Interestingly enough, when I stopped writing about music I fell back in love with it. Or maybe 2008 was such a great year for music to not get sucked back in would’ve been impossible. Either way, here are my top ten albums of 2008.
10. KANYE WEST: 808S & HEARTBREAK
I loved Snoop Dogg’s “Sexual Eruption.” I thought, here’s a guy who’s been making rap music forever trying something different, really taking a chance. Then I heard Ego Trippin’, the album “Sexual Eruption” is on, it was essentially the same album Snoop’s been putting out for the last decade. Disappointing. Leave it to Kanye West, currently the only interesting artist in hip hop, to do what Snoop couldn’t: go out on an artistic limb and stay there. When Kanye performed “Love Lockdown” on the VMAs it seemed like a one-shot. Who knew he’d follow suit for an entire album? Reviews may be mixed but 808s & Heartbreak is one of the most prolific and fresh sounding releases of the year.
[MP3] Kanye West: Love Lockdown (right-click to download)
Purchase Kanye West’s 808s & Heartbreak.
09. MY BRIGHTEST DIAMOND: A THOUSAND SHARK’S TEETH
In a world of Lady Gaga’s and Lily Allen’s, Shara Worden seems like the last of a breed. Her ethereal, Buckley-esque voice, her vast, sweeping orchestration; her music is almost that of a not-crazy Bjork, and it’s more refined than eccentric. Worden doesn’t seem to fit in anywhere. Perhaps she’s too introspective to be a Sarah Brightman; too deep and classical to have a mainstream hit. Whatever the case, her second album, A Thousand Shark’s Teeth, went sorely overlooked and it’s a shame because it was spectacular.
[MP3] My Brightest Diamond: Inside A Boy (right-click to download)
Purchase My Brightest Diamond’s A Thousand Shark’s Teeth.
08. BEACH HOUSE: DEVOTION
Ghostly and gorgeous. Haunting and heavenly. That is the signature sound of Beach House, as they introduced on their self-titled debut and delicately expanded upon with their follow-up, Devotion. Victoria Legrand singing, “Oh, but your wish is my command,” on album opener, “Wedding Bell”, was stuck in my head for the entire year. So good.
[MP3] Beach House: Gila (right-click to download)
Purchase Beach House’s Devotion.
07. SEBASTIEN GRAINGER: SEBASTIEN GRAINGER AND THE MOUNTAINS
Maybe I was just happy to hear Sebastien Grainger on something other than a electronic track. Or maybe this is just a great album. Sebastien Grainger & The Mountains sounds nothing like Grainger’s old band, Death From Above 1979, but that’s not a bad thing. There’s still aggression and immediacy in Grainger’s voice and the more straight-foward rock approach works well for the drummer virtuoso. I’ve listened to this album pretty religiously since it came out, you should probably be listening to it as well.
[MP3] Sebastien Grainger: (Are There) Ways To Come Home? (right-click to download)
Purchase Sebastien Grainger’s Sebastien Grainger & The Mountains.
06. DEPARTMENT OF EAGLES: IN EAR PARK
Daniel Rossum, well-known for his work with Grizzly Bear, and his friend Fred Nicolaus created In Ear Park, an album so good I was recommending it to people I never even recommend albums to. In Ear Park is a whimsical journey, a delightful mix of pop sensibility and masterful melody, lush and expansive yet subtle in all the right ways. And although I shared it with so many, it’s probably best listened to while alone.
[MP3] Department of Eagles: In Ear Park (right-click to download)
Purchase Department of Eagles’ In Ear Park.
05. FLEET FOXES: FLEET FOXES
I avoided this album for months under the impression I would hate it. I was wrong; Fleet Foxes is incredible. It really should be listened to in it’s entirety; that being said, you should own it for “White Winter Hymnal” alone.
[MP3] Fleet Foxes: Ragged Wood (right-click to download)
Purchase Fleet Foxes’ Fleet Foxes.
04. THE BLACK KEYS: ATTACK & RELEASE
Drenched in whiskey and heartbreak, it oozed sexuality and begged to be played loudly. Even at the tender moments. Basically what I’m trying to say is Attack & Release by The Black Keys kicks serious ass.
[MP3] The Black Keys: Strange Times (right-click to download)
Purchase The Black Keys’ Attack & Release.
03. BENOIT PIOULARD: TEMPER
Thomas Meluch or Benoit Pioulard, however you want to refer to him, evokes all that is beautiful and pure about music and art and the eternal combination of such. From the twenty-five handmade copies of Temper, to the polariods, to the music itself, everything about Temper was grand.
[MP3] Benoit Pioulard: Idyll (right-click to download)
Purchase Benoit Pioulard’s Temper.
