Two More

I heard two albums this week that should, after just a few listens, make the list I just posted.  First is the recently released new Mountain Goats album, The Life Of The World To Come.  I’ve long respected John Darnielle as a songwriter and live performer, but I haven’t really warmed to his studio work.  This album changes that for two reasons; first, the production is airy and open, intimate and spacious at the same time; secondly, John’s control of his voice is masterful.  As his career as gone on, his learned better the limits, strengths and weaknesses of his voice, and on The Life Of The World To Come he nails the proper approach on every track.  He seems to trust his subtle lower register more than in my experience of his earlier work (I freely admit that my bias against his studio recordings has caused me to skip a listen to some of them, which I might have to rectify in light of this albums greatness).  For a real review of themes and the album as a whole (as opposed to just my stating my fondness),, you can’t do much better than read Ian’s piece for Popmatters.

The second album is the upcoming Bob Dylan Christmas album, Christmas In The Heart.  I loathe most Christmas music, being overproduced sentimental dreck, filled with chorale bombast and treacly production.  Bob wins me over by making a late 40s/early 50s country swing album, like a radio show from a bygone era.  I wish he had actually gone all the way there, by recording spoken interludes like he does for his “Theme Time Radio Hour” satellite radio show; his mix of anecdotes and music history really enhance those shows and would have done the same here.  His voice is shot, but his earnest understatement on these Yuletide classics works; his smooth starting delivery descending into croaky roughness as the lines get long is charming (something he glossed over for Modern Times, recording each line as separate parts to mask the degradation).  It sounds like he’s having fun, and it carries on to the listener.  Can’t wait to get a copy when it comes out next week.

Ninety-Nine

Quietly thinking about restarting things here, so figured a “favorites of the decade soon to pass” post was a good way to kick it off.  The top ten are locked in place, the next ten are in order but not in stone, the rest are not really in order at all.  If anyone wants my thoughts on any of these in particular, let me know in comments.  Links go to previous posts on various blogs where I talked, even slightly, about the album in question.

1.   The Notwist – Neon Golden
2.   Alcest – Souvenirs d’un Autre Monde
3.   Lambchop – Nixon
4.   The Goslings – Grandeur Of Hair
5.   VA – Nigeria 70
6.   Lamb – What Sound
7.   Clutch – From Beale Street To Oblivion
8.   Man Man – Six Demon Bag
9.   Joe Henry – Tiny Voices
10.  Yo La Tengo – And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside-Out
11.   Yob – The Great Cessation
12.   Lambchop – OH (Ohio)
13.   Tinariwen – Aman Iman: Water Is Life
14.   VA – Run The Road
15.   Benoit Pioulard – Précis
16.   Ufomammut – Snailking
17.   Witchcraft - The Alchemist
18.   Earth – The Bees Made Honey In The Lion’s Skull
19.   Fugazi - The Argument
20.  Departure Lounge - …Out Of There
21.   Made Out Of Babies – The Ruiner
22.  Robyn Hitchcock & The Venus 3 – Goodnight Oslo
23.  The Evens – The Evens
24.  Bishop Allen – Charm School
25.  Dizzee Rascal – Boy In Da Corner
26.  Moonbabies – The Orange Billboard
27.  Mugison – Mugimama Is This Monkey Music?
28.  Bloody Panda – Summon
29.  Mono & World’s End Girlfriend – Palmless Prayer/Mass  Murder Refrain
30.  M. Ward – Transfiguration Of Vincent
31.   The Streets – A Grand Don’t Come For Free
32.  Willie Nelson & Asleep At The Wheel – Willie And The Wheel
33.  The Langley School Music Project – Innocence & Despair
34.  Bubba Sparxxx – Deliverance
35.  The Angelic Process – Weighing Souls With Sand
36.  The Avalanches – Since I Met You
37.  Electric Wizard – Witchcult Today
38.  Iron & Wine - Woman King EP
39.  Noxagt – Turning It Down Since 2001
40.  VA – African Scream Contest: Raw & Psychedelic Afro Sounds From Benin & Togo 70s
41.   Dolly Parton – Little Sparrow
42.  Wiley – Treddin’ On Thin Ice
43.  Kaki King - …Until We Felt Red
44.  Caïna – Mourner
45.  Joe Henry – Blood From Stars
46.  Six Organs Of Admittance – School Of The Flower
47.  Bob Dylan – Love And Theft
48.  Ufomammut – Lucifer Songs
49.  Sons And Daughters – This Gift
50.  Jesu – Silver
51.   Randy Newman – The Randy Newman Songbook Vol. 1
52.  Outkast – Stankonia
53.  The National – Boxer
54.  Zu – Carboniferous
55.  Jason Forrest – Shamelessly Exciting
56.  Devin The Dude - To Tha X-Treme
57.  Dntel - This Is The Dream Of Evan and Chan EP
58.  The Long Winters – When I Pretend To Fall
59.  Elvis Perkins – Ash Wednesday
60.  Seu Jorge – América Brasil o Disco
61.   Wetnurse – Invisible City
62.  Ulver – Shadows Of The Sun
63.  Amanda Palmer – Who Killed Amanda Palmer?
64.  Lady Sovereign – Vertically Challenged EP
65.  Belle and Sebastian – Dear Catastrophe Waitress
66.  The Budos Band – The Budos Band
67.  Low – Trust
68.  VA – Serious Times
69.  Conifer – Crown Fire
70.  School Of Seven Bells – Alpinisms
71.   Madvillian - Madvilliany
72.  Mark Kozalek – What’s Next To The Moon
73.  The Notwist - The Devil, You + Me
74.  Kaki King - Dreaming Of Revenge
75.  The Evens - Get Evens
76.  Spirit Caravan – The Last Embrace
77.  Robyn Hitchcock & The Venus 3 - Olé! Tarantula
78.  Hacride – Lazarus
79.  Wardruna – Runaljod – Gap Var Ginnunga
80.  Keren Ann – Not Going Anywhere
81.   Electric Wizard – Dopethrone
82.  Dizzee Rascal – Showtime
83.  Eluvium – Copia
84.  Sleep – Dopesmoker
85.  Madder Mortem – Eight Ways
86.  Lambchop - Is A Woman
87.  Espers – Espers II
88.  The Goslings – Between The Dead
89.  Torche – Meanderthal
90.  Mugison – Mugiboogie
91.   Drive-By Truckers – Decoration Day
92.  Bishop Allen – March, April & May EPs
93.  Gay Witch Abortion – Maverick
94.  M. Ward – Post-War
95.  Grandaddy – Sumday
96.  VA – Do You Know The Difference Between Big Wood And Brush?
97.  Sasquatch – II
98.  Joe Henry – Civilians
99.  Madredeus & Flemish Radio Orchestra – Euforia

