year-end lists, hissy fits and asides
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I am the worst combination of commitment-phobic and obsessive-compulsive to be making lists. Unfortunately, I have time. So here goes, alphabetized and unnumbered for my own sanity.
My favorite albums of 2008
Deerhunter - Microcastle
Foals - Antidotes
Glasvegas - Glasvegas
My other favorite albums of 2008
Beach House - Devotion
Blackstrap - Steal My Horses and Run
Cut Copy - In Ghost Colours
Friendly Fires - Friendly Fires
Los Campesinos! - Hold on Now, Youngster...
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!!
Portishead - Third
Ra Ra Riot - The Rhumb Line
The Ruby Suns - Sea Lion
- The Raveonettes - Lust, Lust, Lust should be above but it was released in 2007 in the U.K. (Again with the OCD.)
- TV on the Radio - Dear Science did not merit consideration because I've only started listening to it.
My almost-favorite albums of 2008
British Sea Power - Do You Like Rock Music?
Crystal Castles - Crystal Castles
Elbow - The Seldom Seen Kid
Los Campesinos! - We Are Beautiful, We Are Doomed
Love Is All - A Hundred Things Keep Me Up at Night
Neon Neon - Stainless Style
My favorite almost-great albums of 2008
Earlimart - Hymn and Her
Headlights - Some Racing, Some Stopping
Hot Chip - Made in the Dark
Johnny Foreigner - Waited Up 'til It Was Light
Ladytron - Velocifero
M83 - Saturdays = Youth
School of Seven Bells - Alpinisms
Top things I need to get off my chest before 2008 ends
- I think Hold on Now, Youngster... may be a better album than We Are Beautiful, We Are Doomed.
- I think Friendly Fires' self-titled album is underrated.
- I think Fleet Foxes' and Vampire Weekend's self-titled albums, and The Hold Steady's Stay Positive are overrated.
- Fleet Foxes. I don't get it. I tried all year. Sorry.
- Jens Lekman. I don't get it. I find his songs ...amusing, at best. Sorry.
Comments (33)
i promise to catch up on posts and comments soon. see y'all in 2009.
Love Is All - New Beginnings
Beach House - D.A.R.L.I.N.G.
Ra Ra Riot - Too Too Too Fast
The Ruby Suns - There Are Birds
Lists.......the last resort of.........Happy 2009
I love the categories!
I agree with so much of what you wrote and disagree with a wee bit but I love you dearly for both
I just couldn't do a top album/song list. I just couldn't. The closest I could come were top personal experiences and photographic memories.
xoxoxox
I think this has to go on the best of '08 list...just my opinion :-)
I am SO happy that we were able to EMCD each other on Blackstrap, heehee!
We have so much in common on this list that I feel almost embarrassed to have not listened to Ra Ra Riot or Ruby Suns. I shall remedy that post-haste.
I mean ... Friendly Fires ... can I get an "Amen" here? I love that album.
Can't wait to e-spend more time together in 2009. :)
What an awesome list of lists... we have a lot in common musically, but as always, you keep bringing the new stuff to check out ... much appreciated! Hope your New Years celebration is a blast.
Van
Haha, you're lists are too funny. I can't imagine TVOTR not being on my list since I fell head over heels for it on first listen. Liking that Love Is All song alot as well as The Ruby Suns.
Jeff - i know! what was i thinking? tomorrow i will hear something awesome new and feel bad it isn't here, and the next day, and the next...
Amber - i blame Dale's listmania spirit. ;d i know you love The Hold Steady, and so do i! am still trying to understand Stay Positive, but we love each other so there's that. ;d
GR - truly, i hang my head in shame. i had to be honest. i haven't given Dear Science enough listens and like Empire of the Sun, Van She, The Presets just got me so confused.
Dale - your list is bad-ass. i must say i was real bummed not to see Friendly Fires in the usual music sites' lists. i love that album.
Sea Lion was a personal vote on my part. you have EMCD'd me so much i will hound your MOG pages like nobody's business come 2009. ;p
Van - i'm new to making MOG lists of the sort and still feeling iffy but high-fiving with my Trusteds on common likes sure is one reason this "list of lists" exists.
Aug - i blame my Libra-ness for the TVOTR exclusion. :} i need to mention that i feel bad Bauhaus, Wire, The Breeders, Fucked Up, Goldfrapp, Late of the Pier did not have the chance to be considered.
Sad situation indeed! And I've posted about 3(reviewed 2) of those albums, so tsk tsk. Better get busy chica, haha
Trying to stay away from lists......heads hurts......
i am on board with some of these. Foals is certainly occupying space on my best of list that has yet to be made, but i am still optimistic about that future post. i will give you my biggest co-signing ever on your overrated albums comment, absolutely in agreement with that. happy new year Ilay!
There's no way in Hell I could know about any of these bands but I'll give you this:
Deerhunter - OK - Wouldn't skate or bike to it.
