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Post by Thorngrub on Dec 18, 2008 18:26:27 GMT -5
Workin on my list of Best Of 2008, so far it's looking something like this (and in no particular order, mind you):
Radiohead - In Rainbows (released 1/1/08 in the US)
The Mars Volta - The Bedlam In Goliath
The Sword - Gods Of The Earth
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!!
Metallica - Death Magnetic
Guns 'n' Roses - Chinese Democracy
REM - Accelerate
Fleet Foxes - Fleet Foxes
Bauhaus - Go Away White
Hellhammer - Demon Entrails
Opeth - Watershed
Bonnie Prince Billy - Lie Down In The Light
Nachtmystium - Assassins: Black Meddle, Pt 1
Hank III - Damn Right, Rebel Proud
Jakob Dylan - Seeing Things
Torche - Neanderthal
Mystifier - Baphometic Goat Worship
Bob Dylan - Bootleg Series Vol 8: Tell Tale Signs
I don't doubt that
NIN,
Portishead,
Sun Kil Moon, and
Daniel Lanois all released
albums worthy of inclusion.
Except I have yet to listen to them, *sigh*.
I even heard
Alice Cooper "Along Came A Spider"
is excellent, but I have
yet to give that a listen as well.
Also, the
Melvins,
Motorhead, and
AC/DC have released albums this year,
and I have yet to catch up with them.
(I heard the Motorhead once, and it was good, enough that I wouldn't be surprised to find it on the list, but I really need to listen to it more before I can make a decision. They will be added to my "honorable mentions as yet unlistened to" list.)
... to be cont.
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Post by pattentank24 on Dec 18, 2008 18:59:46 GMT -5
It’s not entirely coincidental that in 2008 PopMatters has devoted time to discussing the 40-year anniversary of an album that is arguably the biggest cultural product of 1968 in terms of music, and certainly in the top 10 all-time for albums with widespread and long-term influence. No less important, the acknowledgement that 1968 was a fertile year for music in the fullest flush of the rock and soul era, and a great many other touchstones hit the streets that year. Nor, even, a celebrated 40th anniversary of the horror film that “made” zombies—music and movies don’t exist in separate vacuums, after all. We care about the whole cultural milieu.
Because 1968 was an election year in the US—the election year of “the ‘60s”, or at least that late ‘60s period that came to leave a greasy thumbprint on the cultural imagination for decades to come. It was a highly politicized time, full of idealism entwined with open hostility throughout the cultural strata. And in a highly-charged year such as 2008, full of socio-cultural symbolism and ideology throughout global politics, it feels almost familiar. We have a tug of nostalgia, a hint of reflection, and it’s tempting to look back at the past to make sense of the present.
And when it comes to music, at least, it’s easy to slip into comparison-contrast mode. If 2008 was like 1968 in any way, did we see another “White Album”? Was there a new Aretha? A Hendrix? A Van Morrison? And if there wasn’t, does that mean we’re lacking in creativity and self-expression now, or is it even possible to have these lightning rods anymore?
The problem is, of course, that 2008 isn’t 1968. Generation-splitting cultural upheavals haven’t defined the ‘Aughties (we don’t even have a comfortable phrase like “the ‘60s"), and global communications have meant that diversity is now simply inherent to everyday life around the world. In many ways, the doors opened in the ‘60s have remained open ever since, kept alive in various guises and under various banners by changing styles and shifting genres, a constant reinterpretation of the past, and even some honest protest. The sheer volume and accessibility of music from around the world makes it paradoxically hard for any one artist to truly matter that much anymore. We are a people with an embarrassment of options.
Not that that’s a bad thing, either. What we lose in the potential global impact of never seeing another release like The Beatles (though leaving open the possibility that there could always be something out there to prove this wrong), we more than make up for in choice selections to fit our many moods and interests.
