Year-End Critics' Polls '08

Living Colour had their moments, like "Cult of Personality": very apt, but shoulda had rock icons in video, not just pols). Often seemed more plod than thud. Better when ranging a little further afield (from late 80s calculations of MTV/arena metal mainstream appeal): "Memories Can't Wait", and that Ubu cover (wasn't it Time's Up reissued with a bonus disc of covers etc?) Also better and further: Vernon with Frisell,on their Smash And Scatteration; various albums with Ronald Shannon Jackson and the Decoding Society ( robertchristgau.com astute on these); that most recent VR & Masque album has some great stuff too, though uneven as usual. Fleet Foxes' tapestry of harmonies and imagery=cloying. Suspect lineage of CSNY (CN=fatty tissue, though the marbling that kept SY together longer and perhaps better than Stills-Young Band--or you could just listen to Buffalo Springfield, Neil's own, Byrds, and Hollies, not to mention Stills-Young Band). Most freak folk is cloying, but the rainy day mythologies ("bored enough to fuck with it"-xgau on punks on heritage of rock) of Oregon's own Blitzen Trapper are refreshing (and see how non-spacey they really are, re-working their songs for Daytrotter Sessions, like a fair number of other bands on there don't fare so well outside of their own studio setups). Also (prob on my P&J this year)Bodies of Water, whose own tapestry of etc. is of house and lineage of Mugwumps/Mamas & Papas/maybe Fairport/Fotheringay etc, but all that's just a point of departure. As you were. thx d

TVOTR ineligible!!!!
--born in Kenya
--actually 37.5% Arab.

i cant wait to read geir calling marcello racist

thinking of imposing a "no white people" rule on my lists

even you're not that daft lex

Marcello to seek injunction (Developing...)

xps I got your back on this, daviday. Fucking Ladytron. Bollocks more like.

via bleep email

1. Hudson Mohawke - Polyfolk Dance (Sampler) (Warp)
Available exclusively on Bleep.com for the next 5 weeks, this 2-track taster of electronic blips and chopped vocals displays an alarming forecast into the talents that this young Glaswegian producer holds. Already having attracted careful observation from media who still struggle to label the movement (Aqua Crunk?/ Wonky?); combine this with his recent signing to Warp, 2009 looks like it's going to be the year of the Mohawke.

2. Lone - Lemurian (Dealmaker)
Nottingham's Matt Cutler dropped this ear tickling debut with a coolness that few matched in '08. Brimming with heavily compressed beats that fidget and ache and groove against a miasma of aqua-sonics and soul-drenched samples; if this has been the year of the wonk then Lemurian stands proud as one of its more intriguing documents. At once disconcerting and beatific, Lemurian's shoegazing loveliness is THE unique take on the sound of tomorrow.

3. Eero Johannes - Eero Johannes (Planet Mu)
Playful space-disco meets toy-town dubstep may sound horrific but Planet Mu's latest signing delivered us a caffeine frenzy magnum opus, high on invention. Across fourteen analogue coated cuts, cosmic highlife and genre tennis a-plenty ..Johannes has more melodies per minute than ten-long players cooped up in a busy pop-factory.

4. Tape - Luminarium (Hapna)
Sublime bedroom minimalism from the Swedish band, fluttering and floating into the ears like nothing else this year. Once the opening crackle and shimmering guitar trails of opening track 'Beams' is torched, Luminarium glows through sixty minutes of lush arrangements, ghostly field recordings and a cornucopia of treated acoustic instruments. Beautiful.

5. The Bug - Poison Dart (Ninja Tune)
2008's most explosive record, veteran producer Kevin Martin has comfortably crafted his finest work to date. A phuture masterpiece, London Zoo frazzles and sparks with apocalyptic rage, post-millennial tension and subsonic monster beats. No other release this year has brought together stomping lyrical resonance(in the shape of some prime M.C talent) politico-dancehall grooves and bashment boogie with such skill. In years to come London Zoo WILL become a seminal record, for the meantime just buy it on bleep.

6. Rustie - Zig Zag (Wireblock)
If you are like us, then you probably remember the first time you heard this song. Definitely not a background-music tune, Zig-Zag drags the choke-held listener through an electronic soundtrack to Apocalypse, only intensified by chord changes every time you feel you might get a chance to breathe. The Terminator soundtrack on crack.

7. Flying Lotus - L.A. EP 2 X 3 (Warp)
Following on from one of the best albums of 2008, this EP is a hand-picked selection of Flying Lotus' favourite producers to re-work tracks off the seminal Los Angeles LP. It is a selection of the freshest producers around today re-piecing together the soundbytes of FlyLo's well-inked musical stamp for 2008. Essential.

