Top Ten Albums of 2008

     Normally I'm a movie guy. Because of that obsession, it is increasingly difficult to keep up with all of the great new music that is released each year. As I look over others' top ten lists on the year I realize how much I missed. I also never claimed to be a musical genius. Still, I know what I love and I do keep tabs on what Chris Robinson calls "the song."

2008 has to be the oddest year yet, in terms of my personal tastes and trying to stretch my musical muscles a little bit and challenging myself. By mid summer I was pretty much sick of the folky, indie-rock movement (snooze). But who would've thought that a lot of my favorite music on the year would be from bands that showcase a female singer with poppy, bubblegum melodies and beats? And while none of them appear on this list, I've also flirted with some Hip Hop this year (13 and God, Why?, Citizen Cope, Forss, Person X, etc.) and even some danceable electronica.

As I look over the list below, I realize that it isn't all that creative and fairly derivative; maybe even cliched, but hey, that's cause they're GOOD! So anyway, after thinking about it too much and weeding out some albums that probably should have made it, here are my top ten albums of 2008...


Top 10:


10) The Raconteurs - Consolers of the Lonely
More greatness from Jack White and his crew. It's Bob Dylan meets bad ass. Slightly experimental in some cases while still being listenable and without being annoying. While I really like this record, White's other side projects that I'm continually coming across always delight. Makes me love "The Raconteurs" that much more.


9) Cloud Cult - Feel Good Ghosts
Minneapolis represent! Gotta have a local band on here right?


8) Sons and Daughters - This Gift
Like "Tegan and Sara"? Try this.


7) Death Cab for Cutie - Narrow Stairs
When you just need to rock out, accept nothing less than "The Postal Service" with balls.


6) Coldplay - Viva La Vida
That's right, I'm not afraid to admit it. Love these guys and this record forces me to continue to respect. The title track kind of reminds me of old "U2" - and that's not a bad thing.


5) Santogold - Santogold
Another female showcase of excellence. Takes "The Ting Tings" sound and "funks it up" a little with arguably much better vocal talent.


4) Mates of State - Re-Arrange Us
Heard about this one during the NPR year-end, music review show. Though it's repetitive, its crazy addictive. Listen to it "now now now now now now now, now now now now now now now, now now now now now now now, now now now now now now now."


3) MGMT - Oracular Spectacular
A unique album that really came out of no where. Fuses jazz, funk, disco with some catchy, not over-used electronica and elegant, Brian Wilson-esque vocals. Yeah, it's pretty much great and there's a reason why it's on everyone's list this year.


2) Nicole Atkins - Neptune City
If Neko Case was popular in the 50's. Again, just a string of great songs that totally caught me off guard when I popped it in. Track 1 - "hey, this is interesting and pretty good!" Track 2 - "hey, I like this song a lot." Tack 3 - wow, this is a really good tune." Track 4 - "I like this!" And so on and so on. She's really good live too.
PS - Yes I know this is technically a 2007 release (December), but I neglected to make a list last year and even if I had, I didn't discover this record until sometime last spring.


1) Ting Tings - We Started Nothing
Who would've thought? A two (wo)man band that creates a big sound with very little. Catchy tunes that are sing-a-long friendly even for guys. Couldn't get enough of the record after getting home from Lollapalooza this year. Ca-ching, ca-ching boy.





5 Honorable Mentions:
Shearwater - Rook
Sun Kil Moon - April
Black Keys - Attack and Release
Kings of Leon - Only by the Night
We Should Be Dead - Forget Romance, Let's Dance!

5 Kind of Disappointing:
Portishead - Third
The Killers - Day and Age
My Morning Jacket - Evil Urges
Portishead - Third
Weezer - The Red Album

5 More Great Records:
The Dodos - Visiter
Elbow - The Seldom Seen Kind
She and Him - Vol. 1
Vampire Weekend - Vampire Weekend
Amos Lee - Last Days at the Lodge

Overrated:
Bon Iver - For Emma, Forever Ago
Fleet Foxes - Fleet Foxes


Haven't Had the Time to Check Out Yet (but will!):
People in Planes - Beyond the Horizon
The Faint - Fasciination
Department of Eagles - In Ear Park
Goldfrapp - Seventh Tree
Hush Sound - Goodbye Blues
Magnetic Fields - Distortion
Minus the Bear - Acoustics
Mogwai - The Hawk is Howling
Nick Cave - Dig Lazarus Dig!
Tegan and Sara - The Con (not 2008)
Tegan and Sara - So Jealous (not 2008)

History

     Though I'm not a big endorser of Obama and I'm certainly not a person to vote for or against someone based on skin color, it sure is fun and exciting to watch history happen before my eyes. Major historical happenings usually aren't noticed until after they've happened. But today history happened nearly instantaneously. It is pretty cool.

