As Mr. Mike sorta alluded to, there weren't a whole lot of great
albums (start to finish) in 2008. Songs could be found here and there, but definitely a drop-off in quality albums from '07 [Ed. note: only because I don't remember how crappy '07 was]. So this seemed like a good year to let great music--which had existed for years and I was just too lazy to notice--hit me squarely on the back of the head.
That being said, here's a sad and brief list of actual 2008 music that found its way to my ears:
Calibre, Overflow
Irish Drum & Bass, I mean..seriously.. what else is there?
The Organ, Thieves
Only an EP, and a bittersweet one at that, since we probably won't be hearing anymore from them. Although, I would have had this on repeat (in particular "Even in the Night" & "Don't Be Angry") while crying myself to sleep at night had Obama lost. It recently dawned on me that Katie Sketch's voice sounds a lot like Debbie Harry's.
Portishead, Third
Yeah, as much as I wanted to be, I wasn't thrilled with this album as a
whole. It has grown on me, but after 11 or so years (!) of waiting for
a new record--anticipation was ridiculously high. Anyway, "Hunter",
"Threads", and "The Rip" and its video capture that old crushing Portishead sadness. See also: the Thom Yorke acoustic cover of "The Rip".
So yeah, let's just move along and not try to remember 2008 anymore. If it wasn't for semi-sober musical suggestions from friends, it would have been a very sad year for my iPod. I fully admit that I didn't 'discover' these bands all by my lonesome like I usually discover awesome and wondrous things; they were pretty much spoon-fed to me. Yummy!
Broadcast
The Noise Made by People and Work and Non Work made it o.k. that the new Portishead record wasn't outstanding. Similar to Portishead, these albums spark images of dimly lit, smoke-filled dive bars that smell of stale whiskey and clove cigarettes and are populated with nothing but Devil-may-care, shifty-eyed, French secret agents. It's kind of like Dummy but with 43% less melancholy.
I generally have a pretty low tolerance when it comes to distortion and discordant noises, so I didn't fall in love quite as much with the direction Broadcast took on Haha Sound and Tender Buttons, but I really like "Before We Begin" and "America's Boy". And Future Crayon was a good collection of songs from their EPs and b-sides (I especially like "Dave's Dream").
Fugazi
Holy shit. I mean...WOWEE. I really missed the boat on this band. I could have been a much more indignant, angry, socially-awkward, paranoid teenager had I been listening to the likes of 13 Songs, Repeater, and Red Medicine in high school. Alas, crippling shyness took over and ruled the day for me back then (thanks for nothing, Wu-Tang Clan). "Repeater", "Styrofoam", "Birthday Pony", and "Target" are songs that really stand out to me.
End Hits and The Argument really blew me away--the latter is easily my favorite Fugazi record. It seems pretty rare for a band to wrap up a long career with their best work. Even though the music isn't as sonically aggressive and less of the lyrics are growled than on earlier albums, the message comes across even stronger. The title track on The Argument really amazes me because it accurately portrays and predicts the American political climate from late 2001 to the present day--from the events of 9/11 through the impending damage caused by two terms of the Worst. President. Ever. Keep in mind this song was recorded 6-8 months before Sept. 11, 2001.
David Bowie
The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust
"Heroes"
Diamond Dogs - Hmm.."Rebel Rebel" sounds a lot like a Rolling Stones song..
..And if you aren't completely nauseous right now from all the useless information, here is some more:
208 is the number of songs added to Pete's iPod during calendar year '08 (as of Dec 15).
Of those 208:
41.8% Pop/Rock
24.5% Electronic
15.5% Punk
14.4% Hip-Hop
3.3% Reggae
.5% Jazz
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