100. Top 10 of 2008

#1. Detektivbyran - Wermland

I have come very far in three months. My 100 albums reviews before 2009 was birthed out of a recording slip during a recording of Transmission Protocol. It was a lame attempt at a publicity stunt but instead of redoing the recording, I decided to leave it in. No one was listening to the podcast, so It wasn't that much of a task. 100 albums reviews from Halloween to New Years, which rounded out to about 2 reviews a day.no one would of cared if I did completed 100. but I was urged by my brother Epileptic Peat to stop being a girl and finish what I started. During this year I listened to more records than I wrote about and everyone was easy to pin down and label. Dubstep, grime, black metal, hard rock and swiss yodeling were all common styles which applied to these artists. Detektivbyran is not new. They have been releasing EPs and compilation albums since early 2007. Wermland is the first proper LP. I have always liked to stray away from the description of genreless. Whenever hearing the phrase "our band does not fit conventional labels" usually means they are modern rock and I got duped into watching their band on a Friday night. I hate the term genreless. Everything can be classified. Some are just harder than others. Mr. Bungle, Secret Chiefs 3, Tom Waits all can be shoved into a closet with a piece of paper on the door; its just harder than others. Detektivbyran plays with a glockenspiel, toy piano, acordian and drums. I can only call their music genreless because I do not think we have found the words to describe this type of music. Some people may remember their Sprint commercial while other people may remember Epileptic Peat mentioning their video in his online interview. interviews. Some comparisons have been made between their sound and Yann Tiersan, or that "guy that did the Amelie music." Detektivbyran's very incomplete wikipedia page labels their music as "folk/electronic." Detektivbyran could be folk music; for a country or culture we have not yet discovered. That would make sense. A culture were there may or may not be gnomes who live in hallowed trees. These gnomes may not be enchanted and who are only seen at night from the glow emitting from their bellies. Wermland, is not a perfect record. In fact the transition between tracks is a little disjointed and certain tracks can feel "very familiar to others on the record. however despite these flaws, the quality in each of these tracks far surpasses anything made this year. It is one of those albums which is perfect in its own sense; music to accompany a carousel...at the end of the universe.

99. Top 10 of 2008

#2. Sporto Kantes - 3 At Last

Sporto Kantes was born out of the electronic wave which hit Europe hard and dirty in the mid 1990's. I imagine lots of vespas, cigarettes, sex and large dusty mirrors during that time. Begun as a drum and bass duo, Sporto Kantes started to play softer electronic music and eventually fell into the downtempo genre. Slowly, they evolved into a strange electronic fusion of Brazilian, jazz and hip hop. Between their incomplete Wikipedia page and lack of translated interviews, Sporto Kantes still remain a mystery to the larger public despite their heavy circulated "Whistle" video. 3 At Last, their third, is a slideshow of European obscurities and obscure world music segmented by hip hop and bossa-novan vocals. Since little is known about the duo, I cannot estimate how much of 3 At Last is sampled versus sung. I once saw a lo-fi video of the members singing in laundromat. It sounded a little like the vocals on this record. I can guess 3 At Last is in the vein of Girl Talk, if every sample was from records you never knew existed. Regardless, 3 At Last successfully synthesizes the purest parts of the "world" genre without making it "exotic." This cosmopolitan quality makes the record so refreshing, I started to view my Putumayo series in a more negative light. This record makes me feel I live in Paris, circa 1994 whilst riding my vespa down the Rue Malebranche at night with an unfiltered cigarette tightly pressed in my lips. Its time to go clubbing.

98. Top 10 of 2008

#3. Crystal Castles - Crystal Castles
Much like the Bug, Crystal Castles is favored by my love of a niche genre. Bitpop, Chiptune, Gamewave, 8-bit are used interchangeably, but all relate to an electronic style of music which uses the nostalgic sounds of outdated computer software. The most common style is using sound cards from old gaming consoles to manipulate the sounds. This type of music is very distinct and varies from old game remixes to original works constructed in 8bit. While perceived as a gimmick which tires easily, the third album of 2008 manages to not only keep your interest but move past some of the old trappings which has plagued chiptune (game devotion, repetition, dullness). Crystal Castles is a Canadian duo who have bridged the gap between the gaming world and the outside world of people who do not really listen to cool music. People, who have never known about a gaming scene, are now listening to chiptune, or "that music that sounds like super mario." That's okay. I for one do not support trash thrown on bands who manage to connect with a larger audience since their album is fantastic and can be applied to so many different social scenarios. So, its alright to enjoy this. Do not worry, it'll be along time before things are reversed and all of the cool music is on top.

