Top 20 of 2008

At 5 O'clock today it was pitch black and snowing. 2008 is dying and I would be remiss if I didn't remember the things that made it a great year and share them with you. Here is my list of favorites from 2008.

20. Titus Andronicus - The Airing of Grievances

19. Air France - Now Way Down EP

18. The Ruby Suns - Sea Lion

17. M83 - Saturdays=Youth

16. Lords - Fuck all Y'all Motherfuckers

15. Gang Gang Dance - Saint Dymphna

14. Wale - Mixtape About Nothing

13. TV on the Radio - Dear Science

12. Department of Eagles - In Ear Park

11. Lindstrøm - Where You Go I Go Too

10. Bun B - II Trill

9. The Bug - London Zoo

8. Man Man - Rabbit Habits

7. Harlem - Free Drugs

6. Deerhunter - Micro Castle

5. Grouper - Dragging a Dead Deer Up A Hill

4. Shugo Tokumaru - Exit

3. Beach House - Devotion

2. Hercules and Love Affair - s/t

1. The Tallest Man on Earth - Shallow Graves

After a slow spring I had little hope for great releases but things started to trickle in once the summer hit, and some of my favorite albums of the past five or so years came out in 08. All in all a good year in music.

Hello Saferide - Arjeplog

I think this is a really cute song.

giving Rogie some love...

Apparently Word Press is hosting a "Word Press Coolest Blog" contest. My friend Rogie King's blog KomodoMedia has been selected and I think he's more than deserving of a win. He's also vowed to give away any and all winnings which is pretty badass. Be a good person and go vote for him because he would vote for you and he's super nice and awesome.

Zeigeist

I stumbled upon this Swedish outfit like two weeks ago and can't stop listening to it. It's really fucking cool. Looks like a killer live experience based on these videos. Enjoy.

Zeigeist - Wrecked Metal


Zeigeist - Humanitarianism

Vivian Girls

this shit is great and that one chick is smokin (you know who I'm talking about).

Finger Fuck-Up...

Last night I managed to kill my own buzz by accidentally sitting on my finger while it was between the seat of my bar stool and the metal legs connected to it. It hurt like a son of a bitch, and now it looks totally gross. Eat your heart out Matt Brehe (Daily Scrape).

Grouper

not the fish, but Liz Harris' band.

Shugo Tokumaru

I'm in love. I can't stop listening to this guys albums. They are so fucking good. It's not fair.

Wall-e

Pixar's latest gem, Wall-e, caught me off guard. I was expecting it to be totally adorable, which it was, but I was not expecting it rank among the studio's best, which it most certainly does. What I really like about this film is the way it gets away from the played-out formula of overly energetic, pop culture laden, in your face dialogue and focuses on it's characters and the things that they do. Even without dialogue we are able to read a range of emotions and ultimately connect quicker and deeper with the protagonists. It's a refreshing way to tell a story and one that I believe has been overlooked. Kids need to know that it's important to listen and watch, and this movie conveys that message all too well. It's my second favorite Pixar flick, right after Ratatouille and followed by Finding Nemo. It's great, go see it. 9/10

I've been listening to...

a ton of shit, but here's a list of the stuff that sits at the top, for now.

The Black Heart Procession - Amore Del Tropico (2002 release. I'm revisiting this one)
Girl Talk - Feed The Animals
Joan as Police Woman - To Survive
Lil Wayne - Tha Carter III
Sun Dial - Other Way Out (1990 release, but it fucking kills. Think Dungen in English)
Man Man - Rabbit Habits
Titus Andronicus - The Airing of Grievances

That's all I can think of for now. I think all of the albums are great and encourage all of you to check them out. 2008 has been pretty bangin so far.

recent writing...

i wrote this poem last night. it's gross, but i like it.

Remnants

There are very few
things that bother
me, but one of them is running
up the four flights of stairs
to my apartment to let
loose the gurgling afterbirth
of the shit I took
right before I left.

The Hulk...

was boring as hell. Bruce Banner acted like a pussy for most of the film, and the action sequences were mindless and consisted mainly of the army shooting every mega-weapon available at the hulk (to no avail). I think the main problem is that the character isn't interesting enough to warrant a feature film. they tried twice and while this film is leaps and bounds better than its predecessor it still isn't worth seeing more than once. if you are considering going to see this film I would advise you to just go to Iron Man again, cuz this shit weren't happenin and i'm betting it'll be out on DVD sooner than you think. For another opinion check out Cody's review on zombiefood.

