Most Overrated Album of 2008: Vivian Girls by Vivian GirlsI really, really disliked this album and I can't see why it got such good reviews from a lot of credible sources. It's not that I don't like this kind of music, because, as you can see from other posts, I'm extremely partial to noise rock and noise pop when done well. I just feel that the songs on this album are boring and uninspired, so much so that I had to remove them from my iTunes library.
Most Underrated Album of 2008: Skeletal Lamping by of MontrealI think this album is one where you either love it or you hate it and a lot of reviewers fell in the latter group. In my opinion, however, this album is a miniature masterpiece. It's easier to think of it as one gigantic piece of song fragments split among 15 tracks rather than 15 separate songs similar to those of last year's Hissing Fauna, Are You The Destroyer? And though the subject matter may be lewd and, to some, immature, I think it's a bold move that pays off with some really good, interesting music.
Most Promising New Artist of 2008: Air France
Introduced to me through a mix CD at the very beginning of the summer, this Swedish pop group gave us a little taste of some wonderful electronic music with their two 2008 EPs, On Trade Winds and No Way Down. Considering the beauty of tracks such as "Collapsing At Your Doorstep" and "Never Content," it's hard not to get excited about a debut album in the near future. I can only hope they live up to their high expectations.
Best Live Show of 2008: Xiu Xiu
I saw these guys perform twice over the course of this year, and both times were truly amazing, but in different ways. The thing I love about Xiu Xiu's shows is how different their live music sounds from their studio recordings: they re-arrange the percussion of every song to create something entirely new with each show. Also, the raw emotion of Jamie Stewart's vocals and the incredible energy he, percussionist Caralee McElroy, and drummer Ches Smith pour into the instruments is shocking and loud. Both concerts were definitely worth the ringing sensation in my ears in the days that followed.
Worst Album of 2008 (and possibly of all time): The Black & White Album by Imani CoppolaMy friends and I picked up this gem at a record giveaway at William & Mary way back in January, and let me just say that it is some of the funniest bad music I've ever heard. For example, the lyrics of "Black & White Jingle #1," sung by two dueling voices that reach increasingly higher pitches, are all similar insults to the opening aphorism "Sometimes it may feel like life's sucking you up, but it's not. It's just you sucking." Furthermore, tracks like "Dirty Pictures" and "Keys 2 Ur Ass" show exactly what is wrong with modern hip-hop, "This Is My Chicken" is a 12-second piece of barnyard plucking, "I'm A Pocket" contains only the lyrics "I'm a pocket in my pocket" over and over again, and "J.L.i.a.T.o.Y.O." features Imani shouting "John Lennon is a trademark of Yoko Ono ONO ONO ONO!" until our ears bleed. The lyrics of the last track, "In A Room," perfectly embody how I feel about this album: "A man walked in, completely naked; took a dump and then urinated." This is definitely a must-hear.
No comments:
Post a Comment