8. Toob - Push Me, Pull You (Process)
One half of Red Snapper, Richard Thair teamed up with Jake Williams for this, their glorious second album under the Toob moniker. Oscillating wildly through the genres Push Me, Pull You is a must for fans of cosmic-krautrock rhythms, crunchy breaks, 80s new-wave and keyboard hooks from every corner. Underpinning the technicolor are wonderfully deadpan vocals and subversively skewed pop-melodies. The left-field pop album of the year.

9. Loco Dice - 7 Dunham Place (Desolat)
Lush minimal techno from downtown Brooklyn that squarely confronts the genre with a freshness of approach that zings and pings its way into your consciousness. Hooky piano stabs, densely textured programming and cut-up musique-concrete mean ... Dunham Place's Nuyorican flavour attacks both the dancefloor and the heads in equal measure.

10. Ratatat - LP3 (XL Recordings)
Unimaginatively titled, but a box of kooky treasures, as you might have come to expect from Ratatat. Crying out for some ad syncs, it is both thoughtful and calm but with some more developed sounds than before, particularly the Spanish influences that come out on Gipsy Threat and Mi Viejo.

Resident Advisor's Top 15 Remixes:
01. Ricardo Villalobos - Minimoonstar (Shackleton Remix) [Perlon]
02. Sebbo - Watamu Beach (Moritz von Oswald Rework) [Desolat]
03. Hercules & Love Affair - Blind (Frankie Knuckles Vocal) [DFA]
04. Sascha Funke - Mango Cookie (DJ Koze's Pink Moon Rmx) [BPitch Control]
05. Matias Aguayo - Minimal (DJ Koze Mix) [Kompakt]
06. Sascha Dive - Deepest America (Moodymann Remix) [Ornaments]
07. TRG - Broken Heart (Martyn's DCM Remix) [Hessle Audio]
08. Mlle Caro & Franck Garcia - Dead Souls (Radio Slave Long Distance Kiss Remix) [Buzzin' Fly]
09. Ane Brun - Headphone Silence (Henrik Schwarz Remix / Dixon Edit) [Objektivity]
10. Kevin Saunderson feat. Inner City - Good Love (Luciano Remix) [KMS]
11. Radio Slave - Grindhouse (Dubfire Terror Planet Remix) [Rekids]
12. Vladislav Delay - Recovery IDea (Andy Stott Remix) [Semantica]
13. Sety - Mogane (Guillaume & The Coutu Dumonts Remix) [Circus Company]
14. Shackleton - Death Is Not Final (T++ Remix) [Skull Disco]
15. Dave Aju - Crazy Place (Luciano «Likuid» Remix) [Circus Company]

http://www.residentadvisor.net/feature-read.aspx?id=996

Really hoping Marcello pipes up again so I can post that Robert Downey Jr. in Tropic Thunder pic.

I will never get why everyone is loving this Flying Lotus so much

Billboard critics' top 10s:

http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/yearend/2008/news/billboard-critic-choice-top-10.shtml

I've been kind of surprised at the high placement of Bon Iver on like 90% of these lists. I was aware of the guy but never really heard many people talk about him in 2008.

from the billboard link:

the man that ruined Melody Maker : Mark Sutherland:

He still likes rubbish music: Ting Tings, Glasvegas, Katy Perry, Oasis

MARK SUTHERLAND
Billboard international bureau chief

1. The Ting Tings, "We Started Nothing" (Columbia). Pop wolves in indie sheep's clothing, or possibly the other way round. Either way, 2008 was way more fun for having them around.
2. Weezer, "Weezer" (DGC/Interscope). Aka "The Red Album," Rivers Cuomo's genius still sounds great in any color.
3. Glasvegas, "Glasvegas" (Columbia). Big, affecting, proper music from the year's most exciting alt-rock discovery. The new Oasis, anyone?
4. The Last Shadow Puppets, "The Age of the Understatement" (Domino). Alex Turner's Arctic Monkeys sabbatical may just be the best side project ever.
5. Those Dancing Days, "In Our Space Hero Suits" (Wichita). Five Swedish girls who sound like your favorite indie pop group playing 1960s girl groups' greatest hits. What's not to be totally smitten by?
6. Duffy, "Rockferry" (A&M/Polydor). The British voice of 2008.
7. Oasis, "Dig Out Your Soul" (Big Brother). Sounding angry for the first time since, ooh, they were turned away from the Groucho Club in 1996, probably, and all the better for it. The old Glasvegas, anyone?
8. Elbow, "The Seldom Seen Kid" (Fiction/Polydor). That rarest of beasts: a Mercury Prize-winning album that actually deserved it.
9. R.E.M., "Accelerate" (Warner Bros). The sound of a giant awakening from a 16-year slumber and knocking out a doozy of a garage rock album in about half an hour. Sometimes, fairy tales do come true.
10. Katy Perry, "One of the Boys" (Virgin). She made a record and I liked it. It felt so wrong, it felt so right. 2008 in a nutshell.

