Finally! For the first time in what seems like forever I've become invested and interested in new music releases. So far, 2009 has proved a rich, rewarding year for new releases. I'm usually very particular about what I listen to; meaning, I know when I'm in the mood for a certain album or artist. And for the first time in almost two years that mood has revolved around new albums and artists. Of course, many of my music obsessions for the year also hail from years other than 2009. Here are what's been in near constant rotation on my ipod this year; for the most part, all of these albums are enjoyable through and through, but I've noted some of my favorite selections:
New releases:
Yeah Yeah Yeahs - It's Blitz!; the best thing about the YYYs is that they could have been the worst kind of one trick pony. But they've shown remarkable growth over the years I've listened to them, and their latest is no exception. In fact, it builds and improves on all the elements of their arsenal. I think an electronic edge was just the thing they needed.
Favorite songs: Soft Shock, Heads Will Roll, Dull Life, Skeletons, Zero
Grizzly Bear - Veckatimest; such a surprisingly good album! And I never would have thought that this band would be one to explode. I remember seeing them open for Feist and thinking that although their music was pretty, but with the exception of "Easier" and "Knife" it was way too boring to actually go anywhere. I was very wrong, as this album is one of the most listenable and impressive follow ups I've ever heard. Especially by a band that could have gone either way.
Favorite songs: Two Weeks, Southern Point, While You Wait for the Others, All We Ask, Fine For Now
Dirty Projectors - Bitte Orca; despite putting it on this list, I can't find anything I think is all that remarkable about the Dirty Projectors, other than the fact that they have some unusual song arrangements, and pleasing harmonies. But this album is definitely a fun and easy to listen to. And I listen to it a lot, so there must be something special here.
Favorite songs: Cannibal Resource, Temecula Sunrise, Useful Chamber,
Passion Pit - Chunk of Change EP and Manners; I'm not sure when the EP was released, but I started listening to both it and the full length album at the same time, so I'm including them together. For me, Passion Pit came out of nowhere, recommended to me by one of my best friends because it would be "my new summer jam album," to which she was completely spot on. This band is nothing but exhilaration, excitement, and pleasure.
Favorite songs: Cuddle Fuddle, Sleepyhead, The Reeling, Moth's Wings, Swimming in the Flood (and pretty much everything else)
Bat for Lashes - Two Suns; Bat for Lashes' first album was pretty average except for "What's a Girl To Do?," although Natascha Khan had an undeniably beautiful voice. Two Suns improves remarkably on her talents, and the whole album is much more cohesive (and interesting).
Favorite songs: Glass, Two Planets, Daniel
Camera Obscura - My Maudlin Career; Camera Obscura are so much less the Belle and Sebastian knockoff (although it was an enjoyable knockoff) that they used to be, and this album is their most impressive so far.
Favorite songs: French Navy, The Sweetest Thing, My Maudlin Career
Older releases:
Animal Collective - Sung Tongs, Feels, Strawberry Jam, Merriweather Post Pavilion; even though MPP came out this year, I'm including AC in older releases because I never really appreciated this band (like, at all) until this album came out. Before now I thought they were kind of kitschy and weird although they had a few fun tunes, but the release of Merriweather prompted me to take them much more seriously, and see that they are truly one of the most talented and innovative bands of all time. Seriously. Watch out for these guys because they're changing the way we think of music. The music they make is beyond description; it's like nothing I've ever heard. I'm so glad I am finally able to appreciate them for the geniuses they are, not just for Merriweather, but for a lot of their previous work as well.
Favorite songs: Did You See the Words?, My Girls, Fireworks, Brother Sport, Daily Routine, For Reverend Green, Chores, Leaf House, Grass, Banshee Beat, and so many more.
The Flaming Lips - The Soft Bulletin, Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots, Clouds Taste Metallic; I'm still continuing my love affair with The Soft Bulletin, but have also come to appreciate the quirks of Yoshimi... as well as the earlier work in Clouds. I can't express how much I'm looking forward to their new release this fall.
Favorite songs: Slow Motion, Buggin', Race for the Prize, A Spoonful Weighs a Ton, The Spark That Bled, Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots Pt. 1, Fight Test, Do You Realize?, and countless others.
Deerhunter - Microcastle, Weird Era Continued; Microcastle was one of my top albums of 2008, but I didn't come to fully appreciate it until this year. I think it took a solid love of My Bloody Valentine first or something. But my Deerhunter listenage has grown exponentially in the last few months. I love the shoegaze haze of their music; it's hypnotizing.
Favorite songs: Never Stops, Agoraphobia, Little Kids, Saved By Old Times, Microcastle, Nothing Ever Happened, Vox Humana, Calvary Scars, Calvary Scars II/Aux Out, Dot Gain
The Magnetic Fields - Holiday, Charm of the Highway Strip, 69 Love Songs; mostly I find myself listening to Holiday on repeat. 69 Love Songs is epically fantastic, but a little taxing to try and listen to all at once. Charm of the Highway strip shows tremendous growth from Holiday. I enjoy all three, but Holiday gives me the most enjoyment; 90's synth music is kind of hard to come by. It's not really an instrument/sound associated with mid nineties music. But one thing permeates all three albums, and that is Stephen Merrit's awesome lyrics. Catchy, yet clever, ironic, and complex, it harmonizes perfectly with their indie-pop sound.
Favorite songs: In My Secret Place, Deep Sea Diving Suit, Strange Powers, Take Ecstacy, Absolutely Cuckoo, Crazy For You (But Not That Crazy), and (once again) so many more.
Showing posts with label music. Show all posts
Showing posts with label music. Show all posts
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Friday, March 13, 2009
I've been wanting to post on so many things, but I think I underestimated the amount of interest I would have in updating my blog. It's simultaneously a great deal of interest, and yet not. I have a folder in my email with links I've sent myself, and beginning drafts on at least 5 or 6 different topics. My sister has also asked that I post on a specific topic, which I'm in the process of working on (it's a pretty involved topic - it's coming soon, I swear!). Eventually all of it will find it's way in here, but for now, I would like to give a few thoughts on the music industry.
A common misconception of the free-market Capitalism supporter is that he condones and supports any and all business ventures, including lobbying for Congress, etc. This is so far from the truth. Not all businessmen are Capitalists, and many are ignorant that actions such as lobbying to Congress for tariffs, parity prices, fixed rates, etc., in the long run don't help their business, and don't help the economy. While legislators and business lobbyists (as well as just about anyone else involved in public policy - the President, environmental lobbyists, cabinet members, etc.) claim to always be looking to the future and the "long-term consequences," this is rarely the case. While they may look at one long-term consequence pertaining to the sole business to which the new hypothetical law pertains, the effects felt in other areas are almost always overlooked. Often the government will enact legislation in support of lobbyists who claim that their industry needs to be "saved." This is what has increasingly been occuring in the music industry.
The controversy over illegal downloading has been a very interesting series of events to say the least. While I'm sympathetic to the loss this has resulted in, it's important to look at this through the lens of laissez-faire and progress. Illegal downloading has been going for what, ten years roughly? Yet illegally procuring your own copy of music and (increasingly) movies is nothing new. I was recently telling my boyfriend about the 80's miniseries Anne of Green Gables, which I love. When I was little, we used to have it on tape. We taped it on our VCR off the television; on the same tape we had the Wizard of Oz and Garfield Goes to Hollywood. It didn't stop there either, we had dozens of tapes with shows and movies recorded off the TV, not to mention even more cassette mix tapes with music recorded off the radio. Everyone was doing this. This was a widespread practice, and I don't remember anyone ever making much of a fuss about it. It got me thinking about what's going on now.
