It was a pretty good year for music in 2008. There were only a couple albums that made me want to go grab people by the shoulders and shake them until they promised to listen, but there were very many albums that were very good. So here’s my list of favorites. I count down the top 12 below the fold.
11 Runners-up (alphabetical order)
The Family Afloat by Bound Stems (So very indie.)
Do You Like Rock Music? by British Sea Power (I guess it’s okay to be rock and roll again.)
Narrow Stairs by Death Cab for Cutie (Paste: 18, Spin: 25) (A lot to like, little to love.)
War Elephant by Dear Tick (Southern rock for you and your dad.)
Hold On Now, Youngster by Los Campesinos! (Music for exclamation marks!)
Heretic Pride by The Mountain Goats (How to write a song.)
Evil Urges by My Morning Jacket (Paste: 16, Spin: 16, RS: 4) (You take the good, you take the bad.)
Skeletal Lamping by Of Montreal (Paste: 12, RS: 47, PR: 19) (Party in a box.)
Chunk of Change by Passion Pit (It’s time you heard “Sleepyhead.”)
The Rhumb Line by Ra Ra Riot (Unfocused, but likable.)
Nests by She Keeps Bees (Bides the time until the next Yeah Yeah Yeahs album.)
Top 12 Albums of 2008
12. Acid Tongue by Jenny Lewis
On this album are some of my favorite (”Acid Tongue,” “See Fernando”) and some of least favorite (”Black Sand,” “Godspeed”) songs of the year. An album that’s a callback to the time when songwriters moved more seamlessly between country, rock, and Top 40.
11. Conor Oberst by Conor Oberst (RS: 23)
I’ve never been a fan of Bright Eyes/Conor Oberst. I occasionally note a particularly nice turn of phrase in his lyrics, but I find his voice unbearable. But when I first heard “Lenders in the Temple” this year, I was so blown away I gave him another shot. The songcraft is exquisite, the backing is solid, and the voice doesn’t get in the way. Finally.
10. We Brave Bee Stings and All by Thao (Paste: 42)
A wonderful little indie-pop jewel, grounded in a welcome lack of glossy production. Sad, indirect lyrics are wrapped in happy, sing-along melodies. “Bag of Hammers” is guaranteed to make you tap your foot.
9. Abigail Washburn & The Sparrow Quartet by Abigail Washburn & The Sparrow Quartet
The choice to draw on Chinese folk music to enrich American bluegrass helps make this Uncle Earl member’s second full-length solo album so interesting. Of course, calling it a solo album is pretty misleading, when you have bluegrass virtuosos like Bela Fleck joining in.
8. Modern Guilt by Beck (Spin: 15, RS: 8, PR: 25)
I don’t care about another Odelay, but I’m still waiting for Beck to put out the next Midnight Vultures, or something approximating my personal favorite, Mutations. But it’s hard to complain about an album this fully realized. Not as forgettable as The Information or as light-weight as Guero, this is an adult album in some laudable sense.
7. Re-Arrange Us by Mates of State (Paste: 23)
I was so attached to the duo’s previous electronic organ, that it took me a good, long while to appreciate the power of their always direct, always sugary pop melodies on a piano-based album. But I did come around, and now I’m glad. This is your one-stop shopping for unshakable melodies and personal lyrics.
6. Dear Science by TV on the Radio (Paste: 50, Spin: 1, PR: 1)
This is perhaps the hardest nut to crack: so much happens at each moment of each song, it’s easy to lose one’s way. Those who persevere will be rewarded with one of the most intense, thoughtful, rich albums of the decade. There are no stand-out tracks, but plenty to think about in this difficult but rewarding album.
5. Fleet Foxes by Fleet Foxes (Paste: 6, Spin: 5, RS: 11, PR: 2)
If Brian Wilson grew up in Seattle in the ’90s, he might have made this gorgeous, alt-country masterpiece. Rich vocal and instrumental textures generate a world of sound that is worth dwelling in for an hour. “White Winter Hymnal” is the obvious flagship track, but there’s plenty more that is revealed over time.
