LPTJ Best of 2008 Thread

[ellaguru]

Dunno how much I'm going to be able to come up with, but I feel obliged to say that The Dodos released a majestic album this year and I'm shocked at how little end-of-year love this is getting. Check it out.

Yes. That one will end up in my top 5, for sure.

Yeah, I have it at #5. Damn fine album.

[dieblucasdie]

It was on the first draft of mine, might still end up on it when I do some editing. 

[narlus]

Dunno how much I'm going to be able to come up with, but I feel obliged to say that The Dodos released a majestic album this year and I'm shocked at how little end-of-year love this is getting. Check it out.

Yes. That one will end up in my top 5, for sure.

i saw them this year and their music just didn't click w/ me.

[popquizkid]

i thought visiter was really uneven.  sometimes even within the same song (the longer ones).  but definitely some good stuff in there.

[WhereTheSlimeLive]

The album was goofy and boring to me.

[sashwap]

The album was goofy and boring to me.

same

[RavingLunatic]

most disappointing: crooked fingers

Man, that's for sure. I could not make it past the third song of this one. It was just unbearable, and it's weird because I like pretty much all of Bachmann's previous Crooked Fingers work.

[dieblucasdie]

Really?  I'm kind of surprised by that sentiment.  I loooooved the s/t and Red Devil Dawn, but I thought Dignity and Shame was fucking horrible.  Not a single song on the thing I'd care to hear again.  I don't know how my expectations could've been lower.

[davy]

Listened to a couple new 2008 albums today, desperately searching for some hail mary awesomeness. This year's Dr. John is pretty lame, but it might grow on me a little. The Adele, album, however, will definitely be in my top 20. Ever since I saw her perform on SNL, I've been in love with those two songs, and the rest of this album is stellar.

[RavingLunatic]

Really?  I'm kind of surprised by that sentiment.  I loooooved the s/t and Red Devil Dawn, but I thought Dignity and Shame was fucking horrible.  Not a single song on the thing I'd care to hear again.  I don't know how my expectations could've been lower.

I've only heard a couple songs from that one and didn't care for them, so I guess I shouldn't have said all previous Crooked Fingers stuff.

[popquizkid]

most disappointing: crooked fingers

Man, that's for sure. I could not make it past the third song of this one. It was just unbearable, and it's weird because I like pretty much all of Bachmann's previous Crooked Fingers work.

go to the last track and give it a few listens to get over the 80's-ness of it, and you should be rewarded.  neko case completely steals the song, and makes the $12 i spent on the album somewhat justified.

[jebreject]

This is a preliminary list, not at all weighted, but here's some stuff that will be on there for sure:

Harvey Milk - Life ... The Best Game in Town (Hydra Head)
Helms Alee - Night Terrors (Hydra Head)
Black Mountain - In the Future (Jagjaguwar)
Lil' Wayne - Tha Carter III (Cash Money)
Fucked Up - The Chemistry of Modern Life (Matador)
Jay Reatard - Singles (Matador)
Pink Reason - 7"s: Borrowed Time (Fashionable Idiots) / Winona (Woodist) / 3:16 7" (Columbus Discount)
Boris - Smile (Southern Lord)
Earth - The Bees Made Honey in the Lion's Skull (Southern Lord)

[andronicus]

I would have put that Jay Reatard up, but I felt like it was cheating somehow...

[jebreject]

Oh yeah, Malkmus and BPB too, though they both kinda dropped off my radar after a few weeks of intense listening

And dammit, how could I forget Times New Viking?

I'm starting to formulate a pretty solid list now, but it's still outweighed by my To-Buy list.

[Andrew_TSKS]

I would have put that Jay Reatard up, but I felt like it was cheating somehow...

Personally, I don't want to let rules get in the way of recognizing good music.

[Thermofusion]

Reatard's certainly on my list. I think you could bend the rules anyway because those songs were written, recorded and released in such a condensed period of time to begin with.

[ellaguru]

Weren't they also originally intended to get bundled as an album after all the 7"s came out? I think that makes it not really a compilation.

[Andrew_TSKS]

Oh yeah, it was definitely the intention all along.

[Danen]

Curiously, I almost missed Reatard's fine "album" because I never much cared for him - but the singles being released like that reminded me so much of the classic Wedding Present run of "one single per month" that I thought I should check out just one. That one was "See/Saw," and it totally changed my view on the artist. It's not my FAVORITE album, but I dig it.

This thread is a blast, btw. Brought me back into the fold here after too much time away. The thing I love about this is that it causes me to re-investigate the year. Prior to running into this a couple of days ago, I would've said it was a bad year for music. Now not so much. I've had three days now drenching myself with my forty favorite albums (which I'm now painstakingly trying to whittle down to 20), and I think it was a solid year. Awesome? Life changing? No. But really good. Now, if I can only put either Larkin Grimm or Sigur Ros in the top 10, which will it be? Grrrrr.

[davy]

Prior to running into this a couple of days ago, I would've said it was a bad year for music. Now not so much.

I still think it. And I might be inclined to blame myself, but most of the albums popping up in this thread are albums that I either heard or read about, and the vast majority of it falls into the "just-not-my-thing" category.

I probably should've listened to the Sigur Ros album.

[ellaguru]

Hey, Danen!

I think my top 8 or 10 or so are pretty impressive releases for me - each of them held my excitement for a couple of weeks at least (and continued to be in rotation after that). There's definitely a drop off after that, the next 15 or 20 are good albums but I'm not committed to them... which is why I haven't posted #11-#20 yet. But I'll definitely fill up my 20 and have some stuff I liked left over.

So far the albums that this thread has got me considering for my final edit: I've been really liking the Amon Amarth (I only really listen to any metal at all when I'm biking in the bitter Canadian winter, 'cause I pretend I'm riding my mighty steed into battle against wizards, and since all the songs on Twilight of the Gods are basically about riding mighty steeds into battle against wizards, it makes a great soundtrack. So that might sneak in due to the weather) and the Black Milk. And of course I've committed to more listens to Machinefabriek.

[davy]

I don't understand what happened to my metal appetite this year. Some releases have intrigued me, but every time I feel like I should feel like listening to metal, I don't.

Danzig aside, of course.

[Andrew_TSKS]

I probably should've listened to the Sigur Ros album.

Like I said in my writeup, it's significantly different from their earlier work. It helps keep it interesting.

[jebreject]

So it's not mind-numbingly boring? 'Cause I find that hard to believe!

[Danen]

So it's not mind-numbingly boring? 'Cause I find that hard to believe!

Think: Sigur Ros + More Pop in the Songs - Some of the Bombast = Real left field surprise. Sure, a few drone tracks but I like those: they contrast nicely with the diverse sound. You should download the song "Gobbledigook" and see if it works for you. If it does, you'll like the album. Real solid.

I think my favorite thing about this year is how many old school dudes made great records, some of which haven't made a good album in years. Spiritualized is in my top 5, and I'd written them off completely! Nick Cave made his best Bad Seeds record in a decade and Malkmus made the first solo record of his that I love. None of these I would've predicted last year (except maybe Cave, based on the Grinderman album).