Best of 2008 (predictions)

I've become bored with 2007's Best of Lists. So I'm going out on a limb and predicting what's going to be on my Best of 2008 list eleven months from now. I'm not going to say these are going to be in my Top 10, but I'm willing to bet they'll be in my Top 20. I'm not going to include any albums that I've already heard. I'm judging this music the only way you can objectively: without hearing it. Yeah. That makes sense.

Girl Talk - ????
I don't even know what the album's title is. I do know that I've been playing Night Ripper more than almost anything else since I got a hold of it. And to think the follow up comes out in a week. If this album is anything like the live stuff we've been hearing, I think that it could easily find a spot in my Top 10.

Man Man - Rabbit Hats
Man Man described this album to Pitchfork as their pop album. While their albums have really been out there at points, the thought of a Man Man album full of catchy hooks on top of full throated vocals has me giddy. Out of all the albums on this list, I'm willing to bet this one will be higher than all others. If this video doesn't have you hopping around in anticipation, go away.

Dan Deacon - ????
Spiderman of the Rings made my list for 2007, and I see the same for 2008. Like Girl Talk, Deacon has become more accessible with each album so I think this one might even trump the last.

Final Fantasy - Heartland
Owen Pallett is probably one of my favorite solo artists out there. He's worked or performed with Stars, Arcade Fire, Beirut, Cadence Weapon, Dan Bejar, and probably some I'm forgetting. Judging by his new song, it should be good

Final Fantasy - Hey Dad

Wolf Parade - Oh Please God Make Them Put Out an Album
I'm just putting this on here in case they do release an album. If they do, it will probably be on the list.

Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!!
In my book, Nick Cave can do no evil. From a music prospective. I may not have had Grinderman in my Top 10 for 2007, but Nick Cave has already demonstrated that he isn't a one hit wonder.

Cadence Weapon - Afterparty Babies
Cadence Weapon's new song on Myspace is a bit more upbeat than his older stuff, but this is a good thing. Not that the older stuff was downbeat, but I think this new song has a bit more of an appeal to get up and move.

Cadence Weapon - In Search of the Youth Crew

Basia Bulat - Oh, My Darling
Technically this isn't a 2008 release and I've heard it already. But I'm breaking the rules here. The album is hitting the states finally and since I missed it with my 2007 list, it might sneak in. We'll see.

Basia Bulat - I Was a Daughter

Destroyer - Trouble in Dreams
Dan Bejar is another who I hold a lot of faith in. Even if we don't see Destroyer on my list, you might see Hello, Blue Roses on it (another Bejar product).

Animal Collective - Water Curses
Animal Collective was almost a given on a lot of blogs this year. While this EP might not topple Strawberry Jam, it definitely could make the list.

That's all I'm going to put down for now before I make a fool of myself when I remember this come November.I've left a lot of upcoming releases off, but I'm not trying to cover every prospective good release. Hopefully the artists on this list have already recorded, because I know the pressure this blog and its readers could exert on them could be devastating to their work.

Hah.

Anticipation

Last year around this time it was Neon Bible. I was always checking to see if another song had been heard, or even if the name of a new track was released. This year it's the new Man Man album. Earlier this year when I heard Modest Mouse was coming to Rochester I got really excited. I'm pretty sure I've said before why I like Modest Mouse so much, but it wasn't them who made the show for me (and they put on a good show). I had checked Man Man out a bit before the show, but it didn't really prepare me for what I was about to view.

Man Man didn't strike me as anything out of the ordinary when I saw them before the show (I was in the venue before door opened thanks to a friend of a friend). Other than Honus Honus' mustache that is.But they seemed like your typical band, not the slightly insane people I saw on stage later. Maybe it happens when they paint their faces, but the show they put on was probably the most intense thing I've witnessed next to Arcade Fire. The kid next to me summed it up nicely by saying, "Shiiiiiyaaat."

It's odd at a gig when people are caught off guard by what they've just seen. It didn't become silent or something cliché like that, but you could tell by the wide eyes that Man Man had won themselves some new fans. I'm looking forward to hearing their new album and hopefully seeing them with a crowd who knows their material well.

