Our panel of two sat down for an epic virtual discussion of our absolute favorite things of the year, in every category we could think of, and why each one made the list.

LISTENING

Best Album That Didn’t Make It On Any Other Best Of Lists That I’ve Seen

Spencer: This slot goes to the Rural Alberta Advantage for their CD, Hometowns.  My friend David sent me a few tracks, and I was so hooked on the quality songwriting, Mangum-reminiscent vocals, and general catchiness that I immediately got the rest.  It failed to disappoint; although the album would benefit from general tightening and some of the fourteen tracks could be cut, it’s the sort of debut where you hope someone signs them, pays them lots of money, and they spit out some indie-rock touchstone two years from now.
Brian: My equivalent of your friend David has been music podcasts like Blog Fresh Radio and KEXP’s Music That Matters. The latter lead me to discover a Seattle band called Bow + Arrow, but they’re so off-the-radar I’m still waiting for a return email from the band to get a hold of their CD — meanwhile, I keep listening to an old Myspace download of “We Bricklayers” that reminds me of Cap’n Jazz. The former fed me a track by an Athens band called Nana Grizol, whose album Love It, Love It, I finally saw at Amoeba many months later. Rapid-fire, boisterous, unpolished sing-a-longs by a group that sounds like it’s made up of the all funnest people who came to your college parties dressed in bright colors.

Favorite Album That IS on a Lot of Other Best Of Lists

Brian: Giving this to the Mountain Goats would be too easy (they’re my favorite band), giving it to Girl Talk would be a cop-out (after my article calling it the Best Non-Album of the Year). Other than those two, the album I listened to the most was Frightened Rabbit’s Midnight Organ Flight. The ratio of hooky winners to filler tracks is very high, ‘The Modern Leper’ is one of my favorite songs of the year, and I love the sad mournful lyrics set to high-energy instrumentation.
Spencer:  I love Visiter by The Dodos.  It’s like world music if world music was actually enjoyable to listen to.  Frightened Rabbit, Shearwater, and Okkervil River put out good CD’s I saw on other lists, too.

Most Overrated Album

Spencer: Herucles and Love Affair? What the fuck is wrong with critics?
Brian: Seriously, Pitchfork, what the fuck? The best song of the year is a disco tune? Under Culture unanimously calls bullshit.

Best Song Off an Album I Have No Interest In Getting

Brian: Every year I hear some song on the radio, by a band I’ve heard enough of to know I wouldn’t buy their albums, that breaks through the barriers and gets lodged in my skull anyway. I’m never really a full-fledged fan of this band, but for some reason their singles tend to far outpace the rest of their music — the reason iTunes and mp3 blogs were invented.  This year that song was ‘Sex on Fire’ by Kings of Leon, which wins on simplicity: best title, best easy-to-sing chorus shouted over a straightforward guitar squeal. It’s like Rock candy.
Spencer:  What the hell, music is free these days, might as well get the whole album.
Brian: You’re terrible. And right. Still, Under Culture says support musicians that are worth the ten bucks, and in cases like these, well… decide for yourself.

Best Song to Dance To

Brian: No contest. Hot Chip’s ‘Ready for the Floor’ was a lock from the first time I heard it at Coachella the year prior. The album version is full of fun, catchy bits, and the live version is even higher-energy. Accept no substitute.
Spencer:  I get why other people like dancing, but I don’t feel the way they do.

Best DJ Mix/Mixtape

Brian: I’m always game for a free mix, but end up listening to a lot of them once or twice and deleting them. The only one that’s stayed on my iPod this year was Wale’s A Mixtape About Nothing. Solid beats that don’t get in the way of his excellent flow; clever, thoughtful rhymes; not to mention Seinfeld samples. Game over, Wale wins. It’s free for christ’s sake, everyone should have grabbed this by now. Dude deserves to be paid for shit this good.
Spencer:  I listened to a lot less mixtapes this year than in past ones.  The Wale one was good; so was the umpteenth volume submitted by Clipse.

Best Album Leak For Something Coming Out Next Year

Spencer: A.C. Newman is probably my favorite songwriter working today.  It seems like every year he puts out an album that ranges from having anywhere from five to ten classic songs.  It was great to hear his new album, Get Guilty, which comes out in January, and verify that it would be no different.  Also, check out his awesome duet with Will Sheff, where they cover “Lost Coastlines” off the new Okkervil River record.
Brian: The handful of artists I follow closely already put out new music this year, and I’m already so busy not listening to most of what’s currently available, I haven’t come across any leaks for ’09 yet. The Thermals posted a few demos for their next album Now We Can See on their Myspace page, does that count? I’m still popping in their album from last year pretty regularly.
Spencer: The Thermals are a great band; it counts.

