Top 10 Albums of 2008, we’ll start at 10.
So I am a massive music fan. This past year I have been busy listening and getting into some really random bands, some of which I feel should be getting more recognition than they are receiving. Although ultimately, as long as these artists continue to make amazing music, I will be happy.
With this in mind, I have decided to put on here my run down of what I think are the 10 best albums of 2008.
Now, it should be fully understood that to be able to have a proper run down of the best albums, you ought to listen to every album released in that year. I fully acknowledge that it may not be until 2013 that I find an album from 2008 that I fall in love with, and that I have not presently heard.
It would therefore be welcome to hear others suggestions of their favourite albums of 2008 and all recommendations would be seriously greeted.
I intend to ‘release’ each album in its own separate blog post, so it could be that you, my loyal readers, may have to wait a few days between each album. Although I aim to be as prompt as possible.
Before I jump into my number 10 however, I would like to run through a small list of other albums released in 2008 that deserve an honourable mention, and in some cases nearly broke into the top 10. Stylistically, my actual top 10 does not include some of the more well known bands in this list, as you will tell from my number 10.
Beck – Modern Guilt
Billy Bragg – Mr Love & Justice
Conor Oberst – Conor Oberst
Dengue Fever – Venus on Earth
Envy & Other Sins – We Leave at Dawn
Flight of the Conchords – Flight of the Conchords
Flobots – Fight With Tools
The Futureheads – This is not the World
Heavenly States – Delayer
Ida Maria – Fortress Round my Heart
Kaiser Chiefs – Off With Their Heads
Kings of Leon – Only by the Night
Metallica – Death Magnetic
Middle Class Rut – MC Rut EP
Mystery Jets – Twenty One
Raconteurs – Consolers of the Lonely
Santogold – Santogold
Stephen Malkmus – Real Emotional Trash
We are Scientists – Brain Thrust Mastery
So, here be it, the first stop on my countdown of my personal 10 favourite albums of 2008.
10. The Magnetic Fields – Distortion
This album makes you feel dirty. As the title Distortion would suggest, it sounds unkempt with little obvious production as a disjointed ruffle hangs in the background throughout. The first song on the album lets you know of the album’s intentions from the off with the optimistic squeals of ‘Three Way!’ interrupting what is essentially a excitable atmosphere building instrumental. The rousing optimism of Three Way continues through the album, despite the cynical lyrics of songs like California Girls (‘I hate California girls’) and Mr Mistletoe. This sound is a paradigm of modern day society, with such hopefulness pulling the emotional strings of our lives, but deeper pessimistic lyrics ironically telling the actual story.
There is charm in this album because of this, even Xavier Says in which it literally sounds like the music is crying, you can’t help but feel everything but depressed. This album is of a different sound, a mixture of feeling as if you are from the 1980’s but visiting the distant future. It would make the perfect soundtrack to a Back To The Future film.
The fact that the longest song on the album is only 3 minutes 7 seconds means that you do not have enough time to get tired of a single song. This is weird, as you can tell that each song belongs on the same record as the previous, but they each have their own charms. This is helped by the alternation of the vocal duties between Stephin Merritt and Shirley Simms.
I can see this album becoming cultish. Described as noise music, the songs are not mainstream enough for the radio, but they are something so different as to trill a lot of people.
The Magnetic Fields have been around for the best part of 20 years, albeit as the puppy project of Merritt, and this, their newest album, would be a fantastic place for potential Field’s fans to start to fall in love with this band.
Personal highlights of the album would include Three Way and Zombie Boy
This list will return with number 9….
Can I ask how many of these bands have you seen last year? Of these bands you saw live last year, which were the best. I imagine that seeing as you are such a big lover of music that you have obviously seen lots of bands live so will have lots of recommendations.
Also you say that some of your favourite bands should be getting more recognition. How much more recognition do Metallica or Billy Bragg or Kings of Leon or Kaiser Chiefs or We are Scientists need? They’re not exactly young up and coming bands are they? But thanks for discovering these underground bands for me Matt, I don’t know what I’d do without your critical recommendations of hitherto undiscovered bands. When will the NME snap you up?
