2008 Top 10 Albums!

I guess it's that time of year. Time for whiskey and thoughts of suicide, sprinkled with random sex with strangers, crying and being cold... Oh yeah and then there's this years top ten albums! This year was a strange year for music. There were a lot of GOOD albums from some of my favorite bands.. and some pretty good newcomers... but really nothing AMAZING. I looked at the Pitchfork top 50 for inspiration and really... the top ten are good, and I agree with most of it... but honestly this years top ten wouldn't have even made last years top 25. I mean last year Radiohead, The National, Animal Collective, Panda Bear, LCD Soundsystem all gave me albums that I listened to like 500 times on repeat and will probably hold as some of the best albums in the new millennium... and unfortunately there weren't any groundbreaking albums like that this year. That being said... I had a lot of trouble coming up with the top ten. While there weren't any amazing albums... there were a TON of good albums.. and it was hard to decide who deserved a top spot. So I derived a system based on 2 qualities: 1. Artistic merit (meaning how I viewed the album as a whole, and it's level of artistic complexity) and 2. Replay value (meaning how much I actually listened to the album). I did this because while some albums I found highly artistic and challenging to listen to... I rarely replay the album even to this day. Whereas some albums that I actually thought were very catchy and had immediate appeal... but not very much artistic value. So I had to find a happy medium between the two, with albums that I both listened to a lot, and also appreciated for their artistic content. Okay?! okay.... now on to the list!

1. Okay - Huggable Dust

It seems fitting that at the top of my list is my very first blog post. I struggled more with the top 5 of my list than anything else. I didn't know who deserved 1st really... and while this album has it's flaws, I keep coming back to it. Its genius is in its simplicity. It's an album of love songs... period. But it really brings you through the whole process of emotions that go along with love. It's as heartwarming and catchy as it is heartbreaking and distant. If listening to these tracks doesn't make you feel sorrow for your loves you've lost or feel grateful for the love you have, then you need to check your pulse... cause you're probably ugly... or a totally unlovable bitch. There I said it.

2. Bon Iver - For Emma, Forever Ago

Technically this shouldn't be here because this album was released late last year. But it had it's major release this year and no one knew this guy until 08 anyway so who freakin cares really. So here's another album of love songs... I know. But the proof is in Justin Vernon's voice. Like with Okay, he has this endearing quality to his voice that really makes you feel everything he sings. The atmosphere on this record is second to none... it has a cold and openness to it that is utilized perfectly with the crooning of Vernon's vocals. It's too bad this didn't get a proper release because this would've been on the top of either this year or last years lists... but instead he missed out on both of them. Don't worry though....we don't pay attention to "rules" on teh intarwebs.

3. Dosh - Wolves and Wishes

This, along with Okay, is one that I feel a TON of people overlooked. This is probably the freshest sounding electronic music being made today, courtesy of Andrew Birds drummer. I mean this guy kills on the drums, which are all live on his albums. No samples here bitch. Oh and if you listen to this and then listen to Andrew Birds new album, you will notice that Bird totally swiped a bunch of beats off of this CD... WTF man. I mean, I'm sure he had Dosh's approval, but seriously, it kind of devalues and taints the amazing quality of the original when you use it in other peoples songs. It would be like 50 cent taking DJ Shadow's first album and rapping over the beats.... well maybe not that bad.. but you get the point... either way. For me this album instrumental masterpiece... catchy, appealing, great production, full of depth and of course... some freakin tight ass beats.

4. Los Campesinos - Hold On Now Youngster and We Are Beautiful, We Are Doomed

So, this is probably cheating to use two albums as one post... but a lot of people did that with Deerhunter's Microcastle/Wierd Era Cont. and Fleet Foxes EP and follow up album... so I win this argument! Take that blogosphere! If I were to pick album(s) of the year based solely on how much I listened to an album, these guys would've been #1 hands down. While Los Campesinos are the quintessential indie band... they are ahead of the game in one gigantic aspect. They know EXACTLY what they are... and aren't trying to be anything else. So while most bands that use this formula end up sounding whinny, cheesy, predictable and just plain lame... these guys end up sounding catchy, fun, witty and exciting. Los Campesinos are definitely the break out new band of the year... and with two albums in one year (both of them good) I'm excited for the future.

