I mentioned in a Hump Day Helper way back when that 2008 was kind of a shit year in music, at least by the halfway mark. My stance has softened considerably since then; while not nearly as awesome as say last year or 2005, 2008 wasn't a total disappointment. It was a pretty solid year, with a lot of decent records--just not anything transcendent. Which is ok--sometimes you want to hit for average, not power.
That being said, I decided that it was time to roll out my 2008 ratings. Why in February, especially since I already wrote out the majority of this in December? I think this tag explains it, but I think the public answer we're going to give is that it's apparently sweeps week.
We're going to get into the top 10 albums and top live shows later on in the week, but today we're doing the left-over albums, and various cool songs from this past year.
Honorable Mention
Coldplay - “Viva La Vida”. Whatever, I like these guys, even though “X&Y” showed total creative bankruptcy. At least Eno apparently got them back making music that’s interesting at the very least. So I wasn't entirely disappointed that this got a lot of Grammy nominations.
TV on the Radio - “Dear Science”. Everybody else is throwing up praise for this one, but I hated it the first time I listened to it–-I hated the flow, and some of the songs just seemed plain awful. But I’ve listened to it a few more times, and it's grown on me. However, I still say “desperate youth, bloodthirsty babes” is their high point.
Eagles of Death Metal - “Heart On”. I love these guys, and the schtick hasn’t worn thin yet. I've only given it a few listens, but it's just such a good time that it has to be recognized.
Dr. Dog - “Fate”. While I'm not a big fan of the Beatles (as Joe would angrily attest), I love it when bands do lo-fi approximations. (See also: Olivia Tremor Control)
Atmosphere - "When Life Gives You Lemons, You Paint that Shit Gold". This would have made the list on the title alone, but hell, the rapping is good as well.
Disappointments
My Morning Jacket - “Evil Urges”. Granted, it’s a fun album, and I’ll throw it on pretty regularly. But it just doesn’t measure up to their previous work and their recent trajectory. I thought this would be their big breakthrough, and would justify to the masses why I felt this band was so great, and it just wasn’t the case. Instead, I’ll have to continue converting people with my private screenings of “Okonokos”.
The other great disappointment? With all the mentions of Sarah Palin and her supposed sexy-librarian looks, nobody quoted the song “Librarian” from this album.
Wolf Parade - “At Mount Zoomer”. You can’t match the brilliance of “Apologies to the Queen Mary”, so it’s no fault to these guys. The songs are all very good, but they just lack the same spark that they had on their debut that would bring me an element of joy, no matter how depressing the lyrics were.
Bloc Party - “Intimacy”. It’s not bad at all, but the album definitely sounds rushed. If they spent a bit more time on this, it would be a better album. There's too much schizophrenia in determining what their sound was going to be--"Mercury" and "Ares" mark an interesting new direction, and "Halo" would sound at home on Silent Alarm, but in the end it just kind of runs together. That being said, the CD release added some good songs to the early-download-only title.
Nine Inch Nails - “Ghosts”. When I hear “Nine Inch Nails” and “instrumentals”, I think of the brilliance of “A Warm Place” and “Just Like You Imagined”, which truly stand alone as pieces by themselves. Instead, I got a soundtrack to a movie I don’t particularly want to see. “The Slip” was a good followup though.
The Verve - “Forth”. It’s good to see these guys back together, but it’s clear these guys lost something.
The Mars Volta - "The Bedlam In Goliath". I almost forgot this album came out this year. For the record, TMV should avoid taking cocaine before recording sessions--78 minutes of all-out spastic attacks is just too much. Though I am intrigued about a potential acoustic follow-up.
Secret Machines - “Secret Machines”. B-o-r-i-n-g.
Top songs (in no order)
Kings of Leon - “Sex on Fire”
Flobots - “Handlebars”
Wolf Parade - “Kissing the Beehive”
TV on the Radio - “Family Tree”
Apples in Stereo - "Stephen Stephen"
Coldplay - "Viva La Vida"
Sigur Rós - “Festival”
Gnarls Barkley - “Going On”
Los Campesinos! - “Death to Los Campesinos!”
Ra Ra Riot - "Ghost Under Rocks"
One Day As A Lion - "One Day As A Lion"
Tokyo Police Club - “Your English is Good”
My Morning Jacket - “Touch Me I’m Going to Scream, pt. 2″
Beck - “Profanity Prayers”
The Last Shadow Puppets - "The Age of the Understatement"
Vampire Weekend - “The Kids Don’t Stand a Chance”
The Raconteurs - “Salute Your Solution”
British Sea Power - “Atom”
The Black Keys - “Things Ain’t Like They Used to Be”
The Walkmen - “In the New Year”
1 comment:
I really liked "Evil Urges," "At Mt. Zoomer" and "Ghosts I-V," but I understand the criticisms. I'd also like to add that "Fine Young Cannibals" is also a great song.
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