Nyman’s Top Ten of 2008

Posted on December 31, 2008 by Nyman

I had trouble keeping up with the music scene this year so many of my favorite albums of 2008 didn’t become my favorite albums until very last minute. I went around to different blogs and looked up all their top albums and listened to a whole bunch of music from this year. I plan on being more on top of things in 2009, but here is my top ten albums of 2008 in alphabetical order:

Beach House – Devotion

Beach House – Gila

Beach House – Some Things Last a Long Time (Daniel Johnston Cover)

Bon Iver – For Emma Forever Ago

Bon Iver – Skinny Love

Bon Iver – For Emma

Deerhoof – Offend Maggie

Deerhoof – Fresh Born

Deerhoof – Chadelier Searchlight

Deerhunter – Microcastles

Deerhunter – Agoraphobia

Deerhunter – Nothing Ever Happened

Fleet Foxes – Fleet Foxes

Fleet Foxes – Ragged Wood

Fleet Foxes – Blue Ridge Mountains

Grouper – Dragging a Dead Deer Up A Hill

Grouper – Heavy Water/I’d Rather Be Sleeping

Grouper – When We Fall

Mount Eerie (with Julie Doiron and Fred Squire) – Lost Wisdom

Mount Eerie – O My Heart

Mount Eerie – Flaming Home

Sigur RÃ³s – MeÃ° suÃ° iÌ eyrum viÃ° spilum endalaust

Sigur RÃ³s – Gobbledigook

Sigur RÃ³s – Vi spilum endalaust

Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks – Real Emotional Trash

Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks – Baltimore

Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks – Gardenia

Sun Kil Moon – April

Sun Kil Moon – Lost Verses

Sun Kil Moon – Unlit Hallway

Nick’s Top Ten of 2008

Posted on December 31, 2008 by Nick

10. The Hold Steady – Stay Positive

The Hold Steady create albums. They write stories and develop characters. And that’s mostly why I like them; I can return to a Hold Steady album like a familiar friend. Stay Positive is different though, it’s more a collection of songs then an album. They still self-reference, and Charlemagne makes his requisite appearance, but Stay Positive is judged more on the quality of the songs then the weight of the message. And for that reason, it’s not their best release. But “Constructive Summer” is still one of the best songs they’ve written, and the title track is a tear-jerking, fist-pumping epic.

The Hold Steady – Constructive Summer

9. M83 – Saturdays=Youth

M83’s previous albums are the embodiment of forward motion; cascading spires of analog synth churning against concrete backbeats that form some sort of crazy word that is beyond soundscape, but just short of heaven. Saturdays = Youth is a pop album that would fit nicely in the eighties. Dreamy vocals drip nostalgic over those same churning synths, backed by stadium drums and that feeling of sunset at the park when your fourteen and in love. Completely self-indulgent, completely awesome.

M83 – Kim & Jessie

M83 – Graveyard Girl

8. Death Vessel – Nothing is Precious Enough For Us

I’ve just dusted this album off after two months of it resting on my (proverbial) shelf, and it feels like an old friend. Death Vessel’s guitars jump through the decades, recalling the folkier side of early seventies Neil Young while maintaining a spot among his (freak) folk contemporaries like Devandra and Vetiver.Â And goddamn, that falsetto is high. Don’t be alarmed if you think it’s a woman at first. It’s just like if Young sang in key. And maybe a bit prettier. (Note: Neil Young is a god.)

Death Vessel – Block My Eye

Death Vessel – Circa

7. Department of Eagles – In Ear Park

“No One Does it Like You”Â is propelled by popping, baritone harmonies (that remind me of Ocarina of Time…anyone else?) and lead vocals from the darker side of Grizzly Bear. It’s halfway between sunset and pitch-black. “Phantom Other” straddles that same line, same popping, subterranean harmonies, same romanticized sense of impending doom. In Ear Park is the type of album that attaches itself to memories. Two months down the road, you’ll hear “Phantom Other” and have a vivid recollection of that one time at the park with perfect light and a duck walking with feet too big for it’s body. Well, that’s just me. But here’s hoping.