I Forgot To Remember To Not Forget

Missed one in my top twelve:

Wetnurse – Invisible City

I just picked this up last week, so it hadn’t made it onto the running list of ‘08 releases.  No excuse justifies missing such a tremendous album; John Darnielle would rightly smack me around for ignoring his favorite album of the year.  In fact, if it wasn’t for John’s repeated and vociferous championing of the album on I Love Music I probably would never of heard it in the first place.  So, thanks John!  After such a short time with it, I’m comfortable with saying Invisible City is already pushing into the edge of the top five.  Given time, I expect it to fight its way higher, though I think that the top three wouldn’t change.

End Of The End Of The Year

Like all my past incarnations, this one ran into the ground after about 8 months.  I’m not sure if this will be revived, or whether something new is coming in the months ahead; I’m thinking with my continued hand issues, and my attention turning to other things, that I might return to doing podcasts and not writing things out.  Feedback on that would be appreciated (my podcast only ever had a handful of listeners, but then my blog only had a handful of readers, Peanuts Watchmen notwithstanding).  However, before I let everything go, a quick list for the year that was:

Top Twelve New Releases of 2008*

1. Lambchop – OH (Ohio)
2. The Notwist – The Devil, You + Me
3. Made Out Of Babies – The Ruiner
4. Earth – The Bees Made Honey In The Lion’s Skull
5. Sons And Daughters – This Gift
6. Harvey Milk – Life…The Best Game In Town
7. Mugison – Mugiboogie
8. Kaki King – Dreaming Of Revenge
9. Conifer – Crown Fire
10. Torche – Meanderthal
11. Bauhaus – Go Away White
12. Amanda Palmer – Who Killed Amanda Palmer?

* Mugison’s album was released overseas last year, but Ipecac released it domestically this summer.

Lambchop’s latest is head and shoulders (and chest, waist, hips and thighs) above everything else I’ve heard from this year.  I think it is already my favorite of theirs, supplanting the majestic Nixon and heart-breaking intimacy of Is A Woman. Some weird amalgam of soul, country, chamber-pop and studio sheen, they’ve carved a singular niche in American music.  I just can’t get enough.  I’ve written about most of these before, so I’ll touch briefly on a few I haven’t.