Voting Reform

     Change. Change. Change. Change. That's all we heard from Presidential contenders John McCain and Barack Obama. While I don't necessarily support an all out overhaul on the United States of America, I certainly support a major overhaul on the way voting is done in this country. It is outdated and severely dysfunctional. With long, LONG lines reported today and already some problems with voting machines (for the THIRD election in a row), it's clear we need a new system for doing things. Here are a two simple ideas that could make the democratic process so much simpler and more accurate.

1) Why are polls open for only one day and for only a specific time bracket? With millions of voters in most states and tens of millions in some states, we need more time and resources to handle that kind of load. On tax day, some mail offices stay open until midnight so procrastinators can get their tax forms in on time. Why can't voting day be changed to voting week? Or at least maybe three days of voting. Also, they should be open for 24 hours (or at least until midnight). That way, all voters can get in on whichever day works best for them and/or show up at 3am when it is obviously going to be less busy. This should alleviate the long lines and problems effectively. At the very least, polls should be open later than 8pm today.

POSSIBLE ANSWER to why this won't work: If polls were open for three days or more, it's unclear to me what the media would do with early voting numbers and how that might affect voter turnout over the next couple of voting days. Also, I';m not sure the 24hour thing is a good idea. People voting at 3am are much more likely to be, shall we say, "not completely with it."

2) Electoral college is outdated and broken. I understand why the founding fathers "invented" the electoral college. This way, everyone's voice would be heard and votes from rural areas would be just as important as those from urban (more populated) areas and politicians would have to campaign to everyone and take matters of rural areas just as seriously as those of the big cities. Today, I think the electoral process does just the opposite.

Someone living in a small town in Minnesota does not have their vote counted or their voice heard. All that matters is how Minneapolis and a small handful of other large cities vote. If a candidate gets Mpls/St. Paul, he essentially gets all 10 electoral votes from MN. The population is so huge, it doesn't really matter how the rest of the state votes.
EXAMPLE: Let's say MN has roughly 4 million voters. If McCain were to get 2,000,001 votes in MN and Obama gets 1,999,999 votes, all 10 electoral votes from MN go to McCain. I call bullshit on this point. Essentially we've just disenfranchised half the voters in Minnesota.

SOLUTIONS: In today's age, with mass media (internet, 24 hour news stations, etc) at an unprecedented level in the history of man, the president should be elected by either straight-up popular vote, or at least have the electoral votes split up so that, as in the example above, McCain would get 5 electoral votes and Obama would get 5 . MUCH more fair if you ask me. Now the people on the iron range are being heard and counted.

I'd like to hear other ideas and opinions on this matter. I'm sure there are good reasons why my logic doesn't work, I just can't think of them. Please let me know why I'm wrong. Otherwise, someone start a national campaign to start voter reform.

My First Film Credit

     My friend and 'colleague' Jay Cheel from Film Junk and The Documentary Blog put together a fantastic fictional documentary about an ancient (and potentially alien) discovery in the Arctic. It is unbelievably well done for a short film (think Werner Herzog meets John Carpenter) and very interesting. At any rate, to make this post about me (the most important person in the world), I was surprised to see my name in the credits under special thanks.

Glad I could help out jay... whatever it was I did.
Cheers!

You can watch the film, "Goblin Man of Norway", over HERE

Relieved, Suprised and Happy

     I just spent 8 nights in a row going to social events until all hours of the night - places where much alcohol was imbibed. Not once did the conversation venture into the political. Nice.

VOTE!

