Monday, December 22, 2008

New Year wishes

Following up on Jim's theme of last years disappointments here is something else: my wishlist for 2009, what bands / artists would I like to see releasing a brilliant album:

- Battles; one of my favs at the moment
http://www.myspace.com/battlestheband

- Panda Bear, crazy frontman of schizo band animal collective
http://www.myspace.com/rippityrippity

- D'Angelo; I guess that will never happen..if only, my favorite R&B artist

- Dr Who Dat - Since I got the album Beat Journey from my sister I was hooked, very creative instrumental hiphop

http://www.boomkat.com/artist.cfm?a=11296




- Portishead; because I was digging their last album

Best concert of 2008: Sigur Ros, Heineken Music Hall Amsterdam, November 17 2008

Sunday, December 21, 2008

You let me down, baby!


The great Chicago (WBEZ) radio program Sound Opinions has an annual Thanksgiving "Turkey Shoot" show- i.e. bands and albums that have dispaointed them in the past year:
http://www.soundopinions.org/shownotes/2008/112808/shownotes.html

Loving lists as I do, I though this would be a great idea for us to list our biggest recent dissapointments. Here are mine, looking forward to seeing yours:

1. Skeletal Lamping - Of Montreal. Of Montreal is one of the band's I've been the most excited about in a while. Fun, talent, wit, brilliant song-writing and extreme silliness. However, being too clever for their own good has always been a potential flaw with this band - and in this case it proves fatal. Too much of evrything - tempo changes, interludes, effects, nerd-sex one liners, geek pimpin' - all stuff that they've used brilliantly in the past, but here it distracts from the actual music. It's still all about the songs - remember? I had thought this bad got that.

2. Stay Positive - The Hold Steady. I really don't have anything bad to say about this album. they're still a great band and this is a fair album. I guess it's just a huge dissapointment to me compared to Boys and Girls of America. This album is fine - it just lacks majic. I just can't get into it.

3. Evolver - John Legend. Just when you though John legend was going to be the messiah to lead R&B back to the promised land of creativity, talent and soul, he goes to sleep. This album is booooooooooring and over-produced. 

4. Chinese Democracy - Guns N’ Roses. Not that I expected it to be good, but I thought just maybe... ah, no! Street of Dreams may be the worse rock song ever. 

Tuesday, December 9, 2008

Best of '08: My faves

My three favorite albums of the year:
Fleet Foxes - Fleet Foxes 
At Mount Zoomer - Wolf Parade
Dig lazarus, Dig - Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds

My other faves in no particular order:
Jim - Jamie Lidell
The Stand Ins - Okkervil River
Carried to Dust - Calexico (I think they are trying to take the title of best active band away from Wilco)
Oracular Spectacular - MGMT 
Third - Portishead
Do You Like Rock Music? - British Sea Power
Flight of the Conchords - Flight of the Conchords
Erykah Badu - Amerykah, Part 1
Bake Sale - Cool Kids
Modern Guilt - Beck
Real Animal - Alejandro Escovedo
Earth To The Dandy Warhols - The Dandy Warhols
The Odd Couple - Gnarls Barkley
Everything That Happens Will Happen Today- David Byrne & Brian Eno
Chemical Chords - Stereolab
Dear Science - TV on the Radio
Everywhere at Once - Lyrics Born
Real Emotional Trash - Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks
Consolers Of the Lonely - The Raconteurs

Honorable mentions: I guess I'll call R.E.M.'s Accelerate an honorable mention. I really enjoyed it - and I'm so glad they're back to making rock and roll music after years of boring mush - but it didn't stay with me long. Despite some of the most ridulous lyrics I've heard since re-reading my high school love letters, I liked Flock by Bell X1. The Way I See It by Rapheal Saadiq and Santogold's self titled albums were really nice. She & Him Volume One had disaster written all over it - but it wasn't. In fact, it's a great album. Priscilla Ahn's A Good Day was a good, simple and sweet debut.