I put together my favorite albums for most of the 90's, before the combination of a switch to a digital library and a loss of interest in ranking albums meant that the last one I did for a while was in 2000 (#1: Neko Case, Furnace Room Lullaby). But after about 4 years or so, I started to get kind of amused by the idea of ranking stuff and really enjoying the stupid subjectivity of lists.
So I started doing year-end album lists again, but it was really different than before. The digital music life and the ease of the shuffle button made the difference between listening to songs as singles and as full albums much more pronounced. I could judge my favorite albums much better, because they were the albums that I enjoyed most as albums, vs. the albums I really liked but was fine experiencing on shuffle.
2008 was maybe a (relatively) lukewarm year for music, but there were a bunch of albums that were great listens from beginning to end. Without further ado and very much in a particular order:
1. Bonnie "Prince" Billy, Lie Down In The Light
Like Of Montreal and Animal Collective, Bonnie "Prince" Billy was an indie critical darling that I just didn't get until the release of an album that the longtime fans and critics universally label "their most accessible album yet". There's no question that Lie Down In The Light struck me as hard as it did because it took the gritty mood country of his previous works and softened it up and added more hooks. The production is gorgeous, adding harmonies that are both melodically sweet and atonally sour, lush instrumentation and reverb and much clearer, stronger hooks than in his previous albums, while keeping the fantastic turns of phrase and lyrical meshing of beautiful and disturbing that's made him so loved for well over a decade.
But what makes this record more than just a "more accessible" work is the way those pretty, catchy, gritty songs will suddenly offer up tiny moments of stunning beauty that literally made my jaw drop as I sat in wonder at how a song goes from a pleasant, great song into a song that's so gorgous that it feels like an epiphany.
"Missing One" is one of the clearest standouts of those moments. It's a nice enough song to begin with, if maybe a little tuneless in comparison with some of the other perfect melodies of the record, but in the middle at 1:13, it turns briefly into a study of Gorgeous Chords: hard piano and guitar hits that seem to come from nowhere, but fit perfectly into the song. You're still reeling from the beauty as it slips back into the unassuming verses, only to get an aftershock of those chords at the end, this time with vocals and only two lines, "Love me family, and just sleep to all of us". It leaves you reeling.
Every year, I wonder if I've finally grown too old and jaded to be truly struck speechless by the sheer beauty of some music. It's records like Lie Down In the Light that makes me realize that still hasn't happened yet.
"Missing One"
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Once, years ago, a couple of friends were listening to Massive Attack's "Teardrop", and one turned to the other and said, "If someone told me they didn't like this song, I wouldn't believe them."
If someone told me that they didn't like Fleet Foxes, especially if that person liked any type of music even slightly similar, I wouldn't believe them. In one package, you have catchy melodies, beautiful harmonies, chiming acoustic guitars, bold arrangements that also never fail to be catchy, and all fronted by one of the best voices to emerge in years.
To paraphrase a bumper sticker, if you don't like this album, you're not paying attention.
Every year, I wonder if I've finally grown too old and jaded to be truly struck speechless by the sheer beauty of some music. It's records like Lie Down In the Light that makes me realize that still hasn't happened yet.
"Missing One"
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2. Fleet Foxes, Fleet Foxes
Once, years ago, a couple of friends were listening to Massive Attack's "Teardrop", and one turned to the other and said, "If someone told me they didn't like this song, I wouldn't believe them."If someone told me that they didn't like Fleet Foxes, especially if that person liked any type of music even slightly similar, I wouldn't believe them. In one package, you have catchy melodies, beautiful harmonies, chiming acoustic guitars, bold arrangements that also never fail to be catchy, and all fronted by one of the best voices to emerge in years.
To paraphrase a bumper sticker, if you don't like this album, you're not paying attention.
"Blue Ridge Mountains"
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There's two kinds of great albums: one is the album that's great from start to finish and the songs work together perfectly as a whole. The other is the kind where the quality may be a little spottier, but the high points are so high that they could drag up even terrible songs, let along songs that just aren't as high as the highs.
Dear Science is this second kind. I've always admired TV On The Radio for being one of the few bands that is both rhythmically interesting and strong in songwriting, but they've never completely blown me away. Much of this album gave me the good-not-great feeling, but "Halfway Home", "Dancing Choose", "Golden Age" and "DLZ" are such amazing songs that they could take any album and turn it into a classic.
