Top Albums of 2008

[Littlebear]

This comment was just left on the list I linked to above. I am feeling fairly cool at the moment...

 

"Jolie Holland says:

 

Dear Noah, I wanted to thank you for listening to my record, and I wanted to say what an honor it is to be in such good company on your list. First thing I noticed was the reference to Jimmy Dale Gilmore's great song which I just covered recently--I'd love to send you a copy--if you write me an email I'll send it to you. It feels uncanny to see your list because Matt Bauer and Sam Amidon are both friends of mine. Sam just came on tour with me and he's my new favorite fiddler in the world. I'm also friends with M Ward, tho I haven't known him very long. And I'm a huge fan of Will Oldham. (And I hear he listens to my music a lot.) Both Sam and Will's records were made with strong input by Shahzad Ismaily, who produced my record...so Shahzad is on 3 of the records on your list! Horse Feathers are friends of friends in Portland...It felt like somebody was writing about my circle of friends and heros here. And I just wanted to say hey. Take good care. Be well. jolie "

 

Tell her to listen to Lonely Drifter Karen. Since I've heard this band I keep thinking Jolie Holland would probably love them. The CD is called Grass Is Singing. If I had her addy I'd burn and send her a copy.

[mfwahl]

This is Dave O'Brien's Top 50. He writes the Braves blog for the Atlanta paper and is also a huge music/Dylan fan. It's a pretty good list:

 

Album of the Year: My Morning Jacket, Evil Urges; 2. Bob Dylan, Tell Tale Signs, Bootleg Series Vol. 8; 3. Drive-By Truckers, Brighter Than Creation

[zuma]

Here is a different kind of "Best of" list(s):

 

http://www.glidemagazine.com/articles/5423...st-of-2008.html

[Moe_Syzlak]

So Pitchfork, after having Panda Bear as the #1 album of 2007, has followed that up by naming Fleet Foxes the #1 album of 2008. I guess if I'm to be considered cool by the hipsters-that-be I'll have to crank my reverb up to interminable levels.

[Moss]

I'm so unhip, I have not heard the vast majority of this list.

[zuma]

I'm so unhip, I have not heard the vast majority of this list.

 

which list?

[tinnitus photography]

for anyone who is interested, here's my top 20 of the year:

 

http://www.bigtakeover.com/top-ten/Tim-Bugbee-081214

http://www.bigtakeover.com/top-ten/Tim-Bugbee-081221

[anthony]

Here is my obligatory list

[howfast]

2008 was a great year, much better than 2007

 

1. Walkmen

[Moss]

See Anthonyc007's list. Except for Fleet Foxes which I have not listened to enough yet to know.

[Whitty]

This is ummm... long, but I do a big write-up every year for my own "best-of" picks. Enjoy!

 

 

Ratatat - LP3

 

Let's call it SNES rock, shall we? Mike Stroud and Evan Mast have been tweaking synths and coaxing all manner of chirping, buzzing, glitchy riffage out of guitars for several albums now, but LP3 is probably the most tuneful effort yet from the instrumental duo. Latin flavors season the rhythms on tracks like "Mirando" and "Mi Viejo" while Jamaican dubbiness gets a playful makeover on "Flynn" and the irresistible "Brule

[tangara]

Very nice write-up, Whitty. I especially enjoyed your review of Real Emotional Trash - spot on (and Richard Avedon would surely approve).

 

I'd also like to nominate "Furr" for "Best Use of Loon Calls in a Pop Song".

[lizish]

This comment was just left on the list I linked to above. I am feeling fairly cool at the moment...

 

very cool.

 

Umm, could you post the Jimmy Dale Gilmour cover when she sends it your way?

 

Love that album.

[markosis]

I know lots of us dug the Horse Feathers record, but no big time outlets really are giving them props. Which is a shame, because it is the album that has gotten easily the most plays of all the new albums I purchased. Nouns put me to sleep, and I burned out on Fleet Foxes, but Horse Feathers keeps going back in the cd player.

[tongue-tied]

My favorite album this year was Deerhoof's "Offend Maggie".

 

I haven't listened to too much new stuff this year, I liked "Modern Guilt" and "Real Emotional Trash". I remember I heard some Fleet Foxes and was bored...their singing with Wilco was pretty, though. I heard a few things that were much talked about this year that I disliked. I still have a few things from this year that I'm making a mental note to check out. I also loved Animal Collective's "Water Curses".

[explodo]

Top ten or so, no order:

 

Shugo Tokumaru - Exit

Fuck Buttons - Street Horrrsing

Animal Collective - Water Curses

Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds - Dig, Lazarus, Dig

Bonnie "Prince" Billy - Lie Down in the Light

Hold Steady - Stay Positive

Okkervil River - Stand Ins

Beach House - Devotion

Conor Oberst - Conor Oberst & the Mystic Valley Band

Dodos - Visiter

 

Etc., etc.