02. VAMPIRE WEEKEND: VAMPIRE WEEKEND
Vampire Weekend, by Vampire Weekend, feels just like The Strokes’ Is This It does; it’s one of those timeless albums that I will never tire of. Sure, Vampire Weekend have faced quite a backlash since introducing their afro-punk sound late last year, but I’m not very concerned with what is and isn’t cool to like. I just like what sounds good and Vampire Weekend is just that. Aside from the annoying “One (Blake’s Got A New Face)” Vampire Weekend was undoubtedly the most solid release of the year.
[MP3] Vampire Weekend: Mansard Roof (right-click to download)
Purchase Vampire Weekend’s Vampire Weekend.
01. THE KILLS: MIDNIGHT BOOM
For me, The Kills’ Midnight Boom was this year’s The Reminder. Neither sound anything alike however; they’re both similar in the sense the recording process was just as important as the recordings themselves. In a time when singles are more important than the whole, Midnight Boom was the opposite. It was a real album, an enveloping experience. While listening, I would thumb through the album booklet, and read production notes and lyrics as if I were 12-years old and the new Stone Temple Pilots album had just come out.
Working with Spank Rock’s Armani XXXchange also took The Kills’ gritty, cigarette-tinged and wine-stained rock-Americana to an entirely new level. And as a result of good nights and bad mornings, everything on Midnight Boom sounded perfect. I don’t think there was a better song this year than “Last Day of Magic.”
[MP3] The Kills: U.R.A. Fever (right-click to download)
Purchase The Kills’ Midnight Boom.
Note: All MP3s are for sampling purposes and will be taken down if requested.
Posted: December 15th, 2008 | Author: Chris Walker | Filed under: Music | 14 Comments »
It’s long been established that people who say, “I listen to everything except country,” are devoid of original thought and probably aren’t the type of people you want to be friends with. Personally, I’ve always thought, “I listen to everything except Christian Contemporary,” was a much better way to go but recently I changed my mind. Now, whenever anyone asks me what kind of music I listen to I’m going to tell them, “I listen to everything… everything except for Mariachi music.”
Mariachi, Mexico’s traditional music, originating in the state of Jalisco (of which my beloved Guadalajara is the capital), is the worst music ever. I loathe it. Mariachi music has single-handedly (or million-handedly, as there are millions of these guys) hindered the Mexican people since its inception. I have serious reason to believe that if Mariachi were wiped off the earth, Mexico would rise to that of a Super Power.
Photoshopped by Chris Walker.
Think about this: a Mariachi band is the only band you pay to go away. Typically, you pay money to hear the music you like, not make it stop. But that’s how it is with these “musicians” in their ridiculous hats and extraordinary mustaches. Has there ever been a time when you’ve heard mariachi music and enjoyed it? No; there hasn’t been. You’ll be out at dinner having a pleasant conversation when seven to ten of these instrument toting, tassel sporting son’s of bitches come sauntering out of a back room. Before you know it, they’re in your face ba-ba-ba-baing with horns ablaze. You’re like, “I’m just trying to enjoy my fish tacos; now, I can’t even hear myself think.” Thoroughly annoyed, you throw a couple pesos or coins at the band, then do they turn to terrorize the table beside you and the game begins anew. This goes on until the Mariachi band has successfully molested every patron. Only then do they disappear.
I don’t even care about its cultural significance, Mariachi music ruins lives. The only music worse than Mariachi is music made by Jordin “I’ve Got No Sense of Humor” Sparks.
Photoshopped by Chris Walker.
Posted: November 24th, 2008 | Author: Chris Walker | Filed under: Music | Tags: Music | 5 Comments »
Last year I came off pretty arrogant with my Top Ten Albums of 2006, saying my list was better than most because I was able to restrain myself to ten picks and remembered a lot of great albums most forgot to mention. I’m not going that route this year, mainly because I know my finger is “off the pulse”, so to speak. And intentionally so.
A lot of music just didn’t impress me this year. I never got into Dan Deacon (no matter how fun Tod Seelie made his shows look), never found the appeal in Patrick Wolf. You’ll notice there’s no Radiohead, no Panda Bear, no Arcade Fire, or Wilco on my list? Why? Because I haven’t gotten around to listening to the new Radiohead yet (tragic, I know) and I didn’t care for any of those other albums, no matter how great everyone else said they were. Oh yeah, and I fucking hate Wilco.
That’s why this year I will refrain from calling my list the Ten “Best” Albums of the Year and instead call them my personal Top Ten Favorite Albums of 2007. Hope you enjoy my picks. Feel free to confirm your agreement with them, or call me an idiot for leaving a certain album out, whatever, I’ll take it.
CHRIS WALKER’S TOP TEN FAVORITE ALBUMS OF 2007
10. PARAMORE: RIOT!
Ah, my guily, guilty pleasure. I am not ashamed to say it: I love me some Paramore. They make pop-punk anthems the way they’re supposed to be made and I can’t help but love the shit. It’s undeniably infectious. Not to mention, that Hayley Williams is so goddamn adorable!