Glad to see DJ Martian still carries a grudge against Melody Maker being ruined.

"Big, affecting, proper music .. "

so thats what proper music sounds like. been wondering about that all year.

9. R.E.M., "Accelerate" (Warner Bros). The sound of a giant awakening from a 16-year slumber and knocking out a doozy of a garage rock album in about half an hour. Sometimes, fairy tales do come true.

lolz

Bon Iver xgau's Dud of the Month and richly deserved (frost flowers in nosebeard of slo-mo farmhand, yum)

geir showing up during the marcello argument was like a presidential cameo on snl

when did geir show up?

Sometimes fairy tales do come true.

It is a well-known fact that most albums released in December are usually either "best of" compilations or crowded with songs about Santa, reindeers, Christmas trees, snow and mistletoes.....

― Geir Hongro, Friday, December 12, 2008 9:23 AM (4 hours ago) Bookmark

much like a presidential cameo it was largely a let-down, but it was the thought that counted

^^^Geir's contribution to this thread encapsulated

Guys I missed all of Marcello's racist nonsense and am going back in time to say that, while I can barely bring myself to care about these lists anymore, that DiS intro was possibly the worst thing I've read in my entire life.

Blog Said the Gramophone have posted their 50 best songs of 2008. I love this one:

http://www.saidthegramophone.com/archives/best_songs_of_2008.php

omg that youtube

Other Music best of 08 topped by El Guincho, Crystal Stilts, Grouper ...

http://www.othermusic.com/2008december11update.html

Pitchfork Top 50 countdown starts

Surprised to see Weezy that low, and I've never even heard of See You In Court. Any good?

was that supposed to be a rickroll? The page is broken.

See You In Court is awesome

I've never heard Living Colour but I find TVotR boring, so I'm intrigued by this. I still don't understand why the response to Marcello's original post and visual gag was so angry and inspired such a long argument. I think the lady doth protest too much.

Aftenposten scrapped their English language website recently, so only Geir can read the blurbs.

But they never had many English language articles on music, did they?

Anyway... Not much to comment otherwise. Marcello is Marcello. The Lex is The Lex. Nothing new....

And I am not too impressed by those lists myself, but that is because 2008 wasn't a particularly good vintage, not because the lists are seriously wrong. The American dominance is actually deserved, which says more about the current state of British music. The old names are still great, but they need some new names that are a bit less "rock".

(And still song-oriented and melodic, needless to say)

boooooooooooring

http://www.largeheartedboy.com/blog/archive/2008/11/2008_yearend_on_1.html lots of lists

Other Music best of 08 topped by El Guincho, Crystal Stilts, Grouper ...

that el guincho album is pretty good. surprised it's not more widely cited. seems like it could've at least gotten the slot reserved for manu chao or congotronics or something.

Yep, everytime I return to El Guincho it seems like I am hearing it for the first time... in a good way.

Surprised the Dig Lazarus isn't on more lists. It'll be in my Top Five and it's almost nowhere to be seen.

It's on virtually every list!

There's even a separate ilx thread with people grumbling that's overrated and they don't understand why it is showing up on so many lists

http://trustedadvisor.com/public/Image/Ostrich%20head%20in%20sand%20small.jpg

Dig Harry Dig!

Irony... a fading gift.

