Top Five for 2008

I can really only give the full thumbs-up on five albums this year.  I seem to find it tougher and tougher to find music I'm really into.  Three possible reasons:

1. I'm old (I really hate to think how much this must play into it).
   
2. I still mainly like loud guitar-based rock/punk/garage, of which I don't seem to hear much of note lately.  The glut of indie-pop (like that purveyed on NPR's All Songs Considered) mostly doesn't do much for me. 
   
3. Music is more and more dispersed.  There must be stuff out there I'd love, but I can't find it. Used to be you could look to record labels to filter/curate it for you (you knew something was gonna be worth a listen if it was on Label X).  However, with it so easy to release things yourself now, labels play less and less of this role.
   

Five Favorites from 2008:

The Dirtbombs - We Have You Surrounded
Word was that this was going to be their "bubblegum pop" concept album, but it's not.  Instead, it's just a great collection of songs loosely tied to an end-of-the-world theme. And they're better than ever live. The show I witnessed in Dallas a few months ago was unbelievable-- the best I saw in 2008.

Alejandro Escovedo - Real Animal
A survivor looks back. Probably the album I listened to most this year.

Eddy Current Supression Ring - Primary Colors
Australian band that borrows from their country's (and New Zealand's) punk heritage to create one of the best records of the year.  And you get the feeling that these guys are just getting started...  


Kathleen Edwards - Asking for Flowers
Turning out three strong albums in a row is not easy trick. 


Prisonshake - Dirty Moons
Cleveland's Prisonshake never seemed to release music normally (I'm still looking for one of those compilations that were never released in the US), so it's no surprise that ten-plus years after their heyday, they've released the double album they always threatened.  I only recently got my hands on this and there's alot to digest here, with four "entry points" (the equivalent of LP "sides" in the digital era) into music recorded between 1995 and 2007. 

Honorable mentions:
British Sea Power - Do You Like Rock Music? (After a strong debut, their second album was a bit of a letdown. They right themselves nicely here.)
Thee Oh Sees - The Master's Bedroom (One of the best garage records I heard this year)
Sons and Daughters - This Gift (This Scottish band moves away from rockabilly and towards pop.)
The Whigs - Mission Control
Frightened Rabbit - The Midnight Organ Fight
The Hold Steady - Stay Positive
The Baseball Project - Vol. 1: Frozen Ropes and Dying Quails (Scott McCaughey, Steve Wynn, and Peter Buck sound like they had a blast recording this baseball themed album) 
TV on the Radio - Dear Science (Some soaring, beautiful moments here, but a bit too slick compared to their earlier stuff for my tastes)
Yeasayer - All Hour Cymbals (Takes a while to get into.  Some interesting moments.)
American Princes - Other People (Another one that grows on you)
Vivian Girls - Vivian Girls (Good stuff, but sometimes unfortunately sounds like the Shaggs covering the Jesus and Mary Chain)
Santogold - Santogold (Some of the catchiest pop of the year on here)

Paul Westerberg - 49:00

Paul Westerberg just released a bunch of songs recorded in his basement, all jumbled together on one 49 minute mp3 (actually it doesn't run quite that long) for the grand price of .49 cents.  Get it here.  Love the cover art (shown above)

Sarah Borges - 'Daniel Lee' (at Sun Studios)

Seems to be a steady stream of great albums from talented alternative-country women over the past few years (Kathleen Edwards, Shannon McNally, Tift Merritt, etc.)... or maybe I'm just more receptive to this kinda music than I would have been when I was younger. Lately, I've been listening to Sarah Borges and the Broken Singles a lot. If you're not allergic to a bit of country, definitely check out her two albums, "Silver City" and "Diamonds in the Dark".

Clinic - 'The Witch'

Caught Clinic the other night. They started by playing their new album "Do It!" in its entirety. Their sound hasn't changed all that much since their first album, 2000's "Internal Wrangler", but that sound was so eclectic and distinct from the get-go (they're about the last band I'd expect to have come out of Liverpool, England) that they can easily keep exploring it for another eight years. Their mix of eerie 60's psychedelica, garage rock, dub and the kitchen sink came off pretty well live, especially when they starting getting into some choice songs from previous albums. Loved the surgical masks and Hawaiian shirts get-up they had on too...

John Schooley - 'Drive You Faster'

So this is one of the 96 (!) bands at the Deep Blues Festival, former Revelator John Schooley.

Deep Blues Festival

Man, do I wish I was able to go to this. They have an unbelievable lineup-- pretty much anyone who's anyone in the blues-punk underground.

Polvo - 'Tragic Carpet Ride'

From the 9:30 show last month. Horrible sound quality, but the volume level of this show was deafening. Thank god I had earplugs!

Polvo easily surpassed any expectations I had of them as a live band. I couldn't believe how tight they were for a band that hasn't played together in ten years. Even the extended jams that many of the songs morphed into were riveting, rather than boring (as those type of things usually are).