My Favorite Albums of 2008

Cut Copy
In Ghost Colours
I had been listening to tracks of this album since mid-2007, but boy was the album worth the wait. Glistening, shimmery keys and great pop hooks, In Ghost Colours channeled 80's synthpop in all the right ways. If you were lucky enough to catch them live, you could tell the band were humbled by their own success.




Hercules & Love Affair
Self-Titled
It took me a few listens to warm up to this album, but it paid off. Yes, it does sort of trail off in the middle, but there is something heartfelt, unique and complicated about each track that commands repeat listens. "Blind" and "You Belong" are being anointed as dance classics and it's amazing how Antony doesn't always steal the show from the brilliant cast of characters.



Vampire Weekend
Self-Titled
I started listening to Graceland a few weeks ago, and didn't give a flying fuck about its influence on Vampire Weekend's debut. People said the same thing about first Strokes album and Television, but I didn't hear it. All I know is this album has the jangly college pop I yearn for. So fresh, clean and approachable that even my Dad was curious about it on our drive from Lafayette to San Francisco.


Kanye West
808s & Heartbreak
Yes, it's been out for less than a month, but it has also revived my interest in the "album" more so than any other recent release. The excessive auto-tune and lo-fi production does little to hide the aching in Kanye's songs. More importantly, you don't need to be on a downer to listen or appreciate this album's great music and Kanye's creative merits.


Santogold
Self-Titled
"Shove It" was pretty much my theme song this year, as was "L.E.S. Artistes." Moving from San Francisco to New York, "I can say I hope it will be worth what I give up" was pretty much the story of my life. The rest of the album has some hot tracks on it, but I prefer the mash-ups of "Anne" and "Lights Out" found on Top Ranking.


A few more albums I liked:
Hot Chip, Made In The Dark ("Ready For The Floor," "Hold On")
Britney Spears, Circus ("Circus," "Mannequin", "Unusual You")
Kylie Minogue, X ("In My Arms," "Like A Drug," "Heart Beat Rock")

My list feels pretty mainstream, but what can I say, Most of the "new" albums I bought this year were archives (i.e., I fell in love with Numero Group's Eccentric Soul series, old italo disco and newish italo disco from Italians Do It Better). But more importantly, I really liked the albums I listed above.

I spent most of my this year listening to remixes and singles from artists that could bring me up up up: Designer Drugs, Little Boots, Kid Sister, Treasure Fingers, Danity Kane, Cyndi Lauper, Kleerup, Miami Horror and more. Who said the single was dead?

The biggest disappointment was the new Beyonce album. Out of the sixteen songs on my deluxe version, I would master the tracks in this order:

1. Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)
2. Sweet Dreams
3. Halo
4. Ave Maria
5. Diva
6. Video Phone
7. Radio
8. Smash Into You
9. If I Were A Boy

Done!

51st Annual Grammy Award Surprises

As a music fan, I'm always interested in seeing what the old foggies at the Grammy Awards are including in their annual nominee list. This year, I find my jaw-dropping by some of their selections:

1. M.I.A.'s "Paper Planes" nominated for record of the year. This is the kind of thing that everyone believes should happen, but never actually does. I'm totally shocked. Also, the Jay-Z and T.I. collaboration "Swagga Like Us" (which samples "Paper Planes") is also nominated twice.

2. Hot Chip's "Ready For The Floor" nominated best dance recording (along with Madonna, Rihanna, Daft Punk and ... Lady Gaga???). Sam Sparro is also in there, but I never warmed up to him.

3. Robyn's self-titled album nominated for best electronic/dance album. If she wins this, what a triumph. Kylie Minogue's X is in there too, but that album was definitely hit/miss for me.

Grammy stalwarts like Beck, Radiohead and Coldplay are all nominated. And who is this Adele? I have never heard this "Chasing Pavements" song. In any case, it's not a perfect list but I'm rather impressed that Grammy voters are being slightly more progressive about their choices.

Tripping on Neon

Here in New York, I've had to readjust from my West Coast methods of listening to music. My routine used to be: dance/hip-hop at the gym, folk/rock/pop on my work commute, and pretty much anything on my home stereo.

In my new apartment, the wall separating my room from my Morrissey/Crass-loving roommate is dangerously thin, so I've yet to buy a stereo system. Listening to my iPod at home just feels weird and this city is too new and exciting for me to wear headphones all the time.

So for now, I'm dealing with it until I get some soundproofing. To keep me entertained, I have been watching some hot videos. The New York Times keeps mentioning how surrealism is IN right now. How about a little neon and psychedelia?

Love this song and video. I recently bought Hot Chip's DJ Kicks and discovered Grovesnor's "Nitemoves." "Drive Your Car" is a real treat.









Yelle's "Ce Jeu" is extremely cute. Their shows are so high-energy. The lead singer can get any party started. And I still don't have their album!









I remember the first time I saw Tilly and The Wall, my friend Sailor whispered in my ear, "I think the tap dancer is crazy." No kidding! I am loving this song. I disliked their super-neon "Beat Control" single, so "Pot Kettle Black" is very exciting.

Misc. March Albums

I've been listening to a mish mash of things these past few weeks. Nothing I'm terribly excited about, but some good tracks.

1. Gotta love Kid Creole and The Coconuts. Both Doppleganger and Wise Guy for only $1.99 at Amoeba Records. Total score. New romantic mutant disco that's all smiles. My favorite track has to be "I'm Corrupt" from Side A of Wise Guy.

2. Beck's deluxe reissue of Odelay was kind of an impulse buy. Unfortunately, it hasn't aged very well. There's at least two awesome bonus tracks on here: the ghetto glam throwback "Gold Chains," and "Burro," a mariachi interpretation of "Jack-Ass." Unlike most people who've lost interest in the post-Sea Change Beck, I really enjoyed The Information and am excited about his upcoming album.

3. Polysics' Polysics or Die!!! Vista was a gift from my brother. Fast-paced Japanese electro nerd punk. Great driving music for about a week, but then I got tired of it.

4. Hot Chip's Ready For The Floor has some of my favorite tracks this year, but the album as a whole is sort of a letdown. Things slow down so much in the second half, you forget you're listening to the same album. Their R. Kelly-meets-Jermaine Dupri production on "Wrestlers" is fun at first, but gets kind of annoying. I love "Shake A Fist," "Ready For The Floor" and "Don't Dance."

5. Kylie Minogue's Ultimate Kylie was a bit of an impulse buy as well. I started with disc 2, since it had the tracks I was most familiar with from the last decade. I was living in England when "Spinning Round" and "Kids" came out. Overall, this disc should have been Fever and "I Believe In You." I've been skipping everything else. Loved the fun synth pop from disc 1, songs I was mostly unfamiliar with.

6. Chromatics Night Drive is super awesome horror soundtrack italo disco. I think Johnny Jewel is one of the most creative, minimal electro disco producers today. Amazing that this stuff is coming from Portland/Seattle.

7. What can I say about Vampire Weekend's debut album that hasn't been said? I liked it instantly, but it hasn't been getting played very much after the initial saturation in my CD/iPod player. For a real treat, read this post from Momus, one of my favorite people in the world.