Do not post while drowsy

The Best of 2008

As Justin alluded in his Best of list, this year was totally the year of awesome pop-punk. Indie rock is as dead as emocore as far as I'm concerned. How do I know this? Just take a look at the genres of the shows on the schedule at Chain Reaction. EVERYTHING SEEMS TO BE LISTED AS 'INDIE.' DONE.

20. Los Campesinos! - Hold On Now, Youngster.../We Are Beautiful, We Are Doomed



Basically, Los Campesinos! are either destined for greatness in the post-C86 scene or they're never going to put out another good album. At first, they seemed sort of gimmicky. They played songs about twee pop and pop music in general and they had a xylophone player and a violin player. It was some sort of self parody joke, but in the end, they were just a good band with a self-aware sense of humor. Both full lengths released this year were exciting, sonically interesting and decent in length, which is terribly difficult to do. Though the first LP contained a few songs that they had released on EPs released in 2007, they fit very well with the rest of the album and were wonderful singles. The second album, We Are Beautiful, We Are Doomed, was a darker affair that seemed more thought out and more heavily medicated (Ritalined) than Hold On Now, Youngster. Either way, the hooks on the albums are amazing and can't be stopped, even though they're an NME band (I think... they're from Wales or something, which doesn't help).

19. Moscow Olympics - Cut the World



It's good to know that shoegaze has penetrated all the way into the Philippines. I have no idea if this band is part of a scene there or what; all I know is that this is the best shoegaze album of the year and it's from the Philippines.

18. Titus Andronicus - The Airing of Grievances



There are so many things to be said about this album. I knew I loved it when I first heard it, but the more I listened to it, the more I realized its genius. There are like six or seven dudes in the band and I think they're in the band more for group vocals and set dressing than anything else. They literally have four guitars and two keyboards on the stage, along with your standard rhythm section. Earlier I compared the album to the Desaparecidos album, and I won't retract that statement, however, I believe that the best part about Titus Andronicus is the fact that they're actually trying to sound juvenile, rather than coming off as too eager and amateurish in attempting to write songs about capitalism being evil. In the self titled track "Titus Andronicus," not only is the refrain "Your life is over" screamed over and over, there is a very subtle part at the end of the first verse where the dude says "Fuck everything, fuck me." This album was definitely made for the 14 year old in all of us that suddenly reappeared in our 20s.

17. The Mae Shi - HLLLYH



The Mae Shi were one of the early Smell bands that came into the internet's collective consciousness pretty early on. They played tons of shows and were one of the noisier bands. When their new songs leaked on a few blogs two years ago, I couldn't believe what I was hearing. What I had known of the Mae Shi was the opening set for the Ozma reunion show a few years back. I hated them. They weren't noisy because it was a conscious choice, it seemed like they were noisy because they didn't want to be playing music at all. The two songs I heard were "Lion and the Lamb" and "Run to Your Grave." I knew that if these were even the only two songs on their new album, they were going to be huge and they deserved it. Those two songs were pop gems and their synths actually sounded great, whereas on their old albums, they didn't. What I've learned about the Mae Shi is that they spend a great deal of time on their electronics and on this album, it really shows. My only gripe with the album is that it is too short. There are a few noisy punk songs which are focused and coherent and one song that is almost 12 minutes long, which is their own dance remix of a melody from the album. The rest of those songs, however, are great. Side note: they also released the best cover of the year of Miley Cyrus' single "See U Again" and it sounds incredibly expensive just because of their brilliant recording and electronics.

16. AU - Verbs



Basically, Animal Collective just met their match. I know some people actually like that band, so I will acknowledge that Au and Animal Collective are different in that AC is more electronic driven whereas Au is more organic, but you have to admit that they are a bit alike. Anyways, Luke Wyland really hit his stride with this album. He collected a bunch of great musicians to play on his songs and it really shows. The end of the album drags a little, but the "All My Friends"/"Are Animals" suite pretty much rules everything, especially if you've seen it live. If you know what I'm talking about, then you know why this album is great.

15. Boris - Smile



Boris has to be one of the best metal bands of all time. They've proven in a few short years that they can pretty much do anything well. They've done drone, psych, thrash, and now they're doing the Melvins shtick, which means they've got everything important covered. The one thing all of their songs have in common is that if you listen to them loud enough, they will crack your skull wide open. Their songs are just that brutal. Also, Michio Kurihara is basically a part of Boris now, seeing as he tours with them, playing not only on the songs off of their collaboration album, Rainbow, but on all the songs they play live. If you take one of the greatest Japanese metal guitarists and add him to the lineup of one of Japan's most exciting metal bands, you get pure gold.

