avoiding the marathon - justin pope & friends

list time: best songs of 2009

2009-12-30T21:15:00.002-05:00

It's that time again... Each year, many of us indulge our inner critic-wannabe and recap lists of our favorite songs, books, movies, albums or whatever from the past year. This year, I decided to do separate track and album lists, since there were many instances of songs I loved from albums I didn't (Grizzly Bear, Heartless Bastards), and a few albums that were great as a whole, but lacked a definitive standout track (The Antlers). I'm including a link to a zip file with all the mentioned tracks, so you can enjoy the songs themselves alongside my hopelessly overwrought commentary.

Link to Songs: http://www.sendspace.com/file/p1ifmw

Favorite Songs of 2009, Ranked Unscientifically Based on Approximate Number of Plays during the Year

1. “Two Weeks” - Grizzly Bear

After being bored (beautifully) by 2006’s Yellow House, I wrote these guys off as yet-another-over-hyped-Brooklyn-group and closed the book. But the first time I heard “Two Weeks,” I wanted to run and hug a hipster and apologize for my swift, misanthropic assessment. I can’t think of another song this year that moved me as much as “Two Weeks”, not for its lyric or melody, but for the fact that it’s a beautiful, complete-thought of a piece of music that borders on perfect when enjoyed in the right setting. There’s hardly a wasted note, tossed-off vocal or half-assed guitar line, and that drumming…oh, those gorgeous rolls! A+ tune, hands down. (Note: the album that gave us the song didn’t make my top 10, because of the beautiful-but-boring tendency it has to slip into the background. Time will likely prove this assessment wrong, as well.)

2. “Lizstomania” – Phoenix

Nothing much to say here that hasn’t been said. When I talk about Phoenix (who’ve been softly rocking my world since 2004’s “Alphabetical”), words like “economy” and “crisp” tend to be outnumbered only by “French” and “very French.” These guys know exactly what needs to be played to get the song across, and they never play a lick more. “Lizstomania” continues their welcome transformation from purveyors of AM-Gold-for-the-00’s into a credible rock outfit, complete with the obligatory SNL performance and ever-more-popular ad placement. The only bad thing about this song (and its companion on the list) is that it pretty much guarantees I’ll never again get to introduce this band to virgin ears.

3. “The Mountain” – Heartless Bastards

Interrupting your girlfriend’s story to turn up the radio is never a good move. But sometimes a song playing at background-music level will snake its way around your brainstem until you can’t pay attention to anything else, and the only way to exorcise its demonic grip around your ears is to let it play as loud as it wants to and apologize to her afterward. Because I live in the airspace of Philly’s excellent WXPN, this happens to me more than I care to admit. From the outset, “The Mountain” is a fairly straightforward blues -rock song, with a static 3-chord progression and some tasteful slide guitar (thumbs-up to the production on this track, btw). But when lead singer Erika Wennerstrom starts to sing in that androgynous mush-mouthed warble, you can’t help but pick a side. This is one of those love-it-or-hate-it tunes that doesn’t fare well in mixed company (“Is that a guy or a girl?”, “What the hell is she saying there?”). I still don’t know what she’s saying, and I don’t know that I want to. There’s something about the melody and the way she breaks up the words “know” and “down” on the chorus that keeps me coming back for more. Mo-ore. (Side note: the rest of the album isn’t nearly as good as this song, but here’s hoping they get a chance to grow into their sound over future releases.)

4. “People Got a Lotta Nerve” – Neko Case

You know that awesome song about animal rights? No? I didn’t think so. That’s because most people who fancy themselves songwriters aren’t great at proselytizing without coming off as divisive, condescending or, worse, a cartoon of the artist-as-activist that does more to serve the detractors than the faithful-to-the-cause (exception: Mr. Ted Leo). Neko Case loves animals. She wants you to love them, too, but she wants you to remember that they’re animals, and if given ample opportunity, many would rip you to shreds and devour your remains for the sport of it. This song gets that simple point across while still managing to jangle and shuffle its way into, say, a year-end top 15 list. With a fine 12-string guitar line dancing around Ms. Case’s idiosyncratic delivery and unmistakable yowl, this song manages to be funny, upbeat, mysterious, sexy, and deadly serious all at the same time, just like its creator. Rawr.

