This entry was posted December 16th, 2009 and has no nomments.
The annual favorite-albums-of-the-year post is always the most fun to work on. Not only does it lend itself to lots of discussion and arguments, but I always discover albums that I overlooked during the past year. I hate ranking albums, but have attempted to do so below. All of these are great and worth listening to. Special shout-out to Amy who set-up a Google Wave for a bunch of people to discuss their top albums of the year lists. This was the best use of Wave I have seen to this point and it was a lot of fun to see other people’s lists.
This entry was posted December 23rd, 2008 and has 4 comments.
I’ve been thinking about this list for the past few weeks and trying to narrow down my favorite albums of 2008. There were lots of albums that I listened to for a little while, but didn’t really keep my attention past a handful of listens. I really wanted this list to only include those albums that I listened to religiously this year.
I was just looking back at my Top Albums of 2007 post and realized that I still love about half of those albums and the rest haven’t been listened to much at all this year. I’m sure at least a few of the albums below will suffer that same fate.
So, here goes. These are my favorite albums of 2008 and hopefully a bit of an explanation of why they made this list. I’m also including a video of my favorite song off of each album. Enjoy.
Fleet Foxes - Fleet Foxes/Sun Giant ep
Fleet Foxes was everywhere this year. They put out both an ep and full length album in 2008 and both are incredible. The Fleet Foxes self-titled lp is not only one of my favorite albums of 2008, but one of my favorites in quite a long time. Both albums feature beautiful harmonies and a sound that is very 2008, although it probably also could have fit in well in the late 60s or early 70s.
Bon Iver - For Emma, Forever Ago
It was really hard to choose my favorite song from For Emma, Forever Ago. Throughout the summer and fall, once I finally gave Bon Iver a chance, I couldn’t stop listening to this album on repeat. The second For Emma ended, I needed to hear it again. From the falsetto vocals to the light acoustic strumming, Bon Iver’s album really stuck with me this year. His 2009 Blood Bank has already leaked and is also quite fantastic. I can’t wait to see what else he has in store for 2009.
Wye Oak - If Children
How about a little love for Baltimore’s own Wye Oak? I’m not including them on this list because they’re from my city, but because this album is so well done. Jenn’s voice is really beautiful and Andy is a spectacle to watch play live. He plays drums with his right hand and feet while playing the bass lines on a keyboard with his left hand. I was really into this album, but seeing them play this summer at Golden West Cafe really cemented them as one of my favorite new-ish bands.
This entry was posted December 15th, 2008 and has no nomments.
Last night, Wilco graced Baltimore’s Lyric Opera House with their amazing rock n’ roll show. I had heard many times how great Wilco is live and my expectations were quite high going into Sunday evening.
We arrived close to the scheduled start time of 7:30 to find the lobby area quite full of people milling around drinking beer, wine or coffee. I actually didn’t even realize the opening band was on until we walked up and tried to get to our seats. I say tried because there is a no cup rule in the theatre which forced us to finish our coffees before checking out opener Benjy Ferree. Benjy and his band were pretty good, even though they played to a less than half-full audience.
From the first note, it was obvious why Wilco is as heralded and respected as they are. Their huge sound filled up the opera house in a way that few bands could hope to. From Jeff Tweedy’s signature voice to Nels Cline’s face-melting guitar solos, Wilco has crafted their sound to one that is perfectly suited for an amazing live show.
This entry was posted June 10th, 2008 and has 2 comments.
Last night was the Death Cab for Cutie show at Merriweather Post Pavilion. Despite the 100+ heat index, a few thousand people came out to enjoy the stylings of one of America’s biggest rock bands.
The show was opened by Rogue Wave, who I was looking forward to seeing. Though they only played for 30 minutes, Rogue Wave was tight and sounded great. The crowd applauded after each song, but it was obvious that the majority did not know Rogue Wave’s songs. The people were there for Death Cab.
Any time you see a band who is touring to promote a new album, you wonder if they are going to stick to their new songs, with maybe a smattering of previous hits thrown in. As you can see from the setlist below, Death Cab did an amazing job of working in songs from their entire catalogue. While not everyone knew some of the older songs, those who did were excited to hear them. Even though the set spanned the last decade, it flowed perfectly from song to song.
