23rd
The Colonel’s Top 10 Albums of 2008!
Here we go…all Casey Kasem style:
10. Bon Iver - For Emma, Forever Ago: Alright, you won’t see this album on any other top 10 lists this year, and you’ve probably never heard of this artist or this album, and you won’t find any hipster music blogs going on ad nauseam at how this album was actually self released last year so if you were a real music fan you would have dug it back in ‘07, nor will you find any homogeneous rock magazines like Paste gushing over this album, so I’m gonna be the first one to say it; this album is really good.
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9. She and Him - Volume One: Remember that really cool chick you dated in college that was really into the Smiths and bought you Surfer Rosa on vinyl for you birthday? Remember how you were too immature to appreciate her and so insecure that you cheated on her with a run-of-the-mill sorority girl that wore pearls when she went jogging? Remember that cool girl? Well, she went off and found a musical genius and recorded this album, proving once again that you truly are a jerk.
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8. Times New Viking - Rip It Off: Yes this album sounds like teenagers using crappy instruments they bought by saving Green Stamps and then used a 1978 Radioshack boom box to record themselves in the garage…. and that’s why it’s so awesome!
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7. Deerhunter - Microcastle: At first this album was a real disappointment…I mean it has nothing to do with the Vietnam war, Robert De Niro, or Christopher Walken…however, this album is all about reverb and majesty which just so happen to be two of my favorite things.
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6. Fleet Foxes - Fleet Foxes: Remember a few years back when the Benedictine Monks had that album out that got really popular? Well, some of the monks skipped out, stole a bunch of beer and started a really good band called Fleet Foxes.
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5. The Walkmen - You and Me: I met the guys in the Walkmen once back in 2003 after a Strokes show. They were playing video games and we talked about the show and their new album for about five minutes. Imagine my suprise when I found out five years later that they wrote an album about me and them! From that one chance meeting! These guys are so swell.
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4. Circus Devils - Ataxia: Let’s say you and your arch enemy locked yourselves in a room at the Motel 6 for three days with only musical instruments, recording equipment, and 57 tubes of airplane glue that you huffed for the entire 72 hours. The record you would record would only be 1/4 as weird and nowhere as awesome as Ataxia!
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3. Vampire Weekend - Vampire Weekend: Yes these guys are better looking, more talented, richer, and get much hotter chicks than you. Yes this will be the best album they ever release and they will fade off in the hipster music horizon. But don’t fret; in ten years, they will go on a reunion tour with Clap Your Hands Say Yeah and you’ll be able to break out your Sperry Topsiders again!
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2. TV on the Radio - Dear Science: Prince decided that he was so cool and talented that he could just commission a band to write his next album. TV on the Radio took the money and decided to keep the record for themselves.
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1. My Morning Jacket - Evil Urges: OK…I have nothing funny or cute to say about this album….these guys rock and they are from Kentucky! I feel this is their best record to date and an album that shows significant growth in their sound. Easily the most played album of the year for me and also my pick for best album of 2008!
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Honorable Mention: Girl Talk, Mates of State, Bonnie Prince Billy, Connor Oberst, Gutter Twins, MGMT, Ryan Adams, Man Man, Blitzen Trapper, Why?, Little Joy, M83, The Breeders, Beach House, The Rosebuds