5. “Just War” - Sparklehorse & Danger Mouse feat. Gruff Rhys

I am an old-school Sparklehorse fanboy. No question about it. The full output of the artist also known as Mark Linkous has been in the do-not-remove section of my CD or mp3 player since 1995's Vivadixiesubmarinetransmissionplot, so when it was announced in 2008 that he and Danger Mouse (he of “The Grey Album” and Gnarls Barkley fame) were collaborating on a project, you can imagine my excitement. Sadly, legal issues prevented that album from ever seeing a proper release, but I was quick to record the high-quality stream that the duo leaked to NPR earlier this year so I could give it my full attention. On the whole: not so much. Stuffed with ill-advised cameos, a pervasive, too-dark-even-for-this-guy mood and the singing debut of film director David Lynch (who sounds exactly like you’d imagine if you’ve ever seen him talk), the album wasn’t the start-to-finish triumph I’d been hoping for. “Just War” (featuring Super Furry Animals’ Gruff Rhys), however, is a great example of the muddy, crackling, Beatles-informed pop with which I’d hoped the album would be packed. With an obvious but clever double entendre at its lyrical core, the song is sung from the perspective of a weary soldier doubting the auspices under which he’s been deployed, namely, a “just war” that the deployers said “wouldn’t hurt.” Or maybe it’s not about that at all. Who knows? Either way, when the chorus rides in on that great music-hall rhythm, the song takes off on a psychedelic flight that’s everything I hoped that these two (three) musical minds would create. (Honorable mentions from this disc: “Revenge” with the Flaming Lips, “The Man Who Played God” with Suzanne Vega, and Linkous & the Cardigans’ Nina Persson on “Daddy’s Gone”)

6. “1901” – Phoenix

FALLIN! FALLIN! FALLIN!

7. “There are Maybe Ten or Twelve” – AC Newman

AC Newman has superpowers beyond those of mere mortal songwriters. Like Belle & Sebastian’s Stuart Murdoch, Newman effortlessly builds his off-kilter epics around the sort of melody lines that most of us would give our Moleskines for. “There are Maybe Ten or Twelve,” which opens his second solo album, Get Guilty, welcomes the listener in with dramatic cymbal crashes and a simple descending guitar line that reminds me more than a little of Pomp & Circumstance March No. 1 (the “graduation” song) before presenting the verses over (mellotron?) flutes and tasteful pizzicato for what may be one of the year’s prettiest arrangements. For two minutes and 41 seconds, Newman tells us about his songwriting process (“That wasn’t the opening line, it was the tenth or twelfth one”), paints twee character portraits (“Once there was a haunted loop of your deep falling tears / a forehead resting on a record shelf / beneath the moving boxes”) and even coins a useful aphorism (“It is the devil you know that will slam the door harder”) before sending us off to enjoy the rest of his fine album.

8. “So Far Around the Bend” – The National

If we had a conversation about music in 2006 or 2007, you were doubtless subjected to my enthusiastic endorsement of The National, My New Favorite Band, and everything I would have said then is on full display in this single: Matt Beringer’s dour baritone chronicling the comings and goings of reluctant professional twentysomethings over some very tasteful playing by one of the tightest bands playing in New York right now. There’s little not to like about this song, with its evocative verses stuffed with detail ("eating off a teacup full of cherries"), tasteful string and flute arrangements (courtesy of modern-classical wunderkind Nico Muhly), and a matter-of-fact chorus (“You’re so far around the bend”) and coda (“Now there’s no leaving New York”) that are likely to spend the better part of a day comfortably spinning around your head.

9. “Hobo Chili” – Attica! Attica!

Attica! Attica! is the project of Aaron Scott, an old friend from high school. After paying his dues in the NYC and Ithaca punk rock and hardcore scenes through the 00's in bands like De La Hoya and Marathon, he relocated to Portland and, as these things go, began playing solo acoustic shows under the new moniker. He recently completed a bicycle tour of the East Coast, riding from Boston to Key West earlier this fall to raise funds for World Bicycle Relief. This particular song—an ode to experiencing the best your travels have to offer by avoiding the well-worn paths—is a good representation of his unique talents as a socially-conscious observer, singer and songwriter, and features one of my favorite choruses from this past year: “You won’t learn anything tied up in restaurant chains / why bother traveling if it all just tastes the same?” True that.

10. “My Girls” - Animal Collective

What to say about this song, 2009’s jam-to-beat-all-jams? Animal Collective’s most obvious talent, Noah Lennox (aka Panda Bear) sings of his heart’s purest desire—to provide a home for his family—while around him, mid-90’s synth samples shimmer their way toward the single best beat-drop in the past twelve months. I’ll admit I’m not really a fan of most of their work before this year’s Merriweather Post Pavilion, but this song and Lennox’s 2007 solo album (Person Pitch) get me excited to see where these guys take their unique sound once the tastemakers lose their grip on AC and the inevitable crossover fame takes hold.

