Monthly Archive for December, 2008

The Best Albums of 2008

Published
by
billy
on December 23, 2008
in 2008, best albums of 2008, best of the year, boty, cloud cult, coldplay, dodos, frightened rabbit, greg laswell, mates of state, mgmt, mp3, music, sigur ros, snow patrol and tv on the radio
. 27 Comments

If for some reason I thought it was hard last year to decide the top ten albums then this year has been a nightmare compared to that walk in the park.  Quite honestly this year has produced a veritable slew of brilliant albums.  From up and coming acts to bands on their forth or fifth album 2008 has seen some incredible music released.  Here is my personal list of the top ten albums of this past year.  If you’re still looking for a gift for someone special I suggest snagging few of these albums and stuffing their stockings with the best of what came this year.

All the tracks in one zip file : here {zshare = left click}

01 : Sigur Ros - Með suð í eyrum við spilum end (amazon) (itunes)

I’ve long been a supporter of all things that Sigur Ros has done.  From the first time I heard their music when I was in university there has been something special about these boys from Iceland.  This year they released their most easily accessible album to date and they’ve literally stolen the show.  There are a great many artists who have put their best foot forward this year, but although many came close, none of them quite live up to this masterpiece.

mp3 : Sigur Ros - Gobbledigook
mp3 : Sigur Ros - Inní mér syngur vitleysingur
mp3 : Sigur Ros - Fljótavík

02 : Frightened Rabbit - The Midnight Organ Fight (amazon) (itunes)

This album is a perfect combination of melancholy and clever lyrics.  The music sets the mood perfectly on this trip through lost love and a true feeling of being sad.  Although a bit of a downer emotionally it never strays too far into the realm of depression to leave you wallowing in your own self pity.  If this is what Frightened Rabbit will sound like in the future you can be sure to see them appear on best of lists for years to come.

mp3 : Frightened Rabbit - The Modern Leper
mp3 : Frightened Rabbit - Fast Blood
mp3 : Frightened Rabbit - Poke

03 : Cloud Cult - Feel Good Ghosts (Tea-Partying Through Tornadoes) (amazon) (itunes)

Last year Cloud Cult topped my list for the best album of the year.  To think that less than one year later they went out and made an album that is literally better than their last is simply mind numbing.  What other band puts out this high quality an effort in back to back years?  Literally no other band is producing at such consistently high a level.  If there was one band on this years list that everyone should immediately start listening to I would recommend Cloud Cult.

mp3 : Cloud Cult - Journey of the Featherless
mp3 : Cloud Cult - The Ghost Inside Our House
mp3 : Cloud Cult - Love You All

04 : Coldplay - Viva la Vida (amazon) (itunes)

I’ve been a fan of Coldplay since the first awkward steps Chris Martin made to the microphone and it’s been a delight to watch them move from behind the U2 and Radiohead curtain out into their own worldwide acclaim.  And rightly so I might add.  Viva La Vida found this foursome out of England reaching a new height and a cohesion of sound that was only alluded to on their previous albums.  It’s great to hear a band really starting to use their full potential.

mp3 : Coldplay - Lost!
mp3 : Coldplay - Death And All His Friends

05 : Greg Laswell - Three Flights from Alto Nido (amazon) (itunes)

Greg Laswell has a streak of brilliance not often found in the overflowing singer/songwriter set.  He has a mind for clever arrangements built upon relatively simple, but elegant, melodies and in this regard he reminds me a bit of Sufjan Stevens {they definitely have very different musical tastes, but their gift for arrangements is the parallel I see here}.  Regardless of who or what this album reminds you of one thing is certain; this is the best Greg Laswell has done and it’s easily one of the best albums of the year.

mp3 : Greg Laswell - Comes And Goes (In Waves)
mp3 : Greg Laswell - I’d Be Lying

06 : The Dodos - Visiter (amazon) (itunes)

When you pare down a musical group until it contains a simple guitar and a simple drum kit you either get garage based disaster or you find that within a minimalistic setting true brilliance shines through.  In the case of this duo it’s easy to hear the talent that lies behind this album.  From track to track Visiter flips through well written stories with a sense of quiet urgency that never leaves your mind, and yet never becomes a frustrating distraction.  There is a fragile and perfect balance to be heard.

mp3 : The Dodos - Fools
mp3 : The Dodos - Ashley

07 : Mates of State - Re-Arrange Us (amazon) (itunes)

