02 03 Stop Loving Everything: Why Make a List When I Can Slag Yours? 04 05 15 16 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 31 32 33

Why Make a List When I Can Slag Yours?

34
In the interest of all thing negative and reductive, here's a response to the top ten albums of 2008 as chosen by Penusfork.

10.
DJ/Rupture
Uproot
I did like the "Brooklyn Anthem," despite the carpetbagging. But while most tracks are accomplished dancehall-dubstep-electro hybrids, I still can't get the memory of bad drum n' bass/jungle out of my head when I hear dubstep. This also makes me think of Ali G, and that's not a good thing. And this is just a DJ mix. Play some instruments. Or dig deeper. This only skims surfaces.

9.Hercules and Love Affair
Hercules and Love Affair
Interesting for Antony's vocals +disco, but they think it's corny in the clubs. 'Cept in Chicago, I guess.

8.M83
Saturdays=Youth
Deserved much higher. My #2

7. Vampire Weekend
Vampire Weekend
Cultural carpetbagging by a walking Benneton commercial does not justify expanding three decent, even interesting songs into a 10 track yawner. Not even in my top 50. Thank god I didn't buy it.

6.TV on the Radio
Dear Science.
Total dud. I've already destroyed any memory of this release so I can enjoy their next album.

5. Deerhunter
Microcastle/Weird Era Cont
For sure, Mr. Cox's constant feeding of news material, to p-fork, assisted ranking. As for me, not sure why (yet), but I can't get my nails into this one. Their first release means so much to me, and their second, Cryptograms, was such a giant, towering effort, that this seems sterile in comparison. I may have to let the unfair analysis stick.

4. Cut Copy
In Ghost Colors
The album that #9,#7, and #6 weren't. Against all my learned skepticism, it hit me right in that secret nucleus accumbens I'd suppressed since Duran Duran. Or I'm not as hetero as I thought. Don't tell my wife. Although she knows.

3.No Age
Nouns.
I pitch mad respect, but there's so much lo-fi garage out there, and No Age doesn't exactly surpass it all, that I couldn't give the time.

2. Portishead
Third
My number one of the year. Few albums rarely shatter the rest of the pack like brittle glass figurines, and even fewer are comeback albums after a chunk of silent years. Recorded music ought to sound like its creators had to make it for no other reason than something would have consumed them had they failed to do so. The Who comes to mind. More bands should make less albums, and Portishead is the reason.

1.
Fleet Foxes
Sun Giant EP/Fleet Foxes
It's official: Pitchfork has had their Hootie & the Blowfish moment.

Labels: ,

35 36 37 38