14. Destroyer - Trouble in Dreams



From what I'm getting from other people's lists, they didn't like this one NEARLY as much as they liked Rubies. I liked Rubies fine, but I felt like this one was really good. Maybe I didn't have the absolute Dan Bejar fever in 2006, but now I'm a believer. His New Pornographers songs were what really hooked me, then I heard the excellent This Night. I then took on Rubies, but I was completely intimidated by the nine minute songs. I mean, I get that Bejar's got a lot of lyrics, but damn dude, your songs in the New Pornographers weren't more than like four minutes so keep it clean. Trouble in Dreams has got a little of that going, but it's not over the top. It's the album for those of us who weren't convinced that Bejar could do it without AC Newman standing over his shoulder. Just listen to the first four songs and think about the fact that each one is under four minutes and seems to be just about perfect in length. There are hooks, beautiful guitar parts and wonderful synth sounds, which is everything I could hope for.

13. Annie - Don't Stop



This is the best album of the year that you won't hear this year. It got shelved after Island Records in Europe wasn't satisfied with it, then subsequently dropped her. Annie was in the middle of rerecording a bunch of songs for the album, as well as doing a few new ones when the news came down the river. The album leaked months previous and a lot of people knew it was going to be an absolute gem. There are a lot of great pop moments on this album that Madonna will never be able to attain again, not just because she's old, but because she's really out of touch. Annie just gets it. One of the more hilarious notes about this album is the credits in the liners for the guest guitar work by Alex Kapranos of Franz Ferdinand. All the songs that he plays on require such minimal guitar experience, it is ridiculous. I hope for his sake that he phoned the parts in, however I figure that he worked really hard on recording some of the most bland, danceable guitar tracks on the market today, just like the rest of Franz Ferdinand's catalogue. Anyways, solid album.

12. Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!!



This was basically the sequel to Nick Cave's 2007 side project album, Grinderman. It's super dirty, beyond funny and absolutely brilliant musically. Even though Cave is one of the best arrangers and composers, his biggest asset is probably Warren Ellis. If you listen to the chorus for the title track, "Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!!" you will notice that beautifully distorted mandolin track. God, if that isn't one of the coolest sounds, I certainly don't know what is. If this were a Johnny Carson joke, the answer would be, "Hell yes, Nick Cave is one jive motherfucker." What's the question? "Does Nick Cave's new album prove that he is the coolest cat making music today?"

11. The Gutter Twins - Saturnalia/Adorata EP



This is the creepiest album I heard this year. According to Jennifer, the T-Bone Burnett album was much scarier, but I stand by my claim. Just look at the album artwork while thinking about Mark Lanegan and tell me you're not scared already. The songs included on the album are so beautifully terrifying, they will creep into your dreams. I promise that if you really listen to the album at least twice, at least one of the songs will be in one of your dreams. It probably won't be a good dream, but it will be there and it will be beyond vivid. You will wake up sweating and out of breath. You will wish there is an episode of Will and Grace on television so that you can get your mind off of "The Stations" or "Idle Hands" (which has one of the worst videos ever). Basically, Dulli and Lanegan decided that they were going to rip Tom Waits' dark stuff really hard and substitute guitars and strings for whatever Tom Waits uses. Dulli and Lanegan also released a wonderful accompanying EP this year called Adorata, which not only has equally creepy artwork, but equally great songs, but in this case, mostly covers with two Gutter Twins b-sides. There's a Primal Scream cover and a Jose Gonzalez cover (beating the fact that both Dulli and Lanegan are bigger in Europe than they ever will be here into the ground), but the real standout is the duet on "St. James Infirmary." God, that song is beautiful when it's sung by a dude with a great voice.

10. Okkervil River - The Stand-Ins



Last year, I said that Will Sheff was probably the next great American songwriter, in line behind dudes like Jeff Tweedy and Ryan Adams. This album pretty much proves it. It could have easily been a throwaway album because it was meant to be the second disc to The Stage Names' first. What surprises me the most is the departure from the Okkervil River formula. As much as I love the band, I understand that their biggest fault is the fact that their "big" songs all sort of sound the same. There isn't a "For Real" or a "Our Life is Not a Movie..." on this album. The first two songs on the album actually sound a lot like Smiths songs, which is extra weird and awesome.

Also awesome is the series of videos the band did with other artists covering the songs off of The Stand-Ins:



9. The Mountain Goats - Heretic Pride



John Darnielle can turn a phrase better than almost anyone else still in the game. He is by far one of the most literate lyricists I've ever heard and somehow he's one of the most prolific at the same time. He had time to write a 33 1/3 book about Black Sabbath IN CHARACTER. Dude has so many EPs and weird singles that I've never even heard of and keeps putting out more. He released two companion EPs for this album/tour and I haven't even had the time to listen to them, though I know they're great. The album is in the style of his later LP work, meaning less lo-fi, and also incorporates a few beautiful string arrangements. The video attached above is for the first song on the album and is one of the most creative videos this year for one of the best songs.