This year the top ten seems to be filled with established acts who just now are releasing their best album to date.  This is the case of Mates of State.  Their previous albums have largely been forgettable with a few random acts of brilliance sprinkled throughout.  This album, on the contrary, is solid from start to finish and it’s refreshing to see an older act pull their formidable talent together and focus it on a full album.

mp3 : Mates of State - The Re-Arranger
mp3 : Mates of State - Blue and Gold Print

08 : MGMT - Oracular Spectacular (amazon) (itunes)

MGMT found a way to make space rock and classic rock throwback into an insanely enjoyable acid trip of mashed up tracks.  There’s no simple or easy way to quantify this album as it caterwauls from proggy futuristic beat heavy pop to songs that remind me of a mythical pairing of The Beatles and Led Zeppelin.  Whatever words you find to describe this album I’m sure they’ll be of a positive nature.

mp3 : MGMT - Weekend Wars

09 : TV On The Radio - Dear Science (amazon) (itunes)

Their previous effort, Return to Cookie Mountain, began to hint that this eclectic gathering of talented musicians just might be onto something.  With Dear Science the boys that make up TV On The Radio proudly display their particular brand of music.  I’m willing to put money on the idea that twenty years from now this album will be listed as one of the most influential albums of this decade.

mp3 : TV On The Radio - Lover’s Day

10 : Snow Patrol - A Hundred Million Suns (itunes) (amazon)

Somehow Snow Patrol’s latest album found a way to sneak into the top ten.  This is probably largely due to the fact that the final sixteen minute mega-track is insanely well constructed I kept listening to this album over and over again.  Snow Patrol has found a way to consistently make solid albums.  They might not be as attention grabbing or as trendy as their counterparts but the find a way to impress with each album they release.

mp3 : Snow Patrol - If There’s A Rocket Tie Me To It

All the tracks in one zip file : here {zshare = left click}

And that’s it.  That’s the top ten albums of 2008 in my humble and rather correct opinion.  I’m sure you’ll find a way to disagree with me {even going so far as to claim you’ll delete me from your feed reader}, but in the end you’ll see the wisdom of my discretion.  Granted there are two other bands that I really wanted to include on this list, The Walkmen and Nada Surf, and for their effort they easily deserve an honorable mention.  Amongst the letdowns of the year were the fact that both Sufjan Stevens and The Postal Service failed to make good on rumours that new albums would drop this year, Weezer put out a really great half of an album and then mucked it up with three or four tracks that are just terrible, and Death Cab, Ben Folds, The Killers, and Phantom Planet put out decent albums but not really the quality that deserves a spot on the top ten.

Until next year so long.  I’ll keep posting as long as you all continue to listen to good music.  If you’d like to see my 2007 list you can click here.

+ twf hype elbows amazonmp3 itunes
add this post to del.icio.us / digg / facebook

Common and Universal Mind Control

Published
by
billy
on December 22, 2008
in common, mp3, music and pharrell
. 3 Comments

Well I referenced this track briefly in my previous post about the up and coming rhyme heavy Novel and true to my word I’m spread some Common love around today.  This track by Common, apparently influenced by Afrika Bambaataa, features Pharrell and is available on Common’s latest album Universal Mind Control (amazon) (itunes).  I’m not sure if I’m a fan of the rest of the album.  In fact I might be a bigger fan of Common the actor instead of Common the rapper, but one thing is absolutely certain about this track, the beat is absolutely sick.  You can’t listen to this track and not love it.

mp3 : Common (feat Pharell Wililams) - Universal Mind Control (UMC)

Honestly, the beat on this track is sick.  It should be illegal.  It’s a song that you simply must hear.  Now.

+ twf hype elbows site myspace amazonmp3 itunes
add this post to del.icio.us / digg / facebook

Novel Does Himself Proud with Ben Folds

Published
by
billy
on December 19, 2008
in ben folds, mp3, music, novel, spree wilson and talib kweli
. 2 Comments

Chances are if you listen to pop music today you’ve heard something written and influenced by a man who goes by the name Novel.  Among others he’s worked with Kelis and Alicia Keys as well as spending time producing, writing, and arranging various tracks.  In short you can think of him as a sort of up and coming version of Wyclef {not surprisingly he lists Lauryn Hill as his biggest influence}.  And that comparison, coming from the ever critical pages of TWF, should clue you in to the fact that I think Novel is someone to watch.