4. Vampire Weekend by Vampire Weekend (Paste: 3, Spin: 14, RS: 10, PR: 3)
Not as good as the initial raves, nor as bad as the subsequent backlash, would suggest. After all, there is something very rock-and-roll about white boys stealing African music and making it big. I’m not in favor of what the overt Ivy League preppiness might mean for indie rock, but I’ll gladly accept killer tunes like “A-Punk” and “Walcott.”
3. Volume One by She & Him (Paste: 1)
I’m not sure I’ve loved singing any songs this year as much as I’ve loved belting out “Why Do You Let Me Stay Here?” and “Sweet Darlin’.” A few weak covers, but otherwise excellent. It’s remarkable that an album so rooted in the past can sound so fresh and needed.
2. For Emma, Forever Ago by Bon Iver (Paste: 4, RS: 29, Spin: 31, RS: 29, PR: 4)
I don’t know who Emma is or what she did to Justin Vernon (Bon Iver), but it must have been awful. The heartbreak, the longing, the beauty, the hope, the sadness in these songs, recorded on a four-track player in the backwoods of Wisconsin, is overwhelming. I want you to go buy this album right now. You’ll thank me.
1. Feel Good Ghosts (Tea-Partying Through Tornadoes) by Cloud Cult
This Minneapolis artist collective (they have visual artists in the band who perform on stage) is getting artistically, sonically, and lyrically more ambitious with each record, and it is so fun to ride the wave with them. Loosely grouped around the concept of humans’ momentary, organic existence, there are some truly monumental songs on this album.
Other lists:
Mjonthemove’s Best 20 Albums of 2008
Paste: Signs of Life: 2008 – Best Albums (Paste)
Spin: The Forty Best Albums of 2008 (Spin)
Rolling Stone: Top 50 Albums of 2008 (RS)
6 responses so far ↓
1 mjonthemove added // Dec 17, 2008 at 4:57 pm
Thanks for the nod, Tim. I always look forward to your list.
2 kimber responded // Dec 26, 2008 at 2:54 pm
Hi Tim, sorry, this isn’t exactly a comment about the list (which unfortunately is pretty much all foreign to me since we’re so out of touch with the states these days) but at the moment every single mode of communication we have is down (email, skype, and 95% of internet) but randomly I was able to access your site!! Apparently there were some cables cut in the Mediterranean that is affecting everything here. Anyway, could you pass on to your in-laws that we’ve been told their visas are finished and our friend will pick them up tomorrow! It isn’t going to be sent to an embassy in the States after all, instead it’s be at the airport waiting for them. We’ll scan it and send them a copy to bring, though. Thanks, and we miss you!!
Kimber
3 mjonthemove replied // Jan 1, 2009 at 4:49 pm
Hey Tim,
Pete threw his list up in the comments on my blog. It’s also pretty good stuff. Check it out!
4 peter added // Jan 2, 2009 at 11:38 pm
nice list. a few thoughts:
i just got the jenny lewis album, and i’m looking forward to it, but i got hung up on the messiah song. sort of makes me appreciate the other three guys in rilo kiley.
British Sea Power: I had a hard time getting into this album, but I should give it another chance. Their first album has some amazing songs on it (Remember Me is one of my all time favorite songs), and the second album had some highlights. but this one feels like they’re trying to be War era U2 and they only succeeded in creating the second half of that album.
happy new year;.
5 timothy paul yenter responded // Jan 8, 2009 at 11:13 am
Peter, I’ve heard a number of people found “The Next Messiah” to be a real puzzler, and kept them from getting into the album. I found it was the rare 10-minute song that held my attention. Re: BSP, I never fell in love with the album, but I found myself listening to a fair bit this spring. “Waving Flags” was a favorite.
6 Leif wrote // Feb 3, 2009 at 6:08 pm
I’m digging the Cloud Cult. Thanks for the tip, Tim.
Leave a Comment