Of course, there are differences in downloading music and movies from the internet, and taping them from TV or the radio. First of all, buying the tapes needed to record either on cassette or TV were still a consumer purchase, whereas internet downloading is free of any cost whatsoever (except the internet connection and computer purchase). Also, selection was limited to singles played on the radio, and movies shown on TV, whereas internet downloading is as simple as finding one of the dozens of freeshare websites, or downloading torrents with entire albums, as well as torrents of virtually any movie one can think of. It's definitely an interesting predicament. Additionally, I want to acknowledge the problems with downloading music and copyrights, royalties, etc. I sympathize. But, when we get down to the root of the problem, these things are of little consequence.
One of the things Milton Friedman discusses in Free to Choose is the rally of governmental support to industries crying out to be saved. It happens all of the time, and is certainly nothing new to our times. In fact, it's an issue that has been going on for as long as industry has existed. It sounds noble and good to save an industry from collapsing (even if it's due to increasing irrelevance - no one ever wants to admit that part). Of course we want these people to have jobs, to have security, and to make a living. But… aren't they becoming irrelevent for a reason? Think of it logically, how absurd would it be if the government had stepped in and saved the loom industry, after textiles began being produced in factories? Or if we had stepped in to save the horse and buggy after the widespread implementation of the automobile? Or transistor radios, irrelevant children's toys, floppy discs, and so on? Industries die, it's a fact of life. There is no market out there for looms, floppy discs, or transistor radios, so what would be the point of keeping it alive when no one wants it?
Capitalism has allowed our society to achieve a completely unprecidented and almost unimaginable world of luxury and ease. We can afford to live in conditions more luxurious than even kings and emperors of just a century ago. And all for working 40 hours a week. Did this luxury come around because we continued to use outdated technologies and support businesses which produced nothing of value? No, no, no, no, no. Things become obsolete, and that's all there is to it, but the way some people speak, one would think that the workers losing their jobs are doomed never to work again. But that's the genius of the market, of Capitalism, and of western society. We are constantly changing, moving, inventing, and making our lives easier. New industries open up where others die. Think of all the jobs provided by the boom of the computer industry. How many jobs have been created in graphic design, programming, retail, and even jobs made possible by the mere use of computers! It's an amazing and beautiful thing.
The government and the business world need to face the music (pun not originally intended, but after I re-read the sentence, I realized the pun and loved it). The music industry as we used to know it is long dead. What is the purpose of scrambling to keep things the way they used to be? Whether they know it or not, the purpose is to stop progress - it's the logical consequence of their actions. Look at the changes that have gone on inside the industry as it remains. Independent music has never been so easily accessible; it's given successful carreers to countless unknown names, who have then gone on tour (increasingly where the money is) and spread their music around even more. It's been a boon to so many, many people; it's definitely made my life much happier. My life would not be the same if I didn't listen to the music I do, and I would have never have found out about a great majority of it were it not for illegal downloading. Who knows, I may not even have my beloved last.fm if not for the widespread music listening downloading has entailed. Take this even further, and you can see all the jobs made possible in support of artists on tour, the careers of the artists themselves, who probably would never have made it out of local bars and clubs (which a lot of independent artists still play, even with their newfound underground fame) without the boon of downloading. And entire websites, e-zines, etc., that have risen as a result in this explosion of music interest. When looked at through this lens, is the music industry really in trouble? It looks more like it's thriving!
Complainers inside the music industry make it seem as if they've been around forever. The truth is, the music industry ideal they refer to began with the Beatles (and on a side note not a single music artist in years has been able to repeat the success of Michael Jackson, Pink Floyd, or David Bowie, let alone the Beatles; to have that kind of widespread appeal that makes one able to have a double digit platinum album - what do they expect? With the hundreds of music varieties now in popular rotation, could any one artist garner that sort of universal appeal? Coldplay and Radiohead probably come the closest, but sales wise they are just a shadow of the awesome might of the Beatles). After that, they enjoyed nearly 40 years of uninterrupted prosperity . It would indeed be frustrating to have to adjust to something so abrupt, and so detrimental to your livelihood. But isn't this what a business should expect? It's competition, pure and simple. There is no longer a market for music as it used to be. And it will be impossible to stop it. Everyone believed the end of Napster would signal the end of illegal downloading. Ten years later and it's more prevalent, easier, and faster than anyone would have believed, even in the late nineties when the internet was really taking off.
We are told that illegal downloading is wrong, that it hurts the musicians, and all the people associated with them. But as far as I can tell, the only thing that's happened in the past 10 years has been an increase in musicians, or at least the public's awareness of them. They say illegal downloading is wrong because it cuts out the middleman, though in terms much more flattering to the role of middleman (especially in the music industry, where corruption is widespread and despicable). Music hasn't stopped being made; producers, session musicians, bands, and songwriters are all getting work. People are still going on tour, providing plenty of work for stage managers, back-up dancers, costume designers, club owners, not to mention the record labels and artists themselves from ticket sales and merchandise. Vendors set up shops at music festivals that sell food and alcohol. Huge companies sponsor these festivals and increase their business.
And we haven't even looked at the numbers yet. From all reports I've seen, the percentage of people downloading illegally, versus the people still buying cd's (which seem almost laughably outdated at this point) or downloading legally via iTunes or Amazon is still very skewed. It begs the question, is illegally downloading really the cause of the music industry's collapse, or is it the scapegoat? Maybe the mainstream music industry just doesn’t produce good music anymore. And how reliable are these statistics? Black market sales are never anything more than estimates.
I saw it mentioned on some (socialist) music website complaining of the prevalence of illegal downloading (and crying for more government control) that the artists have to "peddle" merchandise at their concerts to cover costs, and a bunch of other rubbish. Let's get one thing straight. NO ONE IS FORCING ANYONE TO DO ANYTHING. If the artists or anyone else involved in the music have a problem with how their industry has to operate IN REALITY, then they have no business being there.
One thing is for certain. If the option is there, a great majority of people will opt for the free one. Maybe it's time industries adapted to what the consumers and the market are actually telling them, rather than trying to manipulate it to serve their purposes. It's impossible to base your expectations of the world on wishes rather than reality and not be dissappointed. The music industry (and I mean the music industry as an entire whole - from big record labels to the indiest and everything inbetween) needs to see reality for what it is. A market has opened up where a consumer can get his music for free. Either use the ingenuity found in the field to make something bigger and better, or shut up and shut down. The market has spoken, and there is no demand for your products the way you want to sell them. You made your choice when you lobbied and bullied to shut down Napster; rather than seeing it as the beginning of the wave of the future (which it clearly was) and jumping on the bandwagon, you chose to shut it down, somehow believing that cd's would be around forever (just like horse buggies and astrolabes are still around... wait, what?). Fighting the market only leads to catastrophe, as America should know all too well at this point. Interfere, and the consequences will come back to haunt you. If this is the kind of fight the music industry is going to put up when all people are doing is refusing their services, then good riddance. I guess you don't know as much about business as you thought you did.
Friday, March 6, 2009
The Soft Bulletin
It's happened! Just when I think I'm doomed to another bored stretch of not having a current music obsession, I chance upon another gem. This time in the form of The Flaming Lips masterpiece The Soft Bulletin.
It didn't take long at all to draw me into their beauteous psychadelia. I got the album over the weekend, and listened to it for the first time on Monday while at work. It was exactly the kind of rush I hope for in newly discovered music. The songs were badly labeled, and it was out of order (two things that I hate; I'm a total nut for having an organized music library), but I fixed that as soon as I got home. I don't like to use shuffle when listening to a full album - if by chance the artist actually had the time and scope to make an album, versus a collection of good singles and filler, I like to be able to listen to it as it was intended and gain that big picture perspective of the music. But even with the initial out-of-order listening, I knew that I'd found something good. I didn't have any standout songs yet, but I knew that they were there. And the album as a whole was just so incredibly beautiful; I knew it would become one of my regular rotations. And as I expected, over the past week the album and the band have become one of my new favorites.
