Top 20 Albums of 2008

I realize I'm a little late on this (being almost a month into 2009), but I'd say it's about time I unveiled my top 20 albums for 2008. There were quite a few albums that I was forced to leave off of this list, so I'll do another post featuring some of those fantastic albums that just missed the cut.
It was a better year for music than I remember, and a lot of these albums were really close together for me. Most of the albums in the 11-20 range have been shuffled around a lot since I started this list, and that's part of the reason it has taken me so long to get this up. There was even quite a bit of shuffling within the top 10 (#3 & #4 have swapped places numerous times). Even now I'm not entirely comfortable with the placing, but it has to be done.
Without further adieu, I give you the top 20 albums of 2008.



#20: The Last Shadow Puppets - The Age of the Understatement

Great dark(ish), slinky pop music backed with the London Symphony Orchestra. The entire album seems like it was taken from a James Bond soundtrack...but in a good way. Parts of this album are upbeat and catchy, but even those moments seem to have an almost sinister undercurrent. This band is comprised of Alex Turner (from Arctic Monkeys) and Miles Kane (from The Rascals). I'm not really a fan of either of those bands (sorry), so I was extremely surprised to find that I really liked this album.

Favorite Song: "My Mistakes Were Made for You"



#19: The Submarines - Honeysuckle Weeks

I loved The Submarines first album (Declare a New State!). It showed off their talents for writing a collection of perfect pop songs. While I don't think their new album quite measures up to their old one, Honeysuckle Weeks is still a great collection of pop music, and it's clear (through songs like "1940" and "Fern Beard") that they are trying out some new creative ideas. This is a good pop album, and further shows that they will be a major force to be reckoned with in the not-too-distant future.

Favorite Song: "Xavia"




#18: British Sea Power - Do You Like Rock Music?

I'll admit: I'm a bit late to the British Sea Power train. I listened to their previous albums, but they never really impressed me that much. That all changed on this album. When the riff for "Lights Out for Darker Skies" kicked in, I was hooked. The entire album is filled with big rock songs. Some ("No Lucifier", "Waving Flags") sound like lost Arcade Fire songs, while others ("Open the Door") recall a bit of the 60s Brit-Rock era mixed with an unknown 80s alt-rock band. There are a couple of weak points on the album (somewhere in the middle), but it opens strong and ends strong. All in all, a very good rock album.

Favorite Song: "Lights Out for Darker Skies"




#17: Jakob Dylan - Seeing Things

I've been a fan of the Wallflowers for years, so I was really looking forward to this album. When I heard it was being produced by Rick Rubin, I had a pretty good idea of what it would sound like. Needless to say, I was not surprised by the sound of this album. It is exactly what I thought it would be. And that's a good thing. It's great to hear him stepping away from his band for an album and airing out some of these stripped down songs. I'm not really too fond of "All Day and All Night", but the rest of the songs are great. I'm particularly fond of "I Told You I Couldn't Stop"; a slow-stomping, restrained blues song. It doesn't sound at all like the rest of the album, which makes it that much more striking. "Valley of the Low Sun" and "War is Kind" are great protest songs...poetic and well thought-out. Sadly, there are too few of those anymore. This album showcases Dylan's quieter side, and also shows off his stellar songwriting. Let's hope there's more where this came from.

Favorite Song: "I Told You I Couldn't Stop"



#16: Gnarls Barkley - The Odd Couple

It'd be easy to say that Gnarls Barkley has fallen a little bit. Their first album (St. Elsewhere) made was tied as my favorite album in 2006. And here we sit in 2008, all the way down at #16.
The truth is that this is a great album. Their sound hasn't really evolved since that album, but there wasn't really a reason to. The beats are still chaotic little masterpieces of music history, and Cee-Lo is still raving like a mad preacher (nowhere is this more evident than on "Who's Gonna Save My Soul?"). It would be a little higher on this list if it weren't for "Whatever"; a wretched little song about a neglected teenager, sung in a terribly whiny voice (you know, to capture the spirit of the character). The rest of the album is really strong, featuring some of the best songs of their short career. This album is shows why Danger Mouse is one of the best producers currently working (more on this in a couple of albums).

Favorite Song: "Who's Gonna Save My Soul?"



#15: Okkervil River - The Stand Ins

I was sucked in by Okkervil River's previous album, The Stage Names, so I was pretty excited about this album, seeing as how closely they were connected (it was originally conceived as a double-album). It took me a couple of listens to get into it, but, once I did, I couldn't stop listening to it. No offense to The Stage Names, but this album blows it out of the water. There are a number of great songs on this album, but "On Tour With Zykos" stands out among all the others. If you have yet to hear a single Okkervil River song, make sure you listen to this one. It's really hard for me to listen to this song without skipping back to the beginning as soon as it gets over.

