Best of 2008 Consensus?

Greetings and Happy New Year to the Kittybrains Collective!

Here's a generalized breakdown of albums in which 2 or more people were in agreement -

Albums that appeared on 3 lists:
Bonnie "Prince" Billy
Bob Dylan
Guns N' Roses
Vampire Weekend
Lil' Wayne

Albums that appeared on 2 lists:
Dr. Dog, Kanye, Randy Newman, MMJ, Sun Kil Moon, Erykah Badu, Bon Iver, R.E.M, Tallest Man

To make things more interesting, I made a another list that gave extra weight to those albums that were listed in anyone's Top 5.
The major issue with this method is that Eric and the good Doctor K did not rank their selections. I tried to make a system that both didn't penalize them too much for this, yet still added some weight to the albums that the rest of us ranked higher on our lists.
If anyone has a different idea of how to do this, I say bring it on.

Here's what I did:
- I only included albums that were on more than one list
- Albums received 2 points for each list they appeared on in which they were listed in the Top 5
- All other albums received 1 point for every list they appeared on
- See the spreadsheet I linked to above for the tally

AND the results!

5th Place (with 2 points each)
Dr. Dog
Kanye West
Randy Newman
My Morning Jacket
Sun Kil Moon
Erykah Badu
The Tallest Man On Earth

4th Place (with 3 points)
R.E.M.

3rd Place (with 4 points)
Bon Iver
Vampire Weekend

2nd Place (with 5 points)
Lil' Wayne

And the Consensus Best Albums of 2008 (with 6 points):
Bonnie "Prince" Billy
Bob Dylan
Guns N' Roses

Dr. Kittybrains' Favorite Albums of 2008

I hafta admit I've been taking a backseat lately. I didn't have much to add to the 'Chinese Democracy' debate - I've never cared about G'N'R very much, and although I kind of enjoyed the album, it didn't really convert me to the ranks of the faithful.

My indifference to Axl notwithstanding, I enjoyed a lot of records in 2008, many of which seemed to get overlooked in the year-end wrap-ups I've been seeing. I'm including my favorite albums here, with a separate post to follow covering my favorite singles and album tracks from CDs not listed below.

Flight of the Conchords - s/t
I haven't seen this on a single top 10 list, but this is actually a tuneful, funny, well-produced collection of songs, and it had a tremendous amount of replay value for me.

Adele - 19
Forget Duffy... the REAL young British sensation this year is Adele, who blew me away when I saw her performance of the brilliant "Chasing Pavements" on SNL this fall. The entire album rises to the level of that song - and she was only 19 when she recorded this... she really writes and plays. Plus, I like that she's a little zaftig - I like singers who look like real people, y'know?

Al Green - Lay It Down
Stephen King had this one right... the fact that ?uestlove's production captures the warm 70s vibe of Green's classic records wouldn't matter if the songs weren't fantastic, but they are. Every last one of them.

Gnarls Barkley - The Odd Couple
Maybe it's "Crazy" backlash? I thought that The Odd Couple was stronger start-to-finish than St. Elsewhere and that's saying something. Take a listen to this brilliant song and production that you probably haven't heard:

Lil Wayne - Tha Carter III
"What can you say about a twenty-five-year-old girl who died? That she was beautiful. And brilliant. That she loved Mozart and Bach. And the Beatles. And me." Here's a track that doesn't get any airplay, but it's the sort of lush Kanye production that made Common's Finding Forever my top pick last year:

Passing Strange - Original Broadway Cast Recording
Quinapalus' inclusion of In The Heights reminded me of how much I loved this show, which I saw both off- and on Broadway, with its incredible score by singer/songwriter Stew. Enjoy the track below - if you love it as much as I do, you owe it to yourself to listen to the whole thing end-to-end.

Beck - Modern Guilt
Danger Mouse does it again... brilliant production, brilliant songs from Beck... a brisk listen that gets better with repeated plays.

Patton Oswalt - Werewolves and Lollipops
Funniest comedy CD in years. Get it. Seriously. Everyone.