This entry was posted June 9th, 2008 and has no nomments.
This is just a quick post to link to some of the amazing new stuff that is out as of today.
New iPhone announced at WWDC. It will be available July 11 and starts at just $199. I think I’m going to have to cancel my TMobile contract early.
New Sigur Ros album leaked today. This is one of the greatest bands in the world. Their new album is beautiful, as always.
Tonight is the Death Cab for Cutie show at Merriweather. Hopefully I’ll have some photos to post tomorrow and will not get heat stroke.
The annual Maiste crab feast/cookout/karaoke party was this past weekend. As always, it was so much fun. Thanks Mike for hosting another great party.
I’ve also recently downloaded some other really good music that is worth listening to: Bowerbirds, Wye Oak (from Baltimore), and the new Lil’ Wayne. Check them out and let me know what you think.
This entry was posted April 17th, 2008 and has 1 comment.
Last week I sat down with Baltimore hip-hop band Soul Cannon to discuss their new album, give us some insights into who they are, and try yet again to explain their sound. We talked for over an hour, but I managed to edit it down to a more approachable 9+ minutes. Make sure you watch the entire video. There are some real gems hidden in there.
Soul Cannon’s new album, aptly titled “Kaboom”, is out on April 22nd. You will be able to find the CD in various stores, but be sure to get your copy at the CD release show, which is being held on Friday, April 25 at The Ottobar.
I cannot stress enough how much you need to be at this show. This is your opportunity to not only see an excellent band, but to also have a great time. So check out the video, listen to the new songs on their MySpace page, come out to see them on the 25th at The Ottobar, and buy the new record, Kaboom!
This entry was posted April 1st, 2008 and has no nomments.
Yesterday I purchased tickets for my first show of the upcoming summer: Death Cab for Cutie at Merriweather. Even though it’s more than two months away, June 9 to be exact, I’m pretty excited for this show.
I first saw Death Cab a couple years ago at DAR Constitution Hall in DC. The show was good, but we were so far away that it was pretty hard to see. I also saw Ben Gibbard on a solo tour he did last spring with David Bazan at the 930 Club. That show was really excellent and a lot more fun.
I’m expecting the Merriweather show to be equally as good. I was at Merriweather last summer to see the Decemberists with the BSO. I had great seats for that one and had a really great time. My seats for Death Cab should be even better. They’re also playing with Rogue Wave, who I’ve been getting more into recently and am also looking forward to seeing.
This entry was posted March 7th, 2008 and has no nomments.
Anyone who visited YouTube today may have been a bit confused and asked themselves who or what is Sigur Ros? Today, Heima, the 97-minute documentary from the brilliant Icelandic band Sigur Ros, became the first feature-length music DVD to be available on YouTube. Sigur Ros also took over all of the Featured Videos space on the homepage as seen in the screen shot below.
My first reaction to this news is to be a bit shocked. Sigur Ros, while a beautiful band and one of my favorites, does not seem like the logical choice for something like this. That’s why this is so awesome. All Sigur Ros songs are sung in Icelandic and their music is a bit more ethereal than most popular bands. I guess I would expect a huge company like YouTube/Google to choose a more well-known or accessible band like Radiohead or Coldplay. Or, maybe I was expecting something lame like Fall Out Boy or Good Charlotte.
This entry was posted December 27th, 2007 and has 1 comment.
There are days every once in a while when I hear a song and, for whatever reason, that song just fits my day perfectly. I was listening to the new Nada Surf album “Lucky” this morning on my way down to DC, when I was struck by the first track, See These Bones. After listening to the entire album, which is pretty good, I played See These Bones again and ended up listening to it on repeat for the rest of the day.
It’s hard to articulate exactly why this happens or even why I like this song so much. Maybe it’s the guest vocals from Ben Gibbard, or the way the song starts off with kind of a heavy feeling then begins to sound more hopeful and joyous as it builds, before reaching it’s climax with layered vocals singing,
“Do you remember when the light was low?
Do you remember it fell?
Do you remember when we went through her house?
Remember ringing the bell?”
and
“Look alive
See these bones
What you are now
We were once
Just like we are
You will be dust
Just like we are
Permanent”
I really don’t know what it is about this song or why I listened to it so much today, but each time it was finished, I wanted to hear it again.
