Happy 2009! Is it the middle of January already? I am back with you (phew!) mainly due to my home internet being fixed. Fixed properly too, it's like magic now… works without wires and everything, I thought such things were impossible. So many thanks to the man that fixed it, I'm ever so grateful. So you wanna know about the best albums of 2008? Here's the list, in reverse order as ever, followed by some brief musings and excuses.
| 50 | Sign – The Hope |
| 49 | Cold War Kids – Loyalty To Loyalty |
| 48 | Late of the Pier – Fantasy Black Channel |
| 47 | Motion Boys – Hang On |
| 46 | The Last Shadow Puppets – The Age Of The Understatement |
| 45 | Ultra Mega Technobandið Stefán – Circus |
| 44 | James – Hey, Ma |
| 43 | Guns n Roses – Chinese Democracy |
| 42 | Glasvegas – Glasvegas |
| 41 | R.E.M. – Accelerate |
| 40 | We Are Scientists – Brain Thrust Mastery |
| 39 | Glen Campbell – Meet Glen Campbell |
| 38 | Olympus Mons – Nothing's Gonna Spoil My Day Today |
| 37 | Ida Maria – Fortress Round My Heart |
| 36 | Weezer – The Red Album |
| 35 | Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly – Searching For The Hows And Whys |
| 34 | Emiliana Torrini – Me And Armini |
| 33 | Empire Of The Sun – Walking On A Dream |
| 32 | Jeff Who? – Jeff Who? |
| 31 | The Hold Steady – Stay Positive |
| 30 | Vicky – Pull Hard |
| 29 | Frank Turner – Love Ire & Song |
| 28 | Mammút – Karkari |
| 27 | Hjaltalín – Sleepdrunk Seasons |
| 26 | Black Kids – Partie Traumatic |
| 25 | The Fall – Imperial Wax Solvent |
| 24 | Lay Low – Farewell Good Night's Sleep |
| 23 | Esja – Esja |
| 22 | Coldplay – Viva La Vida |
| 21 | The Cure – 4:13 Dream |
| 20 | Los Campesinos! – Hold On Now Youngster… |
| 19 | Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds – Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!! |
| 18 | AC/DC – Black Ice |
| 17 | TV On The Radio – Dear Science |
| 16 | Boys In A Band – Black Diamond Train |
| 15 | Bon Iver – For Emma, Forever Ago |
| 14 | Sprengjuhöllin – Bestu kveðjur |
| 13 | FM Belfast – How To Make Friends |
| 12 | The Killers – Day & Age |
| 11 | MGMT – Oracular Spectacular |
| 10 | Þórir – Activism |
| 9 | Vampire Weekend – Vampire Weekend |
| 8 | Los Campesinos! – We Are Beautiful, We Are Doomed |
| 7 | Skakkamanage – All Over The Face |
| 6 | Bloc Party – Intimacy |
| 5 | Retro Stefson – Montaña |
| 4 | The Teenagers – Reality Check |
| 3 | Reykjavik! – The Blood |
| 2 | Sigur Rós – Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust |
| 1 | Kings Of Leon – Only By The Night |
Well, as well as being officially 34% Icelandic in total, the top 10 is exactly half Icelandic, which is probably a fair reflection of my musical consumption. It's my list, and I have to say I'm quite surprised by the outcome (I'm a gemini OK?). Kings Of Leon are a band I've liked since they first appeared and although I have always thought their albums were getting better each time I wasn't expecting to love their fourth offering quite as much as I do. The top 3 on this list were never in much doubt, only the order, they are three fabulous albums. They have been the three albums I have gladly listened to over and over (and over) again this year. They should all give themselves a pat on the back.
Kings Of Leon's trick of improving album after album is one that seems to be rare in music these days. This list has albums by bands like We Are Scientists, REM, The Hold Steady and even up towards the very top the still-fantastic Killers and Bloc Party that are in my view a step backwards from previous offerings. Los Campesinos deserve a mention for having both their 2008 albums in the top 20, there are three debuts in the top 10 (Vampire Weekend, Retro Stefson and The Teenagers) and let's hope those three can come up with something even better next time. Þórir has kept up the standard we're used to again, every one of his albums has been in my favourite ten of the year. And just so all of the top 10 get a mention, Skakkamanage was a lovely surprise, a brilliant produced (and named) record of varied and beautiful songs. It sounded a little bit like Slowblow (I wonder why!), and that's a very good thing. I just wish I had some gongs, or golden statues to hand out. Bring on 2009.
2 Comments
Welcome back!(with a vengeance???)
But chinese democracy isn´t even on my list!!
Maybe the wait was too long?
H
The Blood would be my number 1.
At least there was no room for Keane or Scouting for Girls on this list!