Man Man - Omaha


Man Man - Zebra

Rattle the Car Windows

Now that I'm back home in Pittsburgh for the week, I'm driving my car a lot more. I don't drive much in Rochester when I'm up there for school so I make up for it when I'm home. While something like Sigur Ros or Andrew Bird are great to listen to, they're not fun to blast while driving. Sometimes I'll play something I can sing along to, but then people think I'm yelling at them. So I've been finding myself blasting Girl Talk, Busdriver, M.I.A, and the like a lot more.

This next artist is one I've been blaring from my car at obscene levels a lot more. I'll even admit it was a television commercial that reminded me that I had this album somewhere. The Cool Kids just like my last post have recently wrapped up a tour with M.I.A. and they're worth a listen. They'll also be playing in Toronto at Wrongbar January 26.

The Cool Kids - Eighty Eight
The Cool Kids - What It Iz

On a side note, is it me or are Zune commercials actively seeking the hipster crowd? I mean they are really trying to score some indie cred with those commercials.

Santogold

As much as I loathe Myspace, it still serves some function. I deleted my profile long ago and only have one so I can creepily message the occasional artist (saying nice gig, question on tour dates, place of residence, the usual). Anyhow, I was browsing through artists and I saw a profile picture I recognized, but couldn't place where from. I think that it was on GorillavsBear's sidebar for a long time, but I'm not sure.

The page I stumbled was Santogold's and I've got to say this is some good stuff. It's an odd hybrid of hip hop, reggae, and other various odds and ends not unlike M.I.A. (in fact Santogold's been on tour with M.I.A.). Sadly I can't really find much of their stuff anywhere except on their myspace and youtube.

But go listen to "Creator" on the link above.

Christmas Eve!

Sure hope any of yins who celebrate have got their shopping done by now. I mean forget rejoicing over Jesus' birth, just be glad you won't have to step foot in a mall until...

...well there's the returns process and buying stuff with that new money. Scratch that idea.

Here's a cover of one of the year's most mashed up and remixed songs.


Cansei de ser Sexy - Knife (Grizzly Bear Cover)

2007: A Wrap-Up

I've been looking over Stereogum's huge list of releases we can look forward to this coming year. There's definitely some great albums that are coming out, but I don't see how it can compare to 2007. I would never have predicted a new Radiohead album, or saw myself being blown out of the water by Battles. As I look down that list, I can't imagine anything coming close to Strawberry Jam except for maybe more Animal Collective. I don't mean to diminish 2008 in any way, but I think 2007 will be looked back at as a great year for music.

It was this year that my music taste finally metamorphosed (watch out big word!) into something completely different. What used to be the fringe of my music taste now lies firmly in the center. All the great releases of this year were only made better by the fact that my tastes were going through huge changes. I went to my first concert (worth counting) this year. Oink died.It was this year that I finally realized that I over use parenthesis.

2008 may surprise though. There will be undoubtedly some debut that will have people begging on message boards for links. Some of what has yet to be released sounds really good. And you never know, this time next year I might be wondering how I thought 2007 was so good.

All I have to say is April 8, 2008 should be a good day.

Ohbijou

I've not the faintest idea where the band's name comes from, but Obijou puts out some good ear candy. Sparse with a nice touch of some classical instruments, it makes a very solid pop sound. The vocals are very light and are kind of almost similar to The Luyas (I know that that isn't really a sentence).

Ohbijou - Steep

I had a hard time deciding what song of theirs to put up (I uploaded a song and then changed my mind three times), so go check their myspace to listen to some more. Or here's a novel idea, go buy it.

I'll also try to keep up with posting, but I seem to have left the power cable to my hard drive in Rochester (along with my cell phone and mouse). It's also Christmas and I have done very little in the way of shopping. I have thirty* siblings so if I don't post it's because I was caught stealing from a toy store for them.



*thirty siblings meaning one.

Returned!

Still alive, but classes kind of got in the way of posting. While I'm not going through finals like many other students( not on the semester system), I have been spending time on campus without my hard drive of music.

I'll have something up by tonight in true Christmas spirit.

Upcoming shows for upstate New York

If you live anywhere near Buffalo or Rochester there are a ton of shows worth spending some of that money you'll get over the holidays on. I've included some dates in Toronto but be aware that you're now going to need a passport to cross the border.