I had never listened to The Flaming Lips before, other than "She Don't Use Jelly" and that song they played in Batman Forever; "In Your Dreams" or something. And I'm sure there have been other unknown listens on my part. It's not like The Flaming Lips are a super obscure band.
I was very impressed, upon my initial listen, with "Race For the Prize," "Slow Motion," and "Waiting for Superman." Over the rest of the week, I've come to adore "Buggin'" (the harmonies and what sound like harp flourishes are to die for), "Feeling Yourself Disintegrate," and "Sleeping on the Roof"; the latter two and "Slow Motion" probably being my top favorites on the album as a whole (so far). There aren't many pure instrumentals which I enjoy as much as songs with lyrics. There are a few instrumentals which I do enjoy as much as or even more than some lyrical songs (some random Sufjan Stevens and Cut Copy interludes, and "Lamb on the Lam" by Band of Horses come to mind). "Sleeping on the Roof" may be poised to become my most favorite one of all.
There is a recurring theme in the music. It's almost melancholy. My impression of the album was that it was about death, and how it's inextricably connected to life. The songs reference wounds, blood, death, keeping up the fight, but with each of these grim references is an accompanying reference to love. It never connotates violence, but the simple fact that death is around us, that it's a part of life, but there is still unspeakable beauty in the fight for life and love. Lead singer Wayne Coyne's tenor, almost boyish voice is a perfect compliment, adding even more depth and sincerity to the music and lyrics.
There is a great quality to the music. It's layered, but not too dense. There's a lot of reverb on guitar, which is one of my favorite effects. I had never given much thought to the term psychadelic pop before, but that's definitely what this is. It has an almost Dark Side of the Moon quality to it.
I'm always happy to have good, new music. I love discovering and exploring a new sound, a new voice, a new musical technique. Just like in any industry, there has to be those producers - the ones who create and challenge and discover new ways of making melodies, changing the way we think of music. Nothing can accurately describe the effect an extremely well crafted album can have on a person. It happens when I listen to a lot of my favorite artists; I hear the bounce and pop of "Soon" by My Bloody Valentine, the epic 16 minute "Only Skin" by Joanna Newsom, the simple bassline and drumbeat of "Our Swords" by Band of Horses, or "Paranoid Android" by Radiohead (which pretty much defies description), and I feel so lucky and so blessed to be able to listen to and enjoy a true artist. Someone (or a bunch of someones) who followed a vision for a new sound, a new concept, and succeeded. One of my favorite things about Loveless and Joanna Newsom's Ys is that the artists knew what they wanted, and they didn't let their vision be affected by anyone else's opinion. Joanna Newsom knew that her album would be a little hard to swallow (it's only five songs, and "Cosmia" is the only one under nine minutes - it's about 7), but she didn't let that stop her creation. Loveless took over two stressful, only spradically productive years to create; MBV's record label even refused to work with Kevin Shields afterwards, because he was such a perfectionist. There are times when compromise is beneficial; Joanna Newsom had to work together with Van Dyke Parks to ensure the orchestra fit well with her songs and her harp, and that she fit well with them. But in the end, a very personal dream was realized. Too much compromise on an artistic work is never good; the outcome of committee thinking is never good - it's an average on an average (just think of network television). It's the artist's work, and they made it for themselves. This staunchness in holding on to one's vision is what makes these albums so great. Well, that and the superb talent of the artists.
It didn't take long at all to draw me into their beauteous psychadelia. I got the album over the weekend, and listened to it for the first time on Monday while at work. It was exactly the kind of rush I hope for in newly discovered music. The songs were badly labeled, and it was out of order (two things that I hate; I'm a total nut for having an organized music library), but I fixed that as soon as I got home. I don't like to use shuffle when listening to a full album - if by chance the artist actually had the time and scope to make an album, versus a collection of good singles and filler, I like to be able to listen to it as it was intended and gain that big picture perspective of the music. But even with the initial out-of-order listening, I knew that I'd found something good. I didn't have any standout songs yet, but I knew that they were there. And the album as a whole was just so incredibly beautiful; I knew it would become one of my regular rotations. And as I expected, over the past week the album and the band have become one of my new favorites.
I had never listened to The Flaming Lips before, other than "She Don't Use Jelly" and that song they played in Batman Forever; "In Your Dreams" or something. And I'm sure there have been other unknown listens on my part. It's not like The Flaming Lips are a super obscure band.
I was very impressed, upon my initial listen, with "Race For the Prize," "Slow Motion," and "Waiting for Superman." Over the rest of the week, I've come to adore "Buggin'" (the harmonies and what sound like harp flourishes are to die for), "Feeling Yourself Disintegrate," and "Sleeping on the Roof"; the latter two and "Slow Motion" probably being my top favorites on the album as a whole (so far). There aren't many pure instrumentals which I enjoy as much as songs with lyrics. There are a few instrumentals which I do enjoy as much as or even more than some lyrical songs (some random Sufjan Stevens and Cut Copy interludes, and "Lamb on the Lam" by Band of Horses come to mind). "Sleeping on the Roof" may be poised to become my most favorite one of all.
There is a recurring theme in the music. It's almost melancholy. My impression of the album was that it was about death, and how it's inextricably connected to life. The songs reference wounds, blood, death, keeping up the fight, but with each of these grim references is an accompanying reference to love. It never connotates violence, but the simple fact that death is around us, that it's a part of life, but there is still unspeakable beauty in the fight for life and love. Lead singer Wayne Coyne's tenor, almost boyish voice is a perfect compliment, adding even more depth and sincerity to the music and lyrics.
There is a great quality to the music. It's layered, but not too dense. There's a lot of reverb on guitar, which is one of my favorite effects. I had never given much thought to the term psychadelic pop before, but that's definitely what this is. It has an almost Dark Side of the Moon quality to it.
I'm always happy to have good, new music. I love discovering and exploring a new sound, a new voice, a new musical technique. Just like in any industry, there has to be those producers - the ones who create and challenge and discover new ways of making melodies, changing the way we think of music. Nothing can accurately describe the effect an extremely well crafted album can have on a person. It happens when I listen to a lot of my favorite artists; I hear the bounce and pop of "Soon" by My Bloody Valentine, the epic 16 minute "Only Skin" by Joanna Newsom, the simple bassline and drumbeat of "Our Swords" by Band of Horses, or "Paranoid Android" by Radiohead (which pretty much defies description), and I feel so lucky and so blessed to be able to listen to and enjoy a true artist. Someone (or a bunch of someones) who followed a vision for a new sound, a new concept, and succeeded. One of my favorite things about Loveless and Joanna Newsom's Ys is that the artists knew what they wanted, and they didn't let their vision be affected by anyone else's opinion. Joanna Newsom knew that her album would be a little hard to swallow (it's only five songs, and "Cosmia" is the only one under nine minutes - it's about 7), but she didn't let that stop her creation. Loveless took over two stressful, only spradically productive years to create; MBV's record label even refused to work with Kevin Shields afterwards, because he was such a perfectionist. There are times when compromise is beneficial; Joanna Newsom had to work together with Van Dyke Parks to ensure the orchestra fit well with her songs and her harp, and that she fit well with them. But in the end, a very personal dream was realized. Too much compromise on an artistic work is never good; the outcome of committee thinking is never good - it's an average on an average (just think of network television). It's the artist's work, and they made it for themselves. This staunchness in holding on to one's vision is what makes these albums so great. Well, that and the superb talent of the artists.