Favorite Song: "On Tour With Zykos"



#14: The Black Keys - Attack & Release

I've been a fan of the Black Keys for years, and this is, by far, their best album. They stick to their blues roots, but they have also expanded their musical pallet considerably on this album. Flutes, organs and other various instrumentation show up quite often, giving them a sound that is quite different from their other albums. Danger Mouse produced this album, and I'm sure he had more than a little bit to do with this new direction. Let's hope that their next album takes this sound and expands it even further.

Favorite Song: "So He Won't Break"



#13: Amanda Jenssen - Killing My Darlings

I randomly came across this album on a blog somewhere, and fell in love with it within about 20 seconds. The album opens in full Dusty Springfield mode; bright strings, clean guitars, a nice beat...and that voice. That's really what carries this album. She rolls through a number of different styles, but her voice is what holds the album together. As I've said before in this space, all the genre-hopping can get a little distracting sometimes, but there are so many amazing moments on the album that it doesn't really matter that a couple of the styles don't seem to mesh. Being from Sweden, I don't think she'll ever make it big here in America, and that's a shame.

Favorite Song: "For the Sun"



#12: Bjorn Norestig - Hello Inside

Bjorn Norestig is a pop singer. He has a gruff(ish) voice that is usually considered to be more along the lines of a folk singer, but he is a pop singer. Plain and simple. And we can all be glad that he is. There are moments of pure pop brilliance on this album; heavy on the Hammond B-3, blaring horns that show up at key moments, and even some female hamonies thrown in for good measure. Make no mistake about it: this guy knows what he's doing.
As with Amanda Jenssen's album, there are some down moments on this album (most notably "Character Song"), and some moments that are just merely really good...but there are 3-4 amazingly perfect pop songs on this album. This being his first full-length album, I can't wait to see what he does from here. I doubt he'll ever break it big in America, but you need to track this album down. You'll thank me for it later.

Favorite Song: "We Can Make it Last"



#11: The Raveonettes - Lust Lust Lust

The Ravonettes have been making great, 50s-inspired rock for a number of years. The formula is simple; write a song that sounds like it should've been written 50 years ago, throw some reverb on it, and let it fly. It's been a good formula. But they decided to switch it up a little bit on this album.
The key elements are still there...only there's a lot more distortion this time. The songs come off as pieces of beautifully orchestrated chaos. Tons of noise filling your ears, while the voices of Sun Rose Wagner and Sharin Foo blend together in the foreground, sounding like ghostly entities rather than people.
I realize this all sounds a bit ridiculous, but, listening to this album now, it's the only thing that makes any sense.
I have listened to (and enjoyed) every album they have released, so I can say this with some confidence: this is the best album in their catalog...and it only gets better with each listen.

Favorite Song: "Aly, Walk With Me"



#10: The Raconteurs - Consolers of the Lonely

The Raconteurs first album, Broken Boy Soldiers, was pretty good, but it wasn't nearly as good as I had hoped it would be. On paper, it looked great: the main creative force of an experimental blues-revival group (Jack White), a pop singer/songwriter (Brendan Benson), and a rhythm section comprised of a blues-rock band (Jack Lawrence and Patrick Keeler from The Greenhornes). It came out as a bit of a mess...a band searching for their sound.
On Consolers of the Lonely, it's pretty safe to say that they've found their sound. It's still pretty easy to tell who wrote each song, but all the songs seem a bit clearer. The styles mesh together a little better. The album actually feels like an album, as opposed to a bunch of songs thrown together just for the sake of doing so. This is a great rock album, and they've shown that they'll only get better.

Favorite Song: "Carolina Drama"



#9: She & Him - Volume One

This is She & Him's first album: "She" being Zooey Deschanel, and "Him" being M. Ward. "She" being a movie star, and "Him" being an underground folk singer. It's a collaboration that no one saw coming, but it turned out to be a perfect one.
Deschanel has a very unique voice, so she needed someone who knew how to best utilize it. Ward was that person. The music ranges from jazz to country to girl-group to pop. The entire album has an old feel to it; like it was recorded decades ago and was just recently found. I can't wait for Volume Two.

