2008 in Review
Some of the best albums I heard this year are (not in any order):
Deerhunter – Microcastle/Weird Era Cont.
Somewhere between the pre-verbal psychedelia of Cryptograms and the airy pop of Atlas Sound comes this beautiful and surprisingly accessible album, which, unfortunately for them, was leaked long before its official release.
TV on the Radio – Dear Science,
In which the band continues toward becoming one of America's greatest offerings. I preferred Return to Cookie Mountain a bit more, but as someone said, this may be the best Peter Gabriel album in a number of years.
Boris – Smile
Somehow they channel the metal while working with Ghost's Michio Kurihara to make, well, airy psychedelia (twice in one post). Somehow in my first couple listens, I didn't realize that this was entirely in Japanese--the lyrics are sung in a way that doesn't matter. One of my fonder memories this year is the drummer shouting and leaping into the crowd at the Pitchfork Festival, then ending early because, as he said, there wasn't enough power.
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds – Dig!!! Lazarus Dig!!!
Violinist Warren Ellis assumes an increasingly prominent role here, as Nick's unlearned guitar playing adds a new element. In the title track alone, he recontextualizes the biblical Lazarus character as an undead figure stalking New York, looking for something to do with himself.
Fleet Foxes – Self-titled
First impression, this guy sounds a whole lot like My Morning Jacket's Jim James. What stays is the intricate, echoing harmonies influenced by early hymns.
Beck – Modern Guilt
A focused effort with thanks to producer Danger Mouse. "Gamma Ray" was one song that I listened to many times this year, suitable enough for a faithful cover by Jay Reatard.
Dead Confederate – Wrecking Ball
Less traditional country than a new, Southern Nirvana.
Drive-by Truckers – Brighter than Creation’s Dark
Their acoustic Dirt Underneath tour must have aided in reinvigorating them after losing guitarist Jason Isbell. I look for more contributions from Shonna Tucker. Another highlight of this year, their set at the Taste of Randolph, with a tear-jerking conclusion to the "18 Wheels of Love" story.
Santogold – Self-Titled
This is one of the catchier albums this year, gaining my interest through her association with M.I.A. Her skills as a veteran songwriter and 80's new wave pastiche sound gained her an opening spot for Coldplay, causing me to miss her at Lollapalooza.
Jenny Lewis – Acid Tongue
The title track stirs my soul. Jenny seems to be working toward something more subtle than her story-telling strength, but it amounts to more than the possible dumbing-down of last year's Rilo Kiley album. Is the Elvis Costello duet a thinly-veiled double entendre? If so, I missed it the first several times.
At the end of the year, I’m still sort of mixed about My Morning Jacket – Evil Urges. There are many great songs in there, but "Highly Suspicious" is so god-awful that it nearly ruins it.
This year, I discovered and King Khan and the Shrines and Boris. Both of which were pretty amazing at the Pitchfork Festival.
I also delved heavily into the back catalogs of the Melvins, Animal Collective, and Parliament/Funkadelic.
A guilty pleasure I acquired this year was Supertramp.
I don’t watch enough films to make a list, but I enjoyed Slumdog Millionaire quite a bit and of course The Dark Knight (much more than I expected). WALL-E was pretty good, too. I also had something of an ongoing Paul Newman film festival following his death; The Hustler and Hud were my favorites. Haven’t yet seen The Wrestler or Milk, but seemed like last year had more standouts (No Country for Old Men, There Will Be Blood, Juno, Persepolis, I'm Not There). I'm confident that next year will be a much better year all around.
Deerhunter – Microcastle/Weird Era Cont.
Somewhere between the pre-verbal psychedelia of Cryptograms and the airy pop of Atlas Sound comes this beautiful and surprisingly accessible album, which, unfortunately for them, was leaked long before its official release.
TV on the Radio – Dear Science,
In which the band continues toward becoming one of America's greatest offerings. I preferred Return to Cookie Mountain a bit more, but as someone said, this may be the best Peter Gabriel album in a number of years.
Boris – Smile
Somehow they channel the metal while working with Ghost's Michio Kurihara to make, well, airy psychedelia (twice in one post). Somehow in my first couple listens, I didn't realize that this was entirely in Japanese--the lyrics are sung in a way that doesn't matter. One of my fonder memories this year is the drummer shouting and leaping into the crowd at the Pitchfork Festival, then ending early because, as he said, there wasn't enough power.
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds – Dig!!! Lazarus Dig!!!
Violinist Warren Ellis assumes an increasingly prominent role here, as Nick's unlearned guitar playing adds a new element. In the title track alone, he recontextualizes the biblical Lazarus character as an undead figure stalking New York, looking for something to do with himself.
Fleet Foxes – Self-titled
First impression, this guy sounds a whole lot like My Morning Jacket's Jim James. What stays is the intricate, echoing harmonies influenced by early hymns.
Beck – Modern Guilt
A focused effort with thanks to producer Danger Mouse. "Gamma Ray" was one song that I listened to many times this year, suitable enough for a faithful cover by Jay Reatard.
Dead Confederate – Wrecking Ball
Less traditional country than a new, Southern Nirvana.
Drive-by Truckers – Brighter than Creation’s Dark
Their acoustic Dirt Underneath tour must have aided in reinvigorating them after losing guitarist Jason Isbell. I look for more contributions from Shonna Tucker. Another highlight of this year, their set at the Taste of Randolph, with a tear-jerking conclusion to the "18 Wheels of Love" story.
Santogold – Self-Titled
This is one of the catchier albums this year, gaining my interest through her association with M.I.A. Her skills as a veteran songwriter and 80's new wave pastiche sound gained her an opening spot for Coldplay, causing me to miss her at Lollapalooza.
Jenny Lewis – Acid Tongue
The title track stirs my soul. Jenny seems to be working toward something more subtle than her story-telling strength, but it amounts to more than the possible dumbing-down of last year's Rilo Kiley album. Is the Elvis Costello duet a thinly-veiled double entendre? If so, I missed it the first several times.
At the end of the year, I’m still sort of mixed about My Morning Jacket – Evil Urges. There are many great songs in there, but "Highly Suspicious" is so god-awful that it nearly ruins it.
This year, I discovered and King Khan and the Shrines and Boris. Both of which were pretty amazing at the Pitchfork Festival.
I also delved heavily into the back catalogs of the Melvins, Animal Collective, and Parliament/Funkadelic.
A guilty pleasure I acquired this year was Supertramp.
I don’t watch enough films to make a list, but I enjoyed Slumdog Millionaire quite a bit and of course The Dark Knight (much more than I expected). WALL-E was pretty good, too. I also had something of an ongoing Paul Newman film festival following his death; The Hustler and Hud were my favorites. Haven’t yet seen The Wrestler or Milk, but seemed like last year had more standouts (No Country for Old Men, There Will Be Blood, Juno, Persepolis, I'm Not There). I'm confident that next year will be a much better year all around.
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