My Top 10 Albums of 2008 (updated!)

If you've seen any other Top 10 lists, then you'll recognize a lot of notable records missing off of this list like No Age, Fleet Foxes, TV on the Radio, etc. A lot of records I didn't get the chance to listen to them yet, or they just didn't hit me like they did everyone else I guess. Anyway, these albums are worth your time..


10. Throw Me The Statue - Moonbeams (Secretly Canadian)
This is a really great record with a racy cover!! Gotta love SC for getting it right so many more times than most labels. Check out this killer single "Lolita."

9. Thao with The Get Down Stay Down- We Brave Bee Stings And All (Kill Rock Stars)
This record is from newbie Thao Nguyen and her band of buds and they gently tear through this set of tunes. This was a definite surprise for me as I wasn't expecting much and it is one of the albums I have been able to get into during my resurrected love for vinyl.

8. Lightspeed Champion - Falling Off The Lavender Bridge (Domino)
My buddy Derek handed me this record earlier this year and for a few weeks it dominated my car CD player. The tracks are quirky and fun and really well written.

7. These United States - A Picture Of The Three Of us At The Gate To The Garden Of Eden (self-released)
There aren't many wordsmiths with quite as good of a way with words as Jesse from TUS. The put out a few releases in 2008 and all of them deserve to be on here. Check 'em out.

6. Sun Kil Moon - April (Caldo Verde)
Mark Kozelek and his minimalist project Sun Kil Moon released album #2 this year and it is incredible. It weaves his sleepy guitar virtuosity with his limited vocal range and turns them into some of the most intoxicating sounds that have ever come out of your speakers. This record doesn't hit you right off, it churns in teh background until you can't shake it.

5.5 Mason Proper- Olly Oxen Free
I can't believe I forgot this record. This band, from Ann Arbor, MI totally blew me away when I first heard them. This is one of those albums that seems to keep getting better and more enjoyable with every song, and then it's over much too quickly, but when it starts over at the first song, you keep getting more and more into it. The guitars and melodies on this record were near-un-paralleled this year. Standout tracks: all of them.

5. Bonnie "Prince" Billy- Lie Down In The Light (Drag City)
Lie Down in the Light is a remarkable entry into the Palace catalog. Nothing abnormal here, just perfect folk songs thrown together with the sloppy perfection that has become Oldham's trademark. Expect good things from the Prince in '09 as well...

4. Anathallo- Canopy Glow (Anticon)
Not to be lazy, but you can read about it here.

3. Good Luck- Into Lake Griffy (self-released)
Same with this.

2. Bon Iver- For Emma, Forever Ago (Secretly Canadian/Jagjaguwar)
I had a really hard time deciding between this one and the #1 choice because this record just might be a perfect record. We've all heard the back story on this record about how Justin Vernon spent a few months in the middle of the woods and then recorded this gem. If you want to see for yourself, check out the subtle perfection that is Bon Iver in their LaundroMatinee performance. Vernon also is a producer and produced the last Rosebuds record which is great as well.

1. Mount Eerie- Lost Wisdom (P.W. Elverum and Sun)
This might just end up in my Top 10 favorite records of all time.



Honorable Mentions:
Icy Demons - Miami Ice (Obey Your Brain)
Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin - Pershing (Polyvinyl)
She & Him- Volume 1

My Top 10 Films of 2008

I totally have to qualify this by saying that when I started thinking about all of the 2008 movies I saw, I realized that I only saw about 20 and that there were a ton of movies that I wanted to see, but haven't gotten to yet. So, take this list with a grain of salt or a grain of grain if you don't like salt. It will probably change once I see more 2008 films, but all of these I at least enjoyed a lot. Please feel free to tell me which great films I missed out on. Seriously. I want to know.

My Top 10 Favorite New Movies of 2008 by me

10. Cassandra's Dream
I know what you're thinking...Colin Ferrell, really!? Yeah, he doesn't make this film aweful and for that it deserves a Top 10 appointment. Plus, Woody Allen paid me $50 to have it on here...

9. Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist
A small qualifier to start out with again, I'm a fan-boy of defunct show Arrested Development and have, thus, been dealing with a non-sexual crush on Michael Cera. He was really funny in the movie and I probably would have liked it even more if I was 18.....and not watching it with my mom...

8. Get Smart
Well, I wasn't around for the original show, but this film was as enjoyable as Hollywood re-makes can be I suppose. Steve Carrell was surprisingly funny and the movie bested my expectations by a long shot. Plus, it had Bill Murray in it, which means that it is better than 98% of the movies made last year.

7. The Foot Fist Way
Now, I wasn't blown away by this movie as much as Will Ferrell and all of those Hollywood folks, but to be fair, if I was Will Ferrell and had made as many mediocre comedies as he has, then I would get pretty excited about this movie too. It does have some genuinely funny moments, and for the fact that it gave Danny McBride a well-deserved leading man role, I am a fan.

6. Forgetting Sarah Marshall
This is another entry from the Apatow clan, and I'm not a fan of everything they've done. BUT, this movie was actually pretty funny, and I have to admit I'm a sucker for movies when the total loser guy gives the proverbial finger to the pretty girl and then runs to the loving arms of the other pretty girl. And the Dracula puppet musical....classic.

5. Son of Rambow
This one came from across the pond and is one of those heartwearming movies that make you feel good all over. While it wasn't perfect, it was actually really well done, and I did actually feel good all over.

4. Role Models
Believe it or not, this movie was actually pretty good! I try to stay pretty far away from anything Sean William Scott does, but this movie is a hilarious vehicle for one of the most under-rated actors in H-wood, Paul Rudd. He totally carries this movie, and it definitely gets bonus points for the epic battle scene in the end.

3. Vicky Cristina Barcelona
This is the best film that Woody Allen put out this year. It is actually one of the better ones he's done in a long time. The casting was perfect and Penelope Cruz is a fireball in this movie and totally takes the movie over when her character is introduced. The cinematography was beautiful and the script was different for Woody, but incredible none-the-less. I think it deserves bonus points for the weird narration, and for introducing me to the talented Rebecca Hall.

2. Snow Angels
This one probably wins the award for saddest movie I can ever remember seeing. It is also in the running for one of the most beautiful movies I've seen. David Gordon Green is a master at what he does, and this is proof.

1. The Dark Knight
OK. No big surprise here, but let's be honest, this movie was really, really great. No matter how many movies I would have watched this year, I still think this one would be at the top. It was Hollywood at its best. It was artful, intense, action-packed, and chock-full of grandeur. Too bad they don't churn movies like this out all the time instead of the standard fare.

The Mix-Tape Ten: Jesse Lucas

These days Jesse Lucas has his hands in a music project or two and works as a video and flash designer while the sun is up. However, back in the day, Jesse was the booty-shakin' makin' bass player for the local (and unparalleled) indie-pop band The Merediths. I had the pleasure of seeing them many times before they fizzled out dangling the prospects of their much-hyped second album Goose Island which never saw the light of day. We were all very saddened by it, and I still have conversations with random people where somebody inevitably says, "Hey, whatever happened to the Merediths?" or "I just found this incredible Louisville band called The Merediths. Have you seen them?" Yes, dude. I have. But you're never going to get to.




My Top Ten Favorite Songs by Jesse Lucas

1. "Hey" - The Pixies (Doolittle)

My favourite song from Doolittle is "Monkey Gone To Heaven". "Hey" is slowly creeping...




2. "My Body Is A Cage" - The Arcade Fire (Neon Bible)

One of the few songs that by passes my ears and sings directly to my soul.





3. "Beetlebum" - Blur (Blur)

I was just talking to my good friend and band mate Jason Zavala about how all Blur recordings have great separation of instruments. This song is put together so well. The lyrics are insanely personal and really touch the listener. Plus the bass line to this song is incredible!