Favorite Song: "Sentimental Heart"



#8: Shearwater - Rook

I have a hard time describing this album without bringing up Talk Talk. They are obviously a big influence on Shearwater, and they're not afraid to show it. Grand sweeping pop songs with hints of classical and jazz. They seem to subscribe to the quietLOUDquiet school of music. The album is restrained for most of the time, so the explosions feel a little bigger somehow.
This is a beautiful album. The music goes perfectly with Jonathan Meiburg's dramatic voice. This album seems large and epic in scope, yet still clocks in at less than 40 minutes. This album was overlooked by quite a few people. Don't make that mistake.

Favorite Song: "Home Life"



#7: Neva Dinova - You May Already Be Dreaming

Talk about underappreciated. Over the course of their 3 albums, Neva Dinova have quietly been perfecting their own brand of rock music. They're catchy and creative, yet you rarely hear their name mentioned. This album tends a bit more to the folk side of their influences, but it's still unmistakably Neva Dinova. Even though it is folk-leaning, it's still far from being called a folk album; there are elements of pop, rock, and shoegaze sprinkled throughout. This album took me a little bit to get into, but, once I did, I couldn't stop listening to it. Extremely creative stuff.

Favorite Song: "Tryptophan"



#6: Margot & The Nuclear So & So's - Not Animal

I immediately loved Margot's first album, The Dust of Retreat, so it was a bit of a shock to me when the same didn't happen with this one. The same elements were there; simple songs backed with tons of instrumentation. So what wasn't working?
None of the songs really seemed to stand out. Unlike The Dust of Retreat, when 3 or 4 songs stood out among the others, all of these seemed content to just hang out on the same plane, none of them distinguishing themselves from the other.
But, the more I listened to it, the more the songs really started to jump out at me. Listening to it now, I realize that most of the songs still exist on that same plane...but the plane is high, and all of the songs are great. In fact, I think this album may be better than The Dust of Retreat, and that's really saying something.

Favorite Song: "Pages Written on a Wall"



#5: William Fitzsimmons - The Sparrow & The Crow

William Fitzsimmon's last album, Goodnight, was an extremely personal album; it was a concept album written about his parents' divorce, as seen from the perspective of different family members.
With The Sparrow & The Crow, Mr. Fitzsimmons dialed it up a notch, and wrote yet another extremely personal album; this time it is about his own divorce. The albums kicks off with "After Afterall", a reprise of the last song off of Goodnight. From the opening notes, you can tell you're in for something different. The electronics that were so prevalant on Goodnight are gone here (barring a song or two), leaving only acoustic instrumentation and William's voice. It's a stripped down album, filled with emotion, beauty, heartbreak, and even a little redemption. The album closes on a hopeful note with "Goodmorning", an extremely positive song, showing that the entire world is not made up of gloom and doom.
This is an extremely personal album. It's the sound of an artist baring his soul. It can be a little uncomfortable at times, but it's necessary...and beautiful.

Favorite Song: "Find Me to Forgive"



#4: Beck - Modern Guilt

Danger Mouse has been a busy man. This is his third appearance in this list.
When I heard that Beck and Danger Mouse would be working together on this album, my expectations went through the roof. Beck is one of the most consistently creative artists currently working, and Danger Mouse is one of the best producers currently working. How could my hopes not be sky high?
Much to no one's surprise, I immediately loved this album, and it only gets better with each listen. This album goes back to the era of 60s & 70s psych-rock and throws a little modernity on it. And it works perfectly. It sounds simultaneously modern and timeless...no easy feat.

Favorite Song: "Youthless"



#3: Glasvegas - Glasvegas

Glasvegas takes their love of 50s pop, throws a layer of reverb over it, and calls it a day. The strange thing? It works so well. They take their instrumentation and creative a massive wall of sound that would make a drug-addled Phil Spector proud. They sing songs about social workers, cheating on their girlfriends, getting stabbed, and all matter of other things. At least, I think that's what they're singing about; the lead singer's thick Scottish accent can be a bit hard to understand at times.
Regardless, this is a fantastic debut album. There is a lot to love on this album, and a lot to look forward to in their future.

Favorite Song: "It's My Own Cheating Heart That Makes Me Cry"



#2: Bon Iver - For Emma, Forever Ago

I'll not argue as to whether this was a 2007 or 2008 release. I can do that later if you so desire. Just let it be known that I'll call this a 2008 release in this space.
This album came out of nowhere. I checked it out on a whim, after hearing it described as "TV On the Radio meets Iron & Wine". That's a bit off, but I can see where they were going with it. It's mainly an acoustic album (Iron & Wine), and he has a unique voice that can get pretty high (TV On the Radio). But that description doesn't quite catch what this album is. His sound is nothing like I've ever heard. It's stripped down and full at the same time. His double-tracked vocals bring out a depth in the music that shouldn't be there. He has crafted a sound which is wholly unique and absolutely amazing. There is more creativity in this album than most artists can summon in a lifetime. If you haven't heard this album yet, I urge you to do so as soon as possible.
For the record, he also puts on a killer live show.

