The Best Albums Of 2008 - As Voted By Painting Over Silence Blog Readers
>> Monday 22 December 2008
First of all, thanks to everyone who sent in lists and/or comments about said record. I had a lot of fun compiling the results and even discovered some wicked new sounds. Also, a lot of people didn't leave comments (it was optional after all) so the glowing adoration for some entries is less explained than others.
Second, this list was entirely voted upon by blog readers, so it does not include my personal top ten (which will be published tomorrow...stay tuned!).
Third, despite not receiving a single first-place vote, Fleet Foxes dominated the competition. If you haven't heard them yet, check out the video below for "White Winter Hymnal" - it's glorious!
Fourth, ties were unavoidable. Made me seriously consider adding my top ten into the mix.
Now without further delay....
1. Fleet Foxes - Fleet Foxes
"What a brilliant debut. ALMOST my favourite record of the year." - Sarah
"Beautiful music that for some reason makes me picture country landscapes covered in powdery snow." - Phil
"Like if Bon Iver were a bunch of guys." - DW
"I just love this one." - TR
2. M83 - Saturdays = Youth
"'Kim and Jessie' - song of the year." - Ben
(Mykael's note: see and hear above)
"I can't get enough of it..." - Nick
3. Bon Iver - For Emma, Forever Ago
"Like if Fleet Foxes were one guy." - DW
"Justin Vernon's brilliant debut album, crafted alone in the woods of Wisconsin. Haunting, beautiful." - Nick
"A rather late addition to my list, but a new favourite based on the fact that I can't resist mopey - but not EMO - guys that can rock (but just a little)." - TR
"Just beautiful." - Sarah
4. Vampire Weekend - Vampire Weekend
"With only 34 minutes runtime, Vampire Weekend's debut album is short and very sweet. All hits, no misses with this one. I can't wait to see what their next album will sound like and I'm sure I'm not the only one." - Phil
"The soundtrack of my summer!" - Sarah
5. Cut Copy - In Ghost Colours
"I've been listening to In Ghost Colours in my car for many months now and it hasn't left my changer sicne the day I put it in. I've probably listened to it more times than any of the other albums on this list combined, and I'm not sick of it! A true sign of an excellent album." - Phil
6. Constantines - Kensington Heights
"Winner, gritty band of the year." - Ben
6. Death Cab For Cutie - Narrow Stairs
"Unlike most, I'm a big fan of the first four drony minutes of 'I Will Possess Your Heart'" - Ben
6. Sigur Rós - með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust
"While not my favourite Sigur Rós album, there is a certain comfort to their music and their presence in my musical repertoire." - TR
9. The Verve - Forth
"Poor Coldplay tries so hard while this sounds effortless." - DW
"They have come a long way since 'Bittersweet Symphony'." - TR
9. Crystal Castles - Crystal Castles
"Voltaic!" - Whitney
"How can you not be hooked after the first few video-game-esque bars of its opening track 'Untrust Us'?" - Nick
**************
Honourable Mentions (in alphabetical order)
Beck - Modern Guilt
Damien Jurado - Caught In The Trees
Flight Of The Conchords - Flight Of The Conchords
Goldfrapp - Seventh Tree
Hold Steady - Stay Positive
Kathleen Edwards - Asking For Flowers
MGMT - Oracular Spectacular
Tallest Man On Earth - Shallow Grave
Wolf Parade - At Mount Zoomer
Last word: While I'm not publishing individual lists, please feel free to publish your personal list under the comments!
Hope to hear from everyone (and more) again next year!
Infinite Playlist: Cut Copy - In Ghost Colours
8 comments:
Hooray! I love lists. Now I've got some new music to check out. Thanks everyone.
Anyway, here were my top 10 picks and why I picked some of them:
1. Cut Copy – In Ghost Colours
I've been listening to In Ghost Colours in my car for many months now and it hasn't left my changer since the day I put it in. I've probably listened to it more times than any of the other albums on this list combined, and I'm not sick of it! A true sign of an excellent album.
2. Vampire Weekend – Self-titled
With only 34 minutes runtime, Vampire Weekend's debut album is short and very sweet. All hits, no misses with this one. I can't wait to see what their next album will sound like and I'm sure I'm not the only one.
3. Mates of State – Re-Arrange Us
I've never been a big Mates fan before, but I simply fell in love with this husband/wife duo's latest offering. They've made a fan out of me.
4. Fleet Foxes – Self-titled
Beautiful music that for some reason makes me picture country landscapes covered in powdery snow.
5. Wolf Parade – At Mount Zoomer
6. Flight of the Conchords – Original Soundtrack
FotC's compilation of catchy tunes and humourous lyrics would have been ranked higher except for the fact that the infectious songs get stuck in my head for so long that I want to bang them out with some kind of blunt object. Try going to sleep when you’ve got “Foux Du Fafa” stuck in your head. Impossible!
