lights and music are on my mind

it's clear that 2008 was no 2007, but that's no reason to discredit a flurry of bright spots. while picking number one was just as daunting, coming up with 20+ albums i genuinely liked this year required a couple extra weeks of recovery-enabled cramming. so without further ado, my favorite albums of the past 365-minus-a-week-or-so:

(quite) honorable mentions:

lil wayne - tha carter iii

coldplay - viva la vida or death and all his friends

beach house - devotion

annuals - such fun
tokyo police club - elephant shell

20. the dodos - visiter

>>LISTEN: winter, fools, undeclared

19. the helio sequence - keep your eyes ahead

>>LISTEN: hallelujah, broken afternoon, lately

18. oxford collapse - bits

>>LISTEN: young love delivers, featherbeds, children's crusade

17. the magnetic fields - distortion

--for a fair chunk of the last decade, stephen merritt and the magnetic fields resided near the top of the increasingly long list of "obviously decent bands i somehow hadn't gotten into"; and with the exception of one track ('if there's such a thing as love,' off 2004's i), i hadn't. ah, what a difference a day of forced binge listening in the jury pool can make.

>>LISTEN: california girls, the nun's litany, courtesans

16. perhapst - s/t

--with the decemberists taking the year off (and still nearly finding their way onto my individual tracks list with a darling little cover of the velvet underground's 'i'm sticking with you'), leave it to drummer john moen to craft one of the real highlights of this past summer. staying true to its cover art, perhapst drips from open to close with catchy, melodic twang. with a voice far more accessible (and depending on who you ask, likable) than bandmate colin meloy's, moen has turned out a warm, fuzzy collection of songs that is by no means "just another solo effort."

>>LISTEN: blue year, harbour, cruel whisk

15. the rosebuds - life like

--gentle, gloomy and downright scenic at times, life like almost comes off as a slightly poppier take on shoegaze. in doing so, however, ivan howard and kelly crisp throw a handful of catchier optimism into the mix, channeling the likes of the new pornographers and camera obscura. in the end, it all falls together seamlessly, the only drawback being their collective length (or lack thereof, at 33 min).

>>LISTEN: black hole, nice fox, border guards

14. bon iver - for emma, forever ago

--as was the case with a.a. bondy's american hearts (further down the list), i was under the impression that this lovely justin vernon offering belonged to 2007 (after all, 'for emma' did end up on my individual list). unlike bondy, however, i'd listened to this LP last year, and i'd loved it last year; so not to take anything away from making resolutions, but why should this year be any different?

>>LISTEN: skinny love, for emma, re: stacks

13. girl talk - feed the animals

--if only i'd been in college for girl talk's rise to becoming a party must... perhaps i would've learned via osmosis to dance properly in the company of others, thus avoiding the several injuries (and accompanying scars) i incurred this year on the dancefloor. my initial reaction to this summer staple was a simple preference for 2006's night ripper. before long, i realized i was listening to this installment what seemed like daily: in the car, working out, drinking with the roommates in our pool room. aside from a few manageable weak spots (speeding up the band's 'the weight' just sounds silly), feed the animals is 53 minutes bursting at the seams with a grab bag of nostalgia and attitude; and should anything ironic or schmaltzy from yesteryear arise, it's immediately countered with something equally contemporary and vulgar. after all, how can one possibly say no to lil wayne rapping about fellatio over sinead o'connor's 'nothing compares 2 u'?

>>LISTEN: let me see you, set it off, hands in the air

12. headlights - some racing, some stopping

--before it's run its course, it's easy to ingest opening track 'get your head around it' and passively bask in the whimsical ether it creates. there's certainly nothing wrong with it--it would likely have people flocking to google in search of finding out who played it, were it to appear in a springy ad for something along the lines of a fuel-efficient car or a new glade plug-in scent. initially, i caught myself wondering if i was getting in bed with another offspring of death cab's growing influence (this song, xylophones and all, struck me as quite similar to plans opener 'marching bands of manhattan' at times). on the other hand, the subsequent track, 'cherry tulips,' much as its title might suggest, struck--and still strikes--me as lush and refreshing; with few weak points, the rest of this compact, dreamlike boy-girl-boy-girl song-to-song dialogue accomplishes the same thing, leaving me ready for bed, quenched and with a bright red tongue.

>>LISTEN: cherry tulips, on april 2, january

11. human highway - moody motorcycle

--i've never by any means been enamored with nick thorburn's "main attraction" islands, their 2008 release arm's way being no exception. this year he teamed up with canadian songwriter jim guthrie, however, to make a dreamy little record chock full of what he referred to as "hot man-on-man vocal action." as their name would certainly indicate, the resulting product harks back to the days of neil young and even further back to the everly brothers, the final result possibly best experienced while sharing a milkshake in a swinging door salloon with sawdust on the floor.