Hi Ben, i mean Jonny…
Let’s take each of your points in turn.
Seeing bands live, as you know students have very little money, so the small number of times i have been able to afford to go to a gig then i have, like Enemy (which was free), Cribs and Klaxons.
And as I have discussed at great length before, although i have a job now, i’d rather not go to a gig outside of Reading on a work night. I know, a boring position to take as a 21 year old who likes music, but, i also hate being tired at work, and with the amount of work i have to do everyday, i can’t just hide away in the corner, and my mistakes or my lethargy – while could be hidden working with many other people in a bank call centre – are more apparent in my job. Now despite this as you would had noted, i’d be happy to go to gigs on a friday or saturday, or even in Reading during the week. So i look forward to your next invitation.
So, these undiscovered bands… The recognition i talk about comes from those bands that feature in my top 10, of which i have only noted one, The Magnetic Fields- a band i am sure you are familiar with… My guessing is that you did not even read my whole post, just the first paragraph and then just saw that list of bands and assumed that my alphabetised list of 19 albums was my top 10. Despite this, it is sheer lunacy on your behalf that you make that comment about recognition because if you re-read my comment you’d notice me saying “some of which I feel should be getting more recognition than they are receiving”. So did you miss me say ’some of which’ and did you miss the bands Dengue Fever, Envy & Other Sins, Heavenly States, Middle Class Rut and the artists Conor Oberst, Ida Maria and Stephen Malkmus, who i am sure you have heard of…
Thanks for your comment though, see you round the pub.
stephen malkmus is actually one of the most famous musicians in any alternative scene. just because you write a list of random musicians doesnt mean you have any idea what your talking about. Malkmus is someone who inspired bands like Blur to get into music but maybe someone who is only look into the indie scene from outside would write that he is hardly known.
Im afraid the having no money because im a student is possibly one of the weakest excuses for not seeing these bands you proclaim to enjoy. just by listening to an album by a band doesnt make you a true lover of their work. the truth in most bands work is when they play these small sweaty gigs to the fans who would willingly watch them on a monday and dont live in the town that the gig is on, not people who sit at home and download their music.
you see that is the bit that really gets to me with this blog. you havent mentioned that you pay nothing towards these bands and wonder why they havent got big. its because supposed fans of their work like you should be willing to watch them play whatever the day as thats what being a fan is but at least give them some chance to increase their popularity by buying their album.
otherwise your nothing more than plain stupid for wondering why these bands dont get the recognition you claim they deserve.
Your comments still really confuse me as you go on about me writing about me saying all these random bands i list should get more recognition, but the point i made is that some of these bands deserve more recognition, and that was directed at those in my top 10.
The ultimate point of this blog post was for me to list my top 10 albums of 2008, of which i have only mentioned 1 so far. I haven’t proclaimed that i love any of these bands, all i am mentioning is that these are some of the best albums i have listened to that came out in 2008! Now if we were talking of my favourite gigs i have been to then it would be a different list with different bands. Then if we were discussing bands and music i actually love, then i would talk about Foo Fighters and Green Day, both of which i have seen and both of which i own every single album. This is just a list of the best albums i have listened to in 2008.
Then you go on about owning albums and paying nothing towards a band!?! I mean, what? If i knew a Jonny Pringle then i would ask them in person what albums i do and do not own and which i have or have not paid for.
To be honest, your comments are just making you sound ignorant and plain idiotic, you have completely misunderstood and failed to grasp the whole point of the post and what is actually written in it! I suggest you come back when you know what your talking about.
“Stylistically, my actual top 10 does not include some of the more well known bands in this list [ed. the list of 19 other albums that i have enjoyed but didn't make my top 10], as you will tell from my number 10.”
Another quote from my actual blog post. Ooops Mr Pringle.