Hot Damn

So, we are now a third of the way through 2009; and what do I plan on posting today other than my favorite albums of 2008. This is the latest I have had the balls to post a previous year's list, but I spent a lot of time on this before 2008 ended. I just kept forgetting to post it here. So, here it is....


These are my favorite albums of 2008 and little notes I jotted down while I was listening to them. Sometimes the notes are one line and sometimes they’re a small paragraph, it all depended on how much I felt like writing at the time. It also may seem from my comments that one selection should be above another, but this is the correct order.


1.) Beach House – Devotion – I am in love with this album, It contains three of the better songs of the year….”Gila”, Holy Dances”, and “All the Years”. I don’t think I listened to any other album more times this year than I did this one.


2.) Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds – Dig! Lazarus Dig! – Phenomenal album, I Love this. Nick Cave has done it again!


3.) Portishead – Third – A great return to form. A few years ago I would have told you that I preferred Massive Attack over Portishead. Now I’m not so sure.


4.) Black Mountain – In the Future – There are so many great songs on this album; I will be listening to this one well into 2009.


5.) The Drift - Memory Drawings - Essentially an instrumental jazz album. This is so good.


6.) Flight of the Conchords – Flight of the Conchords - Try not to smile while listening to this, I dare you. They genre jump, yet doing it so well and with humor that how can I not recommend this?


7.) Grouper – Dragging a Dead Deer up a Hill – So simple and beautiful, I loved it.


8.) Younger Brother – The Last Days of Gravity – I listened to this album after Four Tet and this is the best electronic album of 2008.


9.) Nine Inch Nails – The Slip - It goes from really good faster jams to solid slower beat-fests.


10.) The Mars Volta – Bedlam in Goliath – This is a bunch of guys who are each great at their instrument getting stoned out of their skulls and ripping shit up. They fuse so many styles together it’s impossible to slap a genre label on them. I must say though, the Latin influence makes me think this is what would happen if you took my father’s music collection and mixed it with mine.


11.) Flying Lotus - Los Angeles - This album is awesome; the instrumental hip hop contained on this disc is killer.


12.) Four Tet – Ringer - Even though it clocks in at a little over 30 minutes, a short album especially by electronic standards; it’s probably one of, if not the best electronic album of 2008.


13.) Department of Eagles - In Ear Park - Great songs, Great melodies; what more do you expect from members of Grizzly Bear?


14.) Broken Social Scene presents Brendan Canning - Something For All of Us - This group of Canadian musicians always releases top-notch albums.


15.) Dead Meadow - Old Growth - Dead meadow is exactly the shot of fuzzed-out fell out of a time machine rock n’ roll that I need from time to time.


16.) The War on Drugs - Wagonwheel Blues - I really like this. It’s a solid rock album with a vocalist who dare I say reminds me of Bob Dylan at times. I think I remember reading they were supposed to tour with The Hold Steady, if they play live as well as their album is, than they would have blown The Hold Steady off the stage.


17.) Lykke Li - Youth Novels - Great pop album, like Lily Allen with a softer voice and a little more heart on her sleeve.


18.) Kanye West – 808’s and Heartbreak – I consider this to be a triumph. Different enough from his other releases to be considered a risk. Song for song this could be his best effort yet.


19.) Wild Beasts - Limbo, Panto - The singer sounds like an even gayer Morrissey. For that exact fact, I’m very surprised this album hasn’t received much more praise from critics. I initially wanted to stop listening to this after the fourth song and just listen to the whole thing again at another time, but it drew me back in. I’ll honestly probably listen to this many more times.


20.) Coldplay - Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends - This album is very good, and differs enough from previous Coldplay albums enough to stand out, it’s also great to sing along to.


21.) Oasis - Dig Out Your Soul - There might have been one song toward the middle that I didn’t really like, but that was it. This is the best Oasis has done in a long time.


22.) Kings of Leon - Only by the Night - I can see why people would say this is Kings of Leon’s best album or a candidate for best of the year. Two of the better rock songs of the year are back-to-back in the beginning of the album.


23.) M83 - Saturdays=Youth - A really dreamy album perfect for lazy afternoons where you want nothing more than, well nothing


24.) Brightblack Morning Light - Motion to Rejoin - It might not be as great as their last album, but it’s still better than most.


25.) The Black Angels – Directions to See a Ghost – Very solid album.


