20 Best Albums of 2008
Submitted by rkrahn on Thu, 12/18/2008 - 06:14
Tags:
- 20. Paavoharju – Laulu Laakson Kukista [Fonal]
- 19. Luomo – Convivial [HUUME]
- 18. Fennesz – Black Sea [Touch]
- 17. Manuel Zurria – Repeat! [Die Schachtel]
- 16. Marcel Dettmann - Berghain 02 [Ostgut]
- 15. Ellen Allien – Sool [BPitch Control]
- 14. Sten – The Essence [Dial]
- 13. Fleet Foxes – Fleet Foxes [Sub Pop]
- 12. Chromatics – Original Motion Picture Soundtrack IV…Night Drive [Italians Do It Better]
- 11. Pierre-Laurent Aimard - Hommage à Messiaen [Deutsche Grammophon]
- 10. Philip Jeck – Sand [Touch]
- 9. Ricardo Villalobos – Vasco EP [Perlon]
- 8. Clark – Turning Dragon [Warp]
- 7. Kings of Leon – Only By The Night [RCA]
- 6. M83 – Saturdays = Youth [Mute]
- 5. Lil Wayne – Tha Carter III [Cash Money]
- 4. Vampire Weekend – Vampire Weekend [XL]
- 3. Jacaszek – Treny [Miasmah]
- 2. Justus Köhncke – Safe and Sound [Kompakt]
- 1. Sascha Funke - Mango [BPitch Control]
2008 marked a further departure from the rockism that had plagued much of my past. This move, however, hadn’t been intentional. Most of the heavy-hitters failed to impress and I wasn’t able to spend enough time with the new Deerhunter or No Age to really appreciate them. Though my indie choices are far from challenging, I must admit to initially hating Vampire Weekend, a band who has since turned New England into my personal utopia. I was also surprised to find myself really liking the new release by Kings of Leon, a band I hadn’t ever liked before.
In terms of electronic music 2008 was a curious year for me. I could not help but feel that the oft-cited sound Cut Copy, Crystal Castles, and Hot Chip were offering was nothing more than the Michael Crichton airport novels of the electronic music world. But Minimal, more now than ever, proved that it was not going anywhere. Having not heard Sool before seeing Ellen Allien play with Sascha Funke, I was quite surprised to hear that she had taken a very large step in that direction. In the more experimental corner of the electronic world, there was also Jeck and Fennesz who, well, have a tendency to make my list every year they put something out.
2008 was an especially bad year for stubborn purists of any stripe, as the good stuff was all over the map. On one end of the musical spectrum Jacaszek’s album was the most beautiful thing I heard in 2008 and on the other end of the spectrum I think it would be safe to say that our collective patience was well rewarded with the eventual release of the equally impressive Tha Carter III (especially the tracks with Babyface and Bobby Valentino).