Saturday, December 13, 2008
Best Music of 2008
I was going to wait a little longer to make my Best of 2008 music list, but I doubt there will be much more of interest coming out in the next few weeks. Last year I did a post of top 10 albums of 2007 in my livejournal, but unfortunately, I don't think there have been enough good releases this year to fill up a top ten. I guess it doesn't matter too much, since if I were to make a list of my top music of 2007 now, it would be a lot different than when I made it last year (for starters, The Shepherd's Dog probably would have topped my list instead of Sound of Silver) - taste changes. I imagine it will be the same with the list I made this year; come December 2009, my opinion of 08 music will have changed as well. Also, I've been listening to a lot of older stuff this year - but they'll get their mention at the end of the entry. So here it is!
Best Albums of 2008
1. Fleet Foxes - Fleet Foxes
So this was pretty much a no brainer. I'm sure it will be topping a lot of other people's best of 08 lists, but it's a very, very well deserved title. Although they've disappeared from my daily repertoire a little more in the last few months, this album was a complete smash hit. I thoroughly enjoy every single song on here. I still remember the day I first listened to the album. I listened to "White Winter Hymnal" about thirty times, as well as the initial run through of the rest of the album while I was at work. For the next several months, Fleet Foxes was my raison d'etre. After getting past the beauty of "White Winter Hymnal" I was surprised to find that pretty much every other song had the same listenable quality. "Ragged Wood," "Sun It Rises," "He Doesn't Know Why," "Your Protector," "Blue Ridge Mountains," and... well, yeah, all of them. When informing Adam via text of how he HAD to start listening to these guys, he replied asking for a description of the sound. I think that I came up with a pretty good one: imagine a perfect mix of the guitar based indie of The Shins and Band of Horses (not to mention the vocal similarities of Foxes's lead singer and Ben Bridwell of B of H), with the hauntingly beautiful harmonies of Grizzly Bear, and the Appalachian sound of some of Joanna Newsom's best work. It's easily the most rewarding listen (and re-listen) of the entire year.
2. Feed the Animals - Girl Talk
For anyone unfamiliar with Girl Talk (aka Gregg Gillis), he is a mash up artist/DJ. But instead of mashing up two songs with similar keys and complimentary tempos, imagine a whole album of mash ups. An album of mash ups with tracks of not just two songs, but twelve songs, fifteen songs, twenty songs all spliced together. A drum beat from "Umbrella" by Rhianna, and samples of Ying Yang Twins and Vanilla Ice, leading into Jay-Z's "Roc Boys," to the guitar riff of Radiohead's (masterpiece) "Paranoid Android." And that's just the first minute and a half of the 5th track. This is typical Girl Talk. Feed the Animals was more of the same, and when looked at objectively it's not very different at all from 2006's Night Ripper. But this is not necessarily a bad thing. Feed the Animals is filled with moments of pure pop perfection spliced with even more pop perfection, and it leaves the listener almost at a breaking point. But it never becomes too much. What normally turned me off to mash ups (before it became more of a legitimate musical endeavor at least) was it's typical inclusion of rap, which I don't care for, and the fact that the songs being mashed didn't always sit comfortably together in my ears. This is never a problem with Girl Talk. He's truly a master of what he does. There's something for everyone, no genre is left untouched. Some dutiful fans have even taken the time to dissect the entirety of Feed the Animals (and Night Ripper) on Wikipedia, so you can see exactly how many samples are contained in these 16 tracks. Styx, The Carpenters, M.I.A., Jay-Z, Radiohead, Rhianna, of Montreal, Metallica, Queen, The Band, Procol Harum, Missy Elliott, Avril Lavigne, The Cranberries, Kelly Clarkson. The list literally goes on and on. His masterful mix of Air's "Sexy Boy" and Britney Spears' "Gimme More" might be one of the most sonically satisfying 30 seconds of the entire year.
3. In Rainbows - Radiohead
I took advantage of the free download Radiohead offered for In Rainbows last October, so I had the album before it's December 31st, 2007 physical release date. But, as I've said, 2008 did not offer me the musical selection of 2007. So here it is on my list. I wasn't able to fully appreciate In Rainbows when I first got it. It took a thorough understanding and appreciation for Radiohead as a band (see end of entry) before I really took a shine to it. But after getting really into OK Computer and Kid A and seeing the innovation and skill that Radiohead has been continuously bringing to the music scene for the last two decades, I couldn't stop listening. In Rainbows is the "return to form" that everyone was waiting for from Radiohead, and they fully deliver. In Rainbows manages to recall the spirit of their rock roots on The Bends and OK Computer, as well as the experimental electronica of Kid A and Amnesiac, and it's pop sensibility makes it the perfect follow up for the anti-pop, Hail to the Thief. I finally saw (or heard) reason this year, and I'm so so so glad for Radiohead. With the current situation in the music industry, it's pretty much a given that the successes of classic rock acts like Led Zeppelin, The Beatles, and David Bowie will not be repeated. But I truly believe that when it comes to talent and innovation, Radiohead are their successors. Everything they've ever done is great, and In Rainbows has showed me that they are nowhere near finished.
4. In Ghost Colours - Cut Copy
I'm fairly certain that the reason I didn't find as much to like about this year's music is because I missed a lot of it. For whatever reasons. I missed this release at first. In one of our music trading sessions, I gave Adam some Cut Copy that I had downloaded and put on my flash drive. He texted me one afternoon while at work and told me that he was really enjoying listening to Cut Copy. I had given In Ghost Colours it's initial two or three cursory listens, and I remember liking what I heard. It became another album that I would put on, and not even focus on what the individual songs were. After the encouragement from Adam, I listened to the album some more, and it quickly became one of my new favorites. I love this album because it manages to throw me back to 80's synth, but also give a rich look at the future. I believe that electronica is definitely the new frontier in music, and I'll be looking to Cut Copy for developments.
5. Vampire Weekend - Vampire Weekend
I knew there would be a backlash against Vampire Weekend. Just like I know there's one in the works for Fleet Foxes. People say it was over hyped, and that it was a thoroughly average album. I thought that at first but not really in a negative way. It was an album I would put on and listen to the entire way through. Sometimes albums like that seem average at first, but there's a reason a whole album is tolerable. If the individual songs are consistently good enough to listen to the album from start to finish, then in my opinion, that's not average. It's spectacular! It's been a year long process, but I've really come to love Vampire Weekend.
6. The Mixtape Volume 1 - The Hood Internet
Not a proper album, but my list would definitely not be complete without it. The Hood Internet is a group of two mash up DJs from Chicago, and so far this year they've released three mixtapes on their website (www.thehoodinternet.com - go figure). The first was definitely the best, although the second has it's moments; I haven't listened to the third yet. The Hood Internet doesn't do the multiple songs like Girl Talk, but they do wonderful melds of indie favorites and mainstream tracks. Architecture in Helsinki vs Snoop Dogg ("That's the Whirlwind," which is probably my favorite), Dizzee Rascal vs Cyndi Lauper, R.Kelly vs Broken Social Scene, UNK vs LCD Soundsystem. All under three minutes, but all awesome.
7. Hold On Now, Youngster... - Los Campesinos!
I was taken with their Sticking Fingers Into Sockets EP last year, and their release this year was one I was most looking forward to. During it's trial phase on my iPod, I was initially let down because none of the songs were as immediately catchy as the ones I fell in love with on the EP. But when I began to develop my playlists this spring, instead of always just listening to albums, I threw on a few songs from this album. I have one main playlist (Obsession for Andrew - the songs I like to listen to the most), and several others with more definite themes. After giving Hold on Now, Youngster... a more thorough listen, I began to hear the real gems of the album. They're a charming band, even if a little chaotic. I just got their latest release from this fall (two albums in one year? ambitious!), and I'm hoping I'll find even more to love about Los Campesinos!.