26.) Marnie Stern – This Is It & I Am It & You Are It & So Is That & He Is It & She Is It & It Is It & That Is That– This album is very different, and it slays. Check it out for yourself, your mind will be blown.


27.) Girl Talk – Feed the Animals – I really like this as a party mix or something to drive to.


28.) Mogwai - Hawk is Howling - My girlfriend called this lullaby music, just because it’s instrumental doesn’t make it lullaby music. This is the best instrumental rock album of the year.


29.) The Dodos – Visiter - Very good folk-y album. “Red and purple” is a great song.


30.) The Kills - Midnight Boom - This is the best Eagles of Death Metal sounding album released this year. Too bad Eagles of Death Metal didn’t release it.


31.) Atlas Sound – Let the Blind Lead Those Who Can See but Cannot Feel - It sounds like surreal dream, in a good way.


32.) She and Him - Volume 1 - Zoey Deschanel has a very pretty voice. With the instrumentation and vocals working so well I hope her and M.Ward keep making albums together.


33.) Deerhunter - Microcastle/Weird Era cont. - This deserves the hype it has gotten a lot more than most other releases.


34.) Britney Spears – Circus - I didn’t expect to like this, nor did I really want to; but hey, if it’s good, it’s good.


35.) Vivian Girls – Vivian Girls - Better than most albums I’ve heard recently.


36.) Crystal Stilts – Alright of Night – I like this album very much. It’s kind of creepy, but it really resonated with me in a good way.


37.) Wolf Parade - At Mount Zoomer - I wasn’t a huge fan of Apologies to the Queen Mary and in comparison to that, this was a lot better than I thought it’d be.


38.) Does it Offend You, Yeah? - You Have No Idea What You’re Getting Yourself Into - Solid dance album, I would definitely recommend this above Hercules and Love Affair, way above.


39.) The Ruby Suns – Sea Lion - I think I had a Ruby Suns album from 2004 or something, and I hated it. This is so much better than that.


40.) Vampire Weekend - Vampire Weekend - It’s easy to want to hate these four preps from an Ivy League school who borrow heavily from world music rhythms, but they released an undeniably solid album in 2008.

My relationship with music

Since I'm going to be writing about music here I think you have the right to know my history with it.

I have loved music since I was a small child; sitting in my brother’s, who is 14 years older than me, room as a baby rocking to the beats of whatever he was listening to, which at the time was most likely the beginnings of hip hop.
As I grew I was exposed to two main genres of music, soul and salsa, because it was what my parents listened to. I got my first tape of my own at around 5, Michael Jackson’s ”Bad”.
I was largely a hip hop fan until eleventh grade when I started to branch out and enjoy rock music. I started out by getting into punk rock and then progressed to indie rock music after graduation. The year after I gradated I joined a band as the bass player, which I was in for about three years.
All of the time since then my music taste has morphed and I’ve learned to appreciate music more than I have previously. I look forward to challenging myself and writing about how music moves me now and in the future.

New co-admin, new beginning

My name is Jamie, or Jay and I'm going to be taking over co-admin duties with Mr. Everest on all of his blogs. Hopefully this means we'll have fresh posts more often and will be able to attract some new writers who want to contribute to each blog, this is going to be cross-posted to each blog I will be administrating. If you think you have a good voice about the subject in question shoot either of us an e-mail at drkstrspce@gmail.com or jamesmeverest@gmail.com.

The Mars Volta Rocks

This is one of my favorite bands with a killer live performance on the Henry Rollins show.

Part 1




Part 2

Camera Obscura

As 2007 winds down here's a video from one of my favorite albums of 2006, Camera Obscura's Let's Get Out of This Country.

The video is kind of poor quality, and it's kind of weird, and the singer looks bored(maybe because she's Scottish?). But hey, the song is killer!


"Lloyd I'm Ready to be Heartbroken"



This is one of my favorite songs from 2006 for sure.

Fresh-ness

There is no way i can leave a post about Sean Kingston as the first thing people see when they come here. That's really not my style. I hate to make excuses, but I was probably really tired the day I posted that.

Anyway, on the new posts front, I am making a promise to myself right now that If I don't post at least once a week I'll rip off one of my own fingernails or let someone kick me in the testicles or something equally as painful.

