Top Albums of 2008

Check out ALL 20 of these records!!!!!!!!

Kelly Jones – SheBANG!
This is one of those records that hits you from the very start. Every time I hear one of these songs, I get excited, and want to tell the world about it.

The Major Labels – Aquavia
Mike Viola made such strides in the last year or two with his album Lurch, producing Kelly Jones, writing songs for Walk Hard, and then this. This is just an incredible achievement of energy and power pop. Add in some Bleu and Ducky, and it just oozes quality.

She and Him – Volume I
When I first heard this album, I wasn’t sure. I knew there were some great songs. But upon listening to it a few more times, and seeing them live in concert, I realized just how great it was…some of those songs did have to grow on me, but now, I wouldn’t change a thing.

Stew – Passing Strange Original Cast Recording
I was so happy when I heard Stew had written a musical. I knew he had something like that in him, from all his previous work. And the record just shines, it is electrifying. There is something about having all these different voices interpret Stew’s songwriting, because I think he does write in different voices.

Andrew Daly – Nine Sweaters
This album is one of the funniest things I have heard. It is not your standard comedy CD, but these brilliant monologues of 9 different characters. Andy has the ability to take these characters to such extremes of insanity and hilarity.

Martha Wainwright – I Know You’re Married, But I Have Feelings Too
I have loved most of Martha’s previous work, so it wasn’t a stretch to expect great things from her once again. But this album takes her previous work to another level, adding another layer of sound that enhances the emotionality of the music.

The Wellingtons – Heading North For The Winter
I wish I had heard this earlier in the year, because I haven’t had much of a chance to listen to it, but I know on first glance it is just a fun rocking, exciting record. It grabs you and holds tight till the end.

Travis – Ode to J. Smith
Perhaps I just find it hard not to love Travis, but I liked this album a lot. It’s probably not their best album ever, but it’s that familiar sound and continuation of it that excites me the most.

Paul Steel – Moon Rock
In a year with a new Brian Wilson record, the Explorers Club record, and a few other tracks show that this Beach Boys sound is still alive and well, and people still love it. Of all of this, I think the Paul Steel record is a shining example of this, because it takes the sound, yet puts an original spin on it.

Rob Bonfiglio – Bring On The Happy
Again, a late-comer to the year, but it is a fantastic, slick, cool record.

The Yum Yums – Whatever Rhymes With Baby
Power-pop-tastic!

Brent Cash – How Will I Know If I’m Awake
Another of the Beach Boy mentality! (See Paul Steel)

Greg Pope – Popmonster
Another shining example of great power pop.

Jamie Lidell – Jim
(A little bit of) Feel Good Record.

Old 97’s – Blame It On Gravity
They can still do it!

Phantom Planet – Raise The Dead
I thought it was a great return to form; they went on hiatus.

Wisely – Wisely
Slower than usual, but still fantastic

Saul Zonana – Blue Monkey
That voice, and that style, can’t get enough.

Teddy Thompson – A Piece Of What You Need
Almost in here by default, but if it wasn’t exciting, it wouldn’t be on this list.

Ike – Where To Begin
More rocking, less poppy, but still great.

Holiday time off – and reviews

Ah…holiday time off, a perfect time to catch up on all those DVD’s, grab some more sleep, spend time with family, go to a bunch of movies, by the time your done having fun, you have to go back to work! Oh well, such is life. I am planning to get a list of my top 20 records of 2008 prepared for sometime this week or next, so look forward to that. I still have a ton of 2008 records to listen to yet, and I may not even get to them for a few weeks, so they will just have to be disqualified. In the meantime, enjoy these 5 releases!

What Made Milwaukee Famous – The Sugarhill Sessions EP – *** – Good stuff, shows a bit of growth of the band, but they are going in so many directions, it is hard to know what’s going to stick around, and what’s just for this project, etc.

Radio Soulwax – Part of the Weekend Never Dies – ** – More electronica insanity from this, group, who at one time, had some really cool pop songs. And this does have an air of understanding of what makes music good, rather than a bunch of blips and boops. But, it is difficult to find the appeal of much of this.

Jon Brion – Synedoche, NY – ***1/2 – There’s nothing better than a Jon Brion score in my book. It brings to movie music, what is needed, melodic, almost song structured music. You could probably add lyrics to half these songs, and have great pop songs. And it’s quirky and interesting enough to keep you interested.

The General Store – Mountain Rescue – *** – Great pop music from this group, ranging from folk-rock, alt-country, Beach Boys style, etc. Very great, melodic, pop gems. It’s a beautiful record, with soaring melodies, harmonies, and just a calm style throughout.

Andy Reed – Fast Forward – ***1/2 – Very cool record from this guy. At times, very fun and almost bubblegummy, but also more subdued and introspective. Using a palette of Brian Wilson, Jellyfish, Apples in Stereo, make this a very enjoyable record.