8. Microcastle - Deerhunter
I'm still in the beginning stages of fully exploring this album, but I really enjoy it so far. It's a big step up from Cryptograms, their release last year, which I thought was way too boring of a listen, even though it had its good moments. Microcastle shows them developing their sound into something I would actually listen to on a regular basis. It was released with a second disk which I haven't gotten yet, but from what I've heard, it's also very good. I'll be listening to this a lot more as we get into 2009, and I'm really excited to see Deerhunter develop. I think that they will have a lot more to offer in the future, and the difference I've heard between the snoozer Cryptograms and the dynamic Microcastle, has made them definitely a band to watch out for.
Honorable mentions: In Ear Park - Department of Eagles, Hercules and Love Affair - Hercules and Love Affair, Oracular Spectacular - MGMT, The Singer - Teitur, At Mount Zoomer - Wolf Parade
It would have been nice to have an even ten albums. I guess I've been kind of harsh on the releases of this year, but even though I've enjoyed other artists, fewer albums have made an impression on me this year than last year. But that's why I've been looking forward to doing a top singles list. Since I don't ever listen to the radio, I don't know what songs actually qualify as "singles," but in my world, these are the top singles of 2008.
1. Becky - Be Your Own Pet: hands down, no other song has given me such a rush this year. I'm honestly appalled that this song wasn't released on their Get Awkward LP this year - it's inclusion makes it a much more satisfying album to listen to. It's more of what I loved about Be Your Own Pet (lovED because they broke up this year; a truly tragic loss for the music industry); the lyrics are direct and speak for themselves (not to mention hilarious), Jemina Pearl performs with her trademark nuclear bomb energy, and the instruments are sharper and more precise than on their first release. Like my number one song of last year, Innocent Bones by Iron & Wine (still arguably my favorite song ever), I can definitely see myself singing Becky's praises well into my future.
2. White Winter Hymnal - Fleet Foxes: had it not been for Becky, this would have been my number one for sure. It's a simple song; it works almost like a round, though not quite. I'm sure if I were to sing this with others who knew the lyrics though, it would make an excellent round. 2008 was definitely the year of Fleet Foxes, and this song surely stands as the crowning achievement of the album. Of course, the others on the album aren't far behind, but this song defined my musical life this spring and summer.
3. Cath... - Death Cab for Cutie: I really liked Transatlanticism, and I really like Plans. I was disappointed that I found Narrow Stairs so boring. But this song definitely stands out as a gem. Strong guitars, and Death Cab's trademark storytelling lyrics. A girl gets married to a man she doesn't love, but it ends with singer Ben Gibbard telling her he understands, and would have done the same if in her shoes. It's a really strong piece of music, and gives me a little more faith that Death Cab can still crank out the catchy pieces of heartfelt heart-on-sleeve pop music they're known for, and that I love.
4. Lights and Music - Cut Copy: I love when music builds up to a breaking point and just overflows into sonic bliss. I love the tension and excitement that comes with a build up, and the feeling of just letting go when it reaches the tipping point. This song does that so well. The lyrics are simple "lights and music are on my mind, be my baby one more time," but it's a perfect accompaniment to the tension and release of the verse chorus structure of the song.
5. Bodysnatchers - Radiohead: I love how Radiohead can have a song that feels like more than one song, but still feels like just one song. Like Paranoid Android. Bodysnatchers fits this as well, and I love it.
I'll be doing the same thing with this list as the one I made last year; I described some reasons for why the first five songs were good, why I liked them, etc., and then just listed the rest, with explanations for the ones where I had a specific thing to say. And since I listened to so many mash ups this year, I have a separate section for those. It's pretty much impossible to decide which Girl Talk tracks are my favorite, so I just have ones for The Hood Internet.
6. Ragged Wood - Fleet Foxes
7. My Year In Lists - Los Campesinos!
8. The Singer - Teitur
9. Womanizer - Britney Spears: you knew it was coming. This song struck me as kind of forced and repetitive when I first heard it, which really made me question if Britney was ready for her big comeback. But the more I listened to it, the more and more I liked it. Way to go Britney; I never doubted you for a second.
10. I Know UR Girlfriend Hates Me - Annie: OMG, I've been waiting for Annie's follow up to her virtually flawless album Anniemal for what seems like forever. Unfortunately, the release has been delayed till early next year, but this single gave me hope for the content of her next issue. This song is everything I love about Annie.
11. Mansard Roof - Vampire Weekend: this was another one of those perfect album openers.
12. Out There On the Ice - Cut Copy
13. The Kelly Affair - Be Your Own Pet
14. Blind - Hercules and Love Affair: I was really glad Kristine encouraged me to revisit this album, because I love this song.
15. Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa - Vampire Weekend
16. Nude - Radiohead
17. Time to Pretend - MGMT: the lyrics come off as trite, but this song is fantastic. When the rest of the song can make up for what would be sub par lyrics, it becomes not trite, but precious.
18. Graveyard Girl - M83: how could I not include a song about a graveyard? It helps that it's a pretty good song too.
19. Soldier's Grin - Wolf Parade
20. Kids - MGMT
Honorable mentions: Boston - Vampire Weekend, L.E.S. Artistes - Santogold, Broken Heartbeats Sound Like Breakbeats - Los Campesinos!, Blue Ridge Mountains - Fleet Foxes, House of Cards - Radiohead, Electric Feel - MGMT, Circus - Britney Spears, You'll Find a Way - Santogold, Call it a Ritual - Wolf Parade, Agoraphobia - Deerhunter, In Ear Park - Department of Eagles, Jigsaw Falling Into Place - Radiohead, You Belong - Hercules and Love Affair, Melodies & Desires - Lykke Li, 15 Step - Radiohead
The Hood Internet mash-ups (in no particular order - it's hard to pick a favorite): That's the Whirlwind (Architecture in Helsinki vs Snoop Dogg), I'm Shinin' Like a Crystal (The Pack vs Crystal Castles), Girls Just Wanna Fix Up (Dizzee Rascal vs Cyndi Lauper), Stuntin' Like Black Rock (Birdman & Lil' Wayne vs Black Rock), Cyborg Umbrella (Rhianna feat. Jay-Z vs Menomena vs M83), Some Cut Like a Knife (Trillville feat Cutty vs The Knife), I'm a Flirt (Shoreline)(R.Kelly feat T-Pain, T.I. vs Broken Social Scene).
My other list of 2008 music:
1. Joanna Newsom - my introduction to Joanna by Adam last fall continued well into this year, and hasn't really abated at all. I listened to lots and lots and lots of Joanna Newsom this year.
2. Radiohead - winter and spring of this year, I began to listen to Radiohead a lot more. I really liked OK Computer already, which I finally got last fall, but this year they really took me for a ride. I couldn't get enough Radiohead.
3. The Avett Brothers - my good friend Lydia and her sister Alex introduced me to the Avett Brothers (pronounced Ay-vett) at the very end of last year. At first, I only liked a few songs, but (with help from Adam, who I shared them with), I gave them a second try in the spring. We recruited his brother Gabe and mother Colleen into them as well, and as my birthday present, Gabe and Adam and I all went to see them perform in last August.
4. Guster - I only have Ganging Up on the Sun, but Guster is an integral part of this list. I listened to a lot of them this summer. Satellite and Ruby Falls in particular. It sounds so juvenile, but for a couple of weeks, Ruby Falls was like a narration.