This is Kind of Weird

Let me start off by saying I'm not a Sean Kingston fan. I hate his song "Beautiful Girls", it fucking sucks. However, this video has changed my opinion of him somewhat and I definitely respect him more for it.

You Should Definitely Check This Out

http://www.myspace.com/dillingerescapeplan

There's a new song up off of Ire Works which releases November 13th. Don't be an asshole, check it out.


EDIT:

And here's a trailer for their album for your viewing pleasure...

I'm An Asshole

Once again I apologize for the lack of content on here in the past month. I had to get a job...well, and i got a 360.

School has started, which will be putting me in front of a computer much more often than I was over the summer, so expect more frequent updates.

I've been listening to the new Justice and Unkle albums, so expect reviews of those as well as Arcade Fire and Blonde Redhead. Hopefully a Blonde Redhead live review sometime after this friday.

My Favorite Musical Emmy Nomination of 2007

Outstanding Original Music And Lyrics

Saturday Night Live • Host: Justin Timberlake - Song title:
“Dick In A Box” • NBC • SNL Studios in association with
NBC Studios and Broadway Video
Justin Timberlake, Music & Lyrics By
Jorma Taccone, Music & Lyrics By
Katreese Barnes, Music By
Asa Taccone, Music By
Akiva Schaffer, Lyrics By
Andy Samberg, Lyrics By



That's actually in the PDF file for Emmy Nominations. That's classic.

"If You Don't Know, Now Ya Know"

A lot of people know how bad Ashlee Simpson sucks right? Well, if you didn't already know here's proof.

Both videos are a total time of about a minute and 30 seconds, so it won't waste too much of your time.






that many people booing you HAS to suck.

Stranger Than Fiction

Sometimes life is weirder than fiction, this is proof. If you haven't already seen this you don't watch much tv, so congrats I guess.

Review - M.I.A.

M.I.A.
Kala
Interscope
2007


Grade: F -


I don’t get why people dig this chick and why critics like her so much. Is it just a bid at being the next “in” guy? I wonder if they’re pretending to like it to be cool. That’s one thing I’ll never do. Decent beats on some songs, annoying vocals on every song.

Oh yeah, and I hate this album. I want my 47 minutes back.

"Joke" Review - Now, Vol. 25

Now
Vol. 25
Utv
2007


Grade: G -


The reason I called this a "joke" review is because this album should only be taken as such. I also didn't listen to this cd(and I have never even seen it), because if I had I would probably have already killed myself from listening to so many bad songs in a row. I have heard all the songs on this disc, which is probably the closest plastic can get to becoming actual shit, on MTV or in passing before. This album features more pro tools lovers and rappers who only like to sing the title to their songs over and over than you'll find anywhere else. Also there are 4, that's right 4! people who "rose to fame" thanks to American Idol on this. It goes from fake rock, to annoying pop, to senseless rap, right back to fake rock with an American Idol alumni close. If you think that sounds awesome than God help you. All of the songs on this disc are complete excuses for music, well maybe except the Justin Timberlake song. I'm going to go as far as saying if you actually bought this turd and you like it, I don't like you.

Review - The View

The View
Hats Off to the Buskers
Sony
2007


Grade: F-


I had no idea who these guys were but while I was grabbing the picture of the Panda Bear album cover off of Amazon to post it I saw one of those links on the side bar to someone’s “Best of 2007 so far” . When I checked it out he had The View’s album on it. I went to Myspace (lame, I know) to check out how they sounded and their entire album was available for listen , so I decided to review it.

I usually try not to read anything about an album if I’m going to review it, but like I said I had no intention of reviewing this when I read about it. According to Amazon.com, Hats Off to the Buskers was produced by Owen Morris, who has produced both Oasis and The Verve before. I thought if he produced albums by both of those bands than he must know his shit and maybe this band is actually good. Wrong!! It’s rather generically British sounding and pretty terrible (you can call people from Scotland British right?). It’s not as bad as Kaiser Chiefs (it‘s close), but it does seem to follow the trend of the album getting worse as it progresses though.

I’d save my cash as far as buying their album goes as it is quite sub-par. Quite

I also found a quote on someone’s Amazon list about this band that I think sums up how I feel about it.

"If you like the Fratelli's, Arctic Monkeys, Libertines you will like these guys. Very British."

I rest my case.