11. “Never Had Nobody Like You” – M Ward

I’ve never heard an M. Ward song I really liked without feeling a tinge of jealousy. His best songs feel lived-in, classic and familiar, (thanks as much to his Tacoma-style fingerpicking technique as his insistence on tape-saturated mixes), but also very, very simple—the sort of song you might come up with on the drive home from work one day and forget by the time you’re hanging up your coat. While 2009’s Hold Time didn’t hit the high watermark set by 2006’s Post-War, this nice little song (featuring backing vocals by actress/singer Zooey Deschanel) is easily one of the most listenable tracks I heard this year, and I’ll probably still be saying that twenty years from now. (Geek note: the opening line, “Since time out of mind I’ve been lazy / and times before that I was cruel” seems to reference both Bob Dylan and Elvis Costello, which is a quick way to earn big points over here)

12. “Young Adult Friction” – The Pains of Being Pure at Heart

When record stores and their resident geeks were young would-be hipsters' only path to new music, there was a certain thrill to stumbling across the perfect song, album or artist for the time and place. When the guy behind the counter would pop in a disc with that great High Fidelity-style “you’re going to love this one” introduction, the whole store would be filled with a new sound that couldn’t wait to be captured and kept handy for teenage joyrides through the suburban summer, the perfect soundtrack to the almost-freedom of adolescence. Though the stores are long since gone, this song and its unapologetic sugar coating, wide-eyed, boy-girl vocals and fantasies-for-geeks subject matter makes me feel like opening a record store.

13. “Oh No” – Andrew Bird

Andrew Bird would like you to marvel at his cleverness. So take a moment and remember that you’re whistling along with a song that seriously contains the lyric “All the calcified arithmetists are doing the maths,” and after you’re done lamenting what a sucker you are for buying into his precious, oh-look-at-what-I-just-did-there style, just enjoy the song and be glad that you live in a world where this guy can headline the Electric Factory.

14. “You and I” – Wilco (feat. Feist)

Aww, shucks. Nice song. Well done, you two.

15. “The Palace at 4 A.M.” – AC Newman

Everything I said about his other entry in this list applies to this song as well. Mr. Newman, you write some damn catchy tunes.

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

"Temazcal" - Monsters of Folk (haunting, lovely)

“Summertime Clothes” – Animal Collective (highly danceable)

“Fake ID’s” – Deleted Scenes (esp. the breakdown)

“Kingdom of Rust” - Doves (what a great piano/guitar/toy piano line!)

“Daylight” – Matt & Kim (the clicking beat almost makes up for the whininess)

“You Never Know” - Wilco (classic tune)

PS - I'm still getting around to some of the late-2009 releases (e.g., The xx) that I'd missed, and some of the tracks are promising ("Crystallize," natch) and might have made this list if I were writing it next week. I also have been unsuccessful in locating Destroyer's Bay of Pigs EP in a store or one of those internet web sites with enough time to decide whether or not I like it (with Destroyer, it takes time, but it's always yes). These things happen.

Happy almost-2010,

notes: 5/18/09 - Soupcon Salon

2009-09-24T18:39:00.002-04:00

"Tuesday" and "Dear Azalea Gwen," recorded live at Manon Restaurant for the 5/18/09 edition of Soupcon Salon (see here for more info on this unique series), and featuring cellist Zachary Sweet. See my earlier post for a video of "How I Got Through It" from the same show.

notes: 8/8/09, Kitchen Concert

2009-09-21T19:14:00.013-04:00

(photos by Lisa Rich)

Joe Durniak, Brian Huggins, and Justin Pope

Joe Durniak

Christina Ward

Brian Huggins

Stephen Maglio

Justin Pope

How I Got Through It - Live @ Soupcon Salon, 5.18.09

2009-09-21T19:04:00.003-04:00

Zach Sweet, Lisa Rich and I doing "How I Got Through It" at Soupcon Salon (Manon Restaurant, Lambertville, NJ) back in May. This was definitely one of my favorites this year; we had such an attentive, fun audience, and the room was perfect for the guitar/cello/voice lineup. I have other songs from this show to post, which I'll get around to soon enough. Song starts up at 0:55 after some banter.

