85. 2008 Awards

Best Song Of 2008

Secret Chiefs 3 (with John Zorn) - Barakiel

Barakiel has dominion over 80 legions. The Almadel of Solomon portrays Barakiel as one of the chief angels of the altitudes with dominion over lightning. Barakiel is one of the mightiest God's reapers who hunt evil and protect innocents. He is over 130,000 years old. His announcement is a long walk on his special place, a forest where people's prayers appear on the trunks of the trees.

Xaphan is an album by Bay Area experimentalists, Secret Chiefs 3. The album was written by avant American composer John Zorn and then interpreted by Secret Chiefs 3. This type of project has been going on for a while with Zorn and other bands. Xaphan is the ninth record in the series. Anyone familiar with secret chiefs 3 will notice Xaphan feels subdued and thin compared to other masterpieces such as Book Of Horizons and Book M. Through all of the minimalist meanderings through strange musical deserts, there are a few songs on Xaphan which stand out. One in particular, Barakeil, happens to be the best song of 2008. The introduction of Barakiel is built up through waves which suddenly break into lounge driven quest through dried up deserts at sunsets. While instrumentals offer so much in terms of subjective imagery, Barakeil is specific in its imagery to Pre-60's modernism mixed with classical Middle Eastern folklore. Maybe it is the vocal harmonies that made this song climb up the ranks of 2008. Friends and family know thatt I am partial to any song with nondescript acappella as a backdrop. The Ohh's And Ahhs. I imagine a road lined with singers which stretch into the technicolor sunset. They sing me on my way in a sadnned but optomistic voice as I drive my new Plymouth Road Runner into the unknown.