Chris Walker Vs. My Top Ten Albums Of 2008

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 »

Chris Walker Vs. A.B. 2098

Photo: Getty Images

When it came to the ethical treatment and humane slaughter of the animals we eat, 2008 didn’t start off as a great year for California. In February, the Chino, CA based Westland/Hallmark Meat Company had to issue the largest beef recall in history — 143 million pounds worth, to be exact — after the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) released footage of sick and barely mobile cows being kicked and prodded to slaughter. Aside from exposing deplorable behavior, the potentially dangerous meat was being fed to children in school lunch programs. I may not be a particularly huge fan of children but I still think poisoning them is wrong.

What a difference a few months make. If the Westland/Hallmark situation was a battle cry, California answered it with guns ablaze. Last month Californians passed Proposition 2, an initiative that will significantly improve the living conditions of farm animals, by 63.5 percent. (Note: San Bernardino County, where Chino is located, voted “yes” on Prop 2 by 61.6 percent.) But what you may not know is before Prop 2 was passed California quietly made a different benchmark victory for slaughter-bound animals. I’m talking about A.B. 2098.

A.B. 2098, which was signed into law by California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger on July 22, 2008, is a bill which, “prohibits a slaughterhouse, stockyard, or auction from selling meat or products of non-ambulatory (downed) animals for consumption,” according to the HSUS. Initiated by Democratic Assemblyman Paul Krekorian, A.B. 2098 not only covers cattle, it also includes pigs, sheep, and goats. A.B. 2098 also prohibits the transportation of sick or immobile animals to auction markets or stockyards.

The bill was a monumental step in the right direction, both for public safety and for the animals we consume. Does A.B. 2098 mean a downer cow will never make it onto an assembly line again? Not necessarily. But it does make the penalties harsher and, considering the fate of Westland/Hallmark Meat Co., which preceded and perhaps gave A.B. 2098 more leverage, will hopefully make slaughterhouses think twice before allowing their workers to kick a possibly E. Coli-riddled cow up the conveyor belt. (Note: Meat companies like Niman Ranch have never slaughtered non-ambulatory animals.)

If you’re interested in learning more about A.B. 2098, or about Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) Recalls, follow the links below.

LINKS:

The Humane Farming Association: A.B. 2098

Humane Farming Association

Food Safety and Inspection Service: Current Recalls & Alerts

PREVIOUS MEAT RELATED VERSUS:

Chris Walker Vs. Good Meat Vs. Bad Meat
Chris Walker Vs. A Bone To Pick With Vegetarians
Chris Walker Vs. You Are What You Eat
Chris Walker Vs. USDA Certified
Chris Walker Vs. Bullfighting, And Meat In America – As It Was Intended
Chris Walker Vs. Offal Good: Chris Cosentino
Chris Walker Vs. Bullfighting, And Meat In America

Posted: December 9th, 2008 | Author: Chris Walker | Filed under: Food | 9 Comments »

Chris Walker Vs. The Great Debate

Up until a couple days ago, I’d never heard of Complex. Complex is a men’s magazine in the vein of Maxim – more edgy, perhaps – created by fashion entrepreneur Mark Ecko. It covers everything from girls to gadgets, celebrities to city hot spots. I guess I didn’t know about Complex because I stopped reading Maxim-esque magazines after college, and my current magazine reading tops out at GQ and Gourmet. Whether that makes me sophisticated or boring, I’m not sure.

Either way, I’m an avid watcher of the G4TV show Attack of the Show, and think co-host Olivia Munn is one of the most attractive women I’ve ever seen (on television, at least). In what can only be described as some of the nerdiest moments ever, my friends and I often debate who is hotter: Munn, or X-Play (another G4TV show) co-host, Morgan Webb.

Oliva Munn, left; Morgan Webb, right

I’m actually in the minority with my support of Munn. Shocking; I know, but I found something that might change all that. Munn, a Complex cover girl, is also a Complex columnist and in this month’s issue she tackles my most contested liquor: vodka.

Olivia Munn’s Vodka Taste Test (I can’t embed the video, go to the site.)

My favorite part of the video: they’re taste testing out of plastic cups. If that’s not classy, I don’t know what is. Really, after this, I think the only way to drink vodka is out of a red Solo cup. For an odorless, flavorless — unless otherwise flavored or infused — liquor it seems wholly appropriate.

The video doesn’t really do Munn justice, for the complete experience you’ve got to read her delightfully witty, consistently hilarious commentary on the different vodkas she tries, some of which are blatantly aimed at women who want their drinks to taste like Capri Suns. Check out the entire thing on the Complex website, or pick up the issue in stores now. Either way, it’s a definite scoreboard for Munn. Take that, Webb fans.

Photoshopped by Chris Walker.

LINKS:

Olivia Munn’s vodka taste on Complex.

Complex Magazine.

Attack of the Show, with the superior Olivia Munn.

X-Play, with the lesser Morgan Webb.

Posted: December 1st, 2008 | Author: Chris Walker | Filed under: Alcohol, Women | 13 Comments »