EDIT - I don't dislike this band because they are British. I said earlier in the review that I thought it might be good because of the fact that the guy who produced it produced Oasis and The Verve. Are Oasis and The Verve not British? Again, i rest my case.

Review - Panda Bear

Panda Bear
Person Pitch
Paw Tracks
2007


Grade: B


I think a lot of people know at least a little bit about Panda Bear. For those of you who don't, Panda Bear is a one man project consisting of Noah Lennox, a member of Animal Collective.

I think the first two tracks on this album shine the brightest because of their 60s pop sound and their not being too weird (as some songs can get a bit experimental at points, but you'd expect that if you're familiar with Animal Collective). A lot of the songs on this actually remind me of the Beach Boys. He has a very Brian Wilson sound when he sings. The only place this was losing me was the length of one of the songs. It was a good track, but it seemed a little too long at over 12 minutes. There is another track on here that is over 12 minutes long, but it's split up into different songs so it doesn't run the chance of boring you.

This is definitely an album that anyone who likes Animal Collective should get if they don't have it already. It's a keeper

Review - Kaiser Chiefs

Kaiser Chiefs
Yours Truly. Angry Mob
Universal
2007


Grade: F -


The attempt at a clever album title should have probably served as a clue to me that this album would suck. After listening I would have to think that it must be quite fitting to what people who care at all about this band are thinking. I didn't like this album from the start, and I liked it even less as it progressed. I'm going to use some of their song titles now to sum up the experience of it.

" The Angry Mob" - I'm sure they've had their share.

"I Can Do Without You" - Holy SHIT! you can say that again!!

"Thank You Very Much" - I will be saying that exact thing when this BoreFest is over.

"Everything is Average Nowadays" - In your case, much worse. But, hey, at least we know you were swinging for the fences on this one.

"Try Your Best" - Keep telling yourself that's all you need to do, maybe it'll help you sleep better at night.

"Retirement" - Please go into it. I'm practically begging you.

I think I'm done wasting my time talking about this album now. I will never listen to this again, nor do I suggest you do...ever. You should only buy this if you're planning on giving it to someone you secretly don't like.

Review - Interpol

Interpol
Our Love to Admire
Capitol
2007


Grade: D


I wasn’t going to review this album yet, but I saw one of those commercials yesterday where they show you the best little snippets of reviews so you will think that it’s the greatest album ever. Then, even when I was listening to it at first I was thinking I’ll listen to it now and then review it later. If it’s as good as they’re trying to make it seem I won’t mind listening to it more than once. The first three tracks are pretty boring and very unmemorable. The fourth track is the single “Heinrich Maneuver” and ends up being the first song on the album I think I might want to hear again. The decency continues on, but this isn’t really living up to their previous efforts. Maybe this album is a grower, but as of right now I’m not that into it.

If you've never heard Interpol's music you should get their first album and then their second as those are both good.

Review - Winterkids

Winterkids
Memoirs (Untitled)
Sony
2007


Grade: F -


This is going to be a really short review because I can’t even believe I endured this album. Yes, I said endured, and yes, it’s appropriate. If I ever hear this album again, even in passing. I will probably end up fighting the person who is playing it. This is a REALLY BAD Bloc Party clone with bad synth lines. The lyrics suck, the vocals suck (the singer at times sounds like the more annoying singer from blink 182), the music is boring and unoriginal. Don’t buy this album unless you hate yourself.

Review - Dillinger Escape Plan

Ok, so I haven't been around for a while. I'm sorry, I took a bit of a vacation. But I'm back, so don't fret, and breathe again and all that good stuff.



The Dillinger Escape Plan
Plagiarism
iTunes
2006


Grade: F


As you may know (or not) from a previous post I made I really like the Dillinger Escape Plan. They're one of my favorite metal bands. This EP is something they decided to put out for....umm, does anyone know why? Yeah, I don't know why either. It's a 6 song iTunes only EP with two songs off of their previous full-length and 4 covers of artists including Nine Inch Nails, Massive Attack, Soundgarden, and Justin Timberlake. If you know DEP's music you'd think "oh, that's really cool, they took those songs and applied their own style to them!" But, if you thought that you are completely wrong. All of the covers are boringly true to the originals. This EP is a complete waste to me. I have the songs that are originals by them already on their album and I have the songs they covered on the albums by the original artists. Oh, and guess what, the originals are better (surprise, surprise). Don't waste your money or time on this.