For more information on Soupcon Salon, check out the website here.

-jp

Kitchen Concert: August 8th

2009-07-24T11:23:00.003-04:00

You know how sometimes, when you're sitting at home staring at the walls or watching reruns of "Mad Men", you start to wish you had a whole mess of interesting people over, listening to live music while eating a hearty, home-cooked meal? Well, someone thought that very thing, and now we're making it happen in Lambertville.

The Kitchen Concert on Saturday, August 8th will bring together the talents of Christina Ward, Mike Falcone, Steve Maglio (all of The Bluejay Theory), and Justin Pope, who will play their original music in various groupings throughout what is shaping up to be quite an exciting evening. This first installment of what we hope will become a tradition will be graciously hosted at the home of Mr. Maglio, in the picturesque environs of Lambertville's south-west corner.

The music and dinner begin at 7 pm, entry is a $15 donation to cover the costs of food and miscellany, and at this moment, only prior ticket holders will be admitted to the show. As you'd imagine, seating is limited, so if we still have some room, we may open up some day-of spots, but please contact Justin at justinpopemusic@yahoo.com if you're interested in getting tickets!

Also - if you happen to have a large room in your home that you would like to fill with music and new friends, by all means send us an email! We'd love to have this continue throughout the year.

Facebookery

2009-07-19T21:18:00.002-04:00

I know it's been a while, but more (exciting/new) posts are forthcoming, with photos, music, musings, news and other miscellaneous forms of media. In the meantime, please check us out on Facebook. You can find the official Justin Pope & Friends page by searching for that very name, or, alternatively, by clicking the icon below. Regularly updated, this page will feature photos, show announcements, news and videos pertaining to the JP&Friends universe. Until next post!

Justin Pope & Friends on Facebook

-jp

notes: 3/7/09, Triumph Brewing Company

2009-03-26T08:46:00.008-04:00

This was a great time, with a ton of our friends and family out to join Triumph's ever-busy bar scene for just under three hours of music. With Joe's strat-and-tube-amp setup in tow, we packed the setlist with covers in deference to the Saturday-night crowd, took every opportunity to dig in to a tasty jam, and even gave permission for the manager to try out his new lights-and-fog rig, which he did to great (if bar mitzvah-like) effect during Joe's wah freakout in "While My Guitar Gently Weeps." Big thanks to our new friend Ken Adessa, whose expert tambourine held down the rhythm for about 75% of the set (he's a drummer in his own right for a few bands, including NJ soul outfit Enzo and the Bakers).

These Triumph shows can be a lot of fun, although I have to admit that I'm a sucker for the slow stuff that usually gets left out of these setlists. But Saturday night gigs are what they are, and you've got to play to your audience. Have no fear, of course...once I finish cutting up the audio for the decidedly-mellower 3/19 John & Peter's show, I'll be posting some of those tunes here.

For now, enjoy two taped-from-the-audience tracks from the show, "Corinne" (also known by its working title, "The Drunk Girl Song") and an interesting take on the George Harrison classic "While My Guitar Gently Weeps."

(NOTE: To hear full versions of these songs, you must apparently have an imeem profile. I will research different media hosts for future postings, I apologize for any inconvenience. For what it's worth, it takes about two seconds to set up a profile, and I'll vouch for seeing no spam emails or issues arise since I set mine up a year ago)

Corinne (live @ Triumph, 3/7/09).mp3 - Justin Pope & Friends

While My Guitar Gently Weeps (Harrison) (live @ Triumph, 3/7/09).mp3 - Justin Pope & Friends

03.07.09 - Triumph Brewing Company
Setlist:
(^ - featuring Joe Durniak, * - featuring Melanie Snyder, + - featuring Lisa Rich)

1. Saying Whatever (J. Durniak)^
2. Corinne^*+
3. The Birthday Song^*+
4. Carmelita (W. Zevon)^
5. How I Got Through It^*+
6. Dear Azalea Gwen^*
7. The Drugs Don't Work (R. Ashcroft)^
8. Six, Seven^*
9. Bubbles^
10. Swear^*

11. Into the Mystic (V. Morrison)^*
12. Graceland (P. Simon)^
13. The Ballad of Brighter Begins^*
14. I Wonder (The Letter Song) (J. Durniak)^
15. The Sun's In My Eyes (J. Durniak)^
16. While My Guitar Gently Weeps (G. Harrison)^
17. I'm Your Man (L. Cohen)^
18. Drive (J. Durniak)^
19. Black Star (Radiohead)*
20. A Plea To Lara^*+
21. The Sprinter (Avoiding a Marathon)^*
22. Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes (P. Simon)^

(songs by Justin Pope unless indicated. All Joe Durniak songs were sung by Joe, with backup by Justin)

notes: 2/19/09, John & Peter's

2009-03-21T12:38:00.005-04:00

Just pics for this one, sadly. I updated the firmware for my recorder the day before the show, which apparently causes all the user's custom gain/comp/limit settings to reset to default, so it came out clipped and distorted. Adding insult to injury was the revelation that this and other minor gripes I have with the device were just fixed in the new model. Bastards.

