Favorite new music of the first 3/4 of 2008

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u2popmofo

u2popmofo

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Only 3 months of 2008 are left, what are your favorite albums, singles, EPs, songs, live albums, re-releases, or music related whateva? Let's see some lists, my friends. Try to keep things that haven't been officially released out if possible. List on, listas.


Here are my favorite 20 albums of the year so far in no sort of order:

Bon Iver - 'For Emma, Forever Ago' (major label release this year, it still counts)
Why? - 'Alopecia'
Sigur Ros - 'Med Sud I Eyrum Vid Spilum Endalaust'
Mogwai - 'The Hawk Is Howling'
Los Campesinos! - 'Hold On Now, Youngster...'
M83 - 'Saturdays = Youth'
Shearwater - 'Rook'
The Dutchess and the Duke - 'She's the Dutchess, He's the Duke'
Okkervil River - 'The Stand Ins'
TV on the Radio - 'Dear Science'
The Bug - 'London Zoo'
Fuck Buttons - 'Street Horrrsing'
Vampire Weekend - self-titled
Fleet Foxes - self-titled
Elbow - 'The Seldom Seen Kid'
R.E.M. - 'Accelerate'
My Morning Jacket - 'Evil Urges'
Coldplay -'Viva La Vida'
Destroyer - 'Trouble in Dreams'
Portishead - 'Third'

Favorite metal album: Opeth - 'Watershed'
Favorite hip hop album: sadly nothing yet
Favorite EP: Fleet Foxes - 'Sun Giant' (It's still better than the album)

I'll make a list of favorite singles/tracks soon.
 
I haven't bought too many new albums this year but I liked what I got...

Coldplay -'Viva La Vida'
R.E.M. - 'Accelerate'
Metallica - Death Magnetic

Coldplay is probably album of the year for me so far. Also, I downloaded Madonna's Hard Candy and it was actually better than I expected! :up:

Want to get the Portishead and Sigur Ros records pretty soon!

Eagerly awaiting Oasis's Dig Out Your Soul. :drool:
 
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My Morning Jacket - Evil Urges
Bloc Party - Intimacy
The Hold Steady - Stay Positive
R.E.M. - Accelerate
Oasis - Dig Out Your Soul
Raconteurs - Consolers of the Lonely
Kings of Leon - Only By The Night
Miley Cyrus - Breakout
Vampire Weekend
The Last Shadow Puppets - The Age of the Understatement
Mudcrutch
Coldplay
Fleet Foxes

And the new Girls Aloud and Taylor Swift singles are amazing but their albums aren't out yet. I'm sure I'm forgetting something, too. Haven't listened to the new TV on the Radio album. I needs to get on that.
 
phanan said:
First 3/4? :lol:

You couldn't wait the last three months, huh? :wink:

I'll just do my list at the end.
Click to expand...

We've generally done them each quarter of the year in the past. Did a first 1/3 thread earlier this year, forgot at the half way point. I think it's a good thing because it lets some people catch up on albums they may have forgotten about or not known of before the end of the year comes (I personally hate it when I learn about something from year end lists that would have been on my own list had I known about it just weeks earlier). Also, it makes it a bit easier to come up with your year end list if you've made quarter lists through the year.
 
phanan said:
First 3/4? :lol:

You couldn't wait the last three months, huh? :wink:

I'll just do my list at the end.
Click to expand...

Seconded. I've heard exactly 30 albums in full so far this year, but another 10 or so wouldn't hurt the accuracy of my list.
 
Elbow - The Seldom Seen Kid
Bloc Party - Intimacy
R.E.M. - Accelerate
My Morning Jacket - Evil Urges
Mogwai - The Hawk is Howling
TV on The Radio - Dear Science
 
i'm trying to remember what albums, out of all the stuff i've bought this year, actually came out this year. :scratch:
 
Sorry for the long post. :wink:

So far:
I like to separate good albums to into three categories: top tier (all-time classics), second tier (just short of being a classic) and the rest. There haven’t been any top tier albums this year but two second tier. Here are my top two tiers for this decade:

The top tier (all-time classics.)
1. A Rush Of Blood To The Head by Coldplay (2002)
2. Aerial by Kate Bush (2005)
3. The Dresden Dolls by The Dresden Dolls (2003)
4. Liars by Todd Rundgren (2004)
5. The Dark Third by Pure Reason Revolution (2006)

Second tier (just short of being classics.)
6. Who Killed Amanda Palmer? By Amanda Palmer (2008) :up:
7. Viva La Vida by Coldplay (2008) :up:
8. American Doll Posse by Tori Amos (2007)
9. Marry Me by St. Vincent (2007)
10. Bloodflowers by The Cure (2000)
11. Fear Of A Blank Planet by Porcupine Tree (2007)

The song Oasis brings down Amanda Palmer's solo record and needed one more great song in my opinion. That said it is so far the year’s best. Viva La Vida is up there too but falls short of being a classic because it lacks standout songs.

