Favourite Music of 2008

Hey you know what?  Since January is almost over, I thought I would continue my yearly tradition of sharing my favourite music from the past year with y’all.  I actually think it was kind of a crappy year for new music.  I struggled to come up with a list of even 10 CD’s that I totally loved, but here’s what I got.   Feel free to comment with arguments and suggestions of stuff I may have missed…

 

1. Portishead – Third

This was easily my favourite CD of the year, I loved everything about it, from the opening beats to the choices of instrumentation to the absolutely tasteful guitar playing, it was almost perfection.  My only complaint is lyrically I find Portishead pretty one-dimensional.

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2. Queen Adreena – Djin

Anytime Queen Adreena put out a new record it’s cause for celebration, but this is particularly great stuff.  The first 3 or 4 songs are great and overall I think it’s their most consistent work.  I’ve linked to the Amazon Import, but that’s just cause I’m to lazy to see where else you can buy it, but go and seek it out.

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3. Mogwai – Hawk is Howling

Scottish Post-Rock brilliance, Batcat is my favourite song right now.

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4. Division of Laura Lee – Violence is Timeless

My girlfriend turned me on to this band and despite having a most stupid name, they rock like crazy.   It’s like The Hot Snakes meets The Hives, great stuff!  I have to go out and get all their other records now.   Yes, I still say records.

Note:  Another link to an Amazon Import, go and find it yourself you lazy git!

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5. Shearwater – Rook

I swear to god, that Pitchfork makes up half the records they list, it’s almost as if they go out of their way to find a singer/songwriter playing in a backwater pub in Iceland, convince him to press 5 copies of a CD and then list it as they 12th best CD of the year.   I consider myself fairly “up” on new music, and I only recognize a handful of names on their list.   Now saying this, the presence of Shearwater, and my subsequent discovery based on there recommendation means that it’s not all bad.  Shearwater, like Division of Laura Lee have actually been around for a little while, but I’m coming late to the party.   I would describe this as Anthony and the Johnsons meets Radiohead with a little bit of Sonic Youth thrown in for good measure, and that is such an inaccurate description it’s not even funny.  

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Here are 5 other CD’s I liked which I guess makes this a top 10 list, but truth to tell, on most year’s none of these 5 would have made my list so here they are without links, pictures or justification.  Make of that what you will.

The Dears – Missiles
Crystal Stilts – Alight of Night
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds – Dig!!! Lazarus Dig!!!
Opeth – Watershed
Beach House – Devotion