L.F.U. {List Fetishists United}
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Artist:
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Album:
After much blood, sweat, and tears I managed to compile my list. My favourite 16 (yes, I know it's an unorthodox number} albums of 2008. There are many I haven't heard yet {sorry, Primal Scream}, and I'm mostly being subjective and self-centered, meaning that these are the albums that I listened to and enjoyed the most, as well as those which touched me in 2008 ways.
For the first time I left out an album based on the band's incapability to decently transfer their sound live. I enjoyed Ladytron's Velocifero a lot, but after seeing them live and reading other MOGgers' reviews, I am not including it. If you are unable to give me something live, you are plain robots. This might be unfair when it comes to judging albums, but such is life.
I know that there are many lists around, and thus I'm going to keep it laconic {I think I've rambled about most of these many times already hehe}. So, here are my 2008 babies, and you can get a taste of them from the players below, which contain a song from each album. Enjoy!
~ 16. Pete & The Pirates - Little Death
You feel low, you get high, you're in love somewhere in between,
You've had a very good weekend but you can't remember where you've been
~ 15. Tricky - Knowle West Boy
Can't break it, can't take who you are, remember boy you're a superstar
~ 14. Elbow - The Seldom Seen Kid
Image on image like beads on a rosary, pulled through my head as the music takes hold
{possibly the best lyric of the year, despite Pekka thinking it's "oral wankery"}
~ 13. Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!!
Well, rosary clutched in his hand, he died with tubes up his nose
And a cabal of angels with finger cymbals, chanted his name in code
We shook our fists at the punishing rain, and we called upon the author to explain
~ 12. Foals - Antidotes
We fly balloons on this fuel called love
~ 11. Murder By Death - Red of Tooth and Claw
My body bruises at your touch, my ankles bear these lover's scars
~ 10. Madrugada - Madrugada
I think of her against me, how we wrestle in white sheets
Her body calling out to me on broad, wide winter streets
~ 9. Late of The Pier - Fantasy Black Channel
I won't stop you braking my arms and chopping me chopping me down, so I fit in your laptop
~ 8. These New Puritans - Beat Pyramid
Now, we're being watched by experts, and what will happen next, we are the clues, we're all waiting, or forever made
~ 7. The Gutter Twins - Saturnalia
Your lips are cold, they suffer me, they drag me under, baby, into your suffering
~ 6. The Whip - X Marks Destination
I wanna be trash
~ 5. The Duke Spirit - Neptune
Don't be too scared away, you only burned your tongue. You taste so good today you'd get love from anyone
~ 4. Wild Beasts - Limbo, Panto
This truly is the Devil's answer, carved from the tongue of this romancer
~ 3. The Kills - Midnight Boom
My little tornado, my little hurricano, last day of magic, where are you?
~ 2. Glasvegas - Glasvegas
So this is the grand finale, the crescendo of demise
this is the happy ending, where the bad guy goes down and dies
this is the end with me on my knees and wondering why?
cross my heart, hope to die, its my own cheating heart that makes me cry
~ 1. The Last Shadow Puppets - The Age of the Understatement
Subtle in her method of seduction, twenty little tragedies begin
There's affection to rent, the age of the understatement
Before the attraction ferments, kiss me properly and pull me apart
My fingers scratch at my hair, before my mind can get too reckless
The idea of seeing you here is enough to make the sweat go cold
Comments (35)
Hi Anna. How as the trip? Nice list....as lists go, I guess. but I still don't "get" Glasvegas.
Hey Jeff! Trip was good. I had really missed my family and friends and my cat, and it was great to get to spend time with them.
Thank you :)
You are forgiven {hehe}, from what I can tell there are more people that feel like you do. When me and Glasvegas take over the world, non-believers shall not be spared (you are excepted, of course)!
Wheeew....you had me worried. But if you think you can use me as your own little toy.........pick me up at six.
I like the Glasvegas album...not sure how it will do in the states...this is from The New York times review (which liked the album)
"Glasvegas is determinedly provincial, insisting there is grandeur in everyday lives. But what sounds rousing in Britain can sound sodden and overwrought to American ears — or at least to mine."
Lol Jeff! I'll send a car for you. Just make sure to have memorized all Glasvegas' lyrics till then :P
Mark, sodden, eh? Well he can sod off then ;)
I wouldn't say "grandeur", more like tragedy. If what he's trying to say is that they sound too British in some ways, then I can accept that. There are many bands that I can't like because they sound too American to me, so that would make sense.