97. Top 10 of 2008

#4. The Bug - London Zoo
#4 and #3 in my list are unfair albums based around enjoyment for a particular genre. Not to say these two albums do not have individual merit, they do but because of their advantage I am sequestering them below the top two spots. This year I really got into Dubstep. Last year it was a fleeting interest, but this year it hit big. It was the hottest newcomer in my life. I'm not going to deny my interest in a fresh genre which is gaining strength among the underground. I'm not going to deny I feel 10 times cooler when listening to it. I listened to alot of Dubstep this year and still did not have time to keep up with the massive flux of new singles. While I listened to alot of singles this year I have kept very few songs. The problem with some to the majority of Dubstep is that it can be repetitive. Tracks are filled with wobbling bass and the same dark back beat which is amazing for the first minute but drags the last three. This is why I find The Bug's (aka Pressure) album, London Zoo so rewarding. Not only does The Bug have an unmatched backdrop but he has a rotating cast of grime singers to provide variation to each track. London Zoo is yet another milestone in the coolest genre you have never heard before. Below is one track from London Zoo, one amazing remix by the venerable Skream, one preview and an early track by The Bug. I tried using Lala but I couldn't get the track to play more than previews, so I had to wade through insanity with playlist.com.

Ridiculous copyrighted streaming music site + 1
Kaptain Carbon - 1

Oh Muxtape how I miss you.

96. Top 10 of 2008

#5. Girl Talk - Feed The Animals
I played this album at a party a couple weeks ago and someone asked if this was the radio. Meaning on certain stations, mashups are played on the weekend. I concluded Girl Talk was not any different in the way mash ups are done compared to local DJs. However, there was something else in Girl Talk, something I liked alot. Despite Girl Talk being a thousand better at his craft than any other Mashup artist Ive heard, there exists something else; a thesis. Local Djs on your hot 101 radio station crunch popular songs for the express purpose of dance. Songs are compared by BPM and thrown together. Girl Talk does the same thing but there is more of a theme present in Feed The Animals. The majority of samples used has been a popular songs at one point in some scene of music experience. While the scope of music ranges back to the Beach Boys, the majority of front samples is Hip Hop with a background of classic pop songs (with some obscurities hiding in corners). So anything you have heard a thousand times on the radio is used again. The record sounds like a colossal failure. But it's not. Feed The Animal's focus is so structured and makes such a distinctive comment on commercial satiation, it surpasses the majority of original music made this year. (not to say this is not original...well...ah fuck it.) Everything which is popular is apart of the same character, hence why so many songs could fit together. The use of Nirvana's "Lithium" feels okay rather than a more obscure song like "Negative Creep." These songs seem to have found new life in a Girl Talk record and make listening to mainstream music acceptable...in a hip ironic way. This record pushes the agenda of short term nostalgia, and obliterates the gap of time between cool and uncool and drops the banner reading "everything you loved is cool again."

Below is the videos for "In Step," "Shut The Club Down" and it's follow up track "Still Here." done unofficially by Youtube user "bunnygreenhouse." The user creates a visualization for Feed the Animals by splicing together the video singles. If you enjoy this song, then you will enjoy the nearly hour long pop pandemonium which is this record. It is hard not to smile to not only the recognition of the majority of songs but how fucking awesome it is when they all fit together. Finally, post-modernity is now fun and danceable.

95. Top 10 of 2008

#6. Protest The Hero - Fortress
#6. This is where things get monumental and albums are chosen based on over all merit. In hindsight, MGMT's Oracular Spectacular should have been further up on this list, perhaps even switched with Lindstrom. However, Where You Go I Go Too had more of an overall thesis rather than a collection of catchy hits. Certain albums are always in constant flux and will rise and fall. One album which has been permanently stuck at number #6 is space age metalcore giants, Protest The Hero. I downloaded this album after reading raving reviews from various sources and was not disappointed. It was late in January and for an entire weekend, my roommate and I played this album on repeat. At one point we noticed our albums were only a couple of seconds off from each other. My girlfriend came down for the weekend and walked into our apartment to this album in full stereo. I had that wide eyed stare; the stare I usually get when I have to tell everyone I know about an album. Protest The Hero is incredibly slick without sacrificing song structure or credibility. The perfect ratio of guitar prowess and ungodly vocal hooks makes Fortress a knockout.

Sequoia Throne from Fortress
(yes...their videos have always been lame)

94. Top 10 of 2008

#6. Lindstrøm - Where You Go, I Go Too

There is a niche style in art and fashion called "retro-future." The idea of retro future is to adopt and celebrate the future imaged by past generations. What is interesting about retro future is the future imaged by past generations was always limited by the barrier of present technology. Thus the world envisioned by the 1950's ;looked like a hyper spun version of the 1950's. IT is almost impossible to fully predict the curves of progression. Retro futures are very optimistic and share traits to the dystopia futures in science fiction. This is the future at peace. Norwegian producer HP Lindstrøm has created an album so retro futuristic it has a sound which makes me think of 2001 from 1976. Where You Go I Go Too is full of small blinking lights from huge consoles and laser beams crossing each other in a brilliant display of ingenuity. The album is a seamless piece broken into pieces. My experience with this album came at the window seat on an elevated subway. It was raining that day and the raindrops spidered across the glass. It was incredible. Below is an edited version of the last track entitled "the Long Way Home."