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ivan@stellysee.de
| From | Dan Franke <deer_lick@yahoo.com> |
| Subject | Re: Top 20 of 2008 |
| Date | Tue, 3 Feb 2009 17:48:15 -0800 (PST) |
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I'm still recovering files from a computer crash, but I think I found enough to create my late entry into the best of last year - Sorry, I just need to write it down to get some closure. This is the year that the girls won. I generally prefer guy vocals & subject matter over the female point of view. I listened to most of my music while working this year - I think the female voice in my ear was soothing and cut through the din.
01 - Aimee Mann - #@%! Smilers (Always a favorite, but "Columbus Avenue" is an earwig)
02 - Sam Phillips - Don't Do Anything (She lost me after Martinis & Bikinis, but this is one of her bests since "The Turning" in her "Leslie" days)
03 - Conor Oberst - Conor Oberst (I want to dislike him in a Ryan Adams sort-of way...But like Adams, Oberst delivers. Unlike Adams, Oberst edits his thoughts and doesn't release everything - "Eagle On A Pole" is my favorite song of the year...I don't know why I *want* to dislike him so much)
04 - She And Him - Volume One (One my crush on Zooey Deschanel cooled, I realized her voice wasn't that great...but by then the songs were firmly under my skin)
05 - Jenny Lewis - Acid Tongue (The songs that sound like they could've been on "Rabbit Fur Coat" are the standouts, but kudos for branching out)
06 - Duffy – Rockferry (Winehouse minus the skankiness...not totally fair, but both have a sort of "throwback" vibe. Duffy is Lulu in "To Sir With Love," while Winehouse is Chloe Webb in Sid & Nancy")
07 - Boston Spaceships - Brown Submarine (Bob is back! ...and with Tommy in Tow! BTW: Keene has a new solo album in 2009)
08 - Quinn Sharber - Being Nice Won't Save Milwaukee (on the Bus Stop label!)
09 - Okkervil River - The Stand Ins (I do handclaps/percussion on "Lost Coastlines"...which is probably why it's the best song on the CD)
10 - Centro-Matic/South San Gabriel - Duel Hawks (Will Johnson exorcizes a few of his personalities on this shared double-disc by his 2 bands)
11 - Willie Nelson - Moment Of Forever (Willie puts out a ton of records and every couple of years one of them really grabs me)
12 - Paul Westerberg - 49:00 (The 43:55 minute song collage - Some of Westerberg's better ideas unfold and dissolve. I find myself constantly going back for repeat listenings. Westerberg has also released a handful of more conventional songs besides this - Available via TuneCore & Amazon)
13 - Bob Mould - District Line (Mould tones down the electronica and lets the songs shine through)
14 - Oasis - Dig Out Your Soul (By now, you pretty much know what to expect - Like it or don't)
15 - Sloan - Parallel Play (I love Sloan, but there last couple of albums haven't grabbed me as a whole - This one wins points for always placing great songs in shuffle)
16 - Brothers And Sisters - Fortunately (I keep thinking that this band will be Austin's next big thing, but they seem to remain relatively unknown)
17 - Elvis Costello - Momofuku (Elvis was so over-saturated this year, that HIS album seems to have slipped through the cracks)
18 - Last Puppet Show - The Age Of Understatement (Something to do with Arctic Monkeys...who I also like)
19 - Wooldridge Brothers - Days Went Around (This might be a 2009 release - I bought a "pre-release" download from www.mediacreature.com)
20 - Hotel Lights - Firecracker People (Not as immediate as the debut...but a grower)
Bubbling under / Need more listens:
Fratellis; Cat Power; Lucinda Williams; Nada Surf; Death Cab; Foxboro Hot Tubs; Destroyer
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