Randy Newman - Harps and Angels
One of my all-time favorites does it again. Here's the masterpiece/centerpiece, which Tex was quoting:

My Morning Jacket - Evil Urges
I don't know what to say about this except I thought this was an example of fantastic songwriting and production throughout, and this is the first (and still only) album of theirs that I've really enjoyed. Go figure, but I love this. My current favorite:

The Hereafter - It Doesn't Matter Why It Is, It Doesn't Matter If It's Wrong
He may be a friend of ours, but almost nothing else released last year touched me as deeply or made me laugh as much as this "audio book of four novellas". Catchy, weird and beautiful.
Stream the entire album HERE.

Tex Plush's Top 13 of 2008

13. The Broken West - Now or Heaven
The hooks are plentiful, the songs are well-written, and the beats ride that nice line between electronic and acoustic underneath up-tempo jangly guitar-pop. Though my frustration with the quality of writing in the AV Club continues, this was one recommendation they made in 2008 that I am grateful for.
http://www.myspace.com/thebrokenwest

12. The Sea and Cake - Car Alarm
Listening to TSAC to me is in some ways like The Band - I can focus on any one player in the mix and have a revelatory listening experience, yet they all come together into a totally unique blend. You already know if you like this band. If you do, don't miss this record.


11. Dr. Dog - Fate
Their vocal harmonies in concert are fucking outstanding. I see big things for these guys if they keep on their current trajectory.


10. Sun Kil Moon - April
If you've tried to be a fan of Mark Kozelek in the past and it never worked out, don't listen to this album. If you've ever loved a Red House Painters album or a Sun Kil Moon record, April is up there with the best of them. It definitely feels more to me like old school RHP with all its sprawl, rather than the more efficient sensibilities of Ghosts Of The Great Highway. But as long as you're not in a hurry, the hypnotic tension Kozelek builds during his verses always pays off when he unexpectedly hits the chorus. And when those electrics finally chime in - never has a three guitar attack been so soothing and mind-bending at the same time.

9. Erykah Badu - New Amerykah Vol. 1 (World War 4)

8. Blitzen Trapper - Furr

7. Randy Newman - Harps and Angels
No artist makes me laugh out loud the way Randy Newman does. He is STILL at the top of his game. This record was sorely overlooked this year by the establishment.
Favorite line: "You know, it pisses me off that the Supreme Courts gonna out live me. Couple young Italian fellows and a brother on the court now too. But I defy you, anywhere in the world to find me two Italians as tight assed as the the two Italians we got. And as for the brother, well, Pluto's not a planet any more neither."

6. Mates of State - Rearrange Us
Their most mature, best sounding, most diversely orchestrated album to date. Though it drops off a little in the 2nd half, it's the catchiest, sweetest and most optimistic pop record of the year. I've never been a huge fan of these guys, but this time they hit it out of the park.


5. Lil' Wayne - Tha Carter III
I've never listened to a hip hop album as much as I listened to Tha Carter III. His voice and flow is one of a kind and I never get tired of hearing it, specially sandwiched btw the hottest R and B hooks this side of R. Kelly. Funny thing, I have a feeling that Q and I have completely different favorite tracks on this disc....

4. Guns N' Roses - Chinese Democracy

3. Bob Dylan - Tell Tale Signs

2. Bon Iver - To Emma, Forever Ago
In hindsight, I guess I'm not surprised that no one really responded when I posted a track from this album a while back. It definitely requires a certain mood to be appreciated, maybe even a certain kind of weather or a particular time of night or early morning. I'm a little bit fascinated by the way some albums have stories connected to them that become part of their mystique and can help communicate that particular atmosphere they need in order to be appreciated. Yes, such stories also serve as marketing, and I guess that is the other part of me that likes them- the part of me that appreciates shrewd business sense. For Emma is a perfect example of how one of those stories dovetails with an albums mood: Justin Vernon's band broke up. His relationship ended too. So he retreated to an isolated cabin in the Wisconsin woods for a long, lonely winter, and he produced this album. He ended the winter with what he thought was a decent demo. What he actually came out of the woods with was the most beautiful sounding record of the year. The emotion just drips from the speakers.