Local faves Conifer and Ocean both put out albums this year, but Conifer gets the nod for capturing some of the special magic they both have live.  Ocean’s album is solid, but much like their debut, it fails to hold a candle to their sound on stage (maybe if I could blow out 100+ db that rattle the bones I could approximate it, but I doubt it).  One caveat to the Conifer – I hate, hate, hate the title track that features vocals from Eugene Robinson of the band Oxbow.  Luckily, it is the last track, so I just stop it there and revel in what came before.  They can ride a heavy groove like few others.

Amanda Palmer of the Dresden Dolls stretches out only slightly on her solo debut; it could easily be a Dresden Dolls release except for the added instrumentation.  I give her some credit for keeping the aesthetic of the Dresden Dolls as a distinct thing, but am glad she chose to color outside those lines.  There are some great playful songs on this, though it is a bit front loaded quality wise.

Top Compilations and Re-releases of 2008

1. Willie Nelson – One Hell Of A Ride
2. Various Artists – Nigeria Special: Modern Highlife, Afro-Sounds & Nigerian Blues 1970-76
3. Various Artists - African Scream Contest: Raw & Psychedelic Afro Sounds From Benin & Togo 70s
4. Kid Creole – Going Places: The August Darnell Years 1974-1983
5. The Replacements – Sorry Ma…, Stink, Hootenanny, Let It Be, Tim, Don’t Tell A Soul, All Shook Down

The Willie Nelson career box set is my overall second favorite thing of the year.  I knew the hits, and respected Willie as a songwriter, but I didn’t understand the man as an artist.  Genius gets thrown around a lot, but Willie is a genius, a truly gifted songwriter and guitarist, and he has a wonderful way with vocal phrasing.  Speaking of phrasing, the emergence of quality African compilations the past decade or so has been a great boon; these two comps are outstanding, and I love the coexistence of smooth, clean deliveries with post-James Brown howls and rhythms.  The Kid Creole set is essential weird late 70s NYC arthouse soul, and is cooler than I could possibly describe it.  The ‘Mats are the ‘Mats.

News To No One

Seal’s recent covers album, Soul, is competent and nothing more; still love his voice, but damn, his arrangements have been adult contemporary Filene’s Basement PA bullshit for fifteen years.

Here Comes The Ocean

Out tomorrow – I can’t wait!!

My Drug-Addled Brain

The first cold/flu of the season is often the worst.  The one I’m fighting now truly is sucking the life out of me, one cough at a time.  I expect the angel of death from The Adventures of Baron Munchausen is standing by to collect my glowing wispy soul, which is sure to be dislodged by one of this rib-aching bronchial hacks.  The drugs may keep said angel at bay, but they do weird – sometimes wonderful, sometimes nightmarish – things to my head.  For example, I saw this over at Living Between Wednesdays,

and immediately thought it would be cooler if the kids legs went inside its back like the old dewback Star Wars toy from my youth.

…And Break!

I’m huddled up and ready to go.  I’m hitting the road for three weeks and leaving this here computer behind.  I’m not sure if I’ll get a chance to post anything here when I’m gone; if I do, it will be only occasionally.  Have fun without me (It’ll be just like the month of July).

Nothing Left To Replace

The second round of Replacements reissues hit the street today.  Though none of these are as essential as Let It Be or Hootenanny,  but their pretty worthwhile.  I’ve only played Tim thus far (I gotta go chronologically), but the sound is great.  Most importantly, they’ve included the original acoustic demo version of “Can’t Hardly Wait”.  I’ve had a boot of it for years, but this remaster is ace.  In celebration, you should watch one of the greatest videos ever – “Bastards of Young”.

One Last Thing About David Foster Wallace*

The Onion has made me laugh for the first time in a dog’s age: NASCAR Cancels Remainder Of Season Following David Foster Wallace’s Death.

*(*) I reserve the right to address the work or person of David Foster Wallace at a later date.  The header was more to indicate that, at the present time, I have no further thoughts, links, or ephemera to pass along concerning his unfortunate demise, rather than an indication of true finality on the subject.  Nothing is final.

(*) I was unable to figure out how to get a superscript numerical identifier in the header, thus the all-purpose asterix.  As this explanation was not pertinant to the matter addressed in the prior note, I felt compelled to explain my odd notation in a seperate, and secondary** notation.

** You could also call it a tertiary concern within the greater post.  And yes, I’ve got multiple systems of notation working, which ideally would have been addressed seperately.  I felt relatively secure in the fact that, in such a short entry, the intent would be clear.  If I have misjudged and should have, in fact, addressed my myriad notational systems at either greater length or in a seperate entry, I apologize.  I also apologize for this cheap, and rather poorly planned, homage to the late Mr. Wallace, known for his penchant for copious foot- and endnotes.  I”m just not over it.