7. Stereolab – Chemical Chords
People say that Stereolab keep making the same songs. I say they've simply got their musical stylings down to a fine science. Chemical Chords is a solid album that doesn't disappoint this 'lab fan one bit.
8. Death Cab For Cutie – Narrow Stairs
9. The Hold Steady – Stay Positive
When I first played this album, I thought "It's definitely not as good as Boys and Girls in America". However Stay Positive stands on it's own albeit in the shadow of their previous outing which was simply fantastic.
10. Beck – Modern Guilt
1. M83 - Saturdays = Youth
"Kim and Jessie" - song of the year
2. Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks - Real Emotional Trash
Was destined to miss the list until I saw him play in Winnipeg on October 27. Now I get it, and the world is good.
3. Sigur Ros - Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust
4. Portishead - Third
I can't believe this didn't make the Top 10!
5. Constantines - Kensington Heights
Winner, gritty band of the year.
6. Kathleen Edwards - Asking for Flowers
"Copied Keys" from 2005's Back to Me was the perfect closer, and Asking for Flowers' "Buffalo" is an equally poignant and heartfelt opener.
7. Death Cab For Cutie - Narrow Stairs
Unlike most, I'm a big fan of the first four drony minutes of "I Will Possess Your Heart".
8. Coldplay - Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends
9. The Hold Steady - Stay Positive
Runner up for gritty band of the year.
10. Sun Kil Moon - April
Oh, and two things to note re: that Kim and Jessie video:
1. It's a terrible edit of teh song - pretty choppy.
2. It's a ridiculous video that's beyond quasi-arty - it's sort of just plain ridiculous.
Kinda makes me wanna go roller skating, clad in ostentatious roller skating garb.
Here's what I liked in 2008:
1. Bob Dylan - Tell Tale Signs
2. Hold Steady - Stay Positive
3. Drive-By Truckers - Brighter Than Creation's Dark
4. Elliot Brood - Mountain Meadows
5. Vampire Weekend - Vampire Weekend
6. Emmylou Harris - All I Intended To Be
7. Lucinda Williams - Little Honey
8. Islands - Arm's Way
9. Ryan Adams - Cardinology
Post your top 10 list already, Mike!
M83 - 'Saturdays=Youth'
I can't get enough of it...
Girl Talk - 'Feed the Animals'
Download it for whatever price you want at www.illegalart.net. Do it... then count the number of samples that make up the majority of this album, including the seemingly diverse 'Whoop! There It Is', 'In A Big Country', the Cure and Maestro Fresh West. As Exclaim wrote of this DJ (though don't call him that)/mashup artist's live show in Toronto in 2007, he's "one hell of a rock star and the best non-DJ in the world."
Silver Jews - 'Lookout Mountain, Lookout Sea'
The album's last track 'We Could Be Looking For the Same Thing' draws you in with its beautiful imagery and haunting male-female vocals, leaving you wanting more.
Cadence Weapon - 'Afterparty Babies'
Roland Pemberton is Canada's best party hip-hopper this year, and probably its most intelligent.
The Knux - 'Remind Me In 3 Days'
New Orleans-raised brothers Krispy Kream and Rah Al Millio bring some irreverence, creative beats, rock riffs and cappuccino to the alt-hip hop world.
Crystal Castles - 'Crystal Castles'
How can you not be hooked after the first few video-game-esque bars of its opening track 'Untrust Us'?
Bon Iver - 'For Emma, Forever Ago'
Justin Vernon's brilliant debut album, crafted alone in the woods of Wisconsin. Haunting, beautiful.
65daysofstatic - 'The Distant and Mechanized Glow of Eastern European Dance Parties'
The best album name of the year, this post-rock/electronic band have put out an album that's, as one online reviewer writes, "the aural equivalent of being grabbed by your nose hairs and thrown through a plate glass window."
Kathleen Edwards - 'Asking For Flowers'
Kathleen Edwards isn't up-and-coming anymore, she's arrived with her best album to date.
Thievery Corporation -- 'Radio Retaliation'
The perfect companion to the city at night, taking you from the clubs, through a maze of darkened streets punctuated by streetlights onto the highway, with no destination in mind.
and, Honourable Mention:
Juno Reactor - 'Gods & Monsters'
Not a typical Juno Reactor album, but several tracks rank up there in their catalogue of epic, ominous, at-times heavy and speedy electronica.
1: Plants and Animals - Parc Avenue (An album's album. Will be in my playlist for years.)
2: Born Ruffians - Red, Yellow & Blue
3: Awkward Stage - Slimming Mirrors, Flattering Lights
4: Death Cab for Cutie - Narrow Stairs
5: Sebastien Grainger & The Mountains - Sebastien Grainger & The Mountains
6: Goldfrapp - Seventh Tree
7: Hayden - In Field & Town
8: Fleet Foxes - Fleet Foxes
9: Colin Meloy - Colin Meloy Sings Live!
10: Flight of the Conchords - Flight of the Conchords (Although we all know that comedy albums never stand the test of time.)
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