Favorite Song: "The Wolves (Act I & II)"



#1: TV On the Radio - Dear Science,

Like the Beck album, this is yet another album that I had big expectations for, and then had those expectations blown away. Their previous album, Return to Cookie Mountain, was my favorite album of theirs' so far, and I expected this album to take them to another level entirely. It did that, and so much more. They took their abrasive, noisy art-rock style and fit it into an easier to digest package. With this album, they have shown that their creativity knows no bounds. They tackle Prince-esque horn-laden funk, quirky electro hip-hop, piano-and-string filled ballads, and, of course, songs that could only work in the hands of these masters. This is, by far, their best album. And it feels like they're just getting started.

Favorite Song: "DLZ"


Do you take issue with the order of these? Do you have your own top 20 list? By all means, leave comments. There's nothing like a little healthy musical dialogue to keep it fun.

Band of the Month: Glasvegas

So, we've decided that the whole "Band of the Week" thing wasn't working too well, and have now updated it to "Band of the Month". We weren't holding up our end of the bargain for weekly updates, anyway.
Now, on to the newest Band of the Month...


Band: Glasvegas
Discography: 2008 - Glasvegas
Background Ramblings: Formed in Glasgow, Scotland...their name is a combination of Glasgow and Las Vegas.

Sharon's Rating: 3.5/5

Sharon's Thoughts: I like them. They have a very soothing sound and are fun to listen to. I like his accent, and the way it sounds like he's putting everything he has into a lot of the songs; like he's throwing his entire self into his voice. I like that kind of unabashed emotion in a vocalist.

Favorite Songs: "Flowers and Football Tops", "Polmont on My Mind", "Stabbed"

Dusty's Rating: 4/5

Dusty's Thoughts: Massive reverb-laden songs that fill the entire room with sound. I love the guitars. I'm also a fan of his voice...even if I can only understand a fraction of what he's saying. Some of the songs have a definite 50's doo-wop sound to them...only modernized a bit.

Favorite Songs: "Flowers and Football Tops", "Geraldine", "It's My Own Cheating Heart that Makes Me Cry"

Next band: Bjorn Norestig
Feel free to join us and write your thoughts in the comments.

Band of the Week: Black Kids

Discography:
2008 Partie Traumatic

Sharon's Thoughts:
It has an 80's sound that is both nostalgic and comforting. I like it.

Sharon's Rating:
3/5

Dusty's Thoughts:
Nice Cure-ish new-wavy stuff, complete with synths and vocals/lyrics ripped from Robert Smith. It's upbeat...but can be a bit obnoxious at times. It's a great CD to listen to in the car, but it seems a little out of place when listened to in the house.

Dusty's Rating:
2.5/5

Favorite Songs:
"Hit the Heartbrakes", "Hurricane Jane", "I'm Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How to Dance with You"

The next band will be Glasvegas. Feel free to join us and leave your comments.

iPod Roulette

It's been a while, so let's fire up the iPod, throw it on shuffle, and see what happens. When I'm done, it's your turn...post your results and thoughts in the comments (I'm looking at you, Ben).

1. "Mrs. Potter's Lullaby" - Counting Crows (from This Desert Life)
This is my favorite song off of This Desert Life. It's long and a bit rambling, but I love it. There was a time of about a month where I would listen to this song at least once a day.

2. "Don't Go Into That Barn" - Tom Waits (from Real Gone)
Dark, stomping, angry, murderous song, complete with a gruff chorus of "hoo-HA!" from Waits in the background. A terrific song. My favorite part is at the end when he's doing the call-and-response thing: "Did you bury your fire? Yes sir. Did you cover your tracks? Yes sir. Did you bring your knife? Yes sir. Did they see your face? No sir." And so on, and so forth. A fantastic song. Listen to this one loud on a dark night.

3. "Big Joe and Phantom 309" - Tom Waits (from Nighthawks at the Diner)
What are the odds of two Tom Waits songs in a row? Sure, he takes up about 1.5 gig on my iPod, but that's still a pretty small percentage. Not my favorite song of his, but it's still pretty good, and it shows Waits in full beat-poet mode. He has better narratives, but you could do a lot worse than to listen to this track.