[DrNo]

Here's the Top Ten I sent in today for Pazz & Jop:

 

Shearwater Rook

Beach House Devotion

Dr. Dog Fate

Bonnie Prince Billy Lie Down In The Light

Fleet Foxes Fleet Foxes/Sun Giant

Devotchka A Mad and Faithful Telling

She & Him Volume One

Sam Amidon All Is Well

Neva Dinova You May Already Be Dreaming

Matthew and the Arrogant Sea Family Family Family Meets the Magic Christian

 

Bubbling Under:

Calexico

Hold Steady

Tallest Man On Earth

Horse Feathers

Jolie Holland

Sera Cahoone

Silver Jews

[brianjeremy]

Here's my top 20:

 

1. Bon Iver - For Emma, Forever Ago

2. Paul Westerberg - 49:00, 5:05, 2 O'clock Creeper, etc.

3. Deerhunter

[solace]

Here's my top 20:

 

1. Bon Iver - For Emma, Forever Ago

2. Paul Westerberg - 49:00, 5:05, 2 O'clock Creeper, etc.

3. Deerhunter – Microcastle / Weird Era Cont.

4. Blitzen Trapper – Furr

5. Boston Spaceships – Brown Submarine

6. Fleet Foxes – Fleet Foxes / Sun Giant ep

7. Hold Steady – Stay Positive

8. Silver Jews – Lookout Mountain, Lookout Sea

9. Vampire Weekend – Vampire Weekend

10. REM – Accelerate

11. Vic Chesnutt / Elf Power – Dark Developments

12. Oxford Collapse – Bits

13. Conor Oberst – Conor Oberst

14. Jonathan Richman – Because Her Beauty is Raw and Wild

15. Wolf Parade – At Mount Zoomer

16. Black Kids – Party Traumatic

17. Elf Power – In a Cave

18. The Mountain Goats – Heretic Pride

19. She & Him – Volume 1

20. No Age – Nouns

 

nice list

[deluxe]

I was going to add Bon Iver-For Emma. I see it's already been done.

[PopTodd]

A new addition to my Top 5:

 

 

So, so good.

[Jay]

Guess I never did this. Top 20 in rough order:

 

Deerhunter "Microcastle"

Frightened Rabbit "The Midnight Organ Fight"

Fleet Foxes "Fleet Foxes"

Paul Westerberg "49:00"

Vampire Weekend "Vampire Weekend"

The Rosebuds "Life Like"

The Raveonettes "Lust, Lust, Lust"

Gentleman Jesse and His Men "Gentleman Jesse and His Men"

Boston Spaceships "Brown Submarine"

The Tallest Man On Earth "Shallow Grave"

The Gaslight Anthem "The '59 Sound"

Vivian Girls "Vivian Girls"

Titus Andronicus "The Airing of Grievances"

The Walkmen "You & Me"

Okkervil River "The Stand Ins"

Crystal Stilts "Alight of Night"

David Byrne & Brian Eno "Everything That Happens Will Happen"

Cut Copy "In Ghost Colours"

Hayden "In Field & Town"

Oxford Collapse "Bits"

Glasvegas "Glasvegas"

 

The only album I was disappointed by was Blitzen Trapper. It reminded me why I rarely purchase CDs anymore without hearing them first. Furr is a great song but the rest, not so much.

[solace]

The only album I was disappointed by was Blitzen Trapper. It reminded me why I rarely purchase CDs anymore without hearing them first. Furr is a great song but the rest, not so much.

 

 

sorry you didin't dig the rest, but there's 2-3 songs on there i like as much as the title track honestly. do you like their previous stuff?

[Jay]

Only heard Wild Mountain Nation but it's been a while and don't remember much of it...so I guess that's a not really.

 

What are the other good songs? I'll go back and listen to those. If I gave it another chance I may like it more but I was so turned off by my first few listens that I've never really gone back to it, other than Furr.

[Boots]

I'm not terribly hip, and I don't listen to enough new music, but here was my top 10

 

1. Stephen Malkmus- Real Emotional Trash

2. The Gaslight Anthem- The '59 Sound

3. James- Hey Ma

4. Vampire Weekend- Vampire Weekend

5. The Hold Steady- Stay Positive

6. Ryan Adams and the Cards- Cardinology

7. TV on the Radio- Dear Science

8. Destroyer- Trouble in Dreams

9. My Morning Jacket- Evil Urges

10. James McMurtry- Just Us Kids