8. No Age - Nouns



I really wanted to hate this album and I got away with it for a while. It seemed really mediocre in comparison to the shiny bits of Weirdo Rippers, but then I realized that it was because they had made a fully coherent album that worked together. This is exactly why I hate No Age. They seem to do everything ALMOST perfectly. The songs are good, but sometimes just a bit too short and not as rewarding as they could be. The songs are a little lackluster, but are a wonderful piece of the puzzle. The most frustrating part about them is seeing them live. They can't figure out how to put on an engrossing live show to save their lives. Maybe it's because of their complex electronics/loop setup, but stopping in between songs for two or three whole minutes without saying anything at all is a bit much. Anyways, this album totally grew on me the more I listened to it. I look forward to seeing them on MTV more.

7. Off With Their Heads - From the Bottom



I almost put this band towards the top of my list just because of what they are, however they put out a wonderful album full of pop punk surprises. It's gruff on the outside, but damn if it isn't just like any other manic depressive on the inside: fucked up, confused and harsh. These Minneapolis dudes have been catching more press over the past few months and it's not because the dude sounds like a pop-punk Dicky Barrett. Anyways, this album is everything you could hope for and a little bit more. It's pure, grade A, grass fed punk rock and it is a beautiful thing. I can't wait to see them when they come around at the beginning of the next year.

6. Vampire Weekend - s/t



The Feist album of 2008. You absolutely can't stop these dudes. They're not selling iPods, but they're basically selling college, white sweater vests and Topsiders the same way. My favorite part about the band is their keyboard player, who is just a bro. There was one particular interview on pitchfork.tv where the band was interviewed and played in the English Honors Society frat house or something and the band dynamic is more than apparent. The whole time, the dude who obviously writes all the music seems way uncomfortable with everything while the keyboard player dude is basically throwing up the superfinger while blasting a Natty Ice 30. This album is blowing 18 year old minds everywhere while their dads are totally pissed that they're somehow still uncool. The songs are catchy beyond belief. Just you wait until they make a biopic about Vampire Weekend in 30 years.

5. Thao Nguyen and the Get Down Stay Down - We Brave Bee Stings and All



Everyone keeps saying, "Oh it's like a boring You Are Free era Cat Power copy," but this album is so much more than that. It's a paean to childhood summers without being a seasonal album. Every single song on this album is a gem. The best part about this album is the band. Thao's songwriting is super strong and she's a very skilled guitar player, but her backing band is even better. The Get Down Stay Down is made up of three ultra talented guys who are some of the SQUAREST DUDES IN THE WORLD. They play so well together and it really shines with Tucker Martine's production. If Thao puts out another album like this, you can expect her to be sign to a label much bigger than Kill Rock Stars, but all signs point to "will not try to be a pop star."

4. Vivian Girls - s/t



The Vivian Girls were probably this year's most enigmatic act. They put out a bunch of 7"s in 2007 and 2008 and were one of those bands everyone talked about, but no one had actually heard. At the beginning of the year, the band toured and released their full length ONLY on limited press vinyl (500 copies), which means it sold out ridiculously quick and it wasn't immediately repressed. The album is one part Jesus and Mary Chain, one part B-52s, one part Go-Gos and 100% Black Tambourine, which makes for wonderful music. The production is super lo-fi without sounding cheap. It's hazy and dreamy without losing that punk rock grrl feel. They continue to put out 7"s and will tour a ton. I am just disappointed that this band is from Brooklyn and is somehow related to Crystal Stilts.

3. Algernon Cadwallader - Some Kind of Cadwallader







This band completely makes me think of sophomore/junior years of high school. It just makes me think of how my mind was blown when I discovered Cap'n Jazz and Braid for myself. You make anything math-y and angular and you have my heart. End of story.

2. Jason Anderson - The Hopeful and The Unafraid





Jason Anderson has done it again. 2007-2008 were so completely productive for him. I can't seem to believe that he released so much music over the last two years (a few full length albums, a few free albums and a little over a hundred songs from his "Song A Day" project), and yet he still hasn't lost it. Dude writes some of the most epic, wonderful, beautiful songs about life and friends and generally getting stoked. These albums remind me that we have amazing capacity and if we've got friends, what else do we need? "El Paso" is easily one of the most Springsteen songs J. Anderson has ever written and it's great. It's like seven minutes long and I think it's basically a 14,000 word essay on living life to it's full potential. If you listen to it once, listen to it again, but very carefully the second time. The words this man is saying will change your life.