Yet it’s hard to say that “pop” hasn’t been in a slump this year. Perhaps it’s still the shrinking-pains of a dying central music industry, but it seemed like no one artist managed to successfully work their way to the top of the heap and capture all the attention. The image of pop music as plastic production wasn’t helped by the surge of popularity in vocoder and AutoTuned vocals (see: T-Pain and Kanye West) literally phasing out the question of whether musicians are talented. And in a year where Katy Perry’s softcore romp got as close to ruling the charts as anyone, it’s hard to say that quality music managed to win out, much less a work of genius. If the closest we got was Viva la Vida, we’re certainly not seeing another 1968.
Within the other music industry of the indie-centric world, there seemed to be a steady stream of consistently solid acts making consistently solid albums: the Mountain Goats, Drive-By Truckers, Calexico, and the Hold Steady released records that, while not revolutionary, at least lived up to established standards. TV on the Radio continued their track record of defying their major label’s hopes of commercial accessibility while producing yet another excellently idiosyncratic release. The return of Portishead might have been hotly anticipated, but predictably it was hotly debated as well. Gnarls Barkley proved not to be a fluke, but understandably couldn’t best the moment of their ubiquitous first single.
And though 2008 may go down as the year that finally saw the red herring of Guns N’ Roses’ Chinese Democracy set free from one of the most ridiculously prolonged gestation periods in rock history—not to mention the year that accelerated the death of the record store by making big-box retailer exclusives an ordinary practice—it was a year where the payoff never quite equaled the set-up. Perhaps new albums by artists like Santogold, My Morning Jacket, and Erykah Badu are indicative of this muddled sense of purpose and direction; they are unclassifiable, drunk with possibility, and burdened by the far reach of our collective now. A fertile time, indeed, but what these new ideas will grow into is anyone’s guess.
—Patrick Schabe (Music Reviews Editor)
well said sir alright let's see some lists as i compile mine
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Post by phil on Dec 21, 2008 16:13:27 GMT -5
Those must be the only CDs from 2008 I acquired...
It will have to do for a *Best Of 08* list!
- Bïa – Nocturno
- Bettye Lavette & Drive-By Truckers – The Scene of the Crime
- Martha Wainwright – I know You're Married But I've Got Feelings Too
- TV On The Radio - Dear Science
- Amadou et Mariam - Welcome to Mali
- Lucinda Williams - Little Honey
- Paul Weller - 22 Dreams
- Jakob Dylan - Seeing Things
- Bon Iver – For Emma, Forever Ago
- Willie Nelson & Winston Marsalis – Two Men with the Blues
- Barry Adamson – Back to the Cats
- Lenka – Lenka
- David Byrne/Brian Eno - Everything That Happens Will Happen
Jazz...
- Zaebos MM&W plays Masada - Medeski, Martin & Wood
- Avatar - Gonzalo Rubalcaba
- Live - Brad Mehldau Trio
- Nouvel Orchestra - François Richard
- Matt Herskowitz plays George Gershwin - Matt Herskowitz
And...
- Neil Young – Sugar Mountain
- Warren Zevon [Collector's Edition]
- Black Orpheus [Verve 2008 reissue]
- Belle & Sebastian – BBC Sessions
- Artistes variés – Miles From India
- Bob Dylan - Tell Tale Signs:The Bootleg Series Vol. 8
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Post by maarts on Dec 23, 2008 6:04:34 GMT -5
I'll reprint my list with a little change- plus some of my favourite reissues!
