LPTJ Best of 2008 Thread

[davy]

That isn't even close to the best song on the record, either; I just picked it because it's the best one under 5 minutes. 

I like "Cold Son" a lot...one of my favorites on the album for sure. "Out of Reaches" is THE favorite, though.

[davy]

I liked that Malkmus a ton, but it hasn't stuck with me throughout the year quite as I feel it should have.

This has happened to me with the rest of his stuff, where I'll listen and be like, "Hey, this is pretty good" and then never listen to it again. The new one, however, I've definitely listened to more than any other 2008 release this year.

Pig Lib is still far and away my favorite Malkmus solo album. I might even like it more than the last two Pavement albums.

...maybe.

[dieblucasdie]

wasn't your sig from BTC for about the first three years of LPTJ?  I call BLASPHEMY. 

[Doctor Bob]

On which point, I am very sorry to say that not a single one of my top 25 has been mentioned in this thread yet. 

Ha- me too.  We are the long tail!

Why don't you guys post your lists, then maybe other people will check out your picks and you'll see some more discussion of them!

With some reluctance (because it's only December 3rd, but I know I can edit), here's my draft list.  It's alphabetical for now, and is divided into 2008 releases and 2008 purchases from past years.  The Bold ones are the ones that got most play.

2008 releases:

3MA (Driss El Maloumi, Ballaké Sissoko, Rajery) – s/t
Balthrop, Alabama – Your Big Plans & Our Little Town
Beat Circus – Dreamland
Broken Arm Trio – s/t
Jolie Holland – The Living And The Dead
The Real Tuesday Weld – The London Book Of The Dead
Mathilde Renault / OverOceans – Aliana Luda
Sitaar Tah! – Semimimimimin
Norma Winstone – Distances
James Yorkston – When The Haar Rolls In

2008 purchases:

Iain Ballamy & Stian Carstensen – The Little Radio
Steve Beresford – L’Extraordinaire Jardin De Charles Trenet
Andrew Bird’s Bowl Of Fire – Oh! The Grandeur
Gavin Bryars, Alter Ego, Philip Jeck – The Sinking Of The Titanic
Loren Connors – As Roses Bow: Collected Airs 1992-2002
Erik Friedlander – Block Ice & Propane
Nils Økland – Bris
Caoimhín O Raghallaigh – Where The One Eyed Man Is King
Quintet Clarinettes – Musique Tetue
Michelle Shocked – The Texas Campfire Takes
Rachel Unthank & The Winterset – The Bairns

A Top Five from that list, in order, would be:

1- Norma Winstone – Distances
2- Quintet Clarinettes – Musique Tetue
3- Michelle Shocked – The Texas Campfire Takes
4- The Real Tuesday Weld – The London Book Of The Dead
5- Andrew Bird’s Bowl Of Fire – Oh! The Grandeur

All of these records have, at some time during the year, completely consumed me.

[ellaguru]

3- Michelle Shocked – The Texas Campfire Takes

Obviously can't count toward the list, as not even the reissue is new, but yes! Michelle Shocked doesn't get enough love. My personal favourite of hers is Kind-Hearted Woman, which would probably be in my all-time top 20 or thereabouts, if I were to compile such a thing. Also, hers was hands-down the best gig I saw in 2007, so the girl's still got it.

[davy]

I am somewhat surprised that The Real Tuesday Weld is still releasing albums.

[Doctor Bob]

Why so, davy?  I bought it on spec after reading a few good reviews, and it knocked my socks off for the most part.  I was aware of him/them before, but I'd only heard one album, once, and this was my first purchase.  Are/were you a fan?

Oddly, when I told Johnp about buying it, his response was 'Are you fucking serious?' but I never asked him to explain the vitriol.

3- Michelle Shocked – The Texas Campfire Takes

Obviously can't count toward the list, as not even the reissue is new, but yes! Michelle Shocked doesn't get enough love. My personal favourite of hers is Kind-Hearted Woman, which would probably be in my all-time top 20 or thereabouts, if I were to compile such a thing. Also, hers was hands-down the best gig I saw in 2007, so the girl's still got it.

It was actually on foot of a discussion we had on here a few months ago that I picked up the reissue 2xCD- I had (have?) the cassette on Cooking Vinyl from aeons ago, but one day after our chat I found myself singing 'Stepping Out', then 'Necktie', then '...Patch Eye and Meg', and it became a must have.  When I finalise my list for posterity, I will have to remove it, but for now it stands- simply because it's class.

[ellaguru]

That's excellent.

The Short Sharp Shocked reissue is really good as well. 20-odd bonus tracks. But what I'm really looking forward to is a Kind-Hearted Woman reissue. I guess that album got recorded twice. The first recording was never officially released but got sold at shows, but then she had to do a different version with a different band or something for release. I'm fuzzy on the details. Anyway, the point is that there is an entire version of that album out there that I've never heard, so I'd gladly buy the album again to get that.