Anyway, this track hails from his recently released EP entitled I Am (Future Black President) (amazon) (itunes), and it is the first time you can hear Novel using his own voice to put forth his brilliance.

mp3 : Novel (feat Ben Folds, Talib Kweli, Spree Wilson) - I Am

Now normally I don’t cover hip-hop, rap, or any other such genre that typically falls outside my eager ears and their finicky ways.  There are, however, a few random tracks and artists that come along and literally steal my attention away for a moment and I feel obliged to pass them on to you.  Today it was Novel, who to be honest I only read the email due to the name Ben Folds being attached to the project, and tomorrow it will probably be someone who’s featured alongside Ellen Paige in a Zune commercial.  For whatever reason I initially became interested in this song you can rest assured that I’m passing it along to you because after the novelty of sampling Ben Folds wore off I still found the track, particularly Novel’s clever lyrics and spot on delivery, to be worth multiple listens.

Enjoy your weekend fair world.  And, dear readers, don’t forget to enjoy some good music.

+ twf hype elbows site myspace amazonmp3 itunes
add this post to del.icio.us / digg / facebook

Sufjan Stevens - Best Seasonal Song of All Time?

Published
by
billy
on December 18, 2008
in indie, mp3, music and sufjan stevens
. 9 Comments

When dear Sufjan will you release something new to win our hearts and awake once again the great creative spirit you once stirred in all of us?  When dear Sufjan will you admit that maybe, possibly, you’ve abandoned the idea that each and every state will eventually be blessed by your musical musings?  When dear Sufjan will we ever hear anything new from you?  Will you even tour again?

I bring you this song today for a multitude of reasons.  The first is that I quite honestly think this track, Sister Winter, might be the best seasonal song ever recorded.  There is a sense of winter, of desolate snow filled afternoons, of cold bitter winds, and the loss or death oft associated with this cold season, that permeates every layer of this song.  In the vocals, in the harmony, in the string section, and the lyrics; winter is there.  In the crescendo of the bridge there is a brief hope for spring and the new year that this blustery affair so casually ushers into our lives.  There is Christmas, happiness, and sleigh bells and yet even they serve as but a brief reprieve in the middle of a long, cold, perfect winter.

mp3 : Sufjan Stevens - Sister Winter

There are three other reasons I’m dropping this song today.  The first is that in all my moving around over the past three weeks I left my external hard drive back where I used to live.  It’s hard to upload tracks and review new albums when they’re all sitting trapped on a drive three hours away {don’t worry, I’ll be getting it this upcoming Christmas}.  The second is that almost all of my free music time {mostly my driving time and some work time} has been devoted to paring down my end of the year list.  As it currently stands I might have found a way to choose a simple ten albums, but I’ve been giving all of the twenty two albums in my short list at least two listens each {and that’s a lot of music}.  The third reason is that I’ve simply been very busy lately and I don’t yet have a place that I can call my own.  I’m still crashing at a mate’s house and looking forward to picking up my own place {hopefully this weekend after my first paycheck is deposited}.

Fret not, TWF will return to a more regularly scheduled broadcast in the near future.  In the meantime wait patiently with great anticipation for my return.  Well, that and listen to Sister Winter on constant repeat for at least an hour.

As usual you can find this track on Sufjan’s peerless Songs For Christmas (itunes).

+ twf hype elbows site asthmatic kitty amazonmp3 itunes
add this post to del.icio.us / digg / facebook

Snow Patrol - Most Epic Song of the Year?

Published
by
billy
on December 11, 2008
in mp3, music and snow patrol
. 4 Comments

As I’ve been looking at which albums will be making my year ending best of 2008 list I’ve been going back through and listening to all the albums that are still in the running.  The list stands, currently, at about twenty albums and yes, Snow Patrol is still on that list.  And every time I look back over the list, just in text form, I always ask myself “why is Snow Patrol still in the running for my top ten?”  The simple explanation for this is the last song on the album.  That track alone is enough to keep it in the running.

mp3 : Snow Patrol - The Lightning Strike: (i) What If This Storm Ends?/ (ii) The Sunlight Through The Flags/ (iii) Daybreak

Ok, before you download or listen to this song be warned that is over a full sixteen minutes long.  Yes it is a brilliant sixteen minutes and it’s as easy to listen to as it is captivating, but once you start the track you’ll be amazed at how quickly a quarter of an hour slips away.  Last year the most epic track released was hands down Of Montreal’s The Past is a Grotesque Animal, but this year that crown might just be passed to Snow Patrol.

Oh, and for those of you who care this track, or rather this three act song, hail from Snow Patrol’s latest album A Hundred Million Suns (itunes) (amazon).