"DLZ"
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Visiter may not be a perfect album, but The Dodos make perfect music. In this one album, you have the smooth singing of a Paul McCartney with the screaming of an Animal Collective; you have the ambitious arrangements of a math rock band with the joy and energy of pop. The clear star of the show is obviously drummer Logan Kroeber, who's managed to turn in one of my all-time favorite drumming records, and that list of favorites is very long indeed.
The Dodos sometimes sound a little immature, especially in the lyrics department, but that there's that small flaw in an otherwise stunning record makes me almost frantically anxious for their next move.
"Red and Purple"
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2008 was a banner year for shadowy, quiet albums. Department of Eagles, Fleet Foxes, Bonnie "Prince" Billy and Jessica Lea Mayfield released records that sounded perfect in a lonely room late in the day.
But there was probably no better hushed music this year than this record. Beach House was (yet) another band that I had never given much of a chance, but I was bowled over by the beauty here, and by their understanding that music can be chill without being chaste. It was music that seemed to be almost amorphous, but with tangible hooks. It's almost impossible, but it still works. Really, really well.
Turtle Island
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This album was a reluctant love for me. I assumed that I loved it for the surface appeal for the hooks, but Vampire Weekend is a smart band and not one that should be dismissed as dumb fun. Their gimmicks are simultaneously annoying and admirable.
I eventually had to just allow myself to like this record, and I did. A lot. But I listened assuming that it'll be one of those records that I re-listen to in a couple of years and think "meh." Check back with me in a couple of years.
"Campus"
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When I first added Youth Novels, I bet myself that it wouldn't pass the test, that repeated listens wouldn't rub the annoying off of it. What I slowly began to realize is that this is a very spotty record. Some of the songs are as pretentiously cloying as they were the first time, but most of the songs are gorgeous and simple art pop, and by the time I realized that songs like "Get Good, Get Gone" and "Let It Fall" refused to leave my head, I found that those things that I first found irritating gave the songs exactly enough grit to make me love them even more.
"Let It Fall"
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Ra Ra Riot's crime is their sincerity, which is part of my soft spot for them. My college band was the same way: almost painfully serious and romantic. I'm not in a position to speak of my old band, but Ra Ra Riot's hooks and energy absolutely more than make up for their desire to get through to you. One of the year's most satisfying listens.
"Suspended in Gaffa"
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It's a perfect title for the record: long, awkward, and mixing the devotion and attention of the Bible with the over-the-top melodrama of a soap opera. Well, "mixing" is generous; it's a lot more of the latter.
In a word, PAS/CAL's first full album after a series of brilliant EPs is theatrical. The short attention span of every song is maddening, but in those overly-arranged moments are the same sort of genius melodic moments from PAS/CAL's past that made so many of us crave this record for so long. It was a tough nut to crack, but once I did, it was delicious.
"O Honey, We're Ridiculous"
download / get album mp3s at Amazon
download / get album mp3s at Amazon
3. TV On The Radio, Dear Science
There's two kinds of great albums: one is the album that's great from start to finish and the songs work together perfectly as a whole. The other is the kind where the quality may be a little spottier, but the high points are so high that they could drag up even terrible songs, let along songs that just aren't as high as the highs.Dear Science is this second kind. I've always admired TV On The Radio for being one of the few bands that is both rhythmically interesting and strong in songwriting, but they've never completely blown me away. Much of this album gave me the good-not-great feeling, but "Halfway Home", "Dancing Choose", "Golden Age" and "DLZ" are such amazing songs that they could take any album and turn it into a classic.
"DLZ"
download / get album mp3s at Amazon
4. The Dodos, Visiter
Visiter may not be a perfect album, but The Dodos make perfect music. In this one album, you have the smooth singing of a Paul McCartney with the screaming of an Animal Collective; you have the ambitious arrangements of a math rock band with the joy and energy of pop. The clear star of the show is obviously drummer Logan Kroeber, who's managed to turn in one of my all-time favorite drumming records, and that list of favorites is very long indeed.The Dodos sometimes sound a little immature, especially in the lyrics department, but that there's that small flaw in an otherwise stunning record makes me almost frantically anxious for their next move.