[ellaguru]

19 – Caroline Herring – Lantana
Just an awesome straight-up alt-country album. She’s got a husky voice that I love. Made me think for a long time she was old, but she’s actually really young (and really hot).Caroline Herring – Stone Cold World

Hey, this sounds pretty good.

[dieblucasdie]

So I moved The Gaslight Anthem all the way up to #2, because yeah, it's fucking awesome.  Weirdly, the pfork review sums up pretty well how I feel about it.  They are exactly the sort of band where pfork usually misses the point, but surprisingly no. 

Looking over my list, I find I've fallen prey to something that happens a lot with this sort of thing, which I shall now dub The Girl Talk Paradox.  I feel like a pretentious jerk putting Feed the Animals lower than a bunch of albums I listened to less this year, but I just can't bring myself to put it any higher.  Anyone else have an album where there's a perceived quality/actual listenability disconnect?

[YojimboMonkey]

I know man, I put that Girl Talk album on a little while ago, midway through track 2 I was thinking, nah, this won't be on my list, but by track 5 I was doing the fat white man dance at my desk.

Gaslight Anthem, I think that one is something I might enjoy normally but it hasn't hit me just right yet.  I'll definitely listen again though.

[YojimboMonkey]

So hey, if there was a category "Best album full of what could have been decent B-sides for this band 20+ years ago" would you vote for R.E.M. or the Cure?

[elpollodiablo]

I recognize about 5% of the names mentioned in this thread.

I really thought there'd be more.

[YojimboMonkey]

Whyn't you click a link and listen then, that's what they're there for

[davy]

Why so, davy?  I bought it on spec after reading a few good reviews, and it knocked my socks off for the most part.  I was aware of him/them before, but I'd only heard one album, once, and this was my first purchase.  Are/were you a fan?

Yeah, I had When Cupid Meets Psyche back in the day and had a lot of fun with it--especially the "I Love the Rain" song (seek that out if you don't have it already...I'll see if I can't work up a YSI tonight). But I'd always considered him a late-90s, quasi-elephant 6 relic of sorts. Certainly didn't think he'd have another ten years in him. That's a long time to be cranking out pop songs for so little recognition!

[ellaguru]

Tronic should be on everyone's lists.

I think this might be the rap album I've been waiting for this year.

Edited to add that building a song around an Alan Parsons Project sample makes you seriously cool.

[andronicus]

20 albums I have listened to this year, and enjoyed:

Algernon Cadwallader - Some Kind Of Cadwallader
Bonnie "Prince" Billy - Lie Down In The Light
Cynic - Traced In Air
Delta Spirit - Ode To Sunshine
Drive-By Truckers - Brighter Than Creation's Dark
The Duke Spirit - Neptune
Elliott BROOD - Mountain Meadows
Gojira - The Way Of All Flesh
GZA - Pro Tools
The Hold Steady - Stay Positive
Jolie Holland - The Living And The Dead
Kaki King - Dreaming Of Revenge
Lil Wayne - Tha Carter III
Meshuggah - obZen
The Mountain Goats - Heretic Pride
The Notwist - The Devil, You + Me
The Rural Alberta Advantage - Hometowns
Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks - Real Emotional Trash
Shearwater - Rook
Times New Viking - Rip It Off

No way I'm ranking them, I'm terrible at that sort of stuff.

[coldforge]

I think I must be the only person I know who is repeatedly immune to the appeal of Gojira.

[andronicus]

I quite liked the new one and really liked their previous, but I can see how some might not be enamored in general; its not one of those bands where I take dislike personally and seek to convert you from your heresy. 

[nonotyet]

This year in music sucked so bad for me that I have been convinced by the dude who I used to write a lot of things for on the internet to create a list of Top Ten Moments of Gossip Girl list for their year end thing, and I think I am going to do it. OMG NATE

Here is my top however many it ends up being when I am done typing this.

The Walkmen: You and Me
TV On The Radio: Dear Science
The Rural Alberta Advantage: Hometowns
Lil Wayne: Tha Carter III
The Hold Steady: Stay Positive
Girl Talk: Feed The Animals
Young Jeezy: The Recession

[nonotyet]

So how many of you tools actually listened to that Wilco album even once in 2008?

I did, douchebag.

[dieblucasdie]

I'm sorry, I should've added "among those of you who aren't stalking Jeff Tweedy"

[nonotyet]

You gotta pick one person for me to supposedly stalk and stick with the narrative, bro.   

IT WAS A REALLY GOOD ALBUM

[heather marie]

Here's a few I like(d):

Jolie Holland, "The Living and the Dead"
Okkervil River, "The Stand-Ins"
Damien Jurado, "Caught in the Trees"
The Hold Steady, "Stay Positive"
The Mountain Goats, "Heretic Pride"
The Drive-by Truckers, "Brighter Than Creation's Dark"
Shearwater, "Rook"
The Duke Spirit, "Neptune"
Bonnie 'Prince' Billy, "Lie Down in the Light"
Kate Nash, "Made of Bricks"
The Delta Spirit, "Ode to Sunshine"

[davy]

IT WAS A REALLY GOOD ALBUM