1. Bonnie "Prince" Billy - Lie Down In The Light
After a string of records that sounded like the work of a warmed-over corpse, Will Oldham got his groove back in the year 2008. No matter when I put this album on this year, it never failed to make me feel more connected to myself, to nature, to my family, to my girlfriend, to life and to death. That's a motherfucking tall order, if you ask me. This album is so meaningful and earnest, yet never heavy and it retains a loose, communal back porch jam feel throughout. I'm tempted to give all the credit to Mark Nevers, whose production is a revelation for Oldham's music. The instruments breath in space, and on almost every track there are new, surprising, yet perfect instrumental additions, whether it be a honky tonk piano, a clarinet, a chorus of horns or a hammond organ. No Bonnie "Prince" Billy album has felt this alive in years, and none have EVER felt this joyful. Oldham is actually singing his heart out and it is just gorgeous. In a year of transition and stress, Lie Down In The Light was just what I needed.

Lil Wayne Lives Up to the Hype

After a few listens, I'm ready to say that Tha Carter III, Lil Wayne's newest album, is better than my wildest expectations, and is a huge step forward for him as an artist, miles beyond any album he's released before. He's done exactly what I'd always hoped, but didn't dare to believe he'd do: he's largely stepped out of the gangster, crack dealer posturing that has always made it impossible for me to make it through an entire Lil Wayne album in one sitting, and has created a complicated, inventive, nuanced pop masterpiece.

For longtime fans of his misogyny and mindnumbing violence, he throws a few bones here and there, and there is of course the incredibly irritating "Lollipop" song, but most of the album goes places Wayne has never gone before: a vulnerable and heartfelt ode to his hometown of New Orleans, a couple of shockingly inoffensive and entertaining love songs, inventive concept songs about such things as being a hip-hop doctor, a space alien, and lusting after a lady cop, all backed by awesome, r&b based beats from Kanye West and others.

Wayne is "Lil" for a reason: he's been recording since he was a kid, and is still a very young artist, only 25 years old now. I hope that this album bodes well for a long, fascinating career from an artist who looks as though he's no longer content to throw away his immense talents on the same tired nihilistic themes gangsta rappers have been beating into the ground for years.

Lick the Rapper

His drooling superfans over at Pitchfork are having a difficult time getting the hard-on they were hoping for over this new pop song from Lil' Wayne.



Personally, I take this song as an encouraging sign that Wayne is leaving his thug pose at the door with his new album, and is trying to cross over into the 14-year-old girl demographic (which I have to assume is at least part of the marketing plan with this video). This may just be a mediocre sex song, but I'd certainly take it any day over the songs he used to write about shooting snitches.

But what I find amusing about the video is this: in the recent tradition of such lamentable pop hitmakers as 50 Cent, Lil' Wayne has chosen to base an entire song around the idea that eating candy can be a metaphor for oral sex, and in particular that a "lollipop" is like a penis. In this context, Wayne seems to spend an awful lot of time in this video with a lollipop hanging out of his mouth. And granted, most of the time he's just holding the lollipop in his hand and waving it around at the camera, but periodically it's definitely in his mouth. It seems like a strange oversight for an industry as homophobic as mainstream rap.

Of course, he also spends a lot of time sitting on the roof of a car playing an electric guitar...in a song that to my ear has a total absence of guitar. So it seems as if nobody put a lot of thought into the subtleties of this video.

Playing Basketball With The Moon

I thought for my first post I'd say something positive about a rapper I've given a hard time to in some of our discussions in the past. But in the past couple of years, Lil Wayne really has evolved out of a paint-by-numbers crack dealer pose into something much more interesting. You can still count on him to say something extremely misogynist every couple of songs, and his proud gang allegiance is sometimes more than I can take--but if you're the sort of listener that can take all that with a grain of salt and get lost in his very funny one liners and incredibly inventive metaphors, then it's worth giving a listen to some of his most recent work. I'm especially taken with this song, which leaked out and is rumored to be on his new album (Tha Carter III, due out, by the latest reports, in March). I'd say he gives the Jefferson Airplane a run for their money on this song, in terms of the pure pizazz with which he talks about drugs.