Department of Eagles – Phantom Other

Department of Eagles – Teenagers

6. The Raveonettes – Lust, Lust, Lust

Lust, Lust, Lust is, as the title implies, sexy. Twisted surf-rock leads wind their way through clouds of atmospheric fuzz, like a lucid stroll through a sleeping city. It’s hazy rock and roll done in the tradition of (obviously) the Jesus and Mary Chain and My Bloody Valentine. Blended male and female vocals, anthemic surges of late-night guitar fuzz and a healthy dose of lust and longing.Â (I got lazy and basically re-wrote what I’d written for a past review, but I’m ok with that.)

The Raveonettes – You Want the Candy

The Raveonettes – Dead Sound

5. No Age – Nouns

I saw No Age guitarist Randy Randall (is that name for real?) do a stage dive from the top of his amp, guitar in hand, into a thrashing pit at the Middle East Downstairs last year. The guitars were gnarled, the vocals hardly there and the drums felt their way up into your chest and squeezed tightly. And somehow that still manages to come across recorded: “Eraser” feels like a summer’s day, all swaying guitars at sea, and “Teen Creeps” is a punk epic, distorted vocals over a handful of disgusting, swirling chords. Easy listening recorded at the outskirts of a hurricane.

No Age – Eraser

No Age – Teen Creeps

4. Cut Copy – In Ghost Colours

“All the girls of note are crying” might be my favorite album-opening line of all time. Well, at least of the last five minutes. In Ghost Colours makes me want to dance happy. The synth tones are delightfully retro, the vocoder hooks brilliant. And when it isn’t borrowing from 70s disco, or late 80s synth pop, it’s taking swirling guitars from the shoegaze-era or abrasive power chords from the punks. I’m beginning to notice a trend where I look to favorite albums to emulate love, but um, this album makes me want to fall in love on a dance floor, drunk during the early morning. This list is becoming uncomfortably introspective.

Cut Copy -Feel the Love

Cut Copy – Lights and Music

3. The Walkmen – You & Me

The Walkmen make me want to believe in things. Love, life, glory, whatever. Their songs just give me a sense of aimless inspiration. They also make me want to twirl in the snow at 2 am in the middle of a city street. Which is great. You & Me is the new years resolution you forgot to make, evidenced by the cataclysmic crescendos of the aptly named “In The New Year,” and the triumphant, spiraling guitars of “Postcards From Tiny Islands.”

The Walkmen – In The New Year

The Walkmen – Postcards From Tiny Islands

2. Pretty & Nice – Get Young

I’ve freaked out about this album enough already this year, so I’ll keep it mellow. Get Young is a kaleidoscopic tour through the last thirty years of pop and punk, condensed into twenty seven minutes of unbridled kinetic energy. It’s like a workout for your brain. They may have slipped under the radar this year, but Pretty & Nice are destined for great things.

Unfortunately I can’t upload any of their songs, but you can find the album streaming here.

1. The Dodos – Visiter

The Dodos are often mistaken for (a more cohesive) Animal Collective, probably due to their tribal drumming and frantic instrumentation. Other times they get Sufjan Stevens, probably due to the vocals and the depth of instrumentation. So take the insanity of Animal Collective with the sagacity of Sufjan, sprinkle in some extraneous inspiration and you’ll have something like the Dodos. This album hasn’t made a single Best-Of list I’ve read, and I’m disappointed. It’s been my go-to album for six or seven months at this point, and every new listen reveals a new gem. And I listened to this a lot while driving through mountain ranges in New Zealand.

The Dodos – Winter

The Dodos – Joe’s Waltz

The Best of “the Best of 2008”

Posted on December 30, 2008 by Nyman

The end of the year is a great time to discover music that came out in that year. Every blog and magazine comes out with their lists of the best albums, singles, new artists of the year. I usually go around to each and every site trying to find commonalities between lists to see which are the most popular and critically acclaimed and try to listen to as much as I can. Though 2009 is looking up to be another great year for music with albums by Animal Collective, Andrew Bird, Built to Spill, M. Ward, Wilco and many more, let’s take a look at what made 2008 a great year for music. Most of these have more than 10 album on their lists, we’ve just provided their top 10 because it’s a much more manageable that way. Which list do you agree with the most? Do you think these are the best albums, or just favorite albums? Please discuss in the comments!

Continue reading →

Happy Holidays!

Posted on December 25, 2008 by David

happy_holidays

All of us at Indie Muse hope you have a great holiday! If you are on a last minute quest for Christmas songs, Dave put together a great playlist that you can check out here.