December 20 in Toronto- Handsome Furs at Lee's Palace
January 7 in Toronto- Kate Nash at the Mod Club Theater
January 16 in Toronto- White Williams at The Horseshoe Tavern
Janury 22 in Toronto- Editors, Hot Hot Heat and Louis XIV at the Kool Haus
Janury 22 in Toronto- Peter Bjorn and John at The Phoenix Concert Theater
January 22 in Buffalo- The Fiery Furnaces at Tralf
Janury 29 in Toronto- Dan Deacon with Ultimate Reality at Lee's Palace
February 7 in Buffalo - Liars at Tralf
February 9 in Toronto - Cat Power at the Kool Haus
February 18 in Buffalo- Super Furry Animals at Tralf
March 6 in Rochester- Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band at the Blue Cross Arena
April 4 in Buffalo- Explosions in the Sky at Tralf

If I had unlimited funds I would probably try and make most of these, but I don't. In fact, right now the only one I've actually penned into my schedule is Explosions in the Sky (if you can make this show, I would suggest you go). I've kind of penciled in Dan Deacon but it's in the middle of the week.

Hold Your Breath

It's not often you hear a song devoted to a mother. So how often do you hear of an album devoted to telling the story of a musician's mother? The Acorn's album Glory Hope Mountain goes and does exactly that. The band has some strong roots in folk, which is the perfect medium for Rolf Klausener's storytelling. "Flood Pt. 1" is incredibly upbeat despite being a song about his mother caught in a flood. And the music helps place you right in that spot. From the start you're hit by this driving beat bringing on words of this flash flood, with vocals in the background that are constantly swelling and sometimes spilling into foreground. Then second verse is ushered in by the clamor of the flood, but just as quick calms. Not only does the music take on the qualities of a flood, but the lyrics are incredible.

Lift your head from wild and wicked sleep

where seven-headed serpents hiss soliloquies

and while picking snails from the river of the valley

you don't see the storm clouds piling up so quietly



The rushing river rattlesnakes your legs

and baby boy has got you drinking from the dead

you lick your lips and paddle for the levee

the sinking banks are sifting through your teeth



As you float up, see the river skins the valley

and strips the sleeping sediment of memory



You lift your head from wild and wicked sleep

the withered river sputters at your feet

and all around the sound is slow and muddy

the sunlight scatters pennies through the leaves



As you wake up see the river skins the valley

you'd love to wash this summer from your memory

The entire album is great, go take a looksy.

The Acorn - The Flood
(also keep an ear to CBC radio, these guys should be on soon)

Black Betty

It's quite amazing how much a song can change through the course of time. Even the origins of the song can be lost, and suddenly it resurfaces and people accept it as new. "Black Betty" is one such example. Wikipedia says this song could be referring to a musket, prostitute, bullwhip, or a wagon. What started off as a cadence from the 18th century went on to become a song that has been recorded by numerous artists in the past 100 years. You might hear this song being played by Spiderbait while watching Without a Paddle and a friend might say that it's a Ram Jam cover. Or you might hear Ram Jam's version and be referred to Leadbelly. So while this song technically is not a cover, it's a good example of a piece of music changing through time.

These are only a portion of the bands who have done this song. Heck, even Ying Yang Twins have used this song.

Huddie Leadbelly - Black Betty (this isn't the original recording, Leadbelly originally did this in 1939)
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - Black Betty (this one probably falls furthest from the tree)
Tom Jones - Black Betty

Ram Jam's version of the song. When this was put out the civil rights movement wasn't too thrilled. Notice the change in lyrics from Leadbelly's version.


Finally the most recent instance of this song. Might recognize this one from car commercials, movies, or just even radio. Spiderbait's version did well in Australia, but for some reason I couldn't find the song anywhere.

Once

So I finally managed to catch the movie Once. On top of being one of the best movies I've seen recently, it also has an incredible soundtrack. I'm not entirely used to watching a movie that focuses on music just as much as it does the plot, so I was scared that this might be something like Cats without the cats. There's plenty of movies out there with good plots and strong complementing soundtracks, but take away the music in this film and you're left with very little. Now you're probably thinking the plot is a load of rubbish, but that's not true. Think of it this way: if you're going to see Cats, you expect to see Cats. So when you see Once, expect to see a very musically driven plot.

Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova are an incredible together in this movie. Irglova's voice complements Hansard's perfectly. Perhaps this is why the two have a band together called The Swell Season. You might be saying, "Hey, isn't that Hansard guy involved with The Frames?" You also might know a bit too much about music. But yes, he is the same Glen Hansard. I honestly haven't listened to The Swell Season or The Frames much, but I'll be looking into them after this movie.

Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova - When Your Mind's Made Up (from the OST)

A freaking trailer:

Yum, Grammys

Have you noticed how long the list for Grammy categories is? It's actually a lot longer than what I had originally thought. But is it worth watching in February? If you're a Kanye fan, yes. I don't think it comes as any surprise that he's been nominated in eight categories. But there's 110 different categories. Should be a bucket of fun for anyone who likes music, right? Not so sure about that one. Let's do a little test.

Which of the following is not a Grammy category?
A) Best Spoken Word Album for Children
B) Best Hawaiian Music Album
C) Best Album Notes
D) Best Polka Album

Surprise! They're all categories! How else do you think they managed to fill all 110 slots? Lets have a shot at another question.

Which of the following are actual Grammy nominations (might be more than one)?
A) White Stripes Icky Thump Limited Edition USB Flash Drive (Best Boxed Or Special Limited Edition Package)
B) Arcade Fire "Antichrist Television Blues" (Best Gospel Song)
C) Feist (Best New Artist)
D) Nickleback "If Everyone Cared" (Best Rock Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocals)
E) Amy Winehouse (Best Live Performance)

If you said everything but B and E, then you were correct (alright that one was a gimmie). But really? Nickleback? The White Stripes USB nomination made be chuckle, but Feist as Best New artist? The Grammy website has it describes as, "For a new artist who releases, during the Eligibility Year, the first recording which establishes the public identity of that artist." I'm pretty sure plenty of people knew of Leslie Feist before this album, or even the commercial for that matter. Likewise with Amy Winehouse. She's nominated for Best New Artist as well. I understand that both these artists both got really popular in the past year, but naming them as Best Breakthrough Artist would be a more fitting title. Neither of the two are new at all to the music scene. Leslie Feist has nine albums that she's worked on between her solo stuff and Broken Social Scene.

Though not all of it is a horrible mess. Arcade Fire, The Shins, Bjork, and The White Stripes are up for Best Alternative album. Springsteen is weighing in at four nominations, and Justice got put up for three. It's also nice to see LCD Soundsystem and Chemical Brothers up for nominations as well.

I'm still not really too enthused over this though. No matter who you are, I'm sure about three quarters of this list mean nothing to you. Even if you enjoy a lot of mainstream music, there are way too many categories for one person's taste to extend far enough to keep you entertained through the show.

Explosions in the Sky to play Buffalo

That's right, a concert near me! So far this seems like the only date they have listed after their trip to the UK. Neither their Myspace or website have anything on them about this show, but Ticketmaster has a listing. And get this: twelve dollars. That's thievery.

So if you live in the Rochester, Buffalo, Toronto, United States area, you should really go and get tickets. I had a chance to see them earlier this year and it was probably one of the best live shows I've seen to date.

There's still no word of who will be with them, but for twelve bucks it doesn't really matter.

**EDIT: You know I just realized I posted this with no information as to when the show is. Great, eh? Well it will be on April 4, 2008 (that's a Friday). Ticketmaster has the event starting at eight. They'll be playing at the Tralf.**

Explosions in the Sky - Welcome Ghosts

Look Outside

For me its freezing out there.

Despite the title, this Blonde Redhead song suits the weather well. I had the chance to seem them this year and they're a very good live band. They didn't really make my Top Albums list this year, but they had some really good tracks on it. They're definitely worth checking out.


Blonde Redhead - Spring and by Summer Fall


And who wouldn't want to watch Kazu Makino dance a bit?

Colleen

I'll admit that the first time I listened to Joanna Newsom it went right over my head. And likewise with the second, third, and fourth time. I'm not sure when I started liking her stuff, but eventually it just clicked. Her singing style took me some getting used to, but it soon became just another part of the music. I think many people hold vocals to a different category than typical instruments, but Newsom's vocals are hardly typical. Newsom's vocals ditch the typical, and become another instrument in the song.

"Colleen" has to be one of her best songs. Her story in this song flows perfectly, with each burst of music serving as an end to a chapter. And how can't you like the yip in between chapters?

Joanna Newsom - Colleen

So long weekend...

...hello Editors. Compare them to Interpol all you want, they do a mean Talking Heads cover.




And now something completely different: a terrible misuse of the original song.