+ twf hype elbows site myspace amazonmp3 itunes
add this post to del.icio.us / digg / facebook

Coldplay - Prospekt’s March

Published
by
billy
on December 10, 2008
in coldplay, ep, mp3 and music
. 4 Comments

If you haven’t figured it out by now I’m not sure you’ve actually been reading The World Forgot.  More than likely you’re one of the thousands who drop by simply for a little slice of music and care nothing for the time, effort, and blood poured into these few words.  {Alright, to be fair I generally write off the cuff and I reckon I’m a fairly clever chap so I don’t even proofread much}.  Anyway, what I started off saying was that if you haven’t figured it out by now I’m kind of a sucker for Chris Martin and his three buddies.

Before I moved to a new city to start my new job Coldplay went ahead and, with absolutely no regard for my personal schedule, released an EP they call Prospekt’s March (amazon) (itunes).  I’ve finally had the oportunity to sit down and trip through the album a good amount and I must say that I like what they’ve done.  Some of the songs would easily have fit on a proper album and the rest are more than worth their salt.

mp3 : Coldplay - Glass of Water
mp3 : Coldplay - Lost+ (feat Jay-Z)

Glass of Water almost feels like it was taken off Viva la Vida (amazon) (itunes) at the last minute.  It even has the slightly awkward second act tacked on as a different melody just like many tracks that did make the cut for Viva la Vida.  What I’m trying to say, and failing at actually communicating, is that I really love Glass of Water.  Seriously listen to it now.  This track is tied with Lost+ as my favorite from the EP.  Although some will hate the fact that Hova lends a rhyme to Coldplay I think if you give it time it will grow on you.

+ twf hype elbows site myspace amazonmp3 itunes
add this post to del.icio.us / digg / facebook

Fields - Everything Last Winter

Published
by
billy
on December 9, 2008
in fields, indie, mp3 and music
. 1 Comment

How I haven’t yet posted a proper little spot about Fields is beyond me.  I really must apologize to everyone who reads this blog because I feel as if I’ve let you down.  Let you down hard.  Honestly, where has my head been?  I know I’ve been consumed with moving to a new city and starting a new job {from where I currently am blogging - don’t worry, it’s after hours}, but that in no way excuses how I let the past full year go by without mention this band.  I mean seriously.

Anyway, in 2007, yes ages ago now, Fields released the first studio full length entitled Everything Last Winter (amazon) (itunes).  I’ve had a promo copy kicking around my abode for at least nine months {mad props to the PR folks who send me schwag, I promise I listen to every album I get}, but it didn’t really hit me until I purchased a new car.  My car, at least during the past two weeks, has had only this album on constant rotation.  Every time I think about putting in a new album the next track kicks in and I just can’t stop my addiction.

mp3 : Fields - You Brought This On Yourself
mp3 : Fields - Skulls And Flesh And More

On March 10th of 2007, over eighteen months ago, I wrote that Fields were the one band I had heard in ages that accurately lived up to the hype of “the next Arcade Fire.”  I still hold that sentiment to be true.  Honestly I feel ashamed these kids haven’t been given a more proper review here on TWF before today.  What I can tell you is that from the opening track to the end of the album every second of Everything Last Winter is worth listening to.  And, to be quite blunt, there are moments in almost every song that will take you completely by surprise.  For a good example take a trip through Skulls And Flesh And More; the last ninety seconds is brilliant.  Just brilliant.

+ twf hype elbows site myspace amazonmp3 itunes
add this post to del.icio.us / digg / facebook

The Vines Cover Outkast

Published
by
billy
on December 8, 2008
in cover, indie, mp3, music, outkast and vines
. 3 Comments

Remember back about five years ago when Then Vines were allegedly going to bring rock back?  They were listed alongside a slew of other bands in the “the” category as the saviors of sound.  What happened to them?  Does anyone care?  I know I always disliked whatever these boys cobbled together.  And maybe that wasn’t fair.  Maybe in my mind whatever they did they weren’t The Strokes and so I couldn’t really get my heart to care about what they produced.

This has changed.  Well it’s changed in a minor way.  I still don’t really care if The Vines drop a new album or simply fade away.  I have no investment in them as a band {unlike, say Phantom Planet who’s breaking up and I think that sucks} so I don’t really care either way.  I do, however, care about this track that I stumbled upon a day or two ago.  It’s an acoustic and offbeat cover of the brilliant track Ms Jackson by Outkast.  Enjoy the music.

mp3 : The Vines - Ms Jackson (Outkast Cover)

Hopefully I’ll be able to update TWF on a regular basis from now on.  I guess only time will tell.

+ twf hype elbows site myspace amazonmp3 itunes
add this post to del.icio.us / digg / facebook