1. Good Luck - Into Lake Griffy







Hands down, this is the best album of the year. Nothing really came close to this album. There isn't a weak spot on the album. If you don't know, Good Luck is Ginger Alford from One Reason, Matty Pop Chart and Mike from the k-10 Prospect and they've come together to form the best pop punk band I've heard in years. The album is full of hooks, has super positive lyrics co-written by Matt and Ginger and is recorded perfectly, which is to say that it sounds like someone spent money on recording it. It's amazing to listen to what happens when three of the most toured musicians write songs together. The most surprising part about the album is how great the guitar playing is on the album. Matt's guitar parts are crisp and well played, but also incredibly technical. Ted Leo would be totally jealous of some of the guitar parts on this album. Opener "How To Live Here" is absolutely the most perfect opening song. It's such a fast song and is brilliant pop. Lines like "Yeah, everyone feels alone/maybe more, maybe less/maybe this year or next year/or when they grow old/but what a bogus affliction!/it's the human condition." are the reason why they are the best at what they do. They've really covered a lot of ground on this album, and if they ever decide to record another album, it will definitely be hard to top songs like "Come Home", "Pajammin'", "1001 Open Hands" or the "Stars Were Exploding"/"Bringing Them Back to Life" suite, which is essentially two versions of the same, short song, but with two very different effects. The first is a full bodied, pop punk version of the song sung by Ginger and the second is a more sparse version sung by Matt. Diehard Jawbreaker fans criticized Blake Schwarzenbach when he started Jets to Brazil because his lyrics were so simple, but those people were really missing out on the truth in simplicity. These songs have that exact same quality. This band has set the bar.

I don't know if you know or not...

but I just met Eric Ripert.



He's sort of a big deal. Check out his wonderful blog (and the website for his upcoming PBS cooking series), Avec Eric. This man earned each of his THREE Michelin Stars. I'm posting it everywhere. So what?

/brag

Jennifer's End of 2008 list REDUX DEUX

Editor:
For all those fans out there, here it is again with a few revisions. Third time's a charm.



Hi blog world.

(this apology came from the bottom of my heart, then i puked it up and it landed onto google docs. it was weird. can you handle that?)

sorry i suck at everything. i've had to edit my best of list like, 7 times. but i just heard the entire titus vaginacus whatever album today. so i had to re-edit my list. again. sorry. it's not like anyone is reading this, so i guess i should really just apologize to myself. and chris! sorry, self and chris, for my indecisiveness.


my best of 2008 list:

1. aretha franklin- rare and unreleased recordings from the awesome years! blah blah

2. lilys- everything wrong is imaginary

favorite album of 2006, 2007, 2008, and 2009... and probably until kurt heasley puts out another one.

3. titus androgynous blah blah

fuck everything! yay!

4. spiritualized- songs in a & e

5. t bone burnett- tooth of crime

6. bonnie prince billy- lie down in the light

6. vivian girls- vivian girls

7. mary j blige- growing pains

8. lil mama- voice of the young people

9. the starlite desperation- take it personally

10. au-verbs

i saw them play over the summer and it was so cool!

11. no age- nouns

most anticipated musical things of 2009:

1. cat power's album: this better be good or else i'm going to get mad

2. big death: big jeff, you better bring it.

OMFG

Jimmy Eat World's Clarity Tour stop in LA sold out.
SO pissed.

Justin's End of 2008 List

Editor's Note:
To everyone who has previously submitted a best of list, thank you so much. Doing this is so much more fun when it's collaborative and we get to read each other's writing. Today, I have the distinct privilege of posting Justin Conway's Best of 2008 list. Spoiler alert: our lists turned out to be pretty similar in major ways. Final note: to those who still haven't submitted one, send 'em my way!

I’ll start by saying that I never got into pop punk when most people did. I never recognized it as a legitimate form of music, and why would I? I listened to the Germs and Crass, what good would sissy music with whiny vocals do for me? Well 2008 has provided a great awakening for me. A few of the bands on my list are very much pop punk oriented, and as well as falling deeply in love with these bands, I revisited many of the bands that I never would have given a moments listen when I was younger. I find myself now singing along to the Get Up Kids while driving in my roommate’s car, while everyone else is coming from nostalgia, the experience entirely new and wonderful to me. That said, I would say that 2008 was aptly coined “Two Thousand Great: Pop Punk Forever!”.

As far as albums that were released in 2008:

1. Good Luck - Into Lake Griffy
I love this record so much. Definitely my favorite record of 2008. There’s something about Matt Tobey’s vocals that make me feel young again. This album is so solid its ridiculous. What I have noticed is that pop punk albums don’t fare too well past summer, but this a year round record.

“Is it impossible, friend?/ Is it only a dream to find truth in the visions you see?/ Or to believe the love that I'm waiting for is somewhere waiting for me?/ Well maybe the way to get what you want/ is to stop waiting for it to show up./ Have faith in the wind and the rain it will come (but only if you let it come).”