I do, however, have audio from this week's show and the 3/7 Triumph show, so I'll post those as soon as they're cut up into tracks. For now, enjoy some snapshots from the 2/19 show at John & Peter's, featuring:

Melanie Snyder - cello/backing vox
Zach Sweet - cello
Steven Nocar - guitar/vox
Steve - electric guitar
Lisa Rich - backing vox

(from l to r: Melanie, Justin, Steve, Lisa, Steve, Zach)

(Steve & Zach)

(Steve)

(Justin & the Steves)

(Justin & Steve)

(Lisa also runs the boards)

from the vaults #1 - "Prom Song" (2003 Demo)

2009-03-09T17:56:00.004-04:00

(the first in a series of blogs featuring old, unreleased material that's been gathering e-dust on my hard drive for years)

Though recorded (properly) for the first time in 2003, this song actually dates back to Stairwell, a band I played with in college (the remaining members of which later went on to form the very talented Throwback). Listening to it now, the stains of Freshman Year are all over this song; every word's an (often too-) obvious effort to cast off the imagined shackles of youth in the name of adulthood (which, as it turns out, has its own shackles). I recorded it with Joe Durniak -- that's him playing drums and bass on this recording -- in a messy, difficult recording session in the summer of 2004, when I realized I was growing out of it and ought to commit the thing to tape before it was too late.

Stairwell @ Battle of the Bands, Just For Laughs Museum, Montreal (2000)

When we started out, our little band was anchored by two fairly well-established talents: an eloquent lead singer and songwriter, and a multi-talented percussionist/beatboxer with a huge stage presence; I sort of felt my way around a lead here and there, held down the high harmonies and sang the occasional cover tune, pretty comfortable in my role as the "Other Guy" at our campus festival gigs and impromptu rez-hall jams. But after we began to expand off-campus and the venues got to be a little bigger, the crowds a little thicker, I wanted to bring something larger and more powerful to our sets than the slow dirges I'd been writing. Compelled by the twin forces of a burgeoning inferiority complex and the aforementioned heady dose of frosh freedom, "Prom Song" (boo-urns to that title on restrospection) was my first (and last?) attempt at writing A Big Rock Song: big chorus, big statements, big images, and big chords, one that would help me stand out in the band and, hopefully, get me laid, perhaps even often.

Stairwell @ Le Swimming, Montreal (2002)

...which didn't exactly happen. In fact, it didn't almost happen (see: guy with Jonas-brother hair above). Though, to its credit, "Prom Song" did spend some time in that coveted, rockers-only Last Song of the Night slot, so mission accomplished, I guess. Though they're largely exaggerated and clumsily-stated, I always liked the lyrics to this one, and for the most part, the performance recorded here isn't bad (minus the terrible "holding on to..." part, which is the only reason this hasn't been shared before, but alas, no master tracks, so no re-dos. Warts and all).

At 27, I sometimes feel like I'm already too cynical to sing this one with any degree of seriousness, so it's disappeared from setlists in recent years. But as I've got all this stuff sitting in folders, I figured I'd start to share it. Enjoy...

Prom Song (2003 Demo) - Justin Pope

show next Saturday, 3/7

2009-02-26T18:49:00.000-05:00

Next Saturday night at Triumph Brewing Company in New Hope, PA, I'm excited to announce the Justin Pope & Friends train rolls back into town for another fun night of originals, choice cover versions and jams galore. This time out (as last) I'm joined by multi-instrumentalist (and singer/songwriter) J. Peter Durniak, as well as a number of our very talented friends, including everyone you see in the photos below and more. Music goes from 10-1 (21 and up, kids), $5 cover, and a fine selection of beers from the area's only true brewpub. This time around, I promise to get audio...

notes: 1/24/09, Triumph Brewing Company

2009-01-28T20:30:00.000-05:00

Best show of 2009 so far, for sure. The energy from the crowd was infectious, the playing by the crew was impeccable, and the setlist kept the vibe sustained throughout a nearly three-hour show. Unfortunately, I picked the setlist as we went along, and didn't record anything*. Boo-urns. So instead, enjoy these photos from what I hope is only our first Triumph show...