I’ve been listening a lot to Sufjan Stevens new christmas album, Astral Inter Planet Space Captain Christmas Infinity Voyage, Volume VIII. I’m in love with the song “Christmas in the room.” I wrote about the album on my Examiner column, so you can check that out if you want to learn more about how awesome Sufjan is. You can download the whole album at So This Is What The Volume Knob is For.

Sufjan Stevens – Christmas in the Room

Also, for all those Jews out there, thought I’d give you a tune to enjoy on this Christmas day.

Good for the Jews – It’s good to be a Jew at Christmas

Good for the Jews features Rob Tannenbaum, music editor for Blender magazine and creator of the VH1 special So Jewtastic, and singer-guitarist David Fagin, leader of the power-pop band The Rosenbergs.

Read: Michael Ian Black – Did Santa Come???

Last, but certainly not least, don’t forget to tell your family and friends how much you appreciate them. We all have a lot to be grateful for.

David’s Picks: Top 10 Albums of 2008

Posted on December 20, 2008 by David

10. The Shivers – Beaks To The Moon

There aren’t many sites placing The Shiver’s fantastic release, Beaks To The Moon, on their 2008 lists. That’s probably due more to a lack of exposure than any real critique of their music. I’ve written several times about The Shivers, and will be doing so again–Keith Zarriello is one of the most thoughtful, honest songwriters you will find today, and he is an equally talented musician.

The Shivers – Lonely Road

The Shivers – Feather

9. Death Vessel – Nothing Is Precious Enough For Us subpop

I have to admit, Death Vessel’s album, Nothing Is Precious Enough For Us , took some time to grow on me, but the more I listened, the clearer it became that this was going to be one of the best releases of 2008. Joel Thibodeau is the man behind Death Vessel, and his high falsetto gives the album a really unique sound. The folk arrangements are top-notch. If you haven’t given this album a chance yet, check it out.

Death Vessel – Block My Eye

Death Vessel – Circa

8. Dr. Dog – Fate park the van

This is another album that I’m surprised hasn’t hit more end of the year lists. I dove into Fate after instantly falling in love with the first track on the album, “The Breeze.” The song displays Dr. Dog’s talent as a songwriter, and it’s one of the best tracks of the year. The rest of the album has great instrumentals, powerful vocals, and it’s a perfect album for the winter… or summer. It’s just a fantastic album.

Dr. Dog – Breeze

Dr. Dog – Army of Ancients

7. The Mountain Goats – Heretic Pride 4ad

If you like the Mountain Goats, you’ll understand why this is on my list. If you don’t like them, you probably won’t.

The Mountain Goats – San Bernardino

The Mountain Goats – Tianchi Lake

6.The Raconteurs – Consolers of the Lonely third man records

Consolers of the Lonely is my favorite rock album of 2008. When I’m looking for something a little more upbeat than the altenative/folk crap we kids listen to now-a-days, I put on the Raconteurs. Jack White is the ultimate badass (especially for taking Meg White’s surname after marriage), and I like to think his badassness wears off a little on me everytime I listen to this album. In fact, The Raconteurs are so badass they didn’t even tell anyone about this sophomore release until a week before it released. Also in Australia, there is a small band called the Raconteurs, who wanted to be paid off for the rights to the band name in Australia. The Raconteurs said, whatever, we’ll just be “The Saboteurs” down there. Badass.

The Raconteurs – Old Enough

The Raconteurs – Consoler of the Lonely

5. My Morning Jacket – Evil Urges ato records

I was at Bonnaroo right around the time Evil Urges released. I hadn’t heard most of My Morning Jacket’s new songs until I saw them perform their 4 hour set, from 12 am – 4 am, on Which stage at the festival. It was a surreal experience, and the second I got home I bought the album, and gave it a listen through. I don’t care what Pitchfork says, Evil Urges is great.

My Morning Jacket – Touch ME I’m Going to Scream

My Morning Jacket – Librarian

4. Fleet Foxes – S/T subpop

Huge shocker, right? Go read why it’s on every 2008 list somewhere else. Or just listen to the album. If you like the Fleet Foxes, check out The Bowerbirds if you aren’t familiar with their music. I like The Bowerbirds even more than the Fleet Foxes, and they released their album, Hymn for a Dark Horse in 2007, which gives their sound even more cred, in my opinion. Nonetheless, this is a really solid album.