2. Moscow Olympics - Cut the World
It took me a little while to truly appreciate this record. At first listen I figured it was simply some band that was trying to sound like New Order in a really cheesy way, but man did this album hit me hard. Imagine Northern Picture Library covering all of “Movement”. Very shoegaze-y while still remaining delightfully poppy and seemingly perfect for the Sarah Records roster.

You’re not supposed to hear lyrics in shoegaze songs

3. Why? - Alopecia
This CD is so heavy! I have loved Why? ever since I first heard “Elephant Eyelash”, but this album is so different. I can’t reinforce how hard hitting this album is. What I’ve noticed about Why? is that most of the songs are the most incredible collection of one-liners carefully put together in a fascinating collage, but shit man, this album is fucking HARD.

“Even though i haven't seen you in years, yours is a funeral i'd fly to from anywhere”

4. Young Widows - Old Wounds
I really have no clue what’s going in the Louisville scene, but this album rips. Kind of sludge-y, kind of punk, this album rules. Think Jesus Lizard or Melvins playing a show with Coliseum.

"She healed you with her fingernails, she healed you with her teeth"

5. Off with Their Heads - From the Bottom
So much to be said about this band. For sure were my favorite band this year, but this record holds nothing on the “Hospitals” EP. Off With Their Heads are a more punk sounding Dillinger 4, as well as more drunk. This year I fell in love with the gruffy sound of No Idea Records pop punk. The thing about this album, and all Off with Their Heads songs, is the juxtaposition of the bleakest lyrics with the greatest catchy guitar parts! This album rules though, rips all the way through.

““I’ll tell you why I fucking hate my life and I’ll tell you why I can’t seem to get it right.”

6. Algernon Cadwallader - Some Kind of Cadwallader
Sound exactly like Cap’n Jazz, but its still so good.

“Bop Shoo Bop, Shoo Bop Bop Bop” or
“OH MAN, ITS TAKING ME OVER”

7. Dear Nora - 3 States: Rarities 1997-2007
Dear Nora has quite possibly my favorite band for years now. I still feel strangely fan-boy-ish when talking with Katy Davidson, but all of that aside, this is a wonderful compilation of material spanning 10 years. I thought I had the complete collection of Dear Nora recordings, but as it turns out I was way off. The CD is 57 tracks, which seems long at first, but listening to it is a trip! Katy arranged the songs from when they were recorded, so you can totally hear her progression as an artist. Its an incredible record and well worth the listen.

Too many perfect lyrics to pick one.

Esteban's End of 2008 List

Simple enough. Let's do this.

1. Bomb the Music Industry- Get Warmer: Music for people that were kinda fat, but never really were. Self-realization music.



2. Louis Lingg and the Bombs- EP- Redheaded English man running around Paris playing basements of bars. Grinning music.



3. Fat Beavers- Theres no end to that shit LP- If Ian Mackaye was 25 and lived in Paris and played in the Buzzcocks. Pitting music.



4. Chris Murray- Why so rude?- Nicest man every. So much love and ska..so much ska. Loving music.



5. Slackers- Self Medication- NYC at its absolute best. They play Christmas parties every year where they play a full set, take a break and play ten ska versions Christmas standard. Dancing music.




Worst Music of 2008:

Biggest Disappointments of 2008

I'll keep this short by saying I was looking forward to a few albums at the beginning of the year and I was let down. I will also mention that you just barely missed this list, Beck. I knew that doing an album with Danger Mouse wasn't going to be a great idea in the first place, so there you go.

Fucked Up - The Chemistry of Common Life



This album wasn't terrible by any means, but it was disappointing because of just how great Hidden World was. I guess I can't expect every album to live up to those standards, but the concept for The Chemistry of Common Life was just as good, if not better than that for Hidden World. Fucked Up is one of the best live hardcore bands I've seen, and I've seen more than my fair share. The songs off of this album sounded good live, but something about the album just didn't seem right.

Man Man - Rabbit Habits



Another instance of, "How could you do better than the last one?" In this case, it was Man Man's second album, Six Demon Bag. This album felt like you were falling down on your face over and over, whereas listening to Six Demon Bag was like listening to the soundtrack for an imaginary Tom Waits pirate-themed cartoon, which was awesome.

Love is All - A Hundred Things Keep Me Up At Night



I don't know much about the What's Your Rupture? scene. I know that they put out Love is All records and they've put out a Fucked Up 12" and that's about it. From what I gather, all this retro 60s-cum-no wave stuff all sort of sounds the same nowadays and that's what was most disappointing about this Love is All album. I loved the high energy stuff from the last album and the slower stuff was mediocre. This whole album seems to be full of slower, more "vintage" sounding cuts.

Of Montreal - Skeletal Lamping



Kevin Barnes keeps getting crazier and putting out worse music, but his Outback Steakhouse money keeps him costumed and happy, so I guess that's alright. I guess if I wrote and toured on The Gay Parade, I'd be a little nutty too.