5. Pavement - I've had Wowee Zowee since last fall, and I loved it, but this year I finally got Slanted & Enchanted, and Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain. Not much to say, other than that I LOVE Pavement.
6. Rogue Wave - I'd heard of them several times before downloading their discography this past summer. I gave them the first listen and liked what I heard, but I didn't go back and give it the all important 2nd-5th listens to see which tracks really stuck out. But when iTunes debuted Genius this fall, a lot of their songs came up on shuffle. I really got into them after going back again and listening to their albums.
7. Belle & Sebastian - I've listened to a TON of Belle & Sebastian this year.
8. Interpol - this past winter and spring was all about three bands for me. Radiohead, Architecture in Helsinki, and Interpol. Mostly I listened to Turn on the Bright Lights. The entire album is beautiful, haunting, and a little melancholy. It was a really good album to have by my side this year.
9. Architecture in Helsinki - I know a lot of people who really love Architecture in Helsinki. I liked them, but I didn't see how you could love them. Until this spring.
10. Britney Spears - as many of you already know, I was already a big Britney fan before this year. But I hadn't listened to her very much in the past few years. For some reason this past summer I got in a Britney mood, and the mood hasn't completely disappeared since then. It doesn't hurt that I finally got Blackout, and Circus just debuted. Blackout, which by all logic should have been absolutely horrible, is probably her best album of all.
11. Band of Horses - the relative simplicity of Band of Horses is what draws me in every time. Our Swords is one of their most simple songs, but it's probably one of my favorite songs ever.
12. Pinback - I haven't been listening to them as much lately, but for the amount that I listened to them this winter and spring, they definitely deserve a place.
Top singles that I listened to that weren't from this year - ones listed on my Singles of '07 list won't be on here - in no particular order:
Satellite, Ruby Falls - Guster: these two songs, perhaps more than any of the others on any of these lists, have so much personal meaning and significance attached to them.
Sprout and the Bean, Peach, Plum, Pear, Swansea, the entirety of her album Y's - Joanna Newsom
Paranoid Android, Airbag, Optimistic, The National Anthem, Subterranean Homesick Alien, Electioneering, Let Down, Fitter Happier - Radiohead
PDA, NYC, Stella Was a Diver and She Was Always Down, Say Hello to the Angels, Obstacle 1 - Interpol
Maybe You Can Owe Me (this might be the only one to tie with the Guster songs in personal meaning), Frenchy, I'm Faking, Do the Whirlwind, Nevereverevereverdid, In Case We Die (Pts 1-4), Heart It Races (which would have made my top singles of 07 list, had I known about it then) - Architecture in Helsinki
Step On Inside, Priest, Poet, & Pig - Vietnam
Will You Return?, Die, Die, Die, Paranoia in Bb Major, Pretty Girl From Chile, Shame, I Would Be Sad, The Weight of Lies - The Avett Brothers
Break the Ice, Gimme More, Piece of Me, ... Baby, One More Time, Slave 4 U, Toxic, Everytime - Britney Spears
Our Swords, Wicked Gil, Monsters, No One's Gonna Love You, The First Song, Ode to LRC - Band of Horses
Nourishment Nation, Lake Michigan, Harmonium, California, Publish My Love - Rogue Wave
Grounded, Summer Babe, Cut Your Hair - Pavement
If You Find Yourself Caught In Love, Step Into My Office, Baby, Act of Apostle, Piazza, New York Catcher, Asleep on a Sunbeam, If You're Feeling Sinister - Belle & Sebastian
Well, I hope you enjoyed this. Music and making lists are two of my favorite things. I can't wait to see what happens in next year's music scene. I think what added most to my disappointment this year is that a lot of artists I liked already came out with boring follow ups to their previous awesome releases. I was really looking forward to releases from CSS and Tilly and the Wall, but they were both really boring. I was looking forward to Black Kids' debut album, but it wasn't really good. I was kind of disgusted by the treatment Pitchfork gave it - tearing it down in that way just because they could, even though they were a huge part of the Black Kids hype. I got the album anyway, just to decide for myself if it wasn't good (it wasn't good), but I thought what they did was just... really immature. But whatever, it's Pitchfork, and pretentious is what they do best. It's still my best source for finding new music, but I've been learning to take what they say with a grain of salt.
Best Albums of 2008
1. Fleet Foxes - Fleet Foxes
So this was pretty much a no brainer. I'm sure it will be topping a lot of other people's best of 08 lists, but it's a very, very well deserved title. Although they've disappeared from my daily repertoire a little more in the last few months, this album was a complete smash hit. I thoroughly enjoy every single song on here. I still remember the day I first listened to the album. I listened to "White Winter Hymnal" about thirty times, as well as the initial run through of the rest of the album while I was at work. For the next several months, Fleet Foxes was my raison d'etre. After getting past the beauty of "White Winter Hymnal" I was surprised to find that pretty much every other song had the same listenable quality. "Ragged Wood," "Sun It Rises," "He Doesn't Know Why," "Your Protector," "Blue Ridge Mountains," and... well, yeah, all of them. When informing Adam via text of how he HAD to start listening to these guys, he replied asking for a description of the sound. I think that I came up with a pretty good one: imagine a perfect mix of the guitar based indie of The Shins and Band of Horses (not to mention the vocal similarities of Foxes's lead singer and Ben Bridwell of B of H), with the hauntingly beautiful harmonies of Grizzly Bear, and the Appalachian sound of some of Joanna Newsom's best work. It's easily the most rewarding listen (and re-listen) of the entire year.
2. Feed the Animals - Girl Talk
For anyone unfamiliar with Girl Talk (aka Gregg Gillis), he is a mash up artist/DJ. But instead of mashing up two songs with similar keys and complimentary tempos, imagine a whole album of mash ups. An album of mash ups with tracks of not just two songs, but twelve songs, fifteen songs, twenty songs all spliced together. A drum beat from "Umbrella" by Rhianna, and samples of Ying Yang Twins and Vanilla Ice, leading into Jay-Z's "Roc Boys," to the guitar riff of Radiohead's (masterpiece) "Paranoid Android." And that's just the first minute and a half of the 5th track. This is typical Girl Talk. Feed the Animals was more of the same, and when looked at objectively it's not very different at all from 2006's Night Ripper. But this is not necessarily a bad thing. Feed the Animals is filled with moments of pure pop perfection spliced with even more pop perfection, and it leaves the listener almost at a breaking point. But it never becomes too much. What normally turned me off to mash ups (before it became more of a legitimate musical endeavor at least) was it's typical inclusion of rap, which I don't care for, and the fact that the songs being mashed didn't always sit comfortably together in my ears. This is never a problem with Girl Talk. He's truly a master of what he does. There's something for everyone, no genre is left untouched. Some dutiful fans have even taken the time to dissect the entirety of Feed the Animals (and Night Ripper) on Wikipedia, so you can see exactly how many samples are contained in these 16 tracks. Styx, The Carpenters, M.I.A., Jay-Z, Radiohead, Rhianna, of Montreal, Metallica, Queen, The Band, Procol Harum, Missy Elliott, Avril Lavigne, The Cranberries, Kelly Clarkson. The list literally goes on and on. His masterful mix of Air's "Sexy Boy" and Britney Spears' "Gimme More" might be one of the most sonically satisfying 30 seconds of the entire year.