Dollhouse

I'll be the first to admit that I love Joss Whedon, and because of that blind love I'm really excited about his new show Dollhouse. It stars Eliza Dushku, who I'm not crazy about, and is slated to appear on Fox sometime in the near future. It's also part of Fox's "Remote-Free-TV" campaign which means that it will (supposedly) have fewer commercial breaks and therefor have more actual screen time. Here's the trailer.

Dollhouse trailer
by masalladeorion

KMBT: Combat Music Radio

I was browsing the Neurot Records website today and found out that Neurosis front man Scott Kelly hosts a weekly radio show on KMBT. Kelly is on of the stations founders and does a pretty good job of mixing genres. You can download any of the shows (past or present) from www.combatmusicradio.com. The other hosts include Joe Preston of Thrones fame, Bane, Dave Clark, and Eugene Robinson from Oxbow.

LD & D

this is a pilot for the hottest new sitcom in years. Too bad no one will pick it up.

grow your own...

 

Subtle (the band)

I downloaded the new Subtle album, ExitingARM, today and it's fucking killer. It's an interesting mix of hip hop, indie, and electro. I think a lot of you would really enjoy it, so go buy/download it!


going along with the electro theme I thought it would be nice to post a video of one of my favorite electro/house/pop albums from last year. Here's Muscles with the song "Ice Cream." Enjoy.

pitchfork tv

As many of you probably already know pitchforkmedia.com has recently launched a site dedicated to music videos and live performances (pitchfork.tv). I must say I'm really liking what the pitchfork collective is doing here. I especially like that all the videos are in high def. Here are some of the better videos.

Ghosts - Ladytron
They are so cute.


Blind - Hercules and Love Affair
This might be the best electro album we'll see in 2008. It's near perfect.


Head Spins - High Places
I'm in love with this band.


and finally...
For Emma - Bon Iver
good shit.


Check out the site for more.

going through a metal phase...

so as of late i've been revisiting some old metal favorites as well as checking out some new stuff. I'm pretty sure that the people that read this (if there are any) won't give a shit about any of this, but it's cathartic so fuck off. Also, if you "hate" metal this might be the time to reconsider.

With that said here is video one. It's from my favorite metal album of all time Arcturus' "The Sham Mirrors." I couldn't find the video of my favorite track (Collapsed Generation) so this will have to do. The song is "Ad Absurdum" and it's badass and avant garde.


Next up we have a relatively new band (within the last 8 years or so) called Arsis. This song is called "The Cold Resistance." Watch this dude play guitar, it's insane.


This next band is what we in the metal know call Black Metal and it's totally killer if done well. Here is Immortal with "Sons of Norther Darkness."


Boris may very well be the best stoner metal band on the face of the earth. I can't begin to tell you how much I love them. Here's "Kurosou" from the album Heavy Rocks.


Next is the infamous Neurosis. Few bands have had the impact on their genre that Neurosis have, and this video shows us why. This is a live version of "Locust Star" from the album Through Silver In Blood.


Finally we have a band that have been making a decent name for themselves over the past three years, Lair of the Minotaur. This is what happens when stoners mix death and thrash. Here's "War Metal Battle Master."


I hope someone out there enjoyed this little distraction.

the many face (and sounds) of Dax Riggs

from grind/metal with Acid Bath...


To melodramatic alternative rock with Agents of Oblivion


to blues infused garage rock with Deadboy & The Elephantmen


Dax Riggs is the shit, and has one of the best voices ever recorded. Love it.

also, here's a little bonus video to highlight his vocal skills

something old...

I saw this video about a year and a half ago and loved it. this might be my favorite Ryan Adams song.

so...

what do you think of the new logo? I like it.

best collaboration?

today it's The Field and !!!. This track is absolutely amazing.

holy shit...

the new Justice video for the song "Stress" off 2007's "cross" is insane. I haven't seen a video like this since The Prodigy's "Smack My Bitch Up."

i'm a sucker...

for crazy good vocal arrangements! The Dirty Projectors are the shit.

post-work, pre-sleep

A couple of times a year I go through my record collection and listen to the albums that meant a lot to me in the past. I do this because I feel that it is important to know how I've progressed as a fan and creator of music. So today I picked two albums that I feel have defined me in various ways.

The first album is Year of Meteors by Laura Veirs. I know there are going to be a lot of people that either think "really?" or have a general distaste for Miss Veirs, but I love this album. The main reason behind my adoration is that I didn't really like this album for the first year I owned it. I had read a lot about it, but after a few listens I decided that it wasn't my cup of tea and tucked it away at the bottom of the pile.