Crystal Castles



I guess I'm just disappointed that a band like this exists.

PS. image via the wonderful toothpaste for dinner.

Best of 2008: Late Adds, Honorable Mentions and EPs

Generally, my year end list is usually pretty huge and I have to divide it up into categories. This year, I've decided to add a bunch of albums to my favorites list that don't fit under the conventional "Best of" tag. You can check out songs from each album/EP listed below here.


The first set is albums that I discovered and enjoyed this year, but came out in the last calendar year (so called "Late Adds"). As usual, I've attached the albums that I could find on the internet (generally via Google). These albums come in no particular order and are as follows:

Teenage Cool Kids - Queer Salutations
This is one of 2007's best kept secrets. Teenage Cool Kids are from Denton, TX and have found a way into my heart. This album is a perfect example of what guitar pop should be. None of the songs are too complex, they're familiar in content, but original in sound and the band plays tons of house parties, which is completely awesome.

Underground Railroad to Candyland - Bird Roughs
I feel like I've told this story a million times before, but it applies here. Growing up around punks in the South Bay made me never want to listen to the Misfits. All the young punks were assholes and I thought the Misfits were dumb. Once I grew up, I realized I could appreciate them too and it made me feel better because I felt like I understood them at a more mature level. Whatever. Anyways, F.Y.P was a band in exactly the same predicament. Stupid South Bay punks loved them, so I had to hate them. Little did I know that Todd C. was one of the best pop-punk songwriters out there. F.Y.P was first, then came Toys That Kill and now there's URTC, which is probably the most party of the three bands. Even in his old age, Todd C. can still bring it.

Bomb the Music Industry! - Get Warmer
First of all, Jeff Rosenstock releases all of his albums for free. That is awesome. Secondly, he's still doing third wave ska proud. Third, his songwriting is brilliant, hook filled and the production is great. Fourth, it's free. Dude did a weird 8-bit version of Tom Waits' "Anywhere I Lay My Head" and didn't crap all over it like ScarJo did. He took the show on the road on the Asian Man Tour and sang "Holland, 1945" with Sean from Andrew Jackson Jihad like every night on tour. He's got a weird, ragged sense of humor and melody and really stretches out on this album, venturing into a bunch of genres; one of the best songs is "Unlimited Breadsticks, Soup and Salad Days," a sort of ragtime, Dixieland, weird, perfect song. Really, I got the album when it came out last year, but it took a while to grow on me. If I were to redo my list, this would probably be in the top 10.

Andrew Jackson Jihad - People Who Can Eat People Are the Luckiest People In the World
Honest, fun, wonderful dudes singing some of the most beautiful songs around. I can't believe I didn't have this album last year. I don't know why I didn't. This wouldn't have even made the list; it would have been on a separate list altogether it is so good. Yeah, you've heard a bunch of the songs on the original EPs, but the idea of AJJ putting this out on Asian Man alone is too good to be true. You have to admit that all of a sudden, Asian Man Records is one of the best labels out there.

Lemuria - Get Better
This is another reason why Asian Man is god among Punk labels. Lemuria is a band from middle of nowhere Buffalo, New York and they sound like the 90s in a great way. People say things like, "They sound like the Breeders if they had been punk" or "They sound like Discount," but I'll do you one better. If Jawbreaker had a girl singer, they would have been Lemuria. This album doesn't quite fit that description as well as The First Collection does, but think of this as their Dear You, where there's some great pop stuff and a lot of introspective moments you didn't see coming. And plus, they're just a weird band.

Rivers Cuomo - Alone I/II
These two albums sort of don't count as anything in my mind, but they've earned a spot on my Late Add/Honorable Mention list respectively just because of what they are. Cuomo decided he wanted to put out a bunch of his weirder moments on record and somehow arm wrestled Geffen Records into doing it, even though dude's into wearing hair nets and train conductor outfits now. (By the way, one of my favorite musical moments of 2008 was the "how's this for arts and crafts?" bit from "Troublemaker" Similarly good was Rivers' "normal" outfit from the video, dressing up as Tom Delonge for Halloween or something).


Honorable Mentions:

The Postmarks - By The Numbers
I feel like I owe the Postmarks a place of honor on my 2008 list just for their eponymous 2007 debut album, which became one of my favorite albums from last year. Their wonderful mix of chanson and samba is straight from the heart of MIAMI, FL. Since when was there a good band from Miami? Seriously. Can you name one? Gloria Estefan's band doesn't really count. Anyways, the Postmarks album from this year is actually a compilation of songs they did for eMusic. They did one cover a month for the year, with each song corresponding in number to the month it was released. They did a few predictable covers (Bowie's "Five Years" for May and Nancy Sinatra's "You Only Live Twice" for February) but there were a few wonderfully surprising picks as well (Ride's "OX4", "7-11" by the Ramones and "Nine Million Rainy Days" by The Jesus and Mary Chain). Basically, you can't go wrong if you're musically strong and doing songs that people already like.

