THE SERIES: #2
The year 2008 was a special one for music, as I started to try and learn guitar. Move my fingers all about the strings, searching for interesting rhythms but more often searching for an actual chord. My wife is beside me and she has made incredible progress on Greensleeves. King Henry VIII would be proud.
Anyhow, I find year-end lists incredibly tricky and virtually impossible. I judge the best records of the year with the subjection that they are those that spent the most time in the carousels of my CD player. I look inside and find:
The Dodos -
Visiter - Oregonian group of (generally) two, some ingenuity in this offbeat rock band, I love the drums and other means of percussion on this album. Playful and likeable.
The National - The Virginia EP - but one weak tune on this album of B-sides, demos and live tracks. “Mansion on the Hill” is, I almost swear it, better than The Boss’s original version. “About Today”, a preferred concert song, whimsically builds to its thrashy conclusion. I don’t know, I find The National endlessly listenable. I need a new album in 2009 or I don’t know what will happen.
Frightened Rabbit –
The Midnight Organ Fight – My most-played record of 08, these Scottish lads are impassioned folksters with some lasting quality I can’t describe. Give em a shot.
Hayden–
In Field & Town – I completely agree with Dave (below). This is Hayden’s best album, full of deceptively simple tunes. If I could realistically choose to become a musician, I would choose the career of Hayden. Plus I look like him.
Okkervil River – T
he Stand Ins – Sure, they are obsessed with lyrics and evading typical song structure, but Okkervil continues to be wicked. They are at their most catchy on this album. And few modern bands write to the level of frontman Will Sheff, whatever you think of that level.
The Raveonettes –
Lust, Lust, Lust – When the mood strikes, The Raveonettes fill it…and then some. Bash bash bash bash BASH!
Sigur Ros – whatever it’s called – The one with the naked dudes on the cover, this is their best, most powerful and accessible album ever. It’s beautiful, completely.
There are some others, like
Elliott Brood and
Santogold, but I’ll stop there. Please for 2009 I kindly ask all music reviewers (I’m looking at you Pitchfork) to stop using “relevant” and “urgent” in their missives. God I hate those words for an album. Who gives a shit if it’s relevant! Relevant to what?!? Wow that gets me going. In fact, in a future post I may look for the top words never to be used in a music review because they suck.
Jeff J.