Thursday, December 11, 2008

Best of 2008: Music

Last year, I declared the 2007 best music year in some time, and I said I hoped 2008 was even close. As it turns out, it was. It wasn't as good as '07, but it was really good. The most interesting things is that much of it came from new sources. That was good because some of the stuff I was most excited about (Kings of Leon, Cold War Kids) turned out to disappoint. Fortunately, we have the Internet to help us find out about new music. Three cheers for the Internet.

Here are my favorite 10 albums of 2008, with a couple of the best songs from each.

1. The Walkmen – You and Me
Donde Esta la Playa, New Country
2. Vampire Weekend – Vampire Weekend
Oxford Comma, A-Punk
3. TV On the Radio – Dear Science
DLZ, Halfway Home
4. The Dodos -- Visiter
Walking, God?
5. Beck – Modern Guilt
Gamma Ray, Modern Guilt
6. Johnny Flynn – A Flarum
The Wrote & the Writ, Wayne Rooney
7. Eagles of Death Metal – Heart On
Secret Plans, I Wanna be in LA
8. Pale Young Gentlemen – Black Forest (Tra La La)
The Crook of My Good Arm, Marvelous Design
9. The Rumble Strips – Girls and Weather
Alarm Clock, Girls and Boys in Love
10. Pete and the Pirates – Little Death
Come on Feet, Eyes Like Tar

Special awards this year go to Bob Dylan's Tell Tale Signs: The Bootleg Series Vol. 8 for best album filled with stuff that had already been released in some form, and The Clash's Live at Shea Stadium for best live album. A "best songs not on the list above" post is forthcoming.

4 comments:

bigsmithdude said...

nice list, AA. i suppose you have seen that TV on the radio was the number one album by RS, and that dylan was no. 2. other than that, their list was highly suspect, with entries from taylor swift and the jonas brothers. and no pete and the pirates!!!! i posted my list on spacebook if you are interested

Brian said...

Not a bad list (what I've heard of it anyways).

My personal favorite album this year, Kansas City's own:
The Republic Tigers - Keep Color

Jim said...

BSD, you should provide a link so all the good people that read this blog can take a look.

bigsmithdude said...

i know nothing of posting links so here it is. i am beginning to think we are the only ones into this shit:

greetings-

here you will find what i feel were the best studio albums released during the of our lord 2008. keep in mind that while bob dylan and neil young both released albums this year, they were a re-release of older material and therefore do not qualify for this specific list (obviously, they would have been 1 and 2 respectively!). everyone talked about how 2007 was such a strong year for music, but 2008 was just as good in my opinion. i have also listed my favorite track from each album as a starting point for anyone interested. here goes:

top albums 2008

1. Someone still loves you Boris Yeltsin- pershing
*Modern Mystery

2. She and Him- Volume 1
*Why do you let me stay here?

3. Fleet Foxes- Fleet Foxe
*Ragged Wood

4. the Helio Sequence- Keep your eyes ahead
*Broken Afternoon

5. Jenny Lewis- Acid Tongue
*Carpetbaggers

6. Horse Feathers- House with no Home
* Working Poor

7. Pete and the Pirates- Little Death
* Come on Feet

8. Damien Jurado-Caught in the trees
*Everything trying

9. The dodos- Visiter
*Walking

10. Bonnie Prince Billy- Lie Down in the Light
*You remind me of something


Honorable mentions:
The Walkmen- You and me
Bon Ivers- For Emma Forever Ago
Headlights- some stopping, some racing

what's that you say? a local album has topped the list this year? that is correct. Pershing was the album i listened to the most this year, local or otherwise, and therefore has safely secured and earned this coveted spot. why on earth they still play the outland is beyond me, as they should be selling out concert halls. again, it should be noted that the majority of music i discovered this year was made nearly 30-40 years ago. maybe one day i will get caught up....

before i go, i should state again how incredible the new bob dylan album tell tale signs really is. it is staggering the amount of excellent material that man has casually thrown away over the years. this installment of the bootleg series is so undeniably strong (especially disc 1) that it really should be considered a mastework, on par with any of his last three albums. there i said it...

what were your favorites?

 

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