Stupid winter (but baby, it’s cold outside)

Brr… stupid winter. Stupid winter and it’s stupid coldness. I hate you winter, and I hope you die. I don’t even have the energy to write a proper intro. So here’s a bunch of records, OK, listen to them or not, I could care less…you all make me sick. (Why am I so mad all of a sudden?) Go have your little Christmas parties and wear your dumb sweaters, I’ll be in my room listening to records. (Calm down dude!) Oh and one more thing…you…you…uh…whu- where am I. What are you… NOOOOOOOO!!!!

Jesse Malin – Mercury Retrograde – *** – Live record, containing a live performance in New York City, a place where Jesse feels at home, which he makes quite clear in the various inbetween song banter documented on this disc. It’s a live record that really just captures the basics of his performance, all acoustic, and with tons of banter. Having never seen him live, I was intrigued by this, and it was an enjoyable record.

Tim Christensen – Superior – *** – Just found this guy recently, and have been listening to his older stuff first, specifically Honeyburst, his 2003 album which is just great. This album follows very much in the footsteps of this previous album, and for the most part is successful.

Randall Bramblett – Now It’s Tomorrow – *** – I heard the lead-off track, “Sun Run” and was impressed at his ability to take various elements, such as country, soul, funk, etc. and create a kind of unique modern rock/country song. This continues throughout the rest of the album, and is an enjoyable experience.

The Lund Bros. – Songbook IV – ***1/2 – OK, are they as good as the Posies at their peak? Probably not…are they as good as the Posies now? At least, if not more. While their sound owes itself a lot to the Posies, they have a fresh sound that is pleasing to listen to.

The Features – Some Kind Of Salvation – *** – I loved the first few releases by the Features. They have an energy and odd style that is hugely appealing. This album continues in that tradition, perhaps not as fresh as earlier stuff, but still energetic, powerful and fun.

Musings on year-end lists…why?

Well it’s headed that way…almost time to compile my year-end list. Overall, it seems to have been a low-key year for new stuff. Some really great stuff, but a lot of just good stuff. Perhaps this is due to the amount of music I listen to, I get lost and cannot really distinguish what every single release is providing. I guess that’s how it goes. Well, look for the list here sometime before January 1. I may have another set of review before then, but you don’t really care anyway, right?

Raphael Saadiq – The Way I See It – *** – Another act reaching back to the soul and R&B of the 60’s, this album seems to be a bit more authentic, at least, it doesn’t seem like it is just painting this retro pastiche in order to fit this mold, but is using it to build songs that seem both modern and retro.

Rivers Cuomo – Alone II: The Home Recordings – *** – A nice collection of songs, both sincere and just weird, make you see just how interesting a song writer Rivers is. It also kind of exposes how different the songwriting is today. There’s something special in the way he was writing songs in those early years.

Jesse Malin – On Your Sleeve – *** – Covers record, fairly good, a lot of songs I have never heard of, some I have heard bits of. I find that the record does expose more of his vocal style which by the end gets a bit annoying.

Dick Prall – Weightless – **1/2 – I expected this to be a lot better, based on the clips I heard, but it disappointed in a variety of ways. It was a bit too slow for my tastes, and I much preferred his earlier release Fizzlebuzzie, which I heard a few days after this one.

Wreckless Eric and Amy Rigby – Wreckless Eric and Amy Rigby – *** – Great album from these two. I am not really familiar with Amy Rigby, but it seems that she and Eric fit together well in this context. It kind of brings new light to the Wreckless Eric sound.

It’s the holiday season – review-o-matic!

Well, here we are in the holidays. And if you’re like me, you can never figure out what to get people. So, I offer the following releases that may be the perfect stocking stuffers. Of course, if your family and friends, like mine, doesn’t really like your music, or don’t like listening to CDs, I offer the following options: 1) a collage – cut out pictures from the liner notes and glue in a creative way 2) Melt down the plastic and mold into a statue of yourself 3) Just keep the CDs and re-gift that horrible sweater they sent you last year! Whatever you do, go check ‘em out!

Dido – Safe Trip Home – **1/2 – Even more sparse then previous releases, this album offers the unique songwriting of Dido, but not quite as poppy as previous releases. While there are some great moments (see “Let’s Do The Things We Normally Do”), it doesn’t quite hit the mark all the way through.

Belle And Sebastian – The BBC Sessions – *** – You may ask why you should bother listening to this, seeing as how it’s all just a bunch of old songs. But this album really gives a great view of this band and how they have evolved over the years. In addition, it provides a slightly different sound from the records, something about the more live feel gives it a certain energy that is different from the album’s energy.

Various Artists – This Warm December, A Brushfire Christmas – *** – A very mellow Christmas record, as would be expected from Jack Johnson and company. But it is a nice record to provide a little less snowy approach to Christmas songs.

The Spinto Band – Moonwink – *** – I almost forgot about this band, so was surprised to see they had a new record out. I like this one, maybe not as much as the first, but it’s good. It seems like they are still forming thier sound, but it’s fun to listen to.

Future Clouds and Radar – Peoria – *** – Shifting from thier two-disc debut to a mere 8 tracks, Future Clouds and Radar have a nice collection of sogns here. Much like the first album, some of the songs go on a bit too long, but it’s still a strong album.