2008's 11 Best Albums - counting down
10. Sigur Ros / Med Sud I Eyrum Vid Spilum Endalaust
Honestly, one of the best songs of the year was paired with one of the most pretentious videos of the year: "Gobbledigook." A bunch of naked folks running about the forest on a beautiful day...something seems shroomy. Yes, SR have once again allowed their listeners to relish in hypnosis of the highest quality: icelandic ambient orchestral nature-ness...and on Med, they even reveals a Paul Simon side.
9. Thievery Corporation / Radio Retaliation
So what if it's loungey? so what if horns work there way into every song? I don't believe you if you think you'd only listen to this in a waiting room. Thievery Corp. came out with their best album yet, in my opinion, this year-- The very Zero 7-like collaborations in "Sweet Tides" and "La Femme Parallel"with French lady crooner LouLou really give TC a rich layer amid the progression of the tracks. My favorite song, "Mandala," incorporates the sitare. It's glorious. The beats they throw down are never disappointing. Yes, people are over the Garden State soundtrack with "Lebanese Blonde" on it - but keep watch over these guys. They're legit.
8. Atlas Sound / Let the Blind Lead Those Who Can See But Cannot Feel
Brandon Cox took a break from Deerhunter to put out Let the Blind and I give him major cred. In my perspective, we get a summer vacation in fourteen tracks. "River Card," the single, is lax as the days are long - and my three favorites, "Bite Marks," "Quarantined," and "Recent Bedroom" all have this vocal quality of Cox being underwater. The effects on his voice, while being identical to that of Deerhunter, are showcased somehow by the music whereas in Deerhunter, its often more about the band (as it should be.) Another reason this album is so good is the palpable loneliness that Cox presents with his melodies. I'd rather be isolated with this album than do a lot of other things.
7. Deerhoof / Offend Maggie
I'm partial to all of Deerhoof's efforts, and Offend Maggie, which was wildly unappreciated this past year, continues on what they started with The Runners Four back in 2005 on Kill Rock Star. Some of Maggie contains the vestiges of "Twin Killers," one of Deerhoof's best, as well as their more eclectic intuition that was revealed on 2007's Friend Opportunity. Satomi Matsuzaki, the singer, is too cute to not put on any top album list. Simple as that.
6. Girl Talk / Feed the Animals
Now that I'm in college, I've never been to a party where this entire album has not been played. Night Ripper, the first Girl Talk album, gave us our first taste of relativity among the genres, and Feed the Animals is more candy. Greg Gillis, who I had the pleasure of seeing live in Minneapolis at First Avenue, loves his audience. He spins what he knows is going to get a drunk sports-bar junkie to do a lapdance for his friends. "Shut the Club Down" is probably my favorite song, where he (as usual) mashes rap with Tony Basil's "Mickey," whose rhythm, although sadly attributed with Avril Lavigne's "Girlfriend" nowadays, is so good for dancing! His mixing of Britney's "Gimme More" with classic Air's "Sexy Boy" in "Set It Off" is also a crowd-pleaser. If you get a chance to witness the spectacle that is Girl Talk live, watch out for toilet paper guns, hoses, confetti, and bruises.
5. Beck / Modern Guilt
Beck's eighth album, Modern Guilt, shows that he is unstoppable. I got to see Beck when he stopped in St. Paul on his tour this year, and he still stretches a listener's concept of variation to outer space. "Gamma Ray," the single, is a great time for dancing - whereas "Chemtrails" is a modern-day Eleanor Rigby. My personal favorite, "Soul of a Man," brings us back to Beck's Odelay Days of the 90s. There's nothing of Beck's that I wouldn't buy...
4a. Stereolab / Chemical Chords
Stereolab has come out with a million albums at this point, and they still go strong. Although they persist on their path to obscurity, this is one of the catchiest albums I've heard from them. Their previous singles, "Cybele's Reverie" off of 1996's Emperor Tomato Ketchup (which I only recently decided to listen to - a great album) or "Ping Pong" off of 1994's Mars Audiac Quintet (buy this album too) emanated commercial appeal as well. This album begins with "Neon Beanbag," a cheerful tune, and finds its way to "Three Women," the single, and best of the album. I can see Stereolab very soon being suddenly re-appreciated on a more popular level--much like The Moldy Peaches (or Kimya Dawson, rather) were suddenly a hit after Juno. Not that this is one of their aspirations, or that they even need it, but Stereolab is one of the best bands out there right now, and their cinematic arrangements in music could give them a drive to go even stronger.
4b. Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks / Real Emotional Trash
I don't know why I wouldn't let this album get it's own number, but it just felt like 4 to me. Real Emotional Trash is raw Malkmus, reminiscent of Pavement, as is most of his solo work (i.e. he is Pavement.) On his last studio album, Face the Truth, Malkmus is more scattered. On this album, he finds his niche that was common to him in the early 90s with Pavement's Terror Twilight. "Cold Son" is beautiful.
3. TV On the Radio / Dear Science
I'm a huge huge fan of Desperate Youth, Bloodthirsty Babes as well as Young Liars. But I have to say, even during moments of what sounds like old Bloc Party, "Halfway Home," Dear Science is leaps and bounds forward for TV. There's soul and an appreciation for pop that wasn't as tangible in their previous records. "Crying" is one of the best songs of the year. It's emotional, it's danceable, and it's hypnotic. "Golden Age," the single, is also just a great pop tune. I love the old TV on the Radio too, but we gotta catch up with them. They're way ahead of us.
2. Deerhunter / Microcastle & Weird Era Cont.
Deerhunter came out with a double album this year! Wooohooo! While pop-ier than Cryptograms, the music travels further. "Never Stops," and "Agoraphobia" are the two most downloaded songs from this album because of the lush guitar licks. "Little Kids," and "Saved by Old Times" are pop - but occasionally bluesy. And, by the end of both songs, you think you're listening to a contemporary Ray Davies. "Vox Humana," off of the Weird Era side, is more ghostly and back to the beloved Cryptograms. Buy this album - it's on vinyl too.
1. Coldplay / Viva La Vida...or Death to all his Friends
Before all of you snobs bash me for this, hear me out. Brian Eno produced this baby - and yes, I'm aware that he produced U2's How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb which was a bust, but this album is a revelation for Coldplay. After their last release, X/Y, the most pretentious album ever, they came back with a triumph. Eno makes their music a story - and I also give credit to Chris Martin for writing some spectacular songs. The album is an ethereal journey. There are obvious influences from U2 and Pink Floyd, but CP still holds true to their signature romance. There's thick tension in "Cemeteries of London" and "Lost!" as well as in the beautiful beautiful musical intro-interlude "Life in Technicolor." They made a great album that I will now admit to having listened to over 15 times all the way through. I bought it on vinyl too.
On Friday night, 
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