TOP 20 YEAR END LIST-O-RAMA!!!

The other day while showering (where I do my best thinking...) I had a novel idea: Since the end of 2008 is almost here, why not recap the year in music with a 'Best Of' list? Now, I'm pretty sure this is a %100 original WRR idea, but I think it's so good that you can probably expect to see other music sites quickly copying us (possibly even preemptively).

Our brand new staff of five engaged in an intricate voting process to bring you the TOP 20 ALBUMS OF 2008. This list is purely objective, authoritative and definitive. Without further ado...

20. Thao and The Get Down, Stay Down - We Brave Bee Stings and All
Debut album is full of whimsical songs that recall carefree summer days. A unique voice, plucky guitar playing and a romping band have a playfulness that make this album pure fun.

19. She & Him - Vol. 1
Adorable movie star and veteran rocker combine to make folksy/country/motowny throwback songs. Actress Zooey Deschanel runs the gamet from Patsy Cline to Diana Ross (and never sounds forced) while M. Ward provides just the right backdrop.

18. Deerhunter - Microcastle
If My Bloody Valentine attempted to cover Brian Wilson songs, it might sound like the first third of Deerhunter's unique new release. It navigates itself into an ambient hole, only to emerge on the other side with more energy and intensity than the band has ever displayed.

17. Estelle – Shine
British songstress delivered the summer hit 'American Boy,' but this album goes much deeper than that. She's not the new Lauryn Hill, but with lyrical skills and a voice to kill shes about as close as anybody can get.

16. Goldfrapp – Seventh Tree
Ephemeral and restrained songs replace the big sounds of their earlier releases. So warm and blissful it can't but help evoke a dazzling sunset over a golden field in the countryside. This album is a joy despite what some doosh bags may say.

15. Bloc Party – Intimacy
Post-punk Brit rockers are back, and this time they brought the horns. Intimate lyrics, indeed, along with pounding rhythms that will make you want to find your dancing shoes and hope that they fit.

14. The Helio Sequence - Keep Your Eyes Ahead
The Portland, Oregon duo are hard to genre-fy, but let’s just say they fit in the Northwest sound many of us have come to know and love. The lyrical flow and layers of driving drums, guitar strums and keys to please will leave your eyes wide and wandering.

13. Q-Tip - The Renaissance
As a genre, rap artists have the shortest shelf life, but this old school rapper delivers a breath of fresh air. The Abstract kicks it with fresh lyrics and soulful production to make this the years best hip-hop album.

12. Los Campesinos! - Hold On Now, Youngster
Debut from these Welsh youngsters is filled with even more energy than the ! at the end of their name. Full of instrumentation, but led by jangly guitars and shared male/female vocals, these guys and gals have more hooks than Dustin Hoffman.

11. Black Keys - Attack and Release
Garage bluester/rockers head into the studio with Danger Mouse. A slight departure from their typical sound, but the lusty atmospherics here will make your mind drift away to some hot and humid place with Spanish moss dangling from trees.

10. Hot Chip - Made In The Dark
British electro-pop outfit return with their third and most fun album to date. Full of bouncy bassy beats and quirky computer chirps, this album will have you ready for the floor from start to finish.

9. Sigur Rós - Me_ su_ í eyrum vi_ spilum endalaust
Songs with English? Radio play? Underproduced? Acoustic Guitars!?! Don't fret long-time fans. Stripped down production and accessibility didn't compromise the typical haunting beauty, or the transcendence of your favorite Icelandic mood setters.

8. David Byrne and Brian Eno - Everything That Happens Will Happen Today
Talking Heads head and ambient genius reunite after a 27 year hiatus. It’s not surprising this dynamic duo made such a great record, but it is a shock to hear such optimism out of these chronicled old grumps.

7. TV on the Radio - Dear Science
Third album veers slightly towards the center with smoky grooves and catchy licks, but it's the emergence of Kyp Malone and Tunde Adebimpe's vocals that will make this album a fixture well into 2009.

6. Fleet Foxes - self titled
These youthful folksters have been compared to the Beach Boys for their multi-layered harmonies, but Crosby, Stills & Nash with a touch of Devandra Banhart would be a more apt description. Either way, these songs fly epic over sonic forests and fields, moors and mountains.

