So. The first day of the last month of 2008. I've said this before, but each year for the last four years has been increasingly harried. Some new change, or a lot of changes, gets introduced each year. Moving cross-country, finding work, buying a house, a pregnancy, a child, more job changes, more job changes, the same child, that child. Dizzying.
What hasn't changed much in the last four years is the presence of this site. Whether in the front of my mind or the back. I've thought a lot about pulling the plug in the last year or so, but instead have helped it limp along mostly because it sat on top of another site that's had a bit more of my attention. I tried to take a break from that one too and had the wrath of grandmas and de facto aunts to get me back there. Creekside readers are far less chiding. Squeaky wheels, folks.
What also hasn't changed is my appetite for new music. Even if I've not been talking about it here, I've discovered a lot of great music this year. Not as many new bands as in previous years, but follow-ups or side projects from artists who got their hooks in me when I had time to go exploring.
I probably won't put together any end-of-the-year lists like I've done in previous years. Certainly nothing as relatively ambitious as 2006's list. But I do like the exercise of looking over what the last 11 to 12 months has sent my way.
I'd like to tell you about 3 to 5 albums that I've really enjoyed this year, but I still need to pick them. A quick-n-dirty iTunes smart list produces more albums than I'll list here, but this is the slightly narrowed list I'll pull those 3 to 5 from, in alphabetical order:
Alina Simone Everyone is Crying Out to Me, Beware
Andrew Bird Live in Montreal
Beck Modern Guilt
Blackstrap Steal My Horses and Run
The Broken West Now or Heaven
Colour Revolt Plunder, Beg, and Curse
Crooked Fingers Forfeit/Fortune
Crystal Stilts Alight of Night
Department of Eagles In Ear Park
Destroyer Trouble in Dreams
Eef Barzelay Lose Big
Elbow The Seldom Seen Kid
The Envy Corps Dwell
Fleet Foxes Fleet Foxes
Flight of the Conchords Flight of the Conchords
Gary Louris Vagabonds
The Hold Steady Stay Positive
The Kills Midnight Boom
Kings of Leon Only By the Night
Land of Talk Some Are Lakes
The Little Ones Morning Tide/Terry Tales & Fallen Gates
Margot & the Nuclear So and So's Animal/Not Animal
Marnie Stern This Is It and I Am It and You Are It . . .
Mates of State Re-Arrange Us
Okkervil River The Stand-Ins
Pas/Cal I Was Raised on Matthew, Mark, Luke & Laura
+/- (Plus/Minus) Xs On Your Eyes
The Rosebuds Life Like
Shearwater Rook
Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin Pershing
Stephen Malkmus Real Emotional Trash
TV On the Radio Dear Science,
What Made Milwaukee Famous What Doesn't Kill Us
Even just selecting and typing each one out has offered me more time thinking about each album than I've given to them throughout the rest of the year. A couple things that struck me right away:
- I can't believe the Malkmus and Hold Steady albums came out this year and not last year. I feel like I've lived with those albums much longer than 12 months.
- The Pas/Cal album, no matter what, wins my Best Album Title award. Because I was too.
- If we just went by play count, What Made Milwaukee Famous, Land of Talk, Boris Yeltsin, Shearwater, and Destroyer would walk away with the awards. But that metric doesn't assess impact (or my PowerBook), so take that info fwiw.
- Sad not to list above: Bloc Party Intimacy. I bought the early download and listened to it twice. The first half had good Silent Alarm energy but then fell into maudlin Weekend in the City balladeering. Hope that band rediscovers its balls.
- One album above was a free and new discovery via a PR push. I usually listen to but dislike what I get spammed, but this one hooked me. I won't say which band but sharp-eyed fans of the site might be able to figure it out or at least narrow it down to a couple.
So, now I know what to keep in the playlist as I listen closely for the next week or two. Check back near the middle of the month for the finalists. And thanks, as always, for stopping by. Despite my inattention and relative Internet anonymity, this site is bearing down on 100,000 page views. Mostly from Google Image searches, but a view is a view. Thanks for being one of 'em.