4. "The Other Side of the World" - Tindersticks (from The Hungry Saw)
If you're looking for a band to listen to on a cold day, the Tindersticks wouldn't be a bad choice. This song shows them in full force, all full orchestration and that fantastic baritone up front. Great song.

5. "Worth of Labor" - Starflyer 59 (from I Am the Portuguese Blues)
I was just thinking about this album on the way to school today. It's been a while since I've listened to it, but it's a great rock album. This is one of my favorite songs on it. Great guitars. Great energy. This is a great song to drive to.

6. "If I Were Dead" - Rose Blossom Punch (from Ephemere)
This album wasn't in print for very long, which is a shame. It's a great rock album, lush with guitars and pianos and whatnot. This song shows off their capabilities; big guitars, great drums, distorted goodness floating somewhere in the background. The fact that these guys never got much recognition is a tragedy.

7. "Kreuzberg" - Bloc Party (from A Weekend in the City)
This is the only Bloc Party album I like...but I'm not a big fan of this song. It's fine, I suppose; a slow-building song that ends up pretty good. It just takes too long to get there, and the entire first part of this song holds no interest for me whatsoever. Kind of like Bright Eyes' "No One Would Riot for Less" off Cassadaga. The ending is good, but it doesn't atone for the boring 4 minutes I had to sit through to get there.

8. "Encore" - Jay-Z (from The Black Album)
I'm not the biggest Jay-Z fan, but this song is pretty cool. It's still hard for me to get past the fact that this song is all about how awesome he is. I realize that it's a rap thing...but it doesn't mean I have to like it. I like the production, though...can't you just see him alongside Manilow at the Copacabana? Talk about a guy who is the best...

9. "The Grey Man" - Copeland (from You Are My Sunshine)
It's nice. Pretty much par for the course for Copeland at this point. It's a good, well-produced pop song, with shimmery guitars and a piano throughout. I like Copeland, but they just seem a little predictable. I like this song, but it's not really too much different from most of their other recent material.

10. "Pow" - Beastie Boys (from The In Sound From Way Out!)
One of my favorite songs on this album. When most people think of the Beastie Boys, they think of the rap aspect of their career. Not a ton of people realize that they're all fantastic musicians, as is evidenced on this track. It's a wicked-funky breakdown of instrumental-awesomeness. If you haven't heard this album yet, check it out. Now.

Your turn.

What I'm listening to these days

Let's try to get through a bunch of stuff I've listened to. Quick hits. Here we go.

TV On the Radio - Dear Science,

Typically brilliant stuff. They go from Prince-esque funk to glitchy electro to string-laden ballads to creepy bedtime stories, all without blinking an eye. I loved Return to Cookie Mountain, but I think I like this one better. Just fantastic stuff.

Rating: 5/5
Favorite Song: "DLZ"

Doug Burr - On Promenade

A great folk singer, but he also adds bits of noise and gospel into the mix for good measure. He has a great voice, and a real gift for musical arrangements. To call it a folk record is to miss the greatness of it. There are a couple of songs that aren't great, but when the rest of it is so fantastic, the "down moment" aren't really that big of a deal.

Rating: 4.5/5
Favorite Song: "In the Garden"

Kings of Leon - Only by the Night

I've never been a big fan of theirs, but their great performance on SNL prompted me to check this album out. It's a bit spotty, but when it's on, it's really on. Their best work on this album is the best work of their career. I'm a big fan of the lead singer's voice...it kind of reminds me of the lead singer from Polarboy. Who didn't love that reference?

Rating: 3.5/5
Favorite Song: "Use Somebody"

Cherry Ghost - Thirst for Romance

I'm a sucker for big pop songs, and Cherry Ghost does them very well. They also mix a bit of country into their stuff from time to time, and it sounds great. They kind of sound like Coldplay, but that's mainly because there's a British guy singing pop music.

Rating: 4/5
Favorite Song: "Dead Man's Suit"

Coldplay - Viva la Vida

Since I just referenced them, I might as well talk about their new album. This album is light years better than X&Y, but that's kind of like saying that eating grass is better than eating human beings. It's not a bad album...in fact, there are a number of really good songs on the album. If this album was terrible, I would've written off Coldplay forever. It's possible that this album is just delaying the inevitable...or they could be back on the path to greatness.

Rating: 3.5/5
Favorite Song: "Death and All His Friends"

Throw Me the Statue - Moonbeams

A nice little summery pop album, filled with fuzzed-out instrumentations, drum machines, and vocals that are usually somewhere between good and mediocre. It's catchy, it's fun, and it's great to play with the windows down. It's not a great album, but it's a good album.