Vibe's Top 80 Songs:

80. Joe Budden ft. Joell Ortiz, Nino Bless, Crooked-I & Royce Da 5'9", "Slaughterhouse" (Amalgam)
79. Duffy, "Mercy" (Mercury)
78. MGMT ft. Jim Jones, "Electric Feel (Remix)" (mixtapes)
77. Sheek Louch, "Good Love" (Koch)
76. Mr. Vegas, "Tek Weh Yuh Self" (Delicious Vinyl)
75. Danity Kane, "Damaged" (Bad Boy/Atlantic)
74. G Unit ft. Young Buck, "Rider, Pt. 2" (G Unit/Shady/Aftermath)
73. Tricky, "Puppy Toy" (Domino)
72. Red Cafe ft. 50 Cent, Fat Joe, Jadakiss & Fabolous, "Paper Touchin' (Remix)" (mixtapes)
71. Mariah Carey, "Touch My Body" (Island)

70. Leona Lewis, "Bleeding Love" (J)
69. Ciara ft. T-Pain, "Go Girl" (LaFace/Zomba)
68. Busta Rhymes ft. Ron Browz, "Arab Money" (Flipmode/Universal Motown)
67. Keri Hilson ft. Lil Wayne, "Turnin' Me On" (Mosley Music/Interscope)
66. Esperanza Spalding, "She Got to You" (Heads Up)
65. Charles Hamilton, "Brooklyn Girls" (mixtape)
64. Hot Stylz ft. Yung Joc, "Lookin Boy" (mixtapes)
63. Slim ft. Jadakiss & Freeway, "So Fly (Remix)" (mixtapes)
62. Yung L.A. ft. Young Dro & T.I., "Ain't I (Remix)" (mixtapes)
61. Chris Brown, "Take You Down" (Jive/Zomba)

60. Beyonce, "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)" (Music World/Columbia)
59. Solange, "I Decided Pt. 1" (Music World/Geffen)
58. David Banner ft. Chris Brown and Yung Joc, "Get Like Me" (SRC/Universal Motown)
57. Lloyd ft. Lil Wayne, "Girls Around the World" (The Inc./Universal Motown)
56. Al Green ft. John Legend, "Stay with Me (By the Sea)" (Blue Note)
55. Rocko ft. Young Jeezy, T.I., Boo & Big Kuntry King, "Umma Do Me (Remix)" (mixtapes)
54. Portishead, "Threads" (Island)
53. Wale, "The Crazy" (mixtape)
52. Rihanna, "Don't Stop the Music" (Def Jam)
51. Rich Boy, "Chevy a Monsta" (mixtape)

50. Rick Ross ft. Nelly & Avery Storm, "Here I Am" (Slip-N-Slide/Def Jam)
49. Young Jeezy ft. Nas, "My President" (CTE/Def Jam)
48. Keyshia Cole, "Heaven Sent" (Geffen)
47. Coldplay, "Viva La Vida" (EMI)
46. Swizz Beatz, "That Oprah" (mixtapes)
45. New Kids on the Block ft. Ne-Yo, "Single" (Interscope)
44. Mavado, "So Special" (VP)
43. Bloc Party, "Mercury" (Vice)
42. Jim Jones & Ron Browz ft. Juelz Santan, "Pop Champagne" (Byrd Gang/Columbia)
41. The-Dream, "I Luv Your Girl" (Def Jam)

40. T.I., "What Up, What's Haapnin'" (Grand Hustle/Atlantic)
39. Trina, "Single Again" (Slip-N-Slide)
38. Raphael Saadiq, "Oh Girl" (Columbia)
37. TV on the Radio, "Golden Age" (Interscope)
36. Ray J ft. Yung Berg, "Sexy Can I" (Koch)
35. Maxwell, "Pretty Wings" (Columbia)
34. Webbie ft. Lil Boosie and Lil' Phat, "Independent" (Trill/Asylum)
33. Alicia Keys, "Teenage Love Affair" (J)
32. Plies ft. Ne-Yo, "Bust It Baby Pt. 2" (Big Gates/Slip-N-Slide/Atlantic)
31. Maino ft. T.I., Swizz Beatz, Plies, Jadakiss & Fabolous, "Hi Haters (Remix)" (mixtapes)

30. Mario, "Music for Love" (J)
29. Jordin Sparks ft. Chris Brown, "No Air" (Jive)
28. Kid Cudi, "Day N Nite" (mixtape)
27. T.I. ft. Rihanna, "Live Your Life" (Grand Hustle/Atlantic)
26. Usher ft. Lil Wayne & Beyonce, "Love in This Club Pt. 2" (LaFace/Zomba)
25. Erykah Badu, "Me" (Universal Motown)
24. Lil Wayne, "Dr. Carter" (Cash Money)
23. Mary J. Blige, "Just Fine" (Geffen)
22. Nas, "Queens Get the Money" (Def Jam)
21. John Legend ft. Andre 3000, "Green Light" (G.O.O.D./Columbia)