[MP3] Paramore: Crushcrushcrush (right-click to download)
09. APOSTLE OF HUSTLE: NATIONAL ANTHEM OF NOWHERE
I called it back in February (I think), National Anthem of Nowhere would make my top ten. And it did. The music is just so refined and mature. It’s one of those albums that will outlast the hipsters, survive the fads, and become one of those great, enduring albums – much like Apostle of Hustle’s first album, Folkloric Feel.
[MP3] Apostle of Hustle: National Anthem of Nowhere (right-click to download)
08. DETHKLOK: THE DETHALBUM
It’s easy to overlook Dethklok’s The Dethalbum for the fact it’s made by a fictitious band from an adult swim cartoon called “Metalocalypse”. The fact of the matter is The Dethalbum could very well be one of the greatest metal albums made. It contains all the best parts of metal (see: brutality) but is free of all the lame, we-take-ourselves-too serious pretentiousness often associated with metal. I mean, let’s face it, most metal albums are better to use as beer coasters than to put in a CD player. Metal sucks*. Not The Dethalbum though. It deserves to be cranked up to 11 and played on repeat.
[MP3] Dethklok: Go Into The Water (right-click to download)
07. JENS LEKMAN: NIGHT FALLS OVER KORTEDALA
I got my hands on Night Falls Over Kortedala around the same time as Beirut’s The Flying Club Cup. I’ve been constantly listening to the glorious, witty, pop gems off Night Falls Over Kortedala ever since then. Flying Club Cup? Not so much.
[MP3] Jens Lekman: The Opposite of Hallelujah (right-click to download)
06. QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE: ERA VULGARIS
Era Vulgaris is just a whole lot of fun. When my iPod adapter broke it was all I listened to for a week straight. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard “Make It Wit Chu”. There’s a lot of swagger, some blues, and a whole lot of sex-and-drug-drenched rocksploitation in Era Vulgaris. It’s also got blink-and-you-miss-‘em moments from The Strokes’ Julian Casablancas and Nine Inch Nails’ Trent Reznor. Nice.
[MP3] Queens of the Stone Age: Era Vulgaris (right-click to download)
05. JUSTICE: †
Justice single-handedly kept dance music alive and revived Daft Punk in the same year. This album is what The Looks was for me last year, only better. That being said, I’ve got to give MSTRKRFT their due (if I hadn’t a million times already), their remix of “D.A.N.C.E” was one of my favorite tracks of the year.
[MP3] Justice: D.A.N.C.E. (MSTRKRFT Remix) (right-click to download)
04. BROKEN SOCIAL SCENE PRESENTS KEVIN DREW: SPIRIT IF…
If you didn’t know any better you’d swear Spirit If… was the new Broken Social Scene album, not a Kevin Drew solo outing. From “Too Beauitful To Fuck”, “Safety Bricks”, “Lucky Ones”, “Backed Out On The…”, to “Aging Faces / Losing Places” this album evoked all the right emotions. And any guy who writes a song called “Gang Bang Suicide” and makes it one of the most genuine love songs of the year surely deserves a place amongst my top ten.
[MP3] Broken Social Scene Presents Kevin Drew: Gang Bang Suicide (right-click to download)
03. FIONN REGAN: THE END OF HISTORY
Technically this album was released in 2006 on Bella Union in the UK. But since Lost Highway released it in the US this year, and it’s been in constant rotation on my iPod since January, I’m including it here. Maybe it’s my kinship to Irish singer-songwriters that makes The End of History dear to me, I don’t know. If you ever get the opportunity to see Fionn live in a small venue where he hates the audience – don’t miss it. You’ll be in for a brilliant acoustic performance.
[MP3] Fionn Regan: Hunter’s Map (right-click to download)
02. NINE INCH NAILS: YEAR ZERO
Listening to this album makes me sad for bands that fell off, bands everyone used to love that now suck. Like Korn, for instance. While Korn tries reinventing themselves with the same boring sound on every disposable album Trent Reznor has remained relevant, able to progress while retaining the elements that make his music “Nine Inch Nails”. From the flash drives with MP3s, to the viral campaign, to the music itself, everything about this album was awesome. Who knew sobriety could be a good thing?
[MP3] Nine Inch Nails: Capital G (right-click to download)
01. FEIST: THE REMINDER
This album changed my life. Literally. I would not be in the place I’m at right now if it were not for this album. And I like where I am. That makes me really like this album.
[MP3] Feist: I Feel It All (right-click to download)
—
* Not all, but most metal sucks. Just to clarify.
Note: all MP3s are for sampling purposes and will be taken down if requested. These are songs from the best albums of the year though, so click the links and buy the albums – if you don’t already own them. They’re the best albums of the year so they’re obviously worth it.
Posted: December 14th, 2007 | Author: Chris Walker | Filed under: Music | No Comments »
