Favorite Albums of 2008

No catchy title for this post. Nor for the last one, which I'm revising. Also, after I gave the impression that I'll be going dark while pre-pro-ing the hell out of my film, I can't resist the urge to break my vague non-blogging suggestion. That, and it entails the usual of the past month of blogging: posting twelve-track mixes and making lists.

Before I forget: I almost entirely forgot that The Office starts anew tonight. After I burned through season 4 on DVD (so lukewarm about that season that I Netflixed it and never intend to buy it), I really have no enthusiasm about the future of the show. So I'm not chomping at the bit for the premiere. I have the Tivo set to tape it, obviously, and there's Hulu and all. But I don't plan on writing thousands of words dissecting the episode. The show doesn't deserve that anymore.

It's still funny, though. A quarter of the time, at least.

And now, the impetus for this blog entry:

A revised list of my favorite albums of the year now that we're at the three-quarter mark:

1. No Age - Nouns
   
2. TV on the Radio - Dear Science
   
3. Wolf Parade - At Mount Zoomer
   
4. Born Ruffians - Red, Yellow, and Blue
   
5. Fleet Foxes - Fleet Foxes
   
6. The Walkmen - You & Me
   
7. Girl Talk - Feed the Animals
   
8. Vampire Weekend - Vampire Weekend
   
9. Jay Reatard - Singles 06-07 / '08 Matador Singles
   
10. Crystal Castles - Crystal Castles

This list, of course, changes week to week. Case in point, I hadn't even heard Born Ruffians until not long ago, and the TV on the Radio album just dropped a few days back.

And new music is still coming out at a regular pace. I just got my hands on the David Holmes solo album (halfway through and it's solid) and - according to my rule that if an album gets above an 8 on Pitchfork, I'm contractually obligated to get it - the Gentleman Jesse album. I don't know about the latter; I heard a track off his MySpace and it sounded all right.

But what good are lists without some music to back it up? First is a noisy-as-hell mux that's only recommended for people who don't mind a little in-the-red distortion and some jarring riffs and/or electronic sequences. So, the tracklist:

1. No Age - Teen Creeps
   
2. Sleater-Kinney - Wilderness
   
3. TV on the Radio - Staring at the Sun
   
4. Son of Supercar - When Have I Been Wrong?
   
5. Les Savy Fav - Raging in the Plague Age
   
6. A Place to Bury Strangers - Don't Think Lover
   
7. Broken Social Scene - Ibi Dreams of Pavement
   
8. Jay Reatard - Turning Blue (Blood Visions version)
   
9. Crystal Castles - Alice Practice
   
10. The Knife - We Share Our Mother's Health
    
11. Justice - New Jack
    
12. Junior Boys / Fennesz - Last Exit (Fennesz Mix)

And also, for a gentler listening experience, here's a more traditional JDK mix/mux/whatever you want to call it:

1. Born Ruffians - Barnacle Goose
   
2. Bloc Party - Banquet
   
3. Pavement - All My Friends
   
4. The Magnetic Fields - Love Goes Home to Paris in the Spring
   
5. Patrick Wolf - Wind in the Wires
   
6. TV on the Radio - Family Tree
   
7. No Age - Keechie
   
8. The Arcade Fire - Wake Up
   
9. The Walkmen - Long Time Ahead of Us
   
10. Professor Murder - Free Stress Test
    
11. Oxford Collapse - I Hate Nobody
    
12. Grizzly Bear - Fix It