5. Portishead - Third

When I first heard Portishead was going to resurface, I was questioning how in the hell their old formula for success was going to translate in a modern sound scape. I guess they asked themselves that question too, because they essentially came back as an entirely new band. This album evokes the exact opposite type of feeling I get from Los Campesinos. If I were to pick an album based solely on artistic merit, these guys would've been #1. The only problem I had with this album is that it is insanely dark and thus immediately disorienting. It takes a while to get past it, but when you do, you realize what an amazing achievement it actually is. How do you destroy your beloved indie image, only to come back as a darker, more haunting band with an entirely different set of structures and make one of the years best albums? Yeah.... THIS.

6. M83 - Saturdays = Youth

M83 = Blissed out synth pop... I think. I dunno. I always feel very 80's-ish whenever I put M83 on. While this album doesn't really break any new ground for the band, it definitely contains some of the years best songs. It took a while but this one definitely grew on me. 

7. TV on the Radio - Dear Science

TVOTR have hit a nice stride here. First "Return From Cookie Mountain" now... this! Although out of the two I think I prefer the former... but this one is no step in the wrong direction. These guys do production better than any band out there today. Even when they are tame they manage to keep everything so refreshing that it's still exciting. I do feel like this album could have benefited from a couple more focused songs. 10 songs isn't much and when a few are easily ignored then it kinda kills the feel... while a 12-14 track album can have a few throw away tracks and still be brilliant. Ah.. but what the hell do I know... either way these guys continue to impress. 

8. Why? - Alopecia

Ugh... WHY? WHY!!!??? Why doesn't Yoni stop rapping and ruining half of his records!? Maybe I'm alone in this feeling. The rest of the songs are great though. This is another band with the potential to make a mindfuck of a record. Elephant Eyelash was close, this was a little less close... but it is definitely still good enough to make it to # 8 in the top ten. 

9. Beach House - Devotion

If 'life is a beach and then you die' (like I read on some dudes coffee cup)... then a Beach House must be where all the shit happens when you're alive... and then I guess you die. It's so simple! The only reason this album wasn't at the top of my list is because I felt this album didn't really progress the band any further than their self titled did.  That and you really have to be in the right mood to listen to this music. But when the mood is right, nothing hits you quite like Beach House. 

10. The Notwist - The Devil, You and Me

There were a lot of bands that I thought deserved the top ten really... but I just had to get Notwist in here somewhere. While I can't say that this is the best album ever... I did listen to it a ton... and there are like at least 4 of my favorite songs of the year on this album. This one really made this list cause of the sheer excitement it gave me to listen to it for the first 5 times through. There was no album this year that I was anticipating more than this one... and while it didn't blow my mind... it definitely satisfied my hunger for one of my favorite bands. 

Alright I couldn't help myself. Here are a few more albums that are definitely worthy of checking out even though they didn't make the top ten. The "honorable mentions".

Bonnie Prince Billy - Lie Down In the Light

Probably his best release in recent years

Frightened Rabbit - The Midnight Organ Flight

I just recently found out about these guys... great album. If I had discovered this sooner it might have made the top ten, but I don't think I can get past some of the cheesy lyrics. But when it's good... it's really good. 

Grouper - Dragging a Dead Dear Up a Hill

Like Beach House, you really have to be in the right state of mind to listen to this. I really wanted this to make the top ten but it is such a mood music record that I felt like others deserved it more. 

Subtle - Exiting Arm

I really love subtle, but for some reason I just didn't listen to this as much as everything else on the list, so I couldn't find it in my heart to give them a spot... still a great album though. 

Vampire Weekend - Vampire Weekend

Okay, so I know it's cool to hate on these guys but they actually deserve most of the praise they are getting. A lot of bands nowadays are trying to mold themselves after Paul Simon's Graceland... even The Islands tried this a few years ago... these guys definitely did a better job... but honestly, I can't see them progressing with this sound any more than this record. Hopefully they decide to reinvent themselves. 

David Byrne and Brian Eno - Everything That Happens Will Happen Today

Wow... two of my most favorite artists put their brains together and make an album... how can it not be good? Answer: it CAN'T. 

Phew! That was a bitch to do. I hope to never do a post like that again... well.. until next year i guess. Sweet. I hope everyone enjoys my picks for 08 and has a lovely depression free holiday season. Alright, I gotta go catch santa and fuck his shit up. That bitch has yet to give me a Wii.. wtf santa.