Fleet Foxes – White Winter Hymnal

Fleet Foxes – Tiger Mountain Peasant Song

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3. Born Ruffians – Red Yellow & Blue warp records

The Born Ruffians debut album, Red Yellow & Blue, blew me away. Their clever incorporation of harmonies, hand claps, and doo-wop back-up vocals make this an album that is not easily forgettable. They are incredible live, check em out next time they hit the road!

Born Ruffians – I Need A Life

Born Ruffians – Little GarÃ§on

2. Deerhunter – Microcastle kranky

Same with Fleet Foxes. Just listen.

Deerhunter – Agoraphobia

Deerhunter – Saved By Old Times

1. Bon Iver – For Emma, Forever Ago jagjaguwar

Okay, so I realize last year I declared this my favorite album of 2007, when Justin Vernon technically released For Emma, Forever Ago in limited quantity. Many people consider it to be a 2007 album. I did. But many people also consider it to be a 2008 release, when Jagjaguwar re-released it to the masses. I agree with that, too. I know the same could be said for Radiohead’s In Rainbows, which physically released January 1st, but I’m not going to worry myself with semantics. This is a beautiful album, and it’s unbelievable how a guy can go out to a cabin in the middle of nowhere Wisconsin, record an album, and get his music heard by so many people. Meet the best album of 2007 and 2008, For Emma, Forever Ago.

Bon Iver – Skinny Love

Posted on December 18, 2008 by David

theleftbanke

The 1960’s “baroque-pop” group The Left Banke is one of those bands that gets some recognition, but for the most part is underexposed. Although their music isn’t nearly as groundbreaking as the Beatles and Beach Boys, there are definitely similarities in their sound. Their hit song “Walk Away RenÃ©e” is ranked #220 on Rolling Stones list of 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. The lead singer of the band, Michael Brown, wrote the song when he was 16 years old, and it was about fellow band member Tom Finn’s girlfriend, who he fell in love with. He says when they went to record the song “My hands were shaking when I tried to play, because she was right there in the control room. There was no way I could do it with her around, so I came back and did it later.”

The New York band formed in 1965 by members Michael Brown, George Camron, Tom Finn, Warren David, and Steve Martin. There were some tensions in the band from pretty much the beginning of their formation, and over several years some members were replaced, and the group took breaks here and there. At one point the band even split, and there were two Left Banke’s, which as you might suspect, brought confusion among radio stations and fans. Here is a site where you can learn more about the band, and download some b-sides (Leftbankeisms Vol 1) and music from other projects band members did (Leftbankeisms Vol 2).

“Pretty Ballerina”:

The Left Banke – Pretty Ballerina

The Eels – Pretty Ballerina (The Left Banke Cover)

Left Banke Cover’s:

The Music Tapes – Music Tapes for Clouds and Tornadoes (2008)

Posted on December 17, 2008 by Nyman

It is not very often that you get to hear a band that features the singing saw and bouncing ping pong balls as percussion. Julian Koster (a former member of Neutral Milk Hotel) brings a bunch of unusual instrumentaiton to his latest release as The Music Tapes. I would recommend this band for any fan of Neutral Milk Hotel if you don’t mind more lo-fi recordings and lots of banjo strumming. The Music Tapes is part of the Elephant 6 Recording Company (one of the founding members being Jeff Mangum) whose bands include Apples in Stereo, Beuluah, Elf Power, and of course Neutral Milk Hotel.

The new album spotlights Julian Kosterâ€™s songcraft and distinctive vocals, his almost religious devotion to the singing saw, and numerous contributions from other musicians in the Elephant 6 orbit. As on previous efforts, recording was done using an array of antique hardware, giving Music Tapes for Clouds and Tornadoes a timeless, texturally rich sonic palette. It is the sound of Julianâ€™s world poking through the curtain surrounding objective reality.

Also, you might want to check out his new album that is fully streaming at the Merge Records Website that is a singing saw album full of Christmas classics, but I’ve got Jingle Bells as an MP3 for you too.

