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

Via Chicago's Top 10 (+1) of 2008

I know the general critical opinion is that this was a weaker year for music, and while I don’t disagree, it was a year I really enjoyed. Between this blog and my eMusic, I ended up listening to a lot of new music, and for the first time in a few years actually felt clued in to what the hip kids were listening to. Of course, that said, my top 3 from last year all would have faired mighty well this year, so maybe it wasn’t the strongest, but there was a lot to love in 2008. Namely…

10. (tie) Dr. Dog - Fate
Lame to have a tie, but I just couldn’t bear to leave either of these off my list. I was actually all set to have this fall off and be #11, but Tex posting that clip reminded me that a) this album is awesome, and b) I think these guys are making a really unique sound in today’s music scene and I love it. These guys play their hearts out with emotion – I’m totally with Tex that they have the potential to be seriously great.

10. (tie) – Marnie Stern – This Is It...I already summed up some of my thoughts on her, but she makes a truly jaw dropping wall of sound that is just insanely powerful – almost too powerful as the album is hard to listen to as a whole. But in a year that I explored a lot of feedback, fuzz, and crazy guitar, this was the highlight.

9. Mike Patton – A Perfect Place
Patton is hit and miss, and that sloppiness is a huge part of his charm to me. Here, he hits in a big way with a very concise, tight collection of moody pieces. Some are songs, some are just movie ambience, but it all comes together tightly. I also love the way he creates a nice, simple musical theme, and then toys with it throughout the album with different instrumentation, moods, etc.

8. Kanye West – 808s & Heartbreak
I have little else to say, except that I think time will be kind to this album, and that is what sets it apart from your T-Pains of the world.

7. Dosh – Wolves and Wishes
As I mentioned before, I wasn’t so into this album when it first came out, despite Tex’s recommendation. But seeing him live really made the sounds pop for me and made it all come clear. Like all noise rock, this is not brilliant from top to bottom, but the great moments that come through (“Wolves” in particular) really shine.

6. Wolf Parade – At Mount Zoomer
Full of great, BIG sounds, and ending with a 10 minute song where the yell “Fire in the hole!” repeatedly. Yeah, that sounds like something I would indeed like…

5. Vampire Weekend – Vampire Weekend
I went through an odd trajectory with this album. First time I heard one of their songs, I hated it. Then I discovered it was lodged in my head and I wanted to hear it again, so I bought the album and listened to it non-stop in early summer. Then I stopped and had no interest in listening again. But I picked it up again to re-evaluate for this list and screw it, this thing is great. What really strikes me is the great sense of urgency on this album. For an allegedly laid back album, the pace is remarkably fast and almost punkish, made all the better by the unbelievably tight playing. Will they have longevity? Maybe not, but I bet they’ll have more than Fleet Foxes.

4. Bonnie Prince Billy – Lie Down in the Light
So, so good, and better every single time I listen. At first listen this got an OK for me, but then I kind of ignored it. Picked it back up and thought “Oh this will probably make my top 10” and with every listen it moves farther up. Who knows – if I revisit this list in a year I might say “Why on earth didn’t I make that my #1?”

3. Deerhunter – Microcastle/Weird Era Cont.
I’m just counting these as one album because (aside from being sold as one) they make such a complete package. With Microcastle they really invest more in exploring actual songs with actual rocking out, with the album (and their career so far) reaching an epic peak on “Nothing Ever Happens”. Then Weird Era is this sort of long form extended coda where they just embrace the shoegazing noise rock and let the mood wash over them. Beautiful stuff.

2. Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks – Real Emotional Trash
For the majority of the year this was my #1 and it’s getting totally overlooked and screwed in year end lists. Did it just come out too early? Prior to this one, all the Malkmus solo stuff made me say “Man Pavement was awesome”, but this one stands on its own. I love the way they push into these crazy almost, dare I say, prog rock song structures. Both “Hopsctoch Willie” and “Baltimore” and standouts, but the real highlight is “Real Emotional Trash” – when the big guitar vamp finally bursts through it’s just a sublime moment of genius.

1. Guns ‘n Roses – Chinese Democracy
I was a little hesitant about making this my #1 for some reason, but it’s the album I most looked forward to this year, it completely delivered, and it is, to me, the definitive album of 2008. What more do you need? How about ridiculously awesome hooks, massive guitar solos, huge ballads, Axl Rose lunacy… this sucker has it all. As we’ve been discussing the Max v. Min theories, this is pretty clearly one of the most maximum albums of all time. Like Use Your Illusion, it reaches for the stars in a way no single other album did this year, and while it occasionally falls short, that ambition combined with the number of times it hits its goals make this my clear cut #1.

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.

Final Day...

Only one more day, and so - here's two classics that capture GnR in all their insane glory:

2 Days...

The countdown rolls on! Featured today – the best overlooked song in the entire GnR canon. I give you… Rocket Queen.



This is a pretty amazing pre-Illusion performance, with them in full on Appetite for Destruction mode. Skinny Axl! Stephen Adler! Seedy looking club! You love it!

And now, as promised, a semi-coherent rant…

So here’s the thing about Chinese Democracy – I’ve heard all the silly rumors over the years. That it would feature Trent Reznor. That it would feature Moby. That it would feature Shaq. I’ve heard the awful “Oh My God” single. And at first there was a part of me that was of the “Oh man, this is going to suck – it will be hilarious” camp. But my inner high schooler has kicked in. You see, before I knew any of you, I was a HUGE GnR fan. Loved them. Would have argued at one point that UYI2 was the best album of the 90s – and while I wouldn’t go that far, it’s still up there.

And now, it’s a weird position. Are they dated? Undoubtedly. But at the same time, they were always insane, so has the past 15 years of insanity really tarnished their image somehow? And while maybe they’ve gotten crappy, the fact is we have nothing to base that off of, except one tossed off soundtrack song. So signs point to this not being a great album – and yet I can’t help but have faith. Faith that the band that made Estranged will show up. Faith that the band that made Rocket Queen will show up. Even faith that the bizarre band who made The Spaghetti Incident will show up, because those are all aspects of the whole GnR persona, and I love them all. Some more than others, but it is the My World’s and Manson covers that partly make them so amazing. And not, NOT, in an ironic way. This is a band (and at this point, just a single man) with huge aspirations. Sometimes those aspirations lead to crap. But sometimes they lead to brilliance. And for all the people who hold up Appetite as the pinnacle, I respectfully submit that it is those aspirations displayed on the Illusion albums that make GnR so much more than just another Aerosmith. Will there be garbage on this album? Undoubtedly. But there was garbage on every one of their albums, and that garbage just serves to make the best work float to the surface.

And so I’m probably getting my hopes up too high. But man, this is a moment I have anticipated for 15 years. 15. Half of my life. And it makes me happy to discover that, 15 years later, I’m not so jaded that I have lost that excitement.

GnR Countdown: 3 days to go...

The Countdown continues. Today in anticipation I listened to Use Your Illusion II for the first time in years and man, that thing is amazing. And so, what better way to get pumped for this weekend than Estranged:

When you're talking to yourself...

Of course, Axl is nuts, so for some reason I can't embed this, but watch it anyway. And love it.

More to come tomorrow, including an argumant as to why I am really REALLY pumped about this album, and not in any sort of ironic train wreck sort of way...

More Chinese Democracy

Awesome review from Chuck Klosterman.

Chinese Democracy

Man I am pumped...