[This is the second half of what is becoming my annual music review. This second installment will cover my top albums and a look ahead at some exciting new releases coming out in early 2009.]
Last year I was a little disappointed with the albums put out by some of my favorite artists, but there were still plenty of great releases and limiting things down to a top 5 was tough. This year is different, and except for few standouts, I’ve actually had a hard time naming albums that I would put on a “Best of…” list. (In fact, I’ve probably put way more thinking into this then is at all reasonable for someone who is just listening to music for fun.)
Because there haven’t been a lot of easy, stand-out choices, it’s forced me to think carefully about what my criteria are for “Best of…” quality. Of course, it’s very subjective and difficult to quantify, but I think I can generally put it down to two criteria.
First, the musical sound and theme of the album as a whole needs to be “timeless.” This means that I need to believe that 5, 10 or 15 years from now I will still enjoy the album – and not just for nostalgic reasons. I might not be actively listening to the album on a daily basis 10 years from now, but if it comes up on shuffle in my iPod (or hopefully the vastly improved version of a portable music player that we carry around with us in 10 years) it should still have the same kind of emotional impact. Now of course this isn’t an easy thing to predict. There are some albums that I considered “classic” 15-20 years ago that I hear today and find, although maybe still interesting, dated or just lacking in impact. (And then there are the fear-of-getting-old-and-lame issues that come up with thinking about yourself 15+ years down the road. I believe my musical tastes haven’t changed that much from age 20 to 35 – although I’d like to think they’ve expanded and matured – but what will they be when I’m 50? Will I still have an open appreciation for all kinds of “good” music, or will I be rocking out to the diluted sounds of “adult contemporary?”)
My second criteria for a “Best of…” album is that it should pass the “No Skip-Tracks Required” test. There are lots of releases that have a stellar track or two on them but to be a great album, it needs to be solid from start to end. Not every song is going to be equal, but there shouldn’t be any throw-away tracks. I should be able to give the album to a friend as a gift, have them stick it in the CD player (or these days, download the files onto their MP3 player) push play, and not feel the need to suggest they skip over track such-an-such or worry about whether they’ll form a bad impression listening to the weaker songs that fill the space between the 4 or 5 solid tracks. And it’s this test in particular that made it challenging to find 5 albums that I would clearly put in my “Best of 2008” list.
Anyway, that’s turned into a very long introduction to my top albums list, so without any more blathering, here it is:
Top 5 Albums of 2008:
1. 3 Rounds and A Sound – Blind Pilot. First off, I realize this might look like I’m playing favorites with a local band but I’m not. Honestly, this was an easy choice. These guys have a great sound that is easily accessible without sounding contrite or mainstream. I could easily see them following in the tracks of someone like Death Cab for Cutie (i.e. sort of breaking into the popular music scene but never fully going mainstream). My biggest question about this album is why it’s not more prominent on other people’s lists.
2. For Emma, Forever Ago – Bon Iver. When I first got this album I was immediately hooked on 3 or 4 of the tracks, but there were a few songs that I thought detracted from the album as a whole. And then I sat down with a cold beer, put on my good headphones, cranked up the volume, and listened to the entire album straight through with no interruptions or distractions. When I was done I knew this would be on my “Best of list.” Although there’s still that 1:57 seconds of track 7 that I think they could do without.
3. Many Things – Seun Kuti & Egypt 80. Every time I do these personal year-end music reviews, I wish I had listened to a wider range of music. I end up with this nagging feeling that there is lots of great music out there that I’m not even aware of, especially outside the US-Canada indie-rock/pop/punk/alt-country/folk music scene. So this year I made more of an effort to listen to whatever I could find – a lot of it from the vastly overused and overly-broad bucket of “World” music. In the process I found some great albums (Orchestra Baobab’s Made in Dakar, Ximena Sarinana’s Mediocre, Toumani Diabate’s Made Variations) but this one from Seun Kuti clearly stood out as something worth being on the top of anyone’s list.
4. Flight of the Concords – Flight of the Concords. I almost forgot to even consider this for my 2008 list because I got their DVD in 2007 and the buzz around most of these songs was all over the internet back then so it feels a little like last year’s album. But I’m glad I remembered because Jemaine and Bret are awesome. It will be interesting though to see how well this holds up over time. A lot of parody humor tends to loose it’s edge, but I’d like to think songs like “Business Time” and “A Kiss is Not a Contract” will still have me laughing when I’m 50.
5. Sugar Mountain Live 1968 – Neil Young. Normally I wouldn’t put an album like this on my “Best of..” list – it wasn’t recorded this year, or even this decade – and I’m not the die-hard, long time Neil Young fan that some are (Chas) but there’s no denying that this album passes the “timeless” criteria.
Honorable Mention:
Vampire Weekend – Vampire Weekend. This is the album I’ve listened to the most in 2008 – partly because it came out at the very start of the year, but mostly because Sarah really loves it. And the thing is, as many times as I listened to it, I never grew tired of it. The second half of the album is a little weaker (they had a great EP, but couldn’t quite put together a full album of equal material) but it sets up such a strong vibe that it carries you through the whole thing with a smile on your face.
Consolers of the Lonely – The Raconteurs. Honestly, I haven’t spent enough time with this album (I just got it at Christmas). At first listen I put it near the top of my list. Then after another listen I wasn’t so sure. Now, as I go back a couple more times, listen specifically so some of the tracks I had given lower ratings, I think I’m just beginning to appreciate some the sound of this album.
2009 Preview:
Now I’m not a part of the music industry and I don’t really follow the music press, so I’m sure there are a lot of things coming up in the next year that I’m not aware of, but there are five albums releasing in early 2009 that have me excited. I’m keeping my fingers crossed and expecting these to make up most of my 2009 “Best of” list: Heartless Bastards – The Mountain, The Decemberists – Hazards of Love, Neko Case – Middle Cyclone, Andrew Bird – Noble Beast, and Bon Iver’s second album Blood Bank.
Not More Music Crap? 