5. Vampire Weekend - self titled
Similar to Peter Gabriel and Paul Simon two decades ago, this foursome melded catchy rock with just enough African rhythms and melodies to avoid the "world music" label. The big question is did they catch lightening in a bottle or are they here to stay?

4. Lykke Li - Youth Novels
Aided by Bjorn Yttling of Peter, Bjorn and John, Lykki Li delivers the pop gem of the year. This album will make you want to do everything from Dance, Dance, Dance to hold your teddy bear while rocking back and forth.

3. Cut Copy - In Ghost Colours
Second album from the Australian foursome is full of steely, glittery dance music, but it's not as superficial as that sounds. There's a depth of song writing here that is immediately evident and hints at more good music to come. You'll want to save your best dance moves for these guys.

2. Bon Iver - For Emma, Forever Ago
In case you hadn't heard, Justin Vernon (stage name Bon Iver) moved into a remote cabin in Wisconsin after breaking up with his band and girlfriend, where he spent three months recording this beautiful, haunting album. The music reflects that setting so strongly that you can almost see the stark winter landscape. Since there's inexplicably no video for this song, that's what I recommend you do right now.

1. MGMT - Oracular Spectacular
Two young kids mix your parents (if they were hippies) psych, folk and prog with dance grooves and synths to create infectious hipster anthems. Just because it was released 11.5 months ago and you've heard it 800 times shouldn't diminish its greatness. Give it a few more months rest-- but don't deny that Oracular Spectacular occupied a good part of your '08.

There you have it. Disagree? Feel your favorite got snubbed? Well there's no accounting for poor taste... Kidding! Feel free to leave your accolades, snubs or own list in the comments section.

Also, be on the lookout next week for our Top 54 Songs of 2008 with some freebies!

Happy Holidays,

The folks at Weekly Record Review
(Sean, Andrew, Sarah, Gaurav & Jason)

Welcomes

Last post, I mentioned some new things going on here at WRR, and today we're rolling out one of them: our new staff writer Sarah W. Currently residing in the Windy City, She hails from the same educational system that produced such luminaries as Andy C. and me, Sean B.

Be on the lookout for some BIG THINGS next week.

Nine Inch Nails - Ghosts I-IV and The Slip

By Andy C.

Trent Reznor is a happy boy, believe it or not. In 2007, Nine Inch Nails released Year Zero, a sprawling, confusing, multi-media mess that was delayed by Interscope, who later that year parted ways with their once-formidable cash cow. It seems to this observer that it was exactly what the original DIY man wanted. 2008’s Ghosts, I-IV, and The Slip¸ are both flawed, yet prolific works of art for an artist who clearly has a new sense of purpose and freedom.

Ghosts I-IV is a collection of 36(!!) instrumental tracks that, according to Reznor, is a “soundtrack to daydreams.” Each album of Ghosts simply has track numbers, perhaps to leave your imagination unabated. I enjoyed playing a game while driving to Ghosts, imagining where the ghost of each particular track came from. Unsurprisingly, a lot of the ghosts died from piercing accidents, getting trampled at an Autobahn show, or from auto-erotic asphyxiation.

Some of the tracks aren’t worth the work at all - the 3 tracks with banjos particularly grated my nerves (the ghosts of Boss Hog and Roscoe P. Coltrane kept popping up). However, a good number of these songs are some of Reznor’s best work. I’ve often had issues with some of NIN’s lyrics, and to hear the music speak for itself is refreshing. Reznor has always been particularly stunning with the piano - “track 4” on Ghosts II (how annoying is that?) builds slowly, but horizontally instead of vertically—the sound becomes more lush, instead of harsh.

The Slip, a more traditional NIN album, came out just months after Ghosts for free download—Reznor was happy to point out that his system was far superior to that of those 'other guys'. Again, back to the point that Reznor is relishing his independence from a big label—this album is his best in a decade. The opposite of Ghosts, The Slip runs at just 45 minutes. The first half sounds a little too overproduced, and the Reznor self-righteousness is certainly there, but the B-side is royal: sparse, spacey, and menacing.