maarts' best albums of the year:
1. Steven Wilson- Insurgentes
2. Sigur Ros- Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust
3. Black Angels- Directions To See A Ghost
4. Toumani Diabate- The Mande Variations
5. M83- Saturdays = Youth
6. Electric President- Sleep Well
7. No-Man- Schoolyard Ghosts
8. Johann Johannson- Fordlandia
9. Opeth- Watershed
10. Goldfrapp- Seventh Tree
11. Alejandro Escovedo- Real Animal
12. Brian Eno/David Byrne- Everything That Happens Will Happen Today
13. Atlas Sound- Let the Blind Lead Those Who Can See But Cannot Feel
14. Portishead- Third
15. Fleet Foxes- Fleet Foxes
16. Bon Iver- For Emma Long Ago
17. Black Mountain- In The Future
18. Lindsey Buckingham- The Gift Of Screws
19. Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu- Gurrumul
20. MGMT- Oracular Spectacular
21. David Bridie- Succumb
22. TV On The Radio- Dear Science
23. All India Radio- Fall
24. Robert Forster- The Evangelist
25. The Tumbled Sea- Songs From the Tumbled Sea
top 5 reissues of the year
1. Dennis Wilson- Pacific Ocean Blue
2. Genesis- 1970-1975 (box set)
3. Roy Harper- Stormcock (expanded)
4. Supersister- A Present From Nancy
5. OMD- Dazzle Ships (remastered + bonus tracks)
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Post by Ayinger on Dec 23, 2008 11:38:33 GMT -5
Stormcock was expanded??? Thought I read in MOJO or UNCUT (or the like) that it'd be re-released but didn't see any mention of extra tunes....what's it got on it??
Looking over everyone's lists I wish I could just go on an insane shopping spree....
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Post by maarts on Dec 24, 2008 5:37:56 GMT -5
Ah, apologies Don! It was actually a remaster with expanded booklet- it still has only the 4 tracks.
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Post by RocDoc on Dec 24, 2008 12:10:18 GMT -5
...now go clean up your pants, don.
;D
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Post by Ayinger on Dec 24, 2008 20:18:17 GMT -5
Just about doc!
I've have almost purchased that Harper disc a few times but have always put it back thinking it wasn't worth me spending money on it as it was so short and I already had 1/2 the songs on it. There's one of the songs on there though that I've read in several reviews that is to have one of Jimmy Page's best guitar solo's on it....not sure if it's electric or acoustic.
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Post by ScottsyII on Dec 26, 2008 23:30:02 GMT -5
I still gotta get a hold of a copy of Succumb by David Bridie - being a big time fan and not having this album is not sitting well with my sense of harmony and composure...  That and the new Augie March, Fauves, probably a whole swag of other Aussie releases... It's time for a pilgrimage to my hometown, and my other adopted hometown of Sydney... :-) |
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Post by Thorngrub on Dec 29, 2008 12:35:56 GMT -5
hey maarts . . . .that steve wilson album .. . isn't it getting released in 09 ?
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Post by phil on Dec 29, 2008 12:56:25 GMT -5
hey Thorn ... Don't you remember ...
Australia is always six months ahead of everybody else!!
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Post by maarts on Dec 29, 2008 15:31:16 GMT -5
hey maarts . . . .that steve wilson album .. . isn't it getting released in 09 ? Thorn- it was released as a special edition book with bonus disc last month in an edition of 3000 copies worldwide- one blink and you'd miss it! There's a standard edition being released in the new year but without the extra disc which features 5 tracks. I've seen it on eBay going for over 200 US dollars....I got the hint trhough Burning Shed which releases and ditributes a lof of PT-stuff and rarities so I jumped on the chance and was lucky.... Absolutely worthy, mate. Fantastic album. |
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Post by Thorngrub on Dec 29, 2008 16:51:28 GMT -5
Yes, you are extremely lucky to get your paws on this. I want that 4 x 10" vinyl edition of it, goddammit. There were only 500 of those or so. I'm really looking forward to hearing it.
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Post by RocDoc on Dec 29, 2008 18:49:14 GMT -5
200 bucks or dl for free?
200 bucks or dl for free?
what should i do?
what should i DO??!
...oops too late.
a GREAT disc(s) thorn.
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Post by bowiglou on Dec 29, 2008 23:42:26 GMT -5
maarts, being a huge fan of the Go-Betweens is the solo Forester worth looking into?
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