"I like Luke's chances, though lingering concerns about his ties to an ancient religion followed by his absentee father could derail his campaign. Also has a problem with honesty. Despite sometimes representing himself as such, he's no Jedi."
- Martini Agonistes

source: Ironic Sans

Pet Peave of the Day: Volume XX

     Apparently there is no way to "reply-to-all" with txt messages on my cell phone.

Frakked-Up Friday Episode 9

     Installed in a 20-foot-long corridor at Union Station, she projects screamers divorced from their horror-movie context, promising a childbirth-like primal scream experience...




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Annoying. Yet... Comforting

     There is a cricket hiding somewhere near my office door. It sounds like midnight near the swamp.

Frakked-Up Friday Episode 8

     Busy busy week here at work, but not so busy I can't post a quick Frakked-up video. This one is a little long, so just skim through it, but make sure you tune in at about the 7 minute mark. Good times at a Mets game.

Something to Try

     Just found a little game that for some unexplainable reason freaks people out...

Get into an elevator, then instead of turning around and looking at the door and numbers. Stay facing the back wall until the door opens. You may get some uncomfortable looks. Good stuff for entertaining yourself in those boring 30 seconds in the elevator.

Let me know how it goes.

Now

     Seven years later. Hardly seems that long ago. It was like yesterday.

But a sartling reminder nonetheless...

Protestors = Douche bags

     Minnesota is a great state to live in. I've been to about 40 of the other states in this country and Minnesota is still my favorite overall. Sure I'm biassed, but still. It's so great that as you all know the RNC is taking place here over the week and this has understandably caused lots of turmoil and resentment - along with pride and excitement.

One thing I've always hated are protestors. They almost never make the case that they intend. Instead, nine times out of ten they make asses of themselves and come across looking like a bunch of out of touch, whacko douche bags. Remember the anti-Bush marches in '04 in NYC? Sure, everyone hates Bush. But all everyone talked about was how crazy the marchers looked and behaved. New case in point, St. Paul, Minnesota: RNC 2008.

From CNN:

"Police arrested 284 people ... St. Paul police said 130 of the 284 arrested were being held on felony charges. The rest were charged with various misdemeanors... Earlier in the day, a group of self-described anarchists threw park benches into streets and smashed windows, police said."

130 FELONIES!? What better way to protest your hatred of the Republicans than by throwing park benches through small business offices, cars and generally vandalizing city infrastructure from which you reside? Makes perfect sense to me. It is 2004 all over again. Remember the debacle with vandalism to cars and houses with Bush/Cheney signs and stickers in '04? It's happening again.

Here's a thought. Instead of smashing police cars all to hell and ruining hard working people's attempt at making an honest living, try not voting for the Republican on the ticket come November. THAT is the correct (and most effective) way of protesting. I know the intelligence is hard to muster to walk in and put a check mark next to the other name on the ballot, but give it a try. If you can manage to tie your shoes first... you fucking idiots.

Frakked-Up Friday: Episode 7

     Welcome to today's version of Frakked-up Friday. This first video I actually saw on a big screen in Toronto as part of the After Dark Film Festival. It's actually quite creative, but still pretty frakked-up. The others I just found while surfing around...



Mentos: they ruin a kid's day...

Dad Puts Mentos In Coke Bottle - Watch more free videos

drive-by caught on video:

Traffic

     Holy crap! I just got a sealed copy of Steven Soderbergh's 2-disc, Criterion version of "Traffic" for only nine bucks plus S&H! My day is made.

Pet Peave of the Day: Vol. XIX

     Can't remember if I mentioned this one already or not, but I hate it when people rub soap into their hands before getting them wet. Don't know why this bothers me, but it does.

Dear Tuesday,

     You kind of kick-ass.

- Free belated birthday lunch.
- Property tax refund.
- Two new Criterion DVDs (free) - "La Strada" and "Great Expectations"
- Tickets arrived for Star Wars exhibit.
- I found my back pack that's been missing for months.

Thanks Tuesday.

Love,
Drewbacca

Frakked-Up Friday: Episode 6 (in a new time slot)

     Directly from our good friends over at CNN:

Dear Monday,

     Get bent.

Love,
Drewbacca

A New Experience

     Blowing your nose with a mustache requires an entirely new technique.