Where does this leave you, loyal reader? There’s a lot of new Nine Inch Nails out there in 2008, and I’m betting you haven’t thought about ‘em since The Downward Spiral. I’d say take a chance. Besides, it’s free. Bottom line: love, hate, or indifference to NIN, its always invigorating to hear an artist so reinvigorated.

Note - There is a youtube channel with vid-art done to the tracks of Ghosts. Neat.

Lambchop - OH (Ohio)
By Sarah W.

In order to get my facts straight about Lambchop, I turned to that fount of all knowledge: Wikipedia. My eyes immediately settled on the words “alternative country,” which was almost enough to scare me away, but I refrain from labeling them as such. Plus, this album is so lovely, and so completely and utterly worth listening to, I decided to get over my genre-phobia.

Lambchop is a conglomeration of revolving musicians from Nashville, a town so rich in musical history that it’s almost requisite for music from there to be heartfelt, emotional, and twangingly lovely; OH (Ohio), is all of that and more.

On my first listen, I was completely and utterly enthralled before the opening and title track “Ohio” was even over. The song is understated and gentle and with an unexpected lounge-y feel, aided by female background vocals and soft drumming. And it contains the subtlety brilliant lyric: “Green doesn’t matter, when you’re blue…”

Frontman Kurt Wagner is, without a doubt, another champion in the singer-songwriter tradition. His lyrics are less Dylan, more Gary Wilson and his voice is reminiscent of other white guy singers, most notably Cat Stevens, with tones of Nick Drake and Wilson. Wagner’s voice is warm, yet restrained, like he’s speaking rather than singing. But that’s part of the slow charm of this album. Aside from the warm vocals and sweet lyrics, Wagner also has quite a sense of humor, with songs like the cheekily titled “National Talk Like a Pirate Day” (which may be my favorite song, with its up-tempo and slightly rockish feel) and clever/random “Sharing a Gibson with Martin Luther King, Jr.”

I must admit, I’m not entirely sure what Wagner is singing about with some of his off-kilter lyrics, but I’d like to think that he’s singing about love. In “I Believe in You,” his voice follows the same gentle, sway-worthy accompaniment that the rest of the album does:

I don’t believe the price of gold, but certainly of growing old
That right is right and left is wrong, and north and south can’t get along
East is east and west is west, and beaten first is always best
I believe in love, I believe in babies, I believe in mom and dad, and I believe in you

This album is the kind of album that gets me excited about music again. By the end of it, I find myself totally smitten and wanting to replay it all over again. Which is what you should do with this album. Listen once—love it. Listen again—notice the lovely and quirky lyrics. Listen again, and again, and again.

NOOOOO AAAAAAAH!!!!!

Well, big things are happening here at WWR. But we're not quite ready to unveil, so in the meantime, enjoy...

Noah and the Whale - Peaceful The World Lays Me Down

So, if I were to tell you I'm reviewing an album where they sing about a baby being exposed to the elements and wolves eating it, you'd probably expect that I were delving into the hardcore offerings of Satan's Colostomy Bag. Well, you'd be wrong. Instead, I'm talking about the folksy foursome Noah and the Whale, hailing from London, England. And while that may sound morbid, it's presented in a more holistic, cosmic manner. See for yourself:

Oh, when the baby's born, lets turn it to the snow
so that ice will surely grow over weak and brittle bones

Lets leave it to the wolves so their teeth turn it to food

its flesh keeps them alive, always death helps life survive

Oh, the world can be kind in it's own way...

It's an awkward thought for most people to have, but it does kinda make sense.

Turning to something more pleasant, the best and leadoff song, 'Two Atoms In A Molecule', starts of with a frolicking, finger-picked riff and steady back beat. The catchy delivery and witty lyrics of front man Charlie Fink (cool name, huh?) are reminiscent of Paul Simon, at least on this song.

Most of the album continues thus, with a quicker pace and intelligent, emotionally relatable lyrics. The primary sonic element throughout is acoustic guitar, but depth is added to songs with strings, horns, accordions, and keys. One of the other standouts is 'Five Years Time.' Watch the video and see if you can figure out what TV commercial you. recognize it from.