I don't know what drew me back to this record, but I think it has something to do with time and place. For some reason this album just seemed to echo a lot of the feelings I was having in 2006, and that's when I fell in love with it. Every track is superb, and the lyrics are absolutely breathtaking.

When I listen to YoM today I remember all the shit that was bringing me down. It's nostalgia, baby.



The other album is Novena on a Nocturn by The Good Life. I've been a huge Cursive fan since I bought Domestica way back when, and love Tim Kasher's voice and everything it touches.

I remember the summer when I first purchased this album. I had a job mowing a family friends lawn once a week, and would listen to this album exclusively. Thinking about it now is a little strange because it reminds me of how I used to be and, in some ways, still am. I would sit atop their riding mower wearing basketball shorts, a white undershirt, and a black vest with a broken zipper that housed my disc-man. It would take me almost three hours to cut the grass and in that time I was able to memorize every line of every song. I don't think I've ever been as happy as I was riding around that immense lawn. I still have that vest somewhere, and when I'm back home and my mother asks me to mow the lawn I'll throw it on because it just doesn't feel right to mow without it.

today i did...

this!



My mother was none to pleased about the invite I made (as a joke), so I made a real one.

with a drop of sunlight...

After record-breaking cold (bullshit) weather the sun has finally wiped the stardust from its eyes and reemerged. Spring is my favorite time of year (seasonal affective disorder is a killer) so I'm pretty happy that it has finally started.

I watched a documentary yesterday about the lead singer of the gypsy-punk band Gogol Bordello entitled "The Pied Piper of Hutzovina." It was pretty, pretty, pretty good. The only problem I had with it was the fact that director Pavla Fleischer, who is ridiculously beautiful and makes me want to date an eastern European, interjected her personal romantic feelings for Eugene Hutz a little too much. Other than that it was a really fun and oddly moving little film that you should all seek out. Here's Eugene playing "Lela Pala Tute"



In other news, the new Torche album, Meanderthal, is totally killer. It reminds me of what Kyuss was trying to do in the 90s, but heavier and, in my opinion, better. Here's a video.



I'm also really into the new No Age album, Nouns, which is due out on Sub Pop on May 6th. Again, video.

supergroup?

I recently found out that Julie Cafritz (Pussy Galore), Kim Gordon (Sonic Youth), and Yoshimi P-We (OOIOO/Boredoms) have formed a band called Free Kitten. I'm not gonna lie, that's a terrible name for anything (even an emancipated kitten) but the first track they released is killer so I'll play along.



Did I mention that I absolutely love OOIOO, Boredoms, and Sonic Youth? No? Well I do and you should too.

Radiohead on Conan

I thought this was funny/awesome.

that's right.

M83

I didn't really like the new M83 album (Saturdays = Youth) at first, but after a couple of weeks it's started to sink in and now I love it. It's pretty melodramatic, but that's part of its charm. Check it out. Also, here's the first video/single (Graveyard Girl) from the album.

a good day.

I passed my oral comprehensive test today which secures my degrees in Communications and Public Relations. Also, I found this video of my old band, Cagematch to the Death, on youtube.

it's that hot shit...so far.

so I thought it fitting to throw down a list of what I believe are the best releases so far this year (double aught 8).

El Guincho - Alegranza!
Man Man - Rabbit Habits
Neon Neon - Stainless Style
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!!
M83 - Saturdays = Youth
Hercules and Love Affair - S/T
Cut Copy - In Ghost Colours
Dodos - Visiter
Plants and Animals - Parc Avenue
The Mae Shi - HLLLYH

so that's it...for now. some pretty good shit floating around in old 08. Do yourself a solid and grab any (or all) of these.

Peace.

Chromatics...

I'm totally into this 80's dark wave/synth pop revival that's going on. Chromatics are the shit. If you like this video/song check out Sally Shapiro and Glass Candy.

Peace.

Man Man

Philly quintet Man Man dropped their sophomore album rabbit habits yesterday. It's sort of like Tom Waits meets Zappa in the play Indians. Good Stuff.

beach house...

heart of chambers (from devotion)

top ten albums of 2007...

I know it's a little late but here it is.

1. The Field - From Here We Go Sublime
2. Justice - "cross"
3. M.I.A - Kala
4. No Age - Wierdo Rippers
5. Jens Lekman - Night Falls Over Kortedala
6. Panda Bear - Person Pitch
7. Marissa Nadler - Songs III: Bird on the Water
8. Apparat - Walls
9. Joan as Police Woman - Real Life
10. Richard Hawley - Lady's Bridge