>>LISTEN: the duties of a lighthouse keeper, what world, the sound

10. conor oberst - s/t

--stage names aside, it's hardly surprising to see conor oberst on another list of mine. if anything, this year would've been his year. back in august, i somehow ended up on stage (a stage that couldn't have been much bigger than 15 feet in any direction) directly next to him and the mystic valley band at a secret show (thus marking the height of any indie cred i'll ever amass) in koreatown. not that this didn't have any drawbacks--as great a vantage point as i had, things got a little close for comfort at times, what with his guitar up in my grill and such. as for the record, this self-titled effort is great, as expected. songs like 'cape canaveral' and 'milk thistle' invoke i'm wide awake it's morning, but the greater chunk of the album finds oberst evolving in a folkier, more seasoned direction; weathered by the journey from his introverted bright eyes persona, but by no means defeated.

>>LISTEN: get-well cards, danny callahan, moab

9. someone still loves you boris yeltsin - pershing

--from a band with arguably the best (if not most imaginative) name in recent memory, another indelible summer offering. perfectly suited for a sunny drive with the windows down and breeze running through your hair or paired with the clanging bottles and sizzling grill of a barbecue, it certainly flirts with the typical, collegiate acoustic "guster-ness" i've tried to distance myself from somewhat since graduating. on the other hand, this quality, along with the accessible catchiness and warm embrace--ultimately reels you in and whisks you away to a far more carefree place.

>>LISTEN: think i wanna die, dead right, the beach song

8. okkervil river - the stand ins

--to say will sheff and okkervil river exploded into my musical conscious in 2007 would be an understatement. i've been in love with this band ever since, spending most of the last year and change buried in their discography with scholarly dedication. while this follow-up to last year's the stage names (tops a year ago) doesn't quite live up to its predecessor (while pleasant, i'm not quite sure what to make of the three instrumental, well, "stand-in" tracks), the substance is there--namely in sheff's lush narratives. in addition to being both sincere and enthralling as a leadman, he's certainly established himself as a singer-songwriter to be reckoned with. few songs illuminated my own personal tendencies better than 'on tour with zykos,' which shone a light so bright on my own apathy i'm still wincing a little.

>>LISTEN: on tour with zykos, lost coastlines, calling and not calling my ex

7. fleet foxes - s/t

--i can say with reasonable confidence that i'm the only person i know (of those qualified) who didn't fall in love with this album when it surfaced just in time for summer--sure, i liked it; i just wasn't in love with it... yet. so while this selective deafness of mine prevents me from falling for the likes of animal collective and tv on the radio, i do like what i hear from these flannel-clad northwesterners--i like it a lot; and in time, i've slowly but surely acquired a taste for their richly layered, flowing brand of folk. (not to mention the fact that fleet foxes certainly set a lofty precedent, grabbing my attention with their sun giant EP in april.) blame it on the rain (los angeles is currently "enduring" its annual week-or-two of mild sprinkling), but come spring and summer 2009, i know i'll lose myself again in the cascading percussion of 'your protector' and appreciate this beautiful record the way i'm supposed to.

>>LISTEN: white winter hymnal, he doesn't know why, your protector

6. dr. dog - fate

--in a perfect world, i'd listen to every band's discography from start-to-finish. (when it comes to the myriad tv series i should be watching and make a point of catching myself up on, this policy is set in stone; for instance--if you sat someone down and had them watch a recent episode of LOST, you'd have no grounds for expecting them to understand anything other than the fact that everyone's stuck on an island and that matthew fox has an affinity for stroking his stubble. to me, fate--dismissed by people more familiar with the band than i as a lesser contribution--is a great episode, and i have no choice but to take it for what it is--my first taste of a great band. it might not be their best, but as far as this year goes, it only fell short of four other albums. fate pushes the listener into a slightly limited musical time machine, borrowing elements from crosby stills nash & young and the beatles, from big star and joni mitchell, dylan and the byrds. so while it's hardly the most innovative (or fluid) work to emerge from 2008, i'll take any episode of LOST over the best 'laguna beach' episode any day of the week. (big ups to homie adam kurland for his kanye-approved video for 'the ark.')

>>LISTEN: hang on, the rabbit the bat and the reindeer, the ark

5. little joy - s/t

--much like vetiver's more of the past EP, one of those undeniably charming surprises i stumbled upon toward the end of the year (and am immensely glad i did). my little brother played it for me in the car a few days back; next thing i know, i can't say no to these 11 songs that come off like a jet set weekend in 60's waikiki with lou reed, surrounded with sandy bikini-clad strangers and umbrellas in cocktails. sure, it may be on this list because i'm freshly hooked and it's barely committed to memory... and sure, perhaps i'll play this one out completely within a season. but with 'brand new start' nestling itself comfortably among my favorite singles of the year and just begging to be included in a future mixtape, i don't see myself growing wary anytime soon.

