2008 Top Ten Albums

2008 was a good year for music. This list was really hard for me to create as there was a lot of albums I really enjoyed this year. But alas, I have come up with my top 10 of 2008:



1.) "Rook" Shearwater
The first track to this record is absolutely beautiful. The deep, soulful vocals carried over the wonderfully arranged instrumentation (most often featuring a beautifully played piano) is what makes this record a gem. But hidden among these tracks are perfectly placed instrumental augmentations featuring the harp, vibes, and woodwind instruments. This attention to detail is what makes this record truly great.




2.) "For Emma, Forever Ago" Bon Iver
This is one of the CDs that Miah and Shels sent me, and boy am I glad they did. This album has an immense amount sorrow and despair on it. I was playing it in class while my students were working and one commented that the singer sounded like he was depressed. You can really feel the anguish that he is writing about. However, that being said, it isn't a "wallow in your own self pity" type of record; instead Bon Iver find a way to sing about sadness without making the listener depressed. A stand out, timeless record.



3.) "Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!!" Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds
Can you say creepy? I played this record for my lovely wife and she said it should have been a sound track to "The Rocky Horrors Picture Show." She hit it right on the head; this is a very strange, dark, and disturbingly funny record. Like a black comedy, it shouldn't be funny, yet it is. The music is beautifully straight forward, yet so unbelievably fresh and interesting. With each new track, you can't help but be surprised and wowed at just how musically creative the Bad Seeds are. From front to back, this album is a pure stroke of genius.




4.) "Bedlam in Goliath" The Mars Volta
They've done it again. Many people have stopped talking about The Mars Volta simply because they feel like they heard everything this band has to offer. They couldn't be further from the truth. This record has plenty of surprising twists and interesting textures (even for me, who has all of their previous albums). This band just continues to write amazing songs and making great records.



5.) "Attack and Release" The Black Keys
This record was originally intended to be release as a collaboration between Ike Turner, The Black Keys, and Danger Mouse. However, with Turner's untimely death, it just became a Keys record with Danger Mouse producing. This is their most produced record in their discography, complete with samples, loops, keyboards, and (gasp!) a bass guitar. Many have complained that the Keys lost their crunchiness with this record, but I totally disagree. The added production and instrumentation adds a ton to the simplistic and heavy sounds the duo creates.




6.) "Stay Positive" The Hold Steady
The is what rock and roll should sound like. I've been going off on these guys for the past year or so and their newest record doesn't disappoint. Reoccurring characters from their three previous records appear in their full glory on this album. The record features everything that makes The Hold Steady great: straight forward rocking music, amazing B3 organ licks, sing-song choruses, and of course, unbelievably good lyrics.




7.) "Carried to Dust" Calexico
The boys from Tucson latest release features everything you want from Calexico: great mariachi horns sections, spaghetti-western guitar licks, thick and driving bass lines, and beautiful vocals (often sung in Spanish). These guys really know how to create a mood with their songs, with each track having an aura all its own. This is the type of record that you can listen to over and over again and still discover wonderfully and subtly placed instrumentation that you hadn't heard before. A truly beautiful piece of work.



8.) "The Alchemy Index Vol. III & IV" Thrice
This is a band that really has matched my musical evolution of the years. They started out playing fast and heavy music, then became more experimental within in their heavy roots, and finally on their two latest release (the entire Alchemy Index) they have really branched out. Each of these records features a different element (Water, Fire, Earth, Air) and songs representing that element. These two discs are Earth and Air and amazingly the represent those elements extremely well. These twelve songs (6 on each disc) stick with you and resonate in your soul long after each listen. This is a great achievement by a great band.




9.) "O" Tilly & the Wall
Wow, where did this come from? I basically forgot about this band until I recently read about this record online. Thankfully, my library had it in stock, and a week later I was jamming out to it. For those of you that don't know, Tilly uses a tap dancer as their main source of rhythm. What's cool about this record though, is that they have added some real drums at just the right parts. Its not over done and it doesn't drowned out the tapping, but it provides some pretty awesome beats. This is basically a kiddy-pop record, singing about teenage love triangles and people talking sh*t about one another, but its done in an interesting and artful way. Imagine a Gwen Stephani solo record, but with artfulness and not-selloutness.



10.) "Vampire Weekend" Vampire Weekend
I know, I know, these guys are so last year... but wait, no, this record actually came out this year! It seems like this band has gone through what popular bands go through (the underground stage, then the "I liked them before they were cool" stage, then the backlash stage) faster than any band before them. They were the darlings of the indie world a short time ago and now it seems like everyone has written them off. But to be honest, this is a really good record featuring great song writing, fun and catchy lyrics, and well put together instrumentation. I refuse to dismiss a band just because it has become cool not to like them anymore. I still like Vampire Weekend... There. I said it.


Honorable mentions (in no particular order):

"One Day as a Lion" One Day as a Lion
Many people wrote off the latest (in a string of non-existent) projects of Zack de la Rocha simply because he waited so long to come out with something after the demise of Rage. I, on the other hand, didn't simply because this project is collaboration between de la Rocha and one of the best modern drummers out there, Jon Theadore (formerly of The Mars Volta). The record is a short, 5-song EP of industrial/hip-hop/experimental music. It sounds like a hyped up Rage, but with more experimentation and way more technical drum parts. Of course, the lyrics include super politically charged up topics such as Guantanamo Bay, religion, immigration, environmental issues, and the like.

"Walk it Off" Tapes N Tapes
After a wonderful debut album called "The Loon," a lot of people didn't like this second record from Tapes N Tapes. But I have to disagree with the consensus here. I think this is a well constructed indie rock record that is worth a mention on every one's best of 2008 lists.

"Narrow Stairs" Death Cab for Cutie
Here's another record that got hated on by a lot of critics... but I don't really care what they say. This is a great Death Cab record and I will stand by that. After a small misstep with "Plans" (though I still like that record) Death Cab comes back with exactly what you want from them: smartly written indie-pop songs with beautifully sung lyrics.

"Hold on Now, Youngster" Los Campensinos!
What a fun record. This seven piece band knows how to construct pop songs with a creative and interesting twist.

"Modern Guilt" Beck
The second Danger Mouse record to appear on this list (Attack & Release being the first). Beck comes back in a surprising way. A total running time of just over 30 minutes means that each of the record's ten songs gets right to the point. This is a solid record from an artist that is constantly reinventing himself.

"Volume One" She & Him
If I remember correctly, Shed was super confused by this record record and Shells didn't like it at all. I got it from my library about a month ago and I really have enjoyed it. Zooey's voice is incredable and we all know that M. Ward is a BAMF.



2008 albums I couldn't get my hands on before writing this:
Cold War Kids- Loyalty to Loyalty
Wolf Parade- At Mount Zoomer
Murder by Death- Red Of Tooth And Claw
Tom Morello: The NightWatchmen- The Fabled City
TV on the Radio- Dear Science