Music of 2008

The year started on a real high note. R.E.M. put our a record that is their best since the departure of their long-time drummer Bill Berry. Accelerate has songs that look forward and also that look back to their heyday, Supernatural Superserious does both. It sounds fresh with a crunchy guitar lead that then steps back for that dreamy jangly sound, and also satisfies those fans who fell in love with that Stipe twang and that Mills harmony.

I hope Big Ditch Road has more than the 6 songs on their EP in their future. Waiting To Destroy has a Wilco-like jangle with a piercing lead, and vocals delivered in a pleasant nasal tone, with a la-la-la chorus that sticks in your head.

Thao and her current band, Get Down Stay Down might end up being just too precious to appreciate over the long haul. The title of her record is We Brave Bee Stings and All. But her Bag Of Hammers song is a little gem, and one that would have fit perfectly on a cool ad for the new iPod, iMac, iTV, whatever Steve Jobs was peddling this year.

Liam Finn’s pedigree cannot be overlooked. He’s son to Neil Finn, one of the two New Zealand brothers who put out brilliant pop music as Split Enz and Crowded House in the 80’s. He obviously absorbed his dad’s ear for tunes. Second Chance is such an interesting song. It starts with a beat that sounds like a reel-to-reel projector starting up, and then carries on through a wash of stung guitar notes all leading up to a crescendo of noise, that ends with a chop-chop-chop percussive sound. This song is completely terrific and real headphone stuff.

There are some songs that awaken the 15 year old in me that got really super excited when I heard something that hit me in the pleasure center of my brain. Always Where I Need by the Kooks is one of those. Singer with a crying croak in his voice? Check. Heavy, garage-rock guitars? Check. Do-do-do-do chorus that could be shouted along with the band played live? Check. Noisy? Oh, yeah.

I have a friend who contends that decades are defined by bands and the 90’s belonged to Laetitia Sadier, Tim Gane and Stereolab. They’ve been putting out sophisticated art-rock that references Neu and Faust, but that’s appealing to a wider audience. They’ve survived divorces, and most recently the death of Mary Hanson. Neon Beanbag is from Chemical Chords and it’s as good as anything they’ve ever done.

My break-out band this year was Fleet Foxes. They’ve got a rich choral sound that brings to mind the most sophisticated Beach Boy songs. Quiet Houses is my favorite song from an overall excellent record that I strongly recommend.

You can rely on Amy Mann for great pop songs about heartbreak and disillusionment. You scratch that shiny veneer in Thirty One Today and it’s got a pretty dark sentiment. But you still find yourself humming that beautiful melody when you’re happy even if the words send you straight to your bottle of Zanax.

Oh was I excited to hear that David Byrne and Brian Eno were working together again after years of independent solo work. The record Everything That Happens Will Happen Today is a departure from their previous work. This record is more gospel and groove driven and Strange Overtones is an excellent song that could have been taken from a great Talking Heads record of the mid-80’s.

Fools is a song that sounds wonderfully off kilter. There’s the driving tribal drumming and the amped up Joy Division delivery of the lyric. The yelled chorus really reminds me of Ian Curtis. It’s so time that someone copped his thing and the Dodos do it well.

Another off kilter song is Call It A Ritual by Wolf Parade with its horror movie piano riff that gets swallowed up in guitar fuzz and distortion. They then start the real head trip with beeps and whirrs and squeaks. If you listen to this in the car, you’ll swear that something in the engine is desperately wrong. But the song, it’s overwhelmingly good.

I’m a sucker for that call and answer trick that bands with male and female vocalists can achieve. Your Control by Crooked Fingers raised the hair on my neck it’s so good. And these guys have all sorts going on behind the vocals. Is that a Bontempi organ going on back there? Sounds like it.

The Wake Up Song from the Submarines is one of my three top songs of 2008. It’s got that male female call and response, a great pop melody, and the interesting sound of the melodica that Augustus Pablo made so famous.

TV On the Radio have been making critically acclaimed music for several years now. The Dear Science record has made several best of lists because they stretch out of their dark fuzz rock sound and bring in a more R&B feeling. Halfway Home is not the best example of this move, but rather recalls what intrigued me about TOTR in the first place. This is all darkness, fuzz, and brooding hushed vocal. Quite a soundscape.

Knife by Grizzly Bear is another brooding song with a Soft Cell meets Depeche Mode synth opening. This version is the remix that CSS helmed and is my favorite take of the song.

Another contender for song of the year is Santogold’s L.E.S. Artistes. At first listen, you’ll be reminded of last year’s excellent Paper Planes by M.I.A. Her vocals are similarly delivered, but her music overall is delivered with less dread. Santogold really leans into the mic during the chorus and takes this into the atmosphere.

And finally, The Hold Steady’s Sequestered In Memphis stayed in the forefront of my mind all year long. It bangs the doors wide open with a loud E. Street Band piano and guitar opening. The Craig Finn delivers a hilarious story of misadventure and hooking up. But for me, the best part is the chorus, “Supoenaed in Texas, Sequestered in Memphis” shouted football chant style. I think next season, the DCUnited faithful will be singing Santino Quaranta, Santino Quaranta to this one.

I was really disappointed by Portishead’s Third. I waited 11 years and they delivered a challenging record that try as I may, I cannot appreciate. Listening to this sent me back to Dummy and the second record that are still fantastic. Ah, well.

But I loved these records…

Everything that happens will happen today by David Byrne and Brian Eno
Accelerate by R.E.M.
Fleet Foxes debut
Just A Little Loving by Shelby Lynne
Dear Science by TV on the Radio
Stay Positive by the Hold Steady
Honeysuckle Weeks by the Submarines
Cymbals by Vinicius Cantuaria

I saw two shows of note this year, Jose Gonzalez at the Historic Sixth Street Synagogue, and Shelby Lynne at the Birchmere. If anyone knows the name of Shelby’s guitarist, I’d appreciate it if you would let me know. He’s an axe handler of no little prowess.

Bivalve Betsy has a list of her favorites under the All Songs Considered thread that you should check out, b-t-w.