Albums that will probably make into the end of the year top ten best albums:
American Gothic by Smashing Pumpkins
Into The Future by Black Mountain
01011001 by Ayreon
No, Virginia by The Dresden Dolls
There are a few that I really haven’t been able to make a judgment on.

Biggest Surprise: Who Killed Amanda Palmer? By Amanda Palmer. I had no idea what to expect from this album but was very pleased with it.

Biggest Disappointment: Arena by Todd Rundgren. Four years after his masterpiece Liars, I was hoping for something great. Instead I got one of his worst albums. Naked, contrived and boring are how I’d describe it. It is a shame because this could be one of his last albums.

Best Song: Nothing really jumps out but for now I’ll say Kids by MGMT or The Gardener by The Dresden Dolls.

Thoughts on 2009: A month or two ago I felt like this could be one of the best years in music in terms of the top albums. Now I feel it won’t even match last year. The year started off well and the second half looked amazing. The Dresden Dolls, Coldplay and Amanda Palmer surpassed expectations. Things were aligning to make this a special year. The U2 beach clips were looking promising and talk of songs like Moment of Surrender were getting me excited. Then the album gets delayed. The new Todd Rundgren album disappointed and I’m not sure where I stand on a few others. Hopefully the final three months are great.

Interesting albums Yet To Be Released: A new Dido album, Coldplay EP and Cure album.
 
u2popmofo said:
Only 3 months of 2008 are left, what are your favorite albums, singles, EPs, songs, live albums, re-releases, or music related whateva? Let's see some lists, my friends. Try to keep things that haven't been officially released out if possible. List on, listas.


Here are my favorite 20 albums of the year so far in no sort of order:

Bon Iver - 'For Emma, Forever Ago' (major label release this year, it still counts)
Why? - 'Alopecia'
Sigur Ros - 'Med Sud I Eyrum Vid Spilum Endalaust'
Mogwai - 'The Hawk Is Howling'
Los Campesinos! - 'Hold On Now, Youngster...'
M83 - 'Saturdays = Youth'
Shearwater - 'Rook'
The Dutchess and the Duke - 'She's the Dutchess, He's the Duke'
Okkervil River - 'The Stand Ins'
TV on the Radio - 'Dear Science'
The Bug - 'London Zoo'
Fuck Buttons - 'Street Horrrsing'
Vampire Weekend - self-titled
Fleet Foxes - self-titled
Elbow - 'The Seldom Seen Kid'
R.E.M. - 'Accelerate'
My Morning Jacket - 'Evil Urges'
Coldplay -'Viva La Vida'
Destroyer - 'Trouble in Dreams'
Portishead - 'Third'

Favorite metal album: Opeth - 'Watershed'
Favorite hip hop album: sadly nothing yet
Favorite EP: Fleet Foxes - 'Sun Giant' (It's still better than the album)

I'll make a list of favorite singles/tracks soon.
Click to expand...

I've yet to listen to the Destroyer album, and haven't heard of the Bon Iver, Dutchess..., Bugs, and Fuck Buttons (amazing band name) albums, but I agree with the ones you've put up there.

I'd throw the Bloc Party, Weezer, Death Cab, Hercules and Love Affair, and Nick Cave releases up there, too.
 
I just wrote a long post and lost it when I tried to post it :angry:

My favorite of the year without a doubt is Evangelista's Hello, Voyager--raw, beautiful, and brave. It's become one of my favorite albums of all-time in just a few months. I've also liked Xiu Xiu's Women As Lovers. Most of my purchases of new releases this year have been jazz, so my year-end list may be pretty thin.

I'm still looking forward to hearing the new releases from Deerhoof, Jolie Holland, Lucinda Williams, Ryan Adams & the Cardinals, and Ray LaMontagne. I wasn't overly impressed by what I heard of the new Kings of Leon album, so I'm not really in a hurry to buy that one.

In the first quarter of 2009, I'm most looking forward to Andrew Bird's Noble Beast and Nels Cline's Coward, both due out in January. Sonic Youth should also have a new album out in the first half of next year, their first release on Matador. Oh yeah, and then there's that other band that's popular around here :wink:
 
Dig Out Your Soul. Only listened twice but :drool: New Travis album is short, but quite sweet.

Bloc Party's Intimacy has some real growers (Ares, Better Than Heaven), but it's only been 90% released to date hasn't it, with all this wank about bonus tracks on the physical edition?

Viva La Vida or Death And All His Friends is quite marvellous. Lost! is song of the year...