3. In Rainbows - Radiohead
I took advantage of the free download Radiohead offered for In Rainbows last October, so I had the album before it's December 31st, 2007 physical release date. But, as I've said, 2008 did not offer me the musical selection of 2007. So here it is on my list. I wasn't able to fully appreciate In Rainbows when I first got it. It took a thorough understanding and appreciation for Radiohead as a band (see end of entry) before I really took a shine to it. But after getting really into OK Computer and Kid A and seeing the innovation and skill that Radiohead has been continuously bringing to the music scene for the last two decades, I couldn't stop listening. In Rainbows is the "return to form" that everyone was waiting for from Radiohead, and they fully deliver. In Rainbows manages to recall the spirit of their rock roots on The Bends and OK Computer, as well as the experimental electronica of Kid A and Amnesiac, and it's pop sensibility makes it the perfect follow up for the anti-pop, Hail to the Thief. I finally saw (or heard) reason this year, and I'm so so so glad for Radiohead. With the current situation in the music industry, it's pretty much a given that the successes of classic rock acts like Led Zeppelin, The Beatles, and David Bowie will not be repeated. But I truly believe that when it comes to talent and innovation, Radiohead are their successors. Everything they've ever done is great, and In Rainbows has showed me that they are nowhere near finished.
4. In Ghost Colours - Cut Copy
I'm fairly certain that the reason I didn't find as much to like about this year's music is because I missed a lot of it. For whatever reasons. I missed this release at first. In one of our music trading sessions, I gave Adam some Cut Copy that I had downloaded and put on my flash drive. He texted me one afternoon while at work and told me that he was really enjoying listening to Cut Copy. I had given In Ghost Colours it's initial two or three cursory listens, and I remember liking what I heard. It became another album that I would put on, and not even focus on what the individual songs were. After the encouragement from Adam, I listened to the album some more, and it quickly became one of my new favorites. I love this album because it manages to throw me back to 80's synth, but also give a rich look at the future. I believe that electronica is definitely the new frontier in music, and I'll be looking to Cut Copy for developments.
5. Vampire Weekend - Vampire Weekend
I knew there would be a backlash against Vampire Weekend. Just like I know there's one in the works for Fleet Foxes. People say it was over hyped, and that it was a thoroughly average album. I thought that at first but not really in a negative way. It was an album I would put on and listen to the entire way through. Sometimes albums like that seem average at first, but there's a reason a whole album is tolerable. If the individual songs are consistently good enough to listen to the album from start to finish, then in my opinion, that's not average. It's spectacular! It's been a year long process, but I've really come to love Vampire Weekend.
6. The Mixtape Volume 1 - The Hood Internet
Not a proper album, but my list would definitely not be complete without it. The Hood Internet is a group of two mash up DJs from Chicago, and so far this year they've released three mixtapes on their website (www.thehoodinternet.com - go figure). The first was definitely the best, although the second has it's moments; I haven't listened to the third yet. The Hood Internet doesn't do the multiple songs like Girl Talk, but they do wonderful melds of indie favorites and mainstream tracks. Architecture in Helsinki vs Snoop Dogg ("That's the Whirlwind," which is probably my favorite), Dizzee Rascal vs Cyndi Lauper, R.Kelly vs Broken Social Scene, UNK vs LCD Soundsystem. All under three minutes, but all awesome.
7. Hold On Now, Youngster... - Los Campesinos!
I was taken with their Sticking Fingers Into Sockets EP last year, and their release this year was one I was most looking forward to. During it's trial phase on my iPod, I was initially let down because none of the songs were as immediately catchy as the ones I fell in love with on the EP. But when I began to develop my playlists this spring, instead of always just listening to albums, I threw on a few songs from this album. I have one main playlist (Obsession for Andrew - the songs I like to listen to the most), and several others with more definite themes. After giving Hold on Now, Youngster... a more thorough listen, I began to hear the real gems of the album. They're a charming band, even if a little chaotic. I just got their latest release from this fall (two albums in one year? ambitious!), and I'm hoping I'll find even more to love about Los Campesinos!.
8. Microcastle - Deerhunter
I'm still in the beginning stages of fully exploring this album, but I really enjoy it so far. It's a big step up from Cryptograms, their release last year, which I thought was way too boring of a listen, even though it had its good moments. Microcastle shows them developing their sound into something I would actually listen to on a regular basis. It was released with a second disk which I haven't gotten yet, but from what I've heard, it's also very good. I'll be listening to this a lot more as we get into 2009, and I'm really excited to see Deerhunter develop. I think that they will have a lot more to offer in the future, and the difference I've heard between the snoozer Cryptograms and the dynamic Microcastle, has made them definitely a band to watch out for.
Honorable mentions: In Ear Park - Department of Eagles, Hercules and Love Affair - Hercules and Love Affair, Oracular Spectacular - MGMT, The Singer - Teitur, At Mount Zoomer - Wolf Parade
It would have been nice to have an even ten albums. I guess I've been kind of harsh on the releases of this year, but even though I've enjoyed other artists, fewer albums have made an impression on me this year than last year. But that's why I've been looking forward to doing a top singles list. Since I don't ever listen to the radio, I don't know what songs actually qualify as "singles," but in my world, these are the top singles of 2008.
1. Becky - Be Your Own Pet: hands down, no other song has given me such a rush this year. I'm honestly appalled that this song wasn't released on their Get Awkward LP this year - it's inclusion makes it a much more satisfying album to listen to. It's more of what I loved about Be Your Own Pet (lovED because they broke up this year; a truly tragic loss for the music industry); the lyrics are direct and speak for themselves (not to mention hilarious), Jemina Pearl performs with her trademark nuclear bomb energy, and the instruments are sharper and more precise than on their first release. Like my number one song of last year, Innocent Bones by Iron & Wine (still arguably my favorite song ever), I can definitely see myself singing Becky's praises well into my future.
2. White Winter Hymnal - Fleet Foxes: had it not been for Becky, this would have been my number one for sure. It's a simple song; it works almost like a round, though not quite. I'm sure if I were to sing this with others who knew the lyrics though, it would make an excellent round. 2008 was definitely the year of Fleet Foxes, and this song surely stands as the crowning achievement of the album. Of course, the others on the album aren't far behind, but this song defined my musical life this spring and summer.
3. Cath... - Death Cab for Cutie: I really liked Transatlanticism, and I really like Plans. I was disappointed that I found Narrow Stairs so boring. But this song definitely stands out as a gem. Strong guitars, and Death Cab's trademark storytelling lyrics. A girl gets married to a man she doesn't love, but it ends with singer Ben Gibbard telling her he understands, and would have done the same if in her shoes. It's a really strong piece of music, and gives me a little more faith that Death Cab can still crank out the catchy pieces of heartfelt heart-on-sleeve pop music they're known for, and that I love.
4. Lights and Music - Cut Copy: I love when music builds up to a breaking point and just overflows into sonic bliss. I love the tension and excitement that comes with a build up, and the feeling of just letting go when it reaches the tipping point. This song does that so well. The lyrics are simple "lights and music are on my mind, be my baby one more time," but it's a perfect accompaniment to the tension and release of the verse chorus structure of the song.
5. Bodysnatchers - Radiohead: I love how Radiohead can have a song that feels like more than one song, but still feels like just one song. Like Paranoid Android. Bodysnatchers fits this as well, and I love it.
I'll be doing the same thing with this list as the one I made last year; I described some reasons for why the first five songs were good, why I liked them, etc., and then just listed the rest, with explanations for the ones where I had a specific thing to say. And since I listened to so many mash ups this year, I have a separate section for those. It's pretty much impossible to decide which Girl Talk tracks are my favorite, so I just have ones for The Hood Internet.
6. Ragged Wood - Fleet Foxes
7. My Year In Lists - Los Campesinos!
8. The Singer - Teitur
9. Womanizer - Britney Spears: you knew it was coming. This song struck me as kind of forced and repetitive when I first heard it, which really made me question if Britney was ready for her big comeback. But the more I listened to it, the more and more I liked it. Way to go Britney; I never doubted you for a second.