The Ergs! - Hindsight is 20/20, My Friend
The Ergs! are breaking up and this was a perfect way to say goodbye. They're going to put out a few more 7"s before they go, which further proves that they were one of the most productive pop-punk bands out there. Mitch Clem wrote a funny joke about their 2007 album that goes something like this: the first guy says "Yeah, Upstairs/Downstairs (The Ergs! last full length) wasn't as good as The Ergs! best album." The second guy says something like, "Which one was that? Milo Goes to College?" Hindsight is 20/20, My Friend is actually a singles collection that contains something like 33 songs from the last seven years. They've only really put out the two albums, but they've also released something like 8 EPs and a bunch more 7"s. Good God, they will be missed.

The Gaslight Anthem - The '59 Sound
Here's another New Jersey punk band that broke into my list this year. I had heard about The Gaslight Anthem through my love of all things Bouncing Souls. I knew that these guys were a Souls favorite to open up home shows, so they had to be pretty good. Little did I know that they retooled the whole sound this year when they put out The '59 Sound. The first time I heard the title track, I was thinking, "Wait, isn't this supposed to be a pop-punk band?" but then I remembered that they were from Jersey, and Springsteen>Lifetime, so it was going to sound like The River. The best part is that the album got a super positive review on Pitchfork recently; the reason this is great is because some of The Gaslight Anthem's stuff has a harsher Tiger Army vibe than early 80s Springsteen. I really hope that the folks over there at the new Pfork home office in Williamsburg dig Tiger Army super hard.

Gentleman Jesse and his Men - s/t
This album opened my eyes to a whole underground of Atlanta pop bands that pal around with dudes like the Black Lips, but aren't in it for Vice Magazine's publicity or to be blogger darlings like Brad Cox. This band is way more into trying to rip Jonathan Richman's early style, along with other great garage pop from the early 70s, and they wear it well.

Ryan Adams and the Cardinals - Cardinology
This album didn't end up on the year end Top 20 because it wasn't that good, but by Ryan Adams standards, this is an amazing album. It's super concise and focused. None of the songs are really throwaways and dude hasn't written a song like "Go Easy" in a while. It's great and I welcome Adams back into the fold. I can't wait for his next seven albums. I just wish that he would record that Willie Nelson album without Willie or release another solo album.

TV on the Radio - Dear Science
COMMAGATE 2K8. Much ado about stupid punctuation and non-issues surrounded this album, when the music really mattered. I'm always impressed by what TVOTR puts out and this is no exception. I think to myself, this band keeps getting bigger and they keep getting worse, but somehow they still manage to impress me. I thought their late night appearances this last cycle were terrible, playing one of the worst songs of the year "Dancing Choose," but I still love it. As Jeff mentioned in his best of post, the production is super slick. Sitek really stepped up his game after doing the ScarJo album, also probably because TVOTR is big enough to have a larger production budget. Anyways, the real reason I love this album is the fact that it is a PERFECTLY coherent album. The individual songs taken out of the context of the album sound TERRIBLE, but when put together, they are a force to be reckoned with.

She & Him - Volume One
It's weird to think that this album actually exists. It's good, but man I burned out on it fast. Actually, it makes me want the next M. Ward album that much more, even though I'm setting myself up for disappointment.


Best EPs of 2008:

...and You Will Know Us By The Trail of Dead - Festival Thyme
Here's the moment all you Texans have been waiting for: Trail of Dead getting weird again! The last few albums were weird, but in a very calculated way. This is a return to form for Conrad Keeley and company, playing the insane "Isaac Brock is normal compared to us" card. Just look at the badly CGIed pirate cover for this EP. It's like some Final Fantasy VII stuff, which means it's awesome. As a Trail of Dead fan, you can trust me when I say that the music is not disappointing.

The Raveonettes - Beauty Dies/Sometimes They Drop By
What a weird band that I totally love. Seeing them live over the summer pretty much iced them as one of my favorite bands of all time. Yeah, they totally rip on the Jesus and Mary Chain and all those other bands, but they're so good at it. These two EPs came out within weeks of one another and are both pretty stellar. The song on the muxtape was used in a super indie Gap ad campaign that asked a bunch of bands to write songs based on colors. Dntel did a song called "Red" and the Raveonettes contribution waded in very familiar territory ("Black/White"). Might be one of their best songs.