Kaiser Chiefs, The Killers, Eskimo Joe, Keane to come....and am yet to hear the new Josh Pyke LP which has just been released.

U2 might spring a surprise digital release, as might Morrissey.
 
I'll try to get some semblance of an order:

1. TV on the Radio - Dear Science,
2. My Morning Jacket - Evil Urges
3. Fleet Foxes - Fleet Foxes
4. Lisa Hannigan - Sea Sew
5. Okkervil River - The Stand Ins
6. Bon Iver - For Emma, Forever Ago
7. Shearwater - Rook
8. Sigur Ros - Med Sud Blah Blah Blah Endalaust
9. Man Man - Rabbit Habits
10. Hercules and Love Affair - Hercules and Love Affair


Something like that ought to be fine.
 
I believe I've only listened to two albums that came out this year: Hold on Now, Youngster... and Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends. But I like them both, especially the former.
 
I will have to take portions of these lists into consideration, though. My edumacation continues.
 
1. Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!!
2. Bloc Party - Intimacy
3. TV on the Radio - Dear Science
4. Cut Copy - In Ghost Colours
5. Portishead - Third
6. Coldplay - Vivalavida
7. R.E.M. - Accelerate
8. M83 - Saturdays=Youth
9. Vampire Weekend
10. Death Cab For Cutie - Narrow Stairs.

Haven't listened to the new Okkervil River or Metallica enough yet to rank them.
Weezer and The Hold Steady would also get honorable mentions.
 
Should Okkervil River be something I look into? I've seen some support for them here.
 
phillyfan26 said:
Should Okkervil River be something I look into? I've seen some support for them here.
Click to expand...

Yes, but not this album (it's not even an album, it's an appendix to last year's The Stage Names). I'd say Black Sheep Boy, The Stage Names, or Don't Fall In Love With Everyone You See are far better introductions and albums in general.

Okkervil River are essentially my favorite and most listened to band of the last 3 years or so.
 
Not much in the way of order, here. It wasn't any trouble coming up with enough records to fill out this list, but that doesn't really mean that I've been, like, swamped with spectacular albums--rather, I think that, this year, I've discovered fewer good albums than in recent years past. At the same time, though, I have discovered a disproportionately large(r) number of records which I love so much as to prefer them to a good piece of ass (or tail, if you will). The >ass records are emboldened.

Los Campesinos!: Hold On Now, Youngster...
Los Campesinos!: We Are Beautiful, We Are Doomed

Kingdom Shore: ...And All The Dogs To Shark (this record is ferociously unlike most anything you've heard--it sounds superhuman, terrifying, and disquieting...when it can be bothered, it also ejaculates a moment or two of beauty...the only legitimate MUST BE HEARD record of the year, although it's not necessarily one of my >ass records)

The Hold Steady: Stay Positive
The Mae Shi: HLLLYH
Johnny Foreigner: Waited Up Till It Was Light
Xiu Xiu: Women As Lovers
Ruby Suns: Sea Lion
No Age: Nouns
The Loved Ones: Build & Burn
Josh Goldberg: Double Murder Suicide
Times New Viking: Rip It Off
Raphael Saadiq: The Way I See It
Ponytail: Ice Cream Spiritual
Neon Neon: Stainless Style
TV On The Radio: Dear Science, (gotta be the biggest surprise of the year, for me...maybe with the exception of that record by The Loved Ones, which I was more than prepared to despise)
Fuck Buttons: Street Horrrsing
Frightened Rabbit: The Midnight Organ Fight
Titus Andronicus: The Airing of Grievances
David Byrne + Brian Eno: Everything That Happens Will Happen Today

I am definitely forgetting a few keepers, though. Can't be bothered to sift around and through everything to remember 'em, though. Whatever. In foregone conclusion, I'm a sniffling indie kid. C'est la vie.

Also, I'm surprised and pleased than in a year which has seen me listen to a lot more new-to-me "old" music than new-to-me 2008 music, I have been able to enjoy quite thoroughly at least 20 solid records. I went through the process of falling in love with largely pre-dub reggae, from about April to August, this year, and while acquiring those 50 or so records and compilations (everything from the Black Ark-produced Slickers record, Break Through [which sucks, BTW, and dubs out the formerly perfect "Johnny Too Bad"] to early, gorgeous, religious field recordings to a jaw-dropping Uniques cover of "Crimson and Clover"), I wasn't paying as much attention to new stuff as I might've in a more typical year. In spite of that, it's been a good time, all 'round. Lots of good stuff, for me.
 
Good to see R.E.M. back mentioned a lot for best album of the year. Accelerate is one of my fave's as well.

I'd put Kings Of Leon new album up there as well. I really like it. Hope the Killers and Snow Patrol albums are good as well.
 
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