Love is All - Hell Yeah! Would definately skate or bike to it.
Beach House - No way would I skate or bike to it. (sorry)
Ra Ra Riot - Nice. Might roller skate to it 'cause that's what we did in the 80s.
Ruby Suns - Nice. Would skate to this but no bike (except for coasting downhill or tandem riding).
I'd say we truly intersect in 7 or 8 places - as in...Wow! Cannot get enough of that! But we really diverge on Fleet Foxes. I'm buying in, although waiting for another bunch of new tracks from them before I annoint them as true worthies. Love dem harmonies!
Aug - ow pressure me, whydon'tcha. i am already a busy chica! (;
Neill - my head hurt tripled after i finished the list and realized what i've left out. other than those previously mentioned, No Age and Wolf Parade. i am so untrained to handle this sort of stress...
Rob - ahahah, when you become famous, that signature will be worth $$$ so i'll take it. ;p yup, i love Foals so goshdarn much. quick, make that list! i'm thrilled to find out what floated your boated.
lak - you'll surely dig Love Is All's Swedish punk-pop. Beach House is like funereal organ folk music, there shall be no skating or biking to it. it may yet be my favorite unloved album of '08 - this is my secret category. :}
old Deerhunter was more noise rock whilst the new record is more funky art rock. i'm guessing their fans are feeling betrayed and Of Montreal fans are feeling validated.
Mike - yay, 7 or 8 places is music to my ears. with Fleet Foxes, i haven't stopped trying. after all, i am so uncool it took me ten years to appreciate The Stone Roses ... sshhh, don't tell anyone. (8
Deerhunter - Basement
debut album circa 2005. recycled from one of my old posts.
Nice. It doesn't make sense until the middle when it seems to fall apart and then turns into an amazing tapestry where all the noise fits together perfectly.
I haven't really given the Deerhunter album a chance, but the song you posted has drawn me in. I really like the albums by Elbow, Hot Chip, Los Campesinos, Crystal Castles' too, clearly, Portishead should just be on everyone's list so they keep doing what they do...as infrequently as they often see fit. have not heard of Blackstrap, Earlimart, or Headlights, might have to go hunt and gather later.
lak, the skate and bike test always works!
Oh my, Poe, we're 100% agreed on overrateds and don't-get-its! I couldn't get into Portishead and I thought Friendly Fires and Ruby Suns were good but not great, but otherwise there's a lot of overlap on our likes, too. Not that I really expected otherwise... Happy New Year!
lak - i was just re-reading your earlier comment and laughing at the tandem riding and roller skating in the '80s remarks. i love it when the noise comes together at some point.
Rob - hey! kindly put those in a post, not a comment. i refuse to read, la di da. ;D Earlimart's folky rock may not be up your alley. Blackstrap's shoegaze and Headlight's space-ish rock, not sure. i'll keep the skate and test bike in mind for next year.
Pekka - more high-5's then! i secretly know The Ruby Suns one isn't great but i love it. with Portishead (and Elbow to some extent), i was ready to throw that album into the fire until it clicked during an absent-minded listen one night. music is awesome like that. (8
Well, yeah, because there is music which requires active listening and then music that requires just observing. So for observation music I would prefer to just ride tandem (on the back) and have someone else do the work.
An for the Ra Ra Riot, it would have fit in right between Celebrate (Kool and the Gang - ?)and Rapture (Blondie).
Hey Poe,
I loved Deerhunter, Foals, & Crystal Castles. Do you have no opinion on MGMT - Oracular Spectacular?
lak - riding music while backseat on a tandem bike sounds like a great weekend. Celebrate + Rapture, huh? you have yourself a mashup!
Darla - a few moggers may remember me loving certain songs in Oracular Spectacular a whole lot. the album as a whole i think falls short of being a truly great record, but that's just me, of course. i'm still looking forward to MGMT's next release. (;
Thanks for the tips!
i hope i tipped reasonably. happy new year, Amiel!
Happy New Year!
That's the second time I've seen high marks to Blackstrap. I sort through 500 albums and still always miss a lot. I gotta track that baby down. Happy New Year!
Hot New Blues Track!!
http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=tra.16978457&variant=play
fastnbulbous - wow, i didn't make anywhere near 500. i thought Blackstrap's album was pretty tight and i'm loving the mix of shoegaze and noise pop. a happy new year to you, too!
Latest Music News - thanks for stopping by.
I too enjoyed your categories. Nice to see Glasvegas and Neon Neon get a mention, two of my faves. I'm also listening to Beach House. Gila is one of my songs of the year. Reminds me of Lennon.
aaaaaaaaagh!!! Colin, i can hug you right now! (or like after you take down the scary avatar man.) you're the only one, the only one, i know who likes Beach House. i love, love, love Gila. it has to be one of mine, too. yay!
You're welcome. It's my lot in life to spread happiness and fairydust wherever I roam. ;)