Favorite Albums of 08' Part I

It is a dreary Wednesday afternoon, grey skies, sick cat outside, Neil Young echoing in my brain after last night's show at the Garden.  I have decided to open up a $15 bottle of Zinfandel and post my favorite albums of 08'.  This is not an easy task.  As a teacher it is very, very hard to pick favorites and favoritism is not something I prefer in any capacity, yet I practice it all of the time.  I have a favorite baseball team, a kinda favorite movie (Just picked up Dig by the way and can't wait to see it), a favorite librarian, a favorite cat, I even have a favorite pair of jeans. Rambling I am.  Yoda I speak.  Anyway, for better or for worse and in no particular order, here are KumoD's faves of 08'.  

Real Emotional Trash Stephen Malkmus and The Jicks (Matador)

This one was a serious surprise.  I will buy anything by this guy and was a Pavement junkie back in the day, but this one doesn't really wear or tear.  I think he has actually kind of found himself musically, yet some of the compositions are a bit confusing.  None the less, they are often surprising direction-wise and I wasn't ever sure where the songs were going to go on the first few listenings.  It is fair to say that Malkmus has become a kind of guitar god.  I saw him on  tour for this album at MassMOCA, which was one of the best shows I had been to this year. It was the last date of their tour and they played a nearly two hour set.  Just seeing positive body language on stage after so much shit went down with Pavement was nice. Further, adding Janet Weiss on drums really kind of makes the band rhythmically breathless.  Yes, she is that good.

Beating Back the Claws of the Cold The Pica Beats (Hardly Art)

This is a band that I just stumbled onto while drunk and looking for new music ideas on Insound.com.  But, holy shit wow!  They rock.  I guess they are kind of a cross between the American Analog Set, Ravi Shankur and Neutral Milk Hotel?  I don't really know how to describe them.  They are definitely an indie rock band from Seattle, but they have this uncanny characteristic of making off-key vocals (both male and female) work perfectly so it is actually charming.  I bought this a few weeks ago after listening to samples on iTunes and it is addictive as hell and really beautiful to boot.  Shit, a line like I am the tension and you are the tightrope is pretty good, especially on an opening track.  

I Am...Sasha Fierce Beyonce (Columbia)

When I was about 10 years old, I saw Madonna spray-painting her way all over pieces of random sculptures on a Saturday morning video show that was probably on USA.  Since then, I have waited for a female pop artist to turn me on, interest me, or provoke me to buy a female pop album that is not by Madonna but is catchy and also has shades of brilliance.  Beyonce has done that for me this year.  I also really like that the album is equally divided into halves with Mrs. Z. having her say and Ms. Fierce, well getting her fierce on.  I swear I can't get Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It) out of my head.  Some of you, my dear readers, can attest to that.  Oh, also here is a bonus treat for y'all.  

Offend Maggie Deerhoof (Kill Rock Stars)

I first saw Deerhoof at Galapagos (I think) in 2004.  They kind of blew me away and I guess this entry is kind of in the Malkmus vein.  They are a band that is maturing and getting more interesting as they go on.  I also like the fact that Satomi isn't a cute Japanese chick at all, but her voice is extremely doll-like.  I also like the fact that their drummer, who is kick ass, drums barefoot.  This is a pretty good album and has those kinda dirty glimpses of Royal Trux, especially with their bass lines.  Finally, it is good that Deerhoof has gone sort of bilingual.  I really dug this album on a flight I took to FLA over Thanksgiving.  Perhaps I didn't really understand all of it and now that I'm listening to it as I type it is a perfect fit for going to such a foreign yet American place such as S. FLA.  If you are looking for a confusing escape then this might be the album for you.

The Throne of the Third Heaven of the Nations Millennium General Assembly Le Loup (SubPop)

This is another random insound find and what a gem it is.  Imagine a Panda Bear record with female backing/assisting vocals and not so electronic.  It is a short 39-minute ride, but the ride is a beautiful.  I think that actually is an asset to the album because it leaves you wanting more. Was just on their site and it sounds like they just wrapped up touring Europe and are recording now.  They are from DC and I always associate that city with Minor Threat, Fugazi and GoGo. But, now I know that more is capable of coming out of that hellhole.  (I have a bit of DC apprehension, obviously).  So, that is a refreshing aspect of the album for me as well.  Anyway, back to the band.  They have a serious bass drum thing going on and it has a carnival like atmosphere, yet the songs are so, I don't know, introspective and thought provoking in weird ways.  It actually makes you think about the origin of your name, where it came from, why you have it, and how we are destroying ourselves. Uplifting.

Lie Down in the Light Bonnie "Prince" Billy (Drag City)

Although this album is nowhere near as strong as The Letting Go, the originator of the trucker hat phenom has a few gems on here that make it a solid record.  Most impressive is You Want That Picture with some help from Ashley webber who has that Loretta Lynn DNA in her vocal chords.  Certainly not his best work, but Oldham can't seem to disappoint me, yet that is.

Wow, this has taken quite a chunk of time.  More to come later, as I think I'm only halfway there.....Haven't even gotten to the hip hop/other stuff yet.....

A Peach Tree Grows in Greenpoint

Back in January of 1998, my best friend, C. and I moved into a ground floor apartment at 209 Kingsland Avenue in Greenpoint, Brooklyn.  I recalled many experiences in that neighborhood today as I read an article in the Times about chemicals seeping into homes in the neighborhood.  When we took the apartment in 98' we were mystified by having a fully grown peach tree in our backyard.  I even think the broker pointed it out to us in January.  It was a huge plus for an $800 shithole with a brown tiled bathroom accompanied by green ceramics.  Then the summer came.  My God!  Fruit!  Pink. Juicy. Edible?  On the first of every month our landlord, a hulking, limping man, would come to collect the rent.  We asked him about the tree and the sweet fruit enticing us on a daily basis.  He made us aware of the enormous oil spills underneath the neighborhood and said he had never, ever, not even once, truly considered eating one due to that.  

It was torturous to have to watch piece after piece fall of the tree and rot.  The bees came a lot that summer, as did some rats to feast on some cancerous fruit.  You couldn't tell, though, which is what made the ordeal so deceptive.  They looked great.  The backyard was shielded from truck soot on busy Kingsland Avenue by a large public school with an enormous playground. 

So, now in 2008, a little over a decade later, people are discovering there is a lot more to deal with in Greenpoint than just an oil spill that was by far larger than Valdez.  Dry cleaning chemicals and automotive waste is drifting up from the ground as well.  Scary stuff.  People are fearful their property values will drop substantially if they allow testing on their homes and chemical vapors are found. 

Back in 98, we took the apartment partially out of desperation for badly needing a place to live and it was a two bedroom for less than a grand.  We could deal with the oil spill, tolerate it  because we were really young, and shit it was part of the charm of living in the "industrial" section of the neighborhood.  Not sure if I'd do it again.