MP3: The Music Tapes – Cumulonimbus (Magnetic Tape for Clouds)

MP3: The Music Tapes – Nimbus Stratus Cirrus (Mr. Piano’s Majestic Haircut)

MP3: The Music Tapes – Jingle Bells

The Music Tapes | Elephant 6

Christmas Time Is Here

Posted on December 15, 2008 by Nyman

MP3: Belle and Sebastien – Christmas Time is Here

MP3: Rogue Wave – Christmas

MP3: Blitzen Trapper – Christmas is Coming Soon

MP3: Daniel Johnston – Rock Around the Christmas Tree

MP3: Sufjan Stevens – We Wish You A Merry Christmas

MP3: Rilo Kiley – Xmas Cake

MP3: Deerhoof – Little Drummer Boy

MP3: The Flaming Lips – A Change At Christmas (Say It Isn’t So)

MP3: The Walkmen – The Christmas Party

MP3: The Kinks – Father Christmas

MP3: My Morning Jacket – Xmas Curtain

MP3: Low – Just Like Christmas

Cat Power- Dark End Of The Street (2008)

Posted on December 14, 2008 by Chris

arar_catpower

Chan Marshall, known by her stage name Cat Power, is one of the most prolific singer-songwriters of the last decade.Â Her sexy, smokey vocals certainly match her stunning looks and her raw style of guitar and piano playing and intimate lyrics have made her music instantly recognizable.Â On Tuesday, Marshall released her second album of 2008, Dark End Of The Street, a companion piece to January’s Jukebox.Â Both albums are almost all covers with Marshall running through her favorite songs by artists like Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, Creedence Clearwater Revival and Aretha Franklin to name a few.Â I haven’t heard Dark End Of The Street yet but upon revisiting Jukebox last week, I released that I may have written it off prematurely.Â Marshall’s renditions of Frank Sinatra’s “New York” and Jessie Mae Hemphill’s “Lord, Help The Poor And Needy” feature Marshall layering her airy whispers over sparse bursts of delicate keys and guitar.Â In retrospect, Jukebox may be one of 2008’s most enjoyable albums.Â But maybe I’m just a sucker for anything Cat Power does.Â Check out both albums if you have the chance and check out her cover of Bob Dylan’s “Stuck Inside Of Mobile With The Memphis Blues Again” from the I’m Not There soundtrack.

mp3: “Ramblin’ (Wo)Man” from Jukebox

mp3: “Stuck Inside Of Mobile With The Memphis Blues Again” from the I’m Not There OST

mp3: “Speak For Me” from 2003’s You Are Free

The Welcome Wagon – Welcome to the Welcome Wagon (2008)

Posted on December 13, 2008 by Nyman

The Welcome Wagon are Reverend Thomas Vito Aiuto and his wife Monique (and a lot of help from Sufjan Stevens who acts as producer, arranger, and backup musician). Their music is a very listenable addition to the tradition of liturgical music: a blend of folk, pop, and a hint of gospel.

The Welcome Wagon began as husband and wife singing in the privacy of their home.Â Having little to no previous musical experience or training, Vito purchased a guitar with the desire to sing hymns with his family.Â With Monique accompanying on toy glockenspiel or harmonica, the two would amble through old hymnals, psalters and prayerbooks.

The similarities between The Welcome Wagon and Sufjan are hard to deny because he was so instrumental (pun intended) in making this album happen. As fellow Christians from Michigan living in Brooklyn, it just makes sense that this collaboration happened. For many this will hold Sufjan fans over until his next album, but the Reverend and his wife are able to distinguish themselves enough to hold their own. I cannot say I follow any specific religion, but I can appreciate their commitment and their own personal tribute to God and I accept their invitation to the Welcome Wagon.

Sure, there are showy guitar riffs and piano codas and harmonica solos, a rowdy chorus, an imposing flourish of brass instruments like wartime canons. But at the heart of itâ€”if you really listen carefullyâ€”there’s just a pastor and his wife tentatively singing in the quiet privacy of their own home.

MP3: The Welcome Wagon – Sold! To The Nice Rich Man

MP3: The Welcome Wagon – I Am A Stranger

The Welcome Wagon | Sufjan Stevens

IndieMuse

Monthly Archives: December 2008

Nyman’s Top Ten of 2008

Nick’s Top Ten of 2008

The Best of “the Best of 2008”

Happy Holidays!

David’s Picks: Top 10 Albums of 2008

The Left Banke – “Walk Away RenÃ©e”

The Music Tapes – Music Tapes for Clouds and Tornadoes (2008)

Christmas Time Is Here

Cat Power- Dark End Of The Street (2008)

The Welcome Wagon – Welcome to the Welcome Wagon (2008)