My Top Albums of '08

Call this the blog that won't quit. Just when you think I've said my last piece, I keep coming back for more! Only about five posts ago I was writing about the music of 2006, and here we are fast approaching 2009.

Not too much has changed between now and then, but I like to think that my musical tastes have broadened and I'm continually discovering and enjoying new genres and styles all the time (Thanks to eMusic and other unnamed influences with good taste).

As for my current musical fixation... well, it's no longer The Shins' album from last year. Let's just say for the past couple months I've been rotating a lot from 2008 to prepare for this post. As always, there is plenty that I missed or albums I didn't have enough time to enjoy, so rather than a "Best" list, I prefer to consider this a "Favorites."

So without further delay, I present my top albums of 2008. A list of my top 10 songs is forthcoming...

10. Department of Eagles - In Ear Park
(4AD)


For full disclosure, I'd never heard Grizzly Bear prior to this, so I came in with fresh ears to this particular spin-off/side project. The first time I heard this album, I thought, "This is weird." When I say that it doesn't exactly mean I thought it was weird, but rather... let me explain. It's music that, in contrast to, say, Vampire Weekend, if I blasted on my iPod while in the car with my brother or sister, they'd say, "This is weird," rather than saying, "Hmm what's this? I like it!" (I'm not mocking my siblings -- this just happens to me more than you can imagine.) So I guess what I am saying is, this is not immediately accessible nor particularly "catchy." That said, I kept listening. I couldn't stop listening to "No One Does It Like You" in particular. And I really got into this "psych-pop" (is that what they call it?), in all of its fuzzy, lo-fi glory.

9. Blitzen Trapper - Furr
(Sub Pop)


I heard this album in bits and pieces before it was officially released. Based on the sampling of mp3s I had, I was convinced I would love the rest. While that was eventually true, I didn't love this album immediately. It seemed a little all over the place - funky disco songs like "Saturday Nite" sandwiched between other Dylan-esque acoustic numbers didn't quite work for me. But then that's why I started to like it. I never knew what to expect, and each time it would surprise me. Listening to this album is like a roller coaster ride, but the energy never stops and every song is solid. As a side note, I'd buy the whole thing again just for "Furr."

8. Okkervil River - The Stand Ins
(Jagjaguwar)


After this album was released, all the critics jumped on it and adored it, but for some reason I didn't listen to it until way, way after it had come out. And I liked it. I wasn't like "OMG this is the best thing I've ever heard," but I did enjoy it. I'm starting to think of Okkervil River as a simply reliable band. When "Lost Coastlines" starts up with the delayed bass line, and Jonathan Meiburg, with his haunting tenor voice exchanges vocals with Will Sheff, I can't help but tap my feet.

7. MGMT - Oracular Spectacular
(Sony)


To me, this album has one of the best Track 1-5 lineups of any listed here. Big bass beats, some synths, hand-clapping, and dramatic multiple-vocalist choruses make for a bunch of really epic and anthemic tunes. I find it to be great walking music. When I leave my house and start down the sidewalk with this on the iPod, it really gets me going, inspires me, and makes me feel like I'm setting out to change the world (even if I'm not - but at 7 am, everyone needs a pick-me-up).


6. Vampire Weekend - Vampire Weekend
(XL)


What more is there to say about this album. It's not the best, but it may have been the most enjoyable. I never got fully on board with the Vampire Weekend hype, but listening to this album on any given Friday afternoon definitely got me excited for the weekend. It's the ultimate windows-down, catchy, sing-along summer album, written by a bunch of Ivy League 20-something prepsters. I'll take it.

5. Fleet Foxes - Fleet Foxes
(Sub Pop)

Fleet Foxes deserve praise for having the best vocal harmonies of any album on this list. I saw these guys live and the vocals were impeccable, harmonies spot-on. The folksy album makes you feel like taking a hike, or enjoying the great outdoors. Tunes featuring reverb and rollicking guitars and piano are sandwiched between slower acoustic ballads with booming, echoey vocals. An all-around solid effort.

4. Bon Iver - For Emma, Forever Ago
(Jagjaguwar)


Bon Iver's album was one of those with a backstory; in short, Justin Vernon moved into a cabin in the woods for a few months and walked out with this masterpiece debut. With a story like that, you'd expect music that was isolating and lonely, but most importantly, moving. It's haunting, chill-inducing, folk-rock aided by Vernon's falsetto, steel-string guitars, horns, and dramatic crescendos throughout. Perfect for these cold winter nights!

3. TV on the Radio - Dear Science
(Interscope)


This blurb comes from someone who was never a TVOTR fan prior to this record. I'd heard a couple tracks, but never really gotten into them. Then came this release. Unlike some albums that take time to digest, this one hit me immediately and was the only thing playing on my iPod for a week straight. The music is layered with buzzy guitars and vocals upon vocals, the production is crisp and clean (just how I like it), and the songs are to me, a cohesive collection. They belong together and I love them.

2. Frightened Rabbit - The Midnight Organ Fight
(Fat Cat)


I downloaded this after browsing eMusic, and truth be told, I didn't love it right away. But I got into a couple tracks here and there, and slowly, it grew on me. And then I saw them live at the Backstage of the Black Cat in June, and that changed everything. The small room was filled to capacity, and I was close enough to the stage to see every drop of sweat pouring off the lead singer's face. They claimed it was the best/biggest crowd they'd ever played to, and their enthusiasm was reflected in every song. It was a high-energy, inspired performance that completely sold the band and the album to me.

1. Ra Ra Riot - The Rhumb Line
(Barsuk)


Sure, this album got props as a good full-length debut, but my guess is that it didn't top many other year-end lists. I struggled with picking my #1 - swapping in other critical darlings and not able to commit to this one, but in the end, it was really no decision at all. This was the album that, from top to bottom, simply pleased me every time I listened. I first heard "Ghost Under Rocks" as part of a mix CD (yes! those still exist), and it had everything I loved in a song. It was, at once, dark and slightly depressing (credit to the cello), but also poppy and upbeat. And from the first time I heard "Too Too Too Fast" -- where did those synths come from!! -- I was hooked. Great melodies paired with wonderful string arrangements make for an easily-accessible and catchy album. And at the end of the day, that's what gets me going.