10. I Know UR Girlfriend Hates Me - Annie: OMG, I've been waiting for Annie's follow up to her virtually flawless album Anniemal for what seems like forever. Unfortunately, the release has been delayed till early next year, but this single gave me hope for the content of her next issue. This song is everything I love about Annie.
11. Mansard Roof - Vampire Weekend: this was another one of those perfect album openers.
12. Out There On the Ice - Cut Copy
13. The Kelly Affair - Be Your Own Pet
14. Blind - Hercules and Love Affair: I was really glad Kristine encouraged me to revisit this album, because I love this song.
15. Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa - Vampire Weekend
16. Nude - Radiohead
17. Time to Pretend - MGMT: the lyrics come off as trite, but this song is fantastic. When the rest of the song can make up for what would be sub par lyrics, it becomes not trite, but precious.
18. Graveyard Girl - M83: how could I not include a song about a graveyard? It helps that it's a pretty good song too.
19. Soldier's Grin - Wolf Parade
20. Kids - MGMT
Honorable mentions: Boston - Vampire Weekend, L.E.S. Artistes - Santogold, Broken Heartbeats Sound Like Breakbeats - Los Campesinos!, Blue Ridge Mountains - Fleet Foxes, House of Cards - Radiohead, Electric Feel - MGMT, Circus - Britney Spears, You'll Find a Way - Santogold, Call it a Ritual - Wolf Parade, Agoraphobia - Deerhunter, In Ear Park - Department of Eagles, Jigsaw Falling Into Place - Radiohead, You Belong - Hercules and Love Affair, Melodies & Desires - Lykke Li, 15 Step - Radiohead
The Hood Internet mash-ups (in no particular order - it's hard to pick a favorite): That's the Whirlwind (Architecture in Helsinki vs Snoop Dogg), I'm Shinin' Like a Crystal (The Pack vs Crystal Castles), Girls Just Wanna Fix Up (Dizzee Rascal vs Cyndi Lauper), Stuntin' Like Black Rock (Birdman & Lil' Wayne vs Black Rock), Cyborg Umbrella (Rhianna feat. Jay-Z vs Menomena vs M83), Some Cut Like a Knife (Trillville feat Cutty vs The Knife), I'm a Flirt (Shoreline)(R.Kelly feat T-Pain, T.I. vs Broken Social Scene).
My other list of 2008 music:
1. Joanna Newsom - my introduction to Joanna by Adam last fall continued well into this year, and hasn't really abated at all. I listened to lots and lots and lots of Joanna Newsom this year.
2. Radiohead - winter and spring of this year, I began to listen to Radiohead a lot more. I really liked OK Computer already, which I finally got last fall, but this year they really took me for a ride. I couldn't get enough Radiohead.
3. The Avett Brothers - my good friend Lydia and her sister Alex introduced me to the Avett Brothers (pronounced Ay-vett) at the very end of last year. At first, I only liked a few songs, but (with help from Adam, who I shared them with), I gave them a second try in the spring. We recruited his brother Gabe and mother Colleen into them as well, and as my birthday present, Gabe and Adam and I all went to see them perform in last August.
4. Guster - I only have Ganging Up on the Sun, but Guster is an integral part of this list. I listened to a lot of them this summer. Satellite and Ruby Falls in particular. It sounds so juvenile, but for a couple of weeks, Ruby Falls was like a narration.
5. Pavement - I've had Wowee Zowee since last fall, and I loved it, but this year I finally got Slanted & Enchanted, and Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain. Not much to say, other than that I LOVE Pavement.
6. Rogue Wave - I'd heard of them several times before downloading their discography this past summer. I gave them the first listen and liked what I heard, but I didn't go back and give it the all important 2nd-5th listens to see which tracks really stuck out. But when iTunes debuted Genius this fall, a lot of their songs came up on shuffle. I really got into them after going back again and listening to their albums.
7. Belle & Sebastian - I've listened to a TON of Belle & Sebastian this year.
8. Interpol - this past winter and spring was all about three bands for me. Radiohead, Architecture in Helsinki, and Interpol. Mostly I listened to Turn on the Bright Lights. The entire album is beautiful, haunting, and a little melancholy. It was a really good album to have by my side this year.
9. Architecture in Helsinki - I know a lot of people who really love Architecture in Helsinki. I liked them, but I didn't see how you could love them. Until this spring.
10. Britney Spears - as many of you already know, I was already a big Britney fan before this year. But I hadn't listened to her very much in the past few years. For some reason this past summer I got in a Britney mood, and the mood hasn't completely disappeared since then. It doesn't hurt that I finally got Blackout, and Circus just debuted. Blackout, which by all logic should have been absolutely horrible, is probably her best album of all.
11. Band of Horses - the relative simplicity of Band of Horses is what draws me in every time. Our Swords is one of their most simple songs, but it's probably one of my favorite songs ever.
12. Pinback - I haven't been listening to them as much lately, but for the amount that I listened to them this winter and spring, they definitely deserve a place.
Top singles that I listened to that weren't from this year - ones listed on my Singles of '07 list won't be on here - in no particular order:
Satellite, Ruby Falls - Guster: these two songs, perhaps more than any of the others on any of these lists, have so much personal meaning and significance attached to them.
Sprout and the Bean, Peach, Plum, Pear, Swansea, the entirety of her album Y's - Joanna Newsom
Paranoid Android, Airbag, Optimistic, The National Anthem, Subterranean Homesick Alien, Electioneering, Let Down, Fitter Happier - Radiohead
PDA, NYC, Stella Was a Diver and She Was Always Down, Say Hello to the Angels, Obstacle 1 - Interpol
Maybe You Can Owe Me (this might be the only one to tie with the Guster songs in personal meaning), Frenchy, I'm Faking, Do the Whirlwind, Nevereverevereverdid, In Case We Die (Pts 1-4), Heart It Races (which would have made my top singles of 07 list, had I known about it then) - Architecture in Helsinki
Step On Inside, Priest, Poet, & Pig - Vietnam
Will You Return?, Die, Die, Die, Paranoia in Bb Major, Pretty Girl From Chile, Shame, I Would Be Sad, The Weight of Lies - The Avett Brothers
Break the Ice, Gimme More, Piece of Me, ... Baby, One More Time, Slave 4 U, Toxic, Everytime - Britney Spears
Our Swords, Wicked Gil, Monsters, No One's Gonna Love You, The First Song, Ode to LRC - Band of Horses
Nourishment Nation, Lake Michigan, Harmonium, California, Publish My Love - Rogue Wave
Grounded, Summer Babe, Cut Your Hair - Pavement
If You Find Yourself Caught In Love, Step Into My Office, Baby, Act of Apostle, Piazza, New York Catcher, Asleep on a Sunbeam, If You're Feeling Sinister - Belle & Sebastian
Well, I hope you enjoyed this. Music and making lists are two of my favorite things. I can't wait to see what happens in next year's music scene. I think what added most to my disappointment this year is that a lot of artists I liked already came out with boring follow ups to their previous awesome releases. I was really looking forward to releases from CSS and Tilly and the Wall, but they were both really boring. I was looking forward to Black Kids' debut album, but it wasn't really good. I was kind of disgusted by the treatment Pitchfork gave it - tearing it down in that way just because they could, even though they were a huge part of the Black Kids hype. I got the album anyway, just to decide for myself if it wasn't good (it wasn't good), but I thought what they did was just... really immature. But whatever, it's Pitchfork, and pretentious is what they do best. It's still my best source for finding new music, but I've been learning to take what they say with a grain of salt.
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