Rating: 3/5
Favorite Song: "About to Walk"

Shearwater - Rook

So...these guys really like Talk Talk, huh? I don't mean that in a bad way...in fact, I love this album. Rarely can a band show it's influences as obviously as Shearwater does and still put out an album as great as this. Grand sweeping pop songs infused with noise and a hint of classical influences.

Rating: 5/5
Favorite Song: "Home Life"

Beck - Modern Guilt

Quite possibly my favorite Beck album. He is, fairly consistently, the most electic and exciting artist. With every album he does something new and different. On this album, he pares down his electro and hip-hop wanderings in favor of a psych-rock direction. Beck & Dangermouse make a glorious team...let's do it again, fellas.

Rating: 5/5
Favorite Song: "Youthless"

The Shortwave Set - Replica Sun Machine

A nice little psych-pop album. I like it...but I don't love it. They seem creative enough, and they have a pretty cool sound, but I've never been blown-away by this album...which I think it what they're going for. Check it out, but don't expect to have a mind-bending experience.

Rating: 3/5
Favorite Song: "Glitches 'n' Bugs"

Holly Golightly and the Brokeoffs - Dirt Don't Hurt

A big, stomping country album. It sounds like this album was recorded 70 years ago in a barn with dirt floors, the entire thing done in one frantic session. Whiskey bottles and lined up and clouds of dirt fill the barn, yet the recording session continues, on into the night. If I were a big country fan, this would probably be my new favorite album. As it is, I just like it quite a bit.

Rating: 4/5
Favorite Song: "Bottom Below"

Grand Archives - The Grand Archives

As you all well know, I'm a sucker for a good pop song. This album has quite a few of them. I'm not a huge fan of the entire album, but there are enough great songs on here ("Torn Blue Foam Couch", "Sleepdriving", etc.) to keep me coming back. It's not that the "off" songs are bad, they're just not nearly as good as the great ones. I guess that's not really a bad problem to have.

Rating: 3.5/5
Favorite Song: "Torn Blue Foam Couch"

Amanda Jenssen - Killing My Darlings

What a voice. She can jump from horn-laden soul music (a la Dusty Springfield) to nu-soul (a la Amy Winehouse) to ska-ish pop to slow-building ballads...all without batting an eye. While the genre-jumping can be a little distracting sometimes, she's so good at them all that it doesn't really matter all that much.

Rating: 3.5/5
Favorite Song: "For the Sun"

Jesper Norda - Little Ones EP

The first song, "Tomorrow You Will Be Forgiven but Tonight You Will Have Your Teeth Knocked Out" is an absolutely gorgeous, piano-driven song. It sounds like a song that Matt Behringer (from The National) would alone in his apartment after a long night out on the town. It's fast becoming one of my favorite songs of the year. Unfortunately, the rest of the EP is not too good. It's worth checking out for the first song, though. And, since it's a free download, you can do just that.

Rating: 2/5
Favorite Song: "Tomorrow You Will Be Forgiven but Tonight You Will Have Your Teeth Knocked Out"

There's more...oh, there's always more. I'll stop here for now, though.
Thoughts?

Band of the Week: The Daysleepers

Discography:

2008 Drowned in a Sea of Sound

Rating:

3/5

Thoughts:

The first song reminds me of “Don’t Fear the Reaper”. They have a cool, shoegazy-pop sound, and I was immediately drawn in. The more I listened to it, though, the less impressive it sounded. It’s not that the songs were bad, it’s just that they all seem to blend together. There were times they reminded me of Bloomsday and The Lassie Foundation, so that was pretty cool. Overall, it’s not a bad album...there’s just not much to it. It’s nice if you’re looking for a airy, noisy summer album.

Favorites:

“Release the Kraken”

Next week: Black Kids

Concert Reviews

I've been slacking again. Sorry. There are only so many times I can apologize for this behavior before you all realize that it's not a valid excuse.
Over the course of a little more than a month, I went to 3 pretty amazing concerts. I will now share those concerts with you...well, as much as I can, anyway.

