Archive for December, 2008

Heavy Rotation: The Best Music of 2008

Over the last couple months I’ve been comprising some of my top music for 2008 to consolidate some of my recommendations. I was planning on making something to incorporate into Tune Muncher, but time has not been on my side. Nonetheless, I didn’t want to see my efforts go to waste. Here are my recommendations.

Impressive Debuts

  • Flobots
  • The Black Ghosts
  • MGMT grew on me. I didn’t like at first, glad I came back
  • Justice
  • The Asteroids Galaxy Tour first heard on the new iPod Video commercial

New To Me

Bands I got turned on to in 2008

  • The Virgins – The Virgins
  • Amy Winehouse – Back To Black

Established Awesomeness

Artists I listen to who put out strong albums in 2009.

  • The Black Keys – Attack & Release, my vote for top album of 2008
  • Beck – Modern Guilt
  • We Are Scientists – Brain Thrust Mastery, sophomore release just as awesome as With Love and Squalor
  • Radiohead – In Rainbows
  • Thievery Corporation – Radio Retaliation
  • Oasis – Dig Out Your Soul
  • Panic at the Disco – Pretty. Odd., I’ll be first to admit I hated this album when it first came out. It completely lacked the energy and intensity that I loved in the first PATD album, but it grew on me over time. There are some excellent tracks on this disc.

The Best Tracks

Infinite Repeat

  • The Tings Tings – “Shut Up And Let Me Go”
  • MGMT – “Kids Oracular”
  • Estelle – “American Boy Ft. Kanye West”
  • Kings of Leon – “Sex On Fire”
  • My Morning Jacket – “Touch Me I’m Going To Scream Part 2″, best beginning and ending to a song released in ‘08
  • Air France – “Collapsing At Your Doorstep”
  • Justice – “Genesis”
  • Grum – “Whoa”
  • M83 – “Kim & Jesse”
  • The Virgins – “Rich Girls”
  • Hot Chip – “Ready For The Floor”
  • Death Cab For Cutie – “I Will Possess Your Heart”
  • Panic at the Disco – “Nine In The Afternoon”, best viewed here.
  • Stars – “The Ghost Of Genova Heights”
  • My Robot Friend – “Robot High School” (In Digital Form Remix
  • Of Montreal – “Id Engager”

Best Albums of 2008

1 requirement – strong from start to finish, never skip a track.

  • Beck – Modern Guilt
  • The Black Ghosts – The Black Ghosts
  • My Morning Jacket – Evil Urges
  • MGMT – Oracular Spectacular
  • Kings of Leon – Only By Night
  • M83 – Saturdays = Youth

Let Downs

  • Cold War Kids – Loyalty To Loyalty, didn’t hold my attention
  • The Dears – Missiles, totally changed their sound, no good tracks. Can’t keep members together: Wikipedia.
  • Fujiya & Miyagi – Lightbulbs, same sound only, nothing new, not as good
  • The Presets – Apocalypso, no stand out tracks like “Girl and the Sea” or “Steamworks” on their previous album.
  • Ratatat – LP3, I falls way short compared to Classics
  • Dungen – Tio Bitar, doesn’t compare to Ta Det Lungt
  • Taproot – Our Long Way Home, doesn’t compare to their previous releases.
  • Hot Chip – Made in the Dark, I had high expectations for this album because I played “Ready For The Floor” x 100000, but the rest of the album is meh.
  • Death Cab For Cutie – Narrow Stairs, maybe I’m being harsh but I was looking for an album to rival Transatlanticism and never got it.

EPIC FAIL

  • The Killers – Day & Age

I’m always waiting for The Killers to bring me back to the heyday of Hot Fuss. I always leave disappointed. On the first single “Human” Brandon Flowers asks “are we human or are we dancer” a play on a Hunter S Thompson proverb. What a stupid song. The horns in “I Can’t Stay” was horrid enough to stick hot needles through my ear drums. The Epic Failure of another piece of crap album by a band I once loved is enough to turn off the dial permanently. I am never listening to The Killers again. What an EPIC waste.

Best Concerts of 2008

  • The Black Keys @ The Orpheium
  • VAST @ Harper’s Ferry
  • Ambulance LTD @ The Middle East
  • Band of Horses @ The Paradise
  • Rogue Wave @ The Paradise
  • The Go! Team @ The Paradise

Best Compilations

  • Lounge Anthology
  • Indie Rock Playlists

Where Are They?

  • The Avalanches – Air France reminded me of them
  • Sean Lennon, 8 years between his debut (1998) and his sophomore release (2006), I’m not holding my breath
  • Muse

Rediscovered

Back from the dead. Oldies but goodies.

  • 311 – 311, I still could sing along with “T&P Combo”. That surprised the hell out of me.
  • VAST
  • Sean Lennon – Friendly Fire
  • Second Coming – Second Coming, “Soft”

Music Resources

Give a listen to some of the artists/albums/tracks I’ve mentioned on these sites.

What’d I miss? Let me know in the comments!

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