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Its that time of the year again where we start contemplating what will appear in the end of year best of lists. I know there are still nearly 2 months to go but on the basis of nothing good ever gets released after mid November here are some highlights of my year:-
Albums I have enjoyed listening to:-
Elbow - Seldom seen kid
Felice Brothers - awesome
Alejandro Escovedo - Real Animal - fantastic return to form with a substantial assist from Chuck Prophet.
Bobby Charles - Homemade songs - unheralded gem.
Pete Molinari - A virtual landslide - great album especially the gender confusing 'I dont like the man that I am' which recalls Jimmy Scott.
Favourite song
Starlings Elbow - startling, A contender for the best opening song on any album.
Biggest surprise - 2 cd sasmpler of Daptone records given away at SXSW - had prime space on my car stero for 6 months. Shame you can't dance while driving!!
Biggest disappointment - Elvis Costello - Momofuku - not one of his best although American Gangster Land harks back to the best of the Attractions.
Best debut - Vampire Weekend - great debut very redolent of The Shins and Fountains of Wayne.
Best live experience - Eels at Birmingham town hall, Shelby Lynne at Waterloo records,Austin - a true 'hairs on the back of your neck' experience.Nils Lofgren guitar solo on Because the Night at Springsteen gig at Old Trafford.
Reads I have most enjoyed:-
Kill your friends - John Niven - nasty but brilliant yarn
Bringing at all back home - Ian Clayton - deeply moving but funny and warm at the same time.
Northline - Willy Vlautin - in just 2 short novels he has taken on the mantle of Raymond Carver in his ability to brilliantly depict the hopelessness of the American underclass. I wait for baited breath for his next one.
- More from Steve Turner.
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Elbow
for me were the disappointment of the year. Finally overcame my aversion to their name due to all the praise on this site. But it's just a bit dull isn't it? Shame because Grounds for Divorce is probably the song of the year. Quite brilliant.
Last Temptation of Chris by Chris Difford has ended up my most listened to new album. Like Lloyd Cole's Antidepressant a couple of years back it starts off sounding pleasant enough but soon grows in stature. Hardly ground-breaking but funny and moving with some fine tunes.
Musical highlight of the year had nothing to do with 2008 though. The discovery of Fela Kuti and the Ethiopiques series. Where have they been all my life?
Ethiopiques
Where's a good place to start? There's 20 odd volumes and I like vol 4, but don't know where to go with the rest.
Buy
the double CD compilation and you'll find your way from there.
Elbow won me over
I'd been actively ignoring them because of their name, but I listened to Seldom Seen Kid because of all the support for them here and one listen was enough: they are indeed Dead Proper.
"Starlings Elbow - startling"?
Probably the understatement of the year. The bu66ers nearly had me in the central reservation the first time I played it on the car stereo.
Elbow and Fleet Foxes at The Festival Hall
This kind of sums up the year really doesn't it?
Artist of the Year, best new band and competitors for album of the year in one smallish gig. A lite version of Sex Pistols, Free Trade Hall/Stone Roses, Blackpool.
This year
I spent less money on music than I ever have before - well since about the age of 16. I bought 3 cds - and one of those was a Doris Day collection for a pound from Tesco.
Music I enjoyed included albums by
Elbow
British Sea Power
Bruce Springsteen (was Magic this year? First album of his I've ever been attracted to)
Feist - thanks to the Word email
Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds
and
The Ting Tings
other than that I picked up on some stuff I missed first time round - The Delgadoes, Alabama 3 and Dead Can Dance.
Eels tour
I was also lucky enough to see them earlier this year, at the York opera house. Everett's banter with 'the Chet', readings from Mr E's big old book and the touching documentary about Everett snr which served as support act made it the musical highlight of a year that included Lightspeed Champion, British Sea Power and Los Campesinos albums and Radiohead live at LCC. Goddamn right.
best of 2008
Here are my votes for the best albums released in 2008 so far:I don't remember all of the names of the albums tho
Sparks, Exotic creatures of the deep
Neil Young
Alejandro Escovedo,
Vampire Weekend,
Death Cab for Cutie,
Dennis Wilson,
Drive by Truckers,
The best live performances were:
Springsteen in Manchester,
Sparks in London
Drive by Truckers in Vancouver
Neil Young in Vancouver
I don't read many books, just Music magazines such as Paste, Uncut, Mojo, and Word.