Final Fantasy - Plays to Please/Spectrum, 14th Century
Also a weird dude that makes great music. His album was supposed to come out this year and blow everyone away, but instead, Pallett decided to deliver two ultra weird concept EPs that blew me away. The first is a tribute EP to a Toronto band called Deep Dark United. The songs are all super gay and sort of scary strange, but stunning as usual. It proves that once Stephen Merritt dies, his seat will still be super warm. The second EP is actually the better of the two and consists of weird "simulated" field recordings Pallett did with members of Beirut. All the animal noises were supposedly just all the people whistling and stuff, which makes it that much more awesome, but what really kills it is the song "Blue Imelda." The EP is about a magical land called Spectrum and the song is about some such nonsense, but it is one of the best songs this year, hands down. It's like the "Postcards from Italy" of 2008.

Andrew Jackson Jihad - Only God Can Judge Me
Like I've said before, Sean and Ben sing some of the most honest songs about life I've ever heard. There is not a mediocre song on this whole EP and you should buy everything you can from them the next time they roll through town because their stuff actually goes out of print FAST.

Ted Leo/Pharmacists - Rapid Response
Now, I thought two of the four songs on this EP were pretty bad and they were the two Leo originals. He did two awesome crust punk covers and put the songs on the internet in a matter of hours with album art and everything. Basically, this EP is just a testament to just how important Ted Leo is to punk rock. He could crap out a brick and release it and his music would still be a statement.

MUXTAPE #24: up late working

MUXTAPE

So here we are again, in the office way too late, working away. Not able to sleep and not even wanting to yet. The night isn't over, but I need something to get me past what my day had been: soul crushing nothingness. Really? No. But come on. It's almost 2AM, what do you expect. I haven't really had a night's sleep in a few months. Thank god I had a nap today so I was coherent enough to write this entry.

This tape is for everyone up late for no apparent reason or the insomniac, working away. This is for all of you, even if it isn't the middle of the night. If you need something to get you going, here it is.

1. Ryan Adams - "Chin Up, Cheer Up (48 Hours)"
If 48 Hours had been released as an album, it would have easily been Ryan Adams' most successful solo album. It was optimistic, succinct and had this gem holding down the middle section. The album was recorded in two days (thus the name) and is one of the most stunning statements Adams ever made. Don't get discouraged! Ryan Adams is singing you a song about being happy! When does that ever happen?

2. Limbeck - "To Hell With Having Fun (Let Me Go Home)"
If you ever feel like you're being left out, you're not. You should do whatever you want to! Have fun doing your business, not what someone else tells you to do. I don't get as much sleep as I should, but let's get wild anyways! The Limbeck boys have always been one of the most important bands when it came to "live life, have fun, get wild" music and this song proves it.

3. The Format - "Inches and Falling (Dog Problems)"
This was such a perfect note to go out on. The Format knew they'd never make an album this perfect, even if Van Dyke Parks wrote all their songs from there on. This is one of the most perfect pop songs of the year 2007.

4. Old 97s - "Timebomb (Too Far to Care)"
Seeing Rhett Miller sing this song completely made my night this past weekend. I knew that I liked the song, but hearing just how rebellious and youthful it was up close made it that much more real. Jennifer can attest to the fact that I was impressed just by seeing how big my grin was while Rhett was playing this.

5. Camera Obscura - "Let's Get Out of This Country (Let's Get Out of This Country)"
Strange change of pace? Not quite. This muxtape is all about fun loving pop in any form that speaks to our sense of adventure, wonder and excitement. Just think about these lines when you listen to it: "We'll pick berries and recline/let's hit the road, dear friend of mine/wave goodbye to our thankless jobs/we'll drive for miles, maybe never turn off/we'll find a cathedral city/you can be handsome, I'll be pretty."

6. Wilco - "Nothing'severgonnastandinmyway (Summerteeth)"
Over the past few years, I've come to the conclusion that Summerteeth was Wilco's real masterpiece. No, it wasn't as experimental as YHF or any later output, but it was headed in that direction with a perfect sunny pop disposition. The keyboard sounds on the album were perfection and songs like this prove just how much of a genius Tweedy is. Yeah, he can write poetry to music, but damn if he didn't just write a great pop song too.

7. Jason Anderson - "We Will Bend, We Will Break, Etc. (On The Street)"
This song is probably my favorite Jason Anderson song right now, if only for the lines "Every different town I'm in/I wanna get an apartment/start six bands/fly awesome kites/ride awesome bikes/I just feel so at home." The song is really about wanting to be everywhere at once; loving the road, but missing everything important at home. Sometimes, we make choices, but every single time, we get better and we will grow.

8. Oasis - "Rock 'n' Roll Star (Definitely Maybe)"
This could possibly be the most perfect song of all time. This was the world's introduction to Oasis, in that it was the first song on their first album. How perfect a statement is that? Proclaiming their genius right off the bat, taking hold of everything that's theirs without asking. Sometimes, we need that feeling too, so here it is. Once you air guitar the solo, you'll feel like a fucking champ too.

9. Third Eye Blind - "Graduate (s/t)"
Yeah, you can!