Best Live Show (Concert or Otherwise)

Brian: I’m actually tempted to defy all expectation and give it to Kanye’s Glow in the Dark tour, which was one hell of a spectacle. You can decry his ego all you want; the guy puts it all out there when he’s on stage. But no, I had the most fun at my first Girl Talk show this fall. It’s almost not a show as much as a giant dance party where even the hippest hipsters shake off their pretension and just get down, and you can’t beat that kind of energy. Beating out my first time seeing Magnetic Fields to win this spot is no small feat either.
Spencer:  I was somewhat neglectful of concerts this year, and already have specific plans to attend more next year than I went to in total this year.  However, a friend took me to the Far reunion show at the Troubadour and I had a blast.  The band sounded great, Jonah couldn’t have been more passionate, and the crowd knew every word. For the “Otherwise” section of this category, one of my Netflix rentals was Norwegian black metal legends Emperor’s “Emperial Live Ceremony”.  As much as I usually hate concert DVD’s, this is incredible.

Best “This American Life” Episode

Spencer: Like everyone else, Brian and I both love “This American Life”.  While the episode that probably got the most attention this year was their concise and clear explanation of the current financial crisis (Episode 355: “The Giant Pool Of Money”), my personal favorite was “Switched At Birth”.  It tells the story of two Wisconsin families, the Millers and the McDonalds, whose babies are mistakenly swapped in the hospital when the mothers deliver. What makes this story any different from the usual hospital switcheroo we’ve seen and heard before?  The fact that Mrs. Miller figured out the babies were switched within the first week and didn’t come clean for over forty years, at the insistence of her husband, the pious and insane Reverend Miller, who assured her that “it was God’s will” and told her that, as consolation, “this baby is cute, too”.  Watching the girls growing up and exhibiting the traits of their birth families, listening to the bizarre circumstances in which basically everybody in town except Mr. and Mrs. McDonald and the two girls are aware of the switch, and hearing the haunting interview with the obviously deranged Mrs. Miller are all incredible experiences.  Go here and click on Full Episode to hear it in all its majesty.
Brian: One of my all-time favorites was just re-run a couple weeks ago, called “Heretics”. They follow the rise and fall of an evangelical preacher who, at the height of his fame and popularity, decides the idea of non-believers being sent to Hell doesn’t jive with his understanding of a loving God. His new Gospel of Inclusion gets him branded and outcast, but he still preaches love of all people. Sincerely touching, even to a full-blown nonbeliever like myself.

ETCETERA

Most Eagerly Anticipated Thing That Was Supposed To Come Out But Didn’t

Spencer: In many respects, 2008 was The Year Of The Thing That Would Never Come Out But Did.  Also, The Year Of The Thing That Would Never Come Out But Did And Sucked.  In the first category we have Immortal Technique releasing his eagerly anticipated The 3rd World mixtape; in the second, we have Spore and Chinese Democracy.  But we pop culture consumers are greedy; even in the face of long-awaited pipe dreams like those above coming to fruition, like an armada of baby Oliver Twists, we still scream for, “More!  More!” So, for me, I’m going to have to say that the thing that was supposed to come out but didn’t that I miss the most is the second Circulatory System record.  Comprised of former Olivia Tremor Control leader Will Cullen Hart, as well as other assorted people from the Elephant 6 community, their eponymous 2001 album really is one of those beautiful sui generis debuts that create such a unique world and explore such consciousness-expanding concepts, that you want the sophomore effort.  Immediately.  Here’s hoping to 2009…
Brian: My pick was never promised for this year, but here I am still waiting for even an announced release date. Team Ico, makers of two of my all-time favorites Ico and Shadow of the Colossus on PS2, have given us next to no info on their mysterious next project. If they’d even hinted it was close to release, I guarantee I would have plunked down for a PS3 by now, especially with another upcoming groundbreaker like Heavy Rain on the horizon.

Best Advance in Media Delivery

Spencer: Kudos to Netflix on their open platform for third parties that want to deliver streaming Netflix films.  Waking up one day and learning that my Xbox 360 could now stream Netflix films at basically HD quality was the sort of technology game-changer that just hearing about makes you smile.  Actually putting it into play and learning it a) required no effort and b) actually worked was even better.  A fuck you to Sony, who pulled their titles from being able to stream on Xbox in an effort to perpetuate their meaningless format wars and corporate rivalries.  Happy thoughts to Netflix and Microsoft for adding a feature that adds value to both my subscriptions and is entirely free.
Brian: I do love my Netflix, but so far the limited selection of streaming titles has been a little disappointing. I’m sure it’ll improve, but I’ve only used it a few times. Much more handy, though not as new, has been Nullriver’s Connect360 software for my iMac. With a $20 program, I can stream anything on my computer through my 360 and onto my big beautiful flat screen – photos, music, or videos (whether paid or pirated). It’s something Windows Media Center users could do already, but to me it was a revelation. I lost count of how many anime and TV episodes I’ve caught up on this way.
Spencer:  [laughs] Yeah, the movie selection for Netflix’s streaming is pretty spotty for now, while they secure distribution rights for more movies.  However, while it’s weak in a lot of genres at the moment, it is already amazing for documentaries.

Best Online Comic/Web Show

Brian: This year David Rees, the writer of ‘My New Fighting Technique is Unstoppable’, took his ‘Get Your War On’ strip from the printed pages of Rolling Stone to an animated series on the web. The two office workers’ absurd reflections on politics were so goddamn genius throughout the campaign season, I only hope they don’t run out of fodder come 2009.
Spencer:  We close this list in agreement; I love David Rees.  Can we just give him all the awards?

Pages: 1 2 3