4. "Three Cigarettes In An Ashtray" - Patsy Cline (Best of Patsy Cline)

Patsy Cline was one of my mother's favourite singers. Now I understand why. The best 2 minute and 31 second description of heartbreak ever.




5. "Pig" - Sparklehorse (Good Morning Spider)

Probably not the first song you think of when you think about Sparklehorse, but damn this song rocks!




6. Honey Bee - Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers (Wildflowers)

This song is sexy! Just listen to the lead guitar!





7. Wedding Bell - Beach House (Devotion)

One of the newer albums I have. The vocal melodies really move me here.





8. "Jed's Other Poem (Beautiful Ground)" - Grandaddy (The Sophtware Slump)

It's really hard to pick just one song from Sophtware Slump. This song just deserves to be listened too on repeat. My description won't do it justice.



9. "Smith & Jones Forever"- Silver Jews (American Water)

A song that begs you to sing along with it. People should listen to more Silver Jews.




10. "Bullet" - Misfits (Misfits)

If you would have asked my top 10 songs 10 years ago, when I was 16, it would have been half misfits and half minor threat. This song has definitely withstood the test of time with me.

Join Me!: Bon Iver and The Tallest Man On Earth

This coming Wednesday, the good city of Louisville will be visited by Justin Vernon and his band of buddies operating under the Anglicized French moniker Bon Iver. If you haven't heard Bon Iver yet, then let me assure you that their record which was properly released on Jagjaguwar in February of 2008 was by far one of my favorite records of the year. His soft and unpretentious falsetto is one of the most riveting voices in music right now and the subtle and simple instrumentation create an emotive exprerience which is practically unparalleled. He will be joined by a Swedish gent dubbed The Tallest Man on Earth who is almost as exciting in his own rite. The only downside to the show is that it is at Headliners which is a cavernous dark bar which can either swallow the best music and make it feel empty or it can make it seem bigger than it ever has. Let's cross our fingers for the latter. The show is this Wednesday (11/17) and starts around 8 or 9.

Bon Iver

The Tallest Man On Earth

The Mix Tape Ten: Jordan Holtane

You can quote me on this: Jordan Holtane is probably my favorite guitar player ever. I have never known someone who can weave melody so beautifully through the strings of a guitar. His guitar doesn't scream or yell, but it sings. It sings like I wish I could. He once introduced me to the band Owen and told me how incredible the dude was at guitar, and we listened and it was great, but all I could think about was how I liked Jordan's playing a lot more. He used to be the guitar player in the most-likely-defunct band Man Cub out of Indianapolis and Indiana's LaRusso. He also happens to be one of the most well-versed people I've ever met when it comes to film. He puts me to shame. He's a great friend and a guy whose taste I trust more than almost anyone. Here he gives us 10 songs that stir up the breezy feelings of autumn for him (even though we have now fully digressed into winter!). Maybe this will help you forget how cold it is. (photo by Davy Rudolph)



Autumn Songs and Signifiers by Jordan Holtane


No specific theme running through these. They just stir up a general autumn feeling inside me, and (I think they) compliment the changing colors, temperatures, and moods of the season.

1. Beirut- Scenic World
from the album “gulag orkestar”






2. The Kingsbury Manx- Animations
from the album “the fast rise and fall of the south”






3. Ronnie Dawson- Rockin’ Bones
from the album “rockin’ bones: the legendary masters”






4. Tobias Hellkvist- step aside
unreleased






5. Pedro the Lion- Slow and Steady Wins the Race
from the album “winners never quit”






6. Clinic- For the Wars
from the album “walking with thee”






7. The Autumn Defense- "The World (Will Soon Turn Our Way)"
from the album Circles






8. Joanna Newsom- "Cosmia"
from the album Ys






9. Aloha- "You’ve Escaped"
from the album Here Comes Everyone






10. Kaki King- "Night After Sidewalk"
from the album Everybody Loves You