Tom Waits: June 29 @ The Civic Auditorium in Knoxville, TN
Attendees: Me, Brittney

Do you want to see a true performer? Someone who treats a live show like theatre? Someone who knows how to put on a show, as well as play some ridiculously awesome music? Tom Waits is that man.
He came out onto the stage, stepped onto his own personal riser, and threw himself into an amazing rendition of "Lucinda" (not one of my favorite songs of his, but this live version was unreal). As he sang, he stomped on his rider, letting loose a cloud of dust that rose and fell...rose and fell...until it was a dense cloud about waist high. Words can't quite describe the look of this, but it looked great, and we were hooked.
We were sitting about 12 rows back, left-center of the stage. Great seats. We could see everything perfectly. Yet, I was left to wonder: what does one have to do to get closer? I got on the second they went on sale, and purchased them within 45 seconds (I was prepared). And yet, somehow all those people had gotten in ahead of me? I refuse to believe that, but I guess I don't know what else it could be. Don't misunderstand me: I'm not complaining. We had amazing seats. Just musing, is all.
We had seen Tom Waits once before (at the Louisville Palace in 2006), but I think this show blew that show out of the water. The biggest difference was the band: at the Palace show, he was touring with Duke Robillard, a renowned blues guitarist. The problem laid with him. Robillard was good, but his playing was just too smooth. A Tom Waits guitarist needs to make a guitar sound rusty; like he's banging out the songs on 50-year-old strings that he's not altogether familiar with. The band behind Waits this time were fantastic, and they really brought out the rawness of the music. The guitars were nasty, the percussion was huge, and the horns/harmonica sounded like they were coming out of a radio. The sound was perfect.
The sound was perfect, and the performance was magnificent. He jumped all over with his song selections: "Christmas Card from a Hooker in Minneapolis", "Chocolate Jesus", "Innocent When You Dream", "Falling Down", "God's Away on Business", etc. He closed with "Come On Up to the House", a perfect closing song.
My favorite song that he did was "9th and Hennepin". I've always loved his narratives that show up on albums, and this was one of his first. I always felt that there was something missing. I always thought, "If he did that today, it would sound competely different. I'm sure he could make it better." And he did. With the band lurking in the background, Tom stood in the middle of the stage, with nothing more than a single lightbulb hanging directly to his right that would flicker on and off...on and off. Again, I can't explain it in words, but it was much better than the album version. Breathtaking, even. He is a terrific songwriter, but his passion has always seemed to be storytelling. That passion was on full display on this performance. For me, it was one of the best "songs" I have ever seen performed live.
If you get the chance to see Tom Waits, don't pass it up. He doesn't tour often, but, when he does, it's worth the price to see him.

She & Him: July 30 @ The Mercy Lounge in Nashville, TN
Attendees: Me, Sharon, Kari, Flash, Matthew

The Mercy Lounge is a small club in Nashville. There couldn't have been more than a couple of hundred people there. We got there early, so we were able to get really close to the stage. There were only two people between us and the stage, so that was cool. Unfortunately, those people were jackass high school kids, one of whom was auditioning to be Andy Samberg. These guys didn't buy tickets in advance: they opted to wait outside and bug everyone until they got tickets...then they muscled their way to the front of the crowd and refused to leave, deciding it would be much better for everyone if them and their sweaty heads bopped directly in front of the stage. There was also a creepy bald guy who raised his hands above his head and muttered "Zooeyzooeyzooey" over and over again, trying to touch her at every opportunity (he never succeeded). When she went to sit at the piano, he shoved his way over, trying to look up her dress. When he couldn't get in prime creep position, he left. Just walked out the door. I kept waiting for him to come back, but he never did. We were all excited about that.
Now...the music.
Charlie Louvin opened the show. And, while he's 300 years old, he actually put on a good show. He didn't move much, but his band was good, and he still has a decent voice. He looked like he was having fun, and that's really all that matters. He made a number dirty old man comments, and talked about his "ladycrippling" guitarist way too much (to the point that the guitarist was visibly uncomfortable), but it's all good. He's old, and I give him leeway.
She & Him took the stage to massive applause...the lead singer is a movie star, after all. Once they started playing, the noise died down, and you could actually hear the music...which was nice. They had a wonderful backing band, including a guitarist who looked like Billy Connolly, a drummer who looked like The Boss, an extremely pregnant bass player, and a space cadet for a back-up singer (who I found out was Becky Stark, aka Lavendar Diamond. She sang one of her songs, and it was terrible...glad she wasn't the opening band).
Zooey was fantastic. Her voice sounded just as good (if not better) than it does on the album. She was nice and smiley and seemed genuinely happy to be there, which was pretty cool. She didn't move a whole lot, but she liked to rock the tamborine quite a bit. She played the piano on a couple of songs, too, so that was cool. She also jumped up and down like a crazy person during "Sweet Darlin'". She was smiling so big you couldn't help but love it.
M. Ward was probably my favorite part of the show. He knew he wasn't the main attraction, so he just kind of slunk around in the background at first. As the show went on, he ventured out onto the stage a little more. When he rocked out his guitar solos (which he did on occasion), all eyes were on him. He had a look on his face the entire time, like he was surveying the crowd and saying to himself, "I'm better than that person, and that person, and that person...". It killed me. By the end of the show, people seemed to be less focused on Zooey and more focused on the band as a whole.
While I don't remember the exactly setlist, I do know that they played everything on their album, as well as some other songs. They played a new song (I don't remember the title), and they also did a cover of Joni Mitchell's "You Turn Me On I'm a Radio", and that was pretty cool. They came back out for the encore with some friends, including Jack White's model wife (no...not Meg). During the last song, David Rawlings crept onto the stage and started playing guitar. It wasn't until halfway through the song that anyone knew they were there. By the end of that song, Gillian Welch had appeared out of nowhere. Because of their new friends, they launched into one last impromtu song. It was a little rusty, but everyone looked to be enjoying themselves.
Great show. It was well worth the paltry $20 they were charging. Good times all around.