20. Big Boi ft. Andre 3000 & Raekwon, "Royal Flush" (Jive/LaFace)
19. The Roots ft. Wale, "Rising Up" (Def Jam)
18. Shawty Lo ft. Ludacris, Young Jeezy, Hunt, Akon, Red Cafe, Plies & Lil Wayne, "Dey Know (Remix)" (mixtapes)
17. Robin Thicke, "Magic" (Star Trak/Interscope)
16. Lupe Fiasco ft. Matthew Santos, "Superstar" (1st & 15th/Atlantic)
15. Ryan Leslie ft. Cassie & Fabolous, "Addiction" (Next Selection/Universal Motown)
14. Jay-Z, "Roc Boys (And the Winner Is . . . )" (Roc-a-Fella/Def Jam)
13. Kanye West, "Love Lockdown" (Roc-a-Fella/Def Jam)
12. T.I. ft. Kanye West, Jay-Z & Lil Wayne, "Swagga Like Us" (Grand Hustle/Atlantic)
11. Gnarls Barkley, "Who's Gonna Save My Soul" (Atlantic)

10. Santogold, "Creator" (Downtown)
9. Flo Rida ft. T-Pain, "Low" (Atlantic)
8. Jazmine Sullivan, "Need U Bad" (J)
7. Ne-Yo, "Closer" (Def Jam)
6. Snoop Dogg, "Sexual Eruption" (Geffen)
5. T-Pain ft. Lil Wayne, "Can't Believe It" (Konvict)
4. Estelle ft. Kanye West, "American Boy" (Atlantic)
3. Young Jeezy ft. Kanye West, "Put On" (CTE/Def Jam)
2. Lil Wayne, "A Milli" (Cash Money)
1. Lil Wayne ft. Static Major, "Lollipop" (Cash Money)

That's the best list I've seen yet.

14. Jay-Z, "Roc Boys (And the Winner Is . . . )" (Roc-a-Fella/Def Jam)

o come on

the top 20 ain't bad but let's remember that they named the fabolous/ne-yo song the #1 single of 2007

lol yeah i was just looking back at last year's list because there are so many super old songs like "Roc Boys" that i felt like they must have slipped and listed some songs 2 years in a row

this list is funny too because unlike the indie rock lists where tv on the radio is #1 and lil wayne is thrown in seemingly at random, on here it's the other way around

50. Rick Ross ft. Nelly & Avery Storm, "Here I Am" (Slip-N-Slide/Def Jam)
49. Young Jeezy ft. Nas, "My President" (CTE/Def Jam)
48. Keyshia Cole, "Heaven Sent" (Geffen)
47. Coldplay, "Viva La Vida" (EMI)
46. Swizz Beatz, "That Oprah" (mixtapes)
45. New Kids on the Block ft. Ne-Yo, "Single" (Interscope)
44. Mavado, "So Special" (VP)
43. Bloc Party, "Mercury" (Vice)
42. Jim Jones & Ron Browz ft. Juelz Santan, "Pop Champagne" (Byrd Gang/Columbia)
41. The-Dream, "I Luv Your Girl" (Def Jam)

^^i truly don't know what to make of this group of 10 - please send help

top ten is solid-ish, im not a big fan of "low" but obv it was huge and i think that santogold-apes-MIA song is really stupid-sounding even tho i like her, but otherwise its good -- the next ten are pretty wtf. Gnarls barkley? who tf is still listening to that? i dont know how many people voted but it seems odd that its that high. also i couldnt stand 'superstar' -- if yr gonna do old lupe fiasco songs 'dumb it down' and 'hip hop saved me' are both way better

― merriweather passantino pavilion (J0rdan S.), Saturday, December 13, 2008 9:54 PM (2 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

50. Rick Ross ft. Nelly & Avery Storm, "Here I Am" (Slip-N-Slide/Def Jam)
49. Young Jeezy ft. Nas, "My President" (CTE/Def Jam)
48. Keyshia Cole, "Heaven Sent" (Geffen)
47. Coldplay, "Viva La Vida" (EMI)
46. Swizz Beatz, "That Oprah" (mixtapes)
45. New Kids on the Block ft. Ne-Yo, "Single" (Interscope)
44. Mavado, "So Special" (VP)
43. Bloc Party, "Mercury" (Vice)
42. Jim Jones & Ron Browz ft. Juelz Santan, "Pop Champagne" (Byrd Gang/Columbia)
41. The-Dream, "I Luv Your Girl" (Def Jam)

^^i truly don't know what to make of this group of 10 - please send help

― merriweather passantino pavilion (J0rdan S.), Saturday, December 13, 2008 9:55 PM (1 minute ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

hahahha