>>LISTEN: brand new start, don't watch me dancing, how to hang a warhol

4. a.a. bondy - american hearts

--as touched up on a few moments ago, allow me to reiterate: i thought this album came out in 2007. and until last night, american hearts was relegated, along releases from coconut records, lightspeed champion, and josh ritter to the handful of gems from 2007 which i simply discovered a calendar year too late. thanks to some clarification, however, from anna apocalypse (a fellow wildcat alum who could claim responsibility for the bulk of my indie education if she wanted), i've realized the album, while released in '07, was re-released in '08 in hopes of garnering a little more attention for the alabama--n? --nian? who knows? so while i can't say i'm sure of the accepted nomenclature for those who hail from our 22nd state--home to living rooms, bedrooms and dinettes (oh yeah!)--i can say with confidence that with the exception of a couple (still decent) tracks, this disc is as consistent yet interesting as any this year. while 'of the sea' may be my "go to sleep" song of '08, 'there's a reason' and 'vice rag' bring me back to a barefooted, slow-as-molasses southern summer i've never experienced, yet feels completely like home.

>>LISTEN: of the sea, rapture (sweet rapture), vice rag

3. noah and the whale - peaceful, the world lays me down

--my proclivity to saccharine, stringy love songs is no skeleton in the closet. if anything, i embrace this--from my youthful idealism, which leaves my foot in my mouth more often that not to the mixtapes i've given to unrequited loves and girlfriends alike. hell, in recent months, i may have gone as far as envisioning someone i was with walking down the aisle to the serenity of 'do what you do.' (my arms still swell up with goosebumps to the song's sweeping interlude, and equally so during that of the title track.) depending on preference, '5 years time' is as good a single as any in '08. it should come as no surprise that at one point--perhaps a slightly emotional one, but who am i to deny such qualities an influence?--i'd chalked peaceful in as my favorite album of the year.

>>LISTEN: do what you do, 5 years time, shape of my heart

2. vampire weekend - s/t

--by volume, there isn't an album i listened to more this year (according to my itunes, the VW song i listened to the least, opener 'mansard roof,' notched 50 listens). there isn't anything else remotely close. will there be a new album i listen to 50 times in 2009? will there be any album i listen to 50 times in 2009? unlikely. from the wes anderson-worthy charm of 'm79' to the rabid percussion that nails the catchy coffin shut on 'oxford comma,' i've been hooked since the first listen. in march, i drove down to san diego with jackie and saw them play a small club called the casbah because a) their show at the el rey sold out in a heartbeat; and b) ever since shelling out a c-note to see (only figuratively) the white stripes play there in 2002, i've held a passive grudge against the venue. two mornings after the casbah show, i popped ezra & company in for the drive back and she told me "i think i'm good on vampire weekend for a little while." i had the pleasure of seeing these guys twice this year (thrice, if you include their performance with the crenshaw high school drumline on kimmel)-- and both times, i was fortunate enough to show up early enough (not obsessively early, who does that?) to find myself front and center (and literally able to put my camera down on the stage if my shoulder needed a rest). my only complaint? two shows, no 'walcott.' when all's said and done, no band made me want to move to the east coast more than vampire weekend in 2008-- and i very nearly did.

>>LISTEN: oxford comma, m79, walcott

1. cut copy - in ghost colours

--from an aesthetic standpoint, all you need to know about this album is the following: it's seductive, engaging, and cohesive. it's vibrant and haunting, and that's why you're reading about it here. every now and then, we find ourselves fortunate enough to be so moved by the combination of circumstance and soundtrack that the two are forever bound. case in point: this summer, i was on a bus from jerusalem to tel aviv, on a good mixture and sharing 'lights & music' through split headphones with tori, the girl on my trip to israel i fell for--and would end up dating from across the country for three subsequent months). at one point, she turns up from my lap, looks me in the eye and somehow manages to ask with a straight face, "are you trying to seduce me?" given, i was (and given, it worked), but much like the first time i heard nada surf's 'inside of love' in the backseat of my friend katie's northbound car on tucson boulevard one summer night in 2004 or stepping off the train this october penn station on the way to my first interview in new york to okkervil's 'on tour with zykos,' it's the people and places such as these which form the musical connections we carry for a lifetime. a week or so after that night in tel aviv (where we'd end up on our first date at an overpriced sushi restaurant), we'd spent three hours killing bottles of wine and smoking cigarettes in a bus terminal in the red sea port of eilat. after uncomfortably struggling across the egyptian border at 3 a.m. in the presence of more guards than crossers and more guns than members in our party, four american twenty-somethings boarded a bumpy six-hour van ride across the sinai desert to cairo. as the rest of the group slept, i listened to 'lights & music' as we snaked our way through miles of monstrous, desolate canyon; when we emerged, i watched the sun rise.

>>LISTEN: hearts on fire, so haunted, strangers in the wind

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