"Red and Purple"
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5. Beach House, Devotion
2008 was a banner year for shadowy, quiet albums. Department of Eagles, Fleet Foxes, Bonnie "Prince" Billy and Jessica Lea Mayfield released records that sounded perfect in a lonely room late in the day.But there was probably no better hushed music this year than this record. Beach House was (yet) another band that I had never given much of a chance, but I was bowled over by the beauty here, and by their understanding that music can be chill without being chaste. It was music that seemed to be almost amorphous, but with tangible hooks. It's almost impossible, but it still works. Really, really well.
Turtle Island
download / get album mp3s at Amazon
6. Vampire Weekend, Vampire Weekend
This album was a reluctant love for me. I assumed that I loved it for the surface appeal for the hooks, but Vampire Weekend is a smart band and not one that should be dismissed as dumb fun. Their gimmicks are simultaneously annoying and admirable.
I eventually had to just allow myself to like this record, and I did. A lot. But I listened assuming that it'll be one of those records that I re-listen to in a couple of years and think "meh." Check back with me in a couple of years.
"Campus"
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7. Lykke Li, Youth Novels
My last.fm timeline shows that there was a pretty big change in my listening habits around June. That was when I got my own office, which meant that as I spent all day at my computer, I could take in more and more music all the time. I created a complex playlist that forced me to listen to everything that I added to my library. Which meant that I could give music a chance that I would otherwise.
When I first added Youth Novels, I bet myself that it wouldn't pass the test, that repeated listens wouldn't rub the annoying off of it. What I slowly began to realize is that this is a very spotty record. Some of the songs are as pretentiously cloying as they were the first time, but most of the songs are gorgeous and simple art pop, and by the time I realized that songs like "Get Good, Get Gone" and "Let It Fall" refused to leave my head, I found that those things that I first found irritating gave the songs exactly enough grit to make me love them even more.
"Let It Fall"
download / get album mp3s at Amazon
8. Ra Ra Riot, The Rhumb Line
One of my perceptions of the 2008 year in music is that it had a lot of acts that could be described as "naive but irresistible". I'm not sure if this is just chance or is colored by my aging (which still hasn't let up for some reason). But there they were: Los Campesinos, Black Kids, MGMT and Ra Ra Riot, making music was immediately defined by their youth, for better or worse.
One of my perceptions of the 2008 year in music is that it had a lot of acts that could be described as "naive but irresistible". I'm not sure if this is just chance or is colored by my aging (which still hasn't let up for some reason). But there they were: Los Campesinos, Black Kids, MGMT and Ra Ra Riot, making music was immediately defined by their youth, for better or worse.Ra Ra Riot's crime is their sincerity, which is part of my soft spot for them. My college band was the same way: almost painfully serious and romantic. I'm not in a position to speak of my old band, but Ra Ra Riot's hooks and energy absolutely more than make up for their desire to get through to you. One of the year's most satisfying listens.
"Suspended in Gaffa"
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9. PAS/CAL, I Was Raised On Matthew, Mark, Luke and Laura
It's a perfect title for the record: long, awkward, and mixing the devotion and attention of the Bible with the over-the-top melodrama of a soap opera. Well, "mixing" is generous; it's a lot more of the latter.In a word, PAS/CAL's first full album after a series of brilliant EPs is theatrical. The short attention span of every song is maddening, but in those overly-arranged moments are the same sort of genius melodic moments from PAS/CAL's past that made so many of us crave this record for so long. It was a tough nut to crack, but once I did, it was delicious.
"O Honey, We're Ridiculous"
download / get album mp3s at Amazon
10. The Lucksmiths, First Frost
There's any number of standard lines about aging that at any age past high school, it's easy to acknowledge the truth of. You might just nod your head or you might strongly deny that it will ever happen to you. Yet no youthful philosophy will prepare you for the moments when the truth of those statements is something you feel.Without tackling the subject of their age, either as a band or as people, the Lucksmiths still have managed to create an album that feels aged. It's still a really good album (as all of their albums are), but they've lost a little bit of a step since their last (brilliant) record in 2005. Tali White's voice is still beautiful, but sings more quietly. There are still sincere, joyous moments of rock, but they're just slightly more restrained. The Lucksmiths are still a fantastic band and still full of clearly sincere love for what they do, but they now do it with that feel of age that says that maybe they've lost a little of the sense of urgency, but that life is precious and it's great to write songs and be in a band. Period.
"A Sobering Thought (When One Was Needed)"
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