Radiohead: August 3 @ Verizon Wireless Music Center in Noblesville, IN
Attendees: Me, Ben

First off, I have to say that this concert worked out extremely well. Ben is a good friend of mine, but he lives in the DC area, so I don't get to see him very much. This concert happened to fall on his birthday, so he drove down and we went together. Above seeing my favorite band, that really made the show for me.
We got there a little late, and found out that parking was free. Always good news. We got into the venue (outdoor) after being searched and whatnot, and found that the opening act, Grizzly Bear, had already started. The last time I had seen Radiohead, we drove to Wisconsin, got there late, and missed Steve Malkmus & The Jicks due to the extreme unorganization of the people putting on the show. I was mad about that. Coming in late for Grizzly Bear? I really didn't care. I know a lot of people like them, but I really don't. The majority of their set (what we heard of it, anyway), was more background music than anything. There were a couple of occasions where I actually got mad at how bad the song was. I had purchased Yellow House when it was released, based on all the good reviews I had read. When we got back from the show, I took it off my shelf, put it in a bag, and sold it to CD Central within 5 days. That's how unimpressed I was with Grizzly Bear's live show.
Fan note: directly in front of us were two high school kids, a boy and a girl. I think they spent more time sucking face and sucking cigarettes than they did actually watching the show. At one point, I looked down to see them on their blanket. He had a cigarette in one hand and a Slim Jim in the other. She had a cigarette in her hand. I watched him take a bite of the Slim Jim, then take a drag from his cigarette. She also took a drag from her cigarette. They exhaled, then promptly began making out. My face twisted in disgust. I guess I just don't understand kids these days.
It took Radiohead a little bit to get to the stage. It was getting dark by the time they started playing, but it was well worth the wait. I have never left a show and said to myself, "Wow...now that was a good light show," but I did after this show. The screens and lights were more artistic than any other show I had been to. They weren't distracting; in fact, they seemed to add something to the show.
They kicked off with "15 Step", then broke into "Bodysnatchers", which led to Ben and I looking at each other and wondering if they were going to play the entire In Rainbows album in order. But then they played "There There" and dashed that thought. They still played the entire In Rainbows album, but just not in order.
Highlights: "The Gloaming" was surprisingly great. This was never one of my favorite songs off of Hail to the Thief, but there was a different kind of energy in this version. "Climbing Up the Walls" was completely unexpected...and utterly mindblowing. The sound that came from that song seemed to fill up the entire area we were in...and it was an outdoor venue! I always preferred the live version of "Idioteque" to the album version, and this time was no different...only this version of "Idioteque" is the best one I have ever heard. There was a breakdown at the end that seemed to come out of nowhere. "Karma Police" is always great, and it was no different here. They played "Bangers and Mash", which I liked pretty well on the album, but this version (once again) had a whole other level of energy in it. So good.
About halfway through the show, they played "Videotape". Ben and I were back quite a ways, but we could still see mini-Radiohead playing on the stage. The sky was gorgeous: there were clouds, but they were lit by the lights of the stage, giving them an eerie sense of movement. I found myself staring at the clouds as the song came to its crashing climax. I imagined a comet coming down through the clouds and smashing into the stage, while the sounds from the song continued to fill up the air. As the song gradually died down a little bit, I was still staring at the clouds. The song ended, and everyone erupted into applause. Ben looked a little dazed. He turned to me and said, "You know...I could die right now and not have a single problem with it."
"I feel the same way," I responded.
Ah...Radiohead.


I'm going to try to get back to writing more. I figure I'll start back up the Band of the Week (we kind of got stalled), and try to write some short reviews of stuff I've been listening to. There's just so much great music out there.
Thanks for reading.