If I did a list of stupid band names, Pete & the Pirates would be in the top 3. I just find it really embarrassing for some reason, even if they do release great singles;
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Wow, I'm really the only one on here really not digging Glasvegas. Luckily for you the rest of the list is ace, otherwise I would have to go on a rant here. ;) Have been loving the Elbow, LotP, Nick Cave, and Foals albums a whole lot, and of course I've interviewed The Whip so I like them. :P
Neill, really? I think it rolls off the tongue nicely. I always feel uncomfy when I mention Wild Beasts to people that don't know them, because afterwards I always feel that I have to say "it's not what you think it is". :)
Stefan, you're not alone, Jeff up there doesn't like them either :P
On the other hand I really am the only one that adores The Last Shadow Puppets this much {and believe it or not, my crush on Turner does not affect my opinion!}. Oh well. You'll all come to your senses soon :P
Thank you very much! You got great taste ;)
Official Web Site
Glasvegas
The Jesus and Mary Chain and Bruce Springsteen both cherish the three-chord structures and hefty beats of the old Phil Spector girl-group productions. Now Glasvegas has built its sound on the same foundation. From the Jesus and Mary Chain — which, like Glasvegas, is from Glasgow — come swaths of reverberation and guitar tremolo, though never to the point of drowning out the tunes. And from Mr. Springsteen come tales of misfortune and whoa-whoa choruses that call for singalongs.
Nearly all the songs on “Glasvegas,” the band’s debut album, stay within its chosen parameters, regularly chiming and swelling, almost interchangeably. Yet they are anthems of trauma and loneliness. Over doo-wop chord changes “It’s My Own Cheating Heart That Makes Me Cry” wallows in all the ways the singer has messed up his life. In “Geraldine,” amid glimmering guitars and falsetto ooh-oohs, a woman promising hope and comfort turns out to be his social worker.
Between the bouts of self-pity, Glasvegas often reflects on fatherhood. In “Flowers & Football Tops” a father learns his son has been killed. In “Go Square Go” a schoolboy works up the nerve to follow his father’s advice and fight a bully. A son faces his parents’ impending divorce in “Daddy’s Gone” by railing: “What kind of way is that to treat your wife?/To see your son on Saturdays/What kind of way is that to live your life?” James Allan sings the refrain “He’s gone, he’s gone” as an accusatory bellow and, later, a wounded croon.
The combination of pomp and dishevelment is particularly British, and Glasvegas shows even more local pride with the thick Scottish burr that Mr. Allan uses when he sings. (For emphasis he regularly relies on a word that radio won’t play.) He bawls earnestly and unprettily in the tradition of Britpop, even quoting an Oasis lyric.
“Glasvegas” reached No. 2 in Britain and Ireland when it was released there this fall, and it’s easy to imagine British crowds raising their voices for choruses like “I’ll turn on my S.A.D. light” in “S.A.D. Light,” a song about seasonal affective disorder. Glasvegas is determinedly provincial, insisting there is grandeur in everyday lives. But what sounds rousing in Britain can sound sodden and overwrought to American ears — or at least to mine.
Glasvegas is to perform Tuesday night at the Bowery Ballroom; the show is sold out.
JON PARELES
Thank you, Mark.
MOGgers do it better, Mr. Pareles!
Ill tell you, if it wasn't for you I'd be a totally out of it 61 year old. But now I have my work cut out for me listening to all of the music I missed (except for 3)
Brad
Hearing that makes me really happy, Brad! The two players at the end of the post have a song from each album, if you feel like investigating something further. I hope you'll find something you like :)
PS Go Kills!
I'm hoping to get mine written and posted today. Wish me luck. :)
It's painful, but it's worth it {?}.
May the force be with you ;)
Love it! Of course, if we'd been following your posts this year we could have guessed them all.
I agree with Neill that Pete & the Pirates is a terrible band name, but I'll give them a listen. The song in the video isn't bad at all.
Sixteen albums ... you're such a rebel. :)
Oh, don't mention the Force! That reminds me that I have my Wii Star Wars Saga game in the other room to play! That'll suck 2 hours out of my day like that *snap*.
You know, I was absolutely adverse to doing one of these lists. But your list is unabashedly unique Anna, paying little homage to the cognescenti. I've only heard a few on here, LSP at #1 is...mmm...quite a-muse-ing! I keep trying Elbow but lose interest. I think you may have inspired...
Hey there freakazoid. I think Nick Cave made just about everyone's list this year. He is just the effin best. If I had his voice I could have my choice of women for sure.
I haven't heard all of these, yet I'll agree on The Kills, The Duke Spirit, and maybe the Gutter Twins....and I don't like Glasvegas either lol :-)
Thank you, Dale!
Their album is just lovely, promise...hm, I wonder if the terribleness of their name is just lost on a non-native speaker like me. Linguistic plot thickens!
True revolutionary without a cause...anarchy in the UK! ;)
Sam, step away from Wii Star Wars Saga! Do not stare into the abyss! Beware of the black time hole! And other dramatic expressions...
Scot, why thank you!
DO IT. It's fun. It's all about subjectivity and amusement ;) We all did one in our own way, yeah? Otherwise, there's no point to it, we can just read the impersonal or faceless lists that magazines and other professionals made {bah!} and be done with it. I shall be waiting for yours. Otherwise it will be my Elbow in your side ;P
G, did he? I'm very proud of him! Don't be modest now, I'm sure that drunken Morrissey's does just fine as well ;)
GarageRock, I see we're on the same path of wisdom ;) Scottish lads aside...oh well, can't win them all (one day, one day...)! :)
Cool list--glad to see you mentioning the Gutter Twins album, which seemed totally overlooked and rocked my ass for most of 2008 ("Circle The Fringes" is a most amazing song). They also put out an EP later in the year.
Tricky's album was also seemingly ignored; though it's his best this decade it's not on par with the old stuff. My roundabout way of saying I like it though. :P
yay you're back! amazing, list...this is going to keep me busy tonight!
I am so not living down that drunken Morrisey comment am I?
Not crazy about everything on your Sweet 16, Anna, But that Super-Swinging Seven at the top all have a place on my non-existent best-of-2008 list.
I went and looked up Glasvegas and found Daddy's Gone. I invite non-believers to try it. I appreciate how the minimalist sound and the lyrics give you the a heart-felt sentiment. I recall the Housemartins and how good it was when Billy Bragg sang alone with just the electric guitar.
I'll look up some of your other picks. Other than the Nick Cave, I can't say I've heard these.
You can count me in as another Glasvegas dislikee. Nice list, although we only have The Kills in common.
love the list and fell in love with the number one choice after several listens. Funny I knew that would be your number one
Nice listage Anna and cool players to boot!
I'll have to check the "new to me" artists on your list as the introduction to Madrugada you gave me was an aural delight to the max!
Good to see you had a safe trip.
And good to see The Kills and The Dukes are up in your top five.
The other three up there with them were a real surprise coming from you...Hahhaha! (by the way i do like them too, in case anyone gives a hoot.)
Yippeeee! you're back!
Argh! Gutter Twins! Such a good record, but it never got enough time because there was so much good music to hear.
oh yay, viva list fetishists! i am happy to see more Glasvegas love. i haven't listened to Beat Pyramid, i guess i should.
i'm with Dale on Gutter Twins. i feel like i didn't give it enough of a chance, but oh, the timesuck with these things.
by the way, dark mistress, your new avatar is unusually ...gasp!... sweet. ;d
I don't understand why this post made all the Glasvegas haters come out of the closet, but you're all welcome here regardless ;)
Thank you, astronot! It's a truly great album, isn't it? Rocks us thoroughly and extensively. I have Adorata, but I haven't listened to it yet. Will make amends soon.
I think Tricky's latest is like a wink to all his previous albums, and agree with ya!
Thanks, Karen! I hope you'll find something ear-caressing :)
G, why would you want to? It was a good comment :)
Mikey, just out of curiosity, which are the ones you don't like?
7 out of 16 is enough to make me smile! :)
Thank you for that, Spike. I think it's a brilliant song, and agree with you 100%.
I hope you'll find something sonically-attractive. Here's to that!
Thanks, uncle A! The one we have in common counts for 3 :)
Cheers, Kevin, and I'm chuffed to hear that! What can I say, when I love, I love :)
Why thank you, Greg! Do check them, and do let me know if something tickles your fancy. In Kills, Dukes, and Madrugada we trust!
I know, I aim to shock, it's a fault of mine ;P
It's great to be back!
Dale, spin it TODAY. Do it for me! It's really deep.
Poe, I think you'll fancy Beat Pyramid. If not, just send me a threatening MOG-mail :) Likewise with Gutter Twins!
ahahhaha I know, I wasn't feeling it much to begin with. Maybe the new one is more to your liking? ;)
Anna: I'll just say that, despite loving, liking, or respecting virtually everything on your list, I am not in much of a mood for listening to anything too dark or funereal these days. So I might not be so receptive to one or two of the more depressive offerings. I'll let you surmise what they are. ;-)
Aah, Glasvegas. Your Scottish miserablism makes me dance and sing.
Anna, your lovely list has reminded me to seek out Tricky's album - so thanks for that.
The Last Shadow Puppet's is also Jill's favourite. So you're in good company. Well, unless you include...
Mikey, depressive music? Me? Well I never....!
hehehe :)
Fair enough. And I feel childishly proud that you like, love, or respect everything on my list, awww!
Fluxy, because of another post today, you know that I'm a whore for Glasvegas. It can happen to the worst of us, really.
Jill is a woman after my own heart! And Alex's. Maybe we should join powers and go after The Cross-Eyed One's heart as well. But literally ;)