it for this year. The way things are going I would like to put out a couple more shorter, more corny year end lists. But I'm pretty sure no one is reading this anyways so I guess if I do or don't it not really important. Anyways, I found this year's list to be quite challenging so I hope to at some point receive some feedback. I am looking forward to keepin it rock n real in '09.
2008-12-28
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I'll be sure to enjoy this shit in '09 when I finally get over how coldplay is not as good as I want them to be and finally realize that all my favorite artists just simply rip-van-winkled '08.
ReplyDeleteLet's go try and see Iron and Wine at the best venue eve...again?