(from l to r: Melanie Snyder, Justin Pope, Lisa Rich, Kendra Thatcher, Joe Durniak)

(Kendra and Joe)

(Justin, Lisa and Joe)

(Melanie, Justin and Lisa)

(Melanie, Justin, Joe and Kendra)

*- due to early problems with Triumph's in-house sound system...I really didn't want to ask the already stressed-out sound guy to patch my recorder in, and the crowd noise was too heavy for a decent mic recording, but next time, I swear...

show next Saturday, 1/24

2009-01-17T11:28:00.000-05:00

Next Saturday night at Triumph Brewing Company in New Hope, PA, I'll be joined by multi-instrumentalist (and singer/songwriter) J. Peter Durniak, as well as a number of our very talented friends. Music from 10-2 (21 and up, kids), $5 cover, and some damn good beers (Bengal Gold IPA is the jam) in one of the area's best brewpubs. Good times for all!

notes: 1/15/09, John & Peter's

2009-01-16T21:37:00.000-05:00

01.15.09 - John & Peters
Setlist:
(^ - featuring Steven Nocar, * - featuring Christina Ward, + - featuring Zach the Cellist)

1. The Ballad of Brighter Begins
2. Dear Azalea Gwen
3. The Sprinter (Avoiding a Marathon)^
4. (New Song)^
5. (New Song)^
6. Tonight Will Be Fine (L. Cohen)^*
7. Corinne
8. Don't Think Twice, It's Alright (B. Dylan)
9. Swear
10. Into the Mystic (V. Morrison)

11. The Apartment Song^+
12. House Where Nobody Lives (T. Waits)+
13. (a very messy medley of songs by 4NonBlondes, Phil Collins, Christina Aguilera, Britney Spears & Carrie Underwood)^+
14. I Don't Want To Live on the Moon+

(songs by Justin Pope unless indicated)

show this Thursday 1/15

2009-01-14T22:46:00.000-05:00

It's going to be COLD this week, so thank Mother Nature for giving you another fine reason to drink. And, if you're going to be drinking anyway, please do so with Christina Ward and me (as well as some of our very talented friends) this Thursday night @ John & Peter's, in New Hope, PA.

Music starts at 9:30 and we'll rotate sets all night until 12. 21+, no cover.

notes: 1/3/08 - The Moose

2009-01-10T17:52:00.000-05:00

Deleted Scenes plays a great live show. A good time was had by all. Their album is quite good, as well. Do check it out.

show next Saturday 1/3

2008-12-28T18:30:00.000-05:00

Very exciting show next Saturday night (that's January 3rd, first Saturday of 2009!) at the Doylestown Moose, featuring the excellent indie/Americana band Deleted Scenes (of Brooklyn, NY), talented Philadelphia singer/songwriter Sarah Marie White, and yours truly, rocking one of the most unique venues in the Philly area from 8-12. Come celebrate all the joys a new year brings (a fresh set of vacation/sick/personal days, the impending tax stimulus check our man will doubtless be pushing through Congress, snow days, brown liquors, chicken soup and the NFL playoff season, to name a few) with some great original music from both local and touring up-and-comers. Free admission, 21+.

list time: best albums of 2008

2008-12-20T14:03:00.000-05:00

No grand statements of purpose, no movements to champion, just my top eight for a year where new music made the daily grind grind a little less...

8.) Ray LaMontagne, Gossip in the Grain
Ray LaMontagne can sing just about anything and still portray an auraof world-weary sensibility that’s almost always convincing in its authenticity. As on most of his work, it’s his voice that’s the star on this album. Though his songwriting is only decent—tellingly, the most memorable song here is an ode to the charms of Meg White—it’s the hazy, warm folk/soul atmosphere, his pleasantly scratchy voice, the simple arrangements and easy pace of this album that makes it one I keep returning to.

7.) M83, Saturdays = Youth

Yes, it’s an unapologetic homage to the 80’s. Yes, Anthony Gonzales (and me, and many of you) was likely eating Nilla Wafers on a swingset when the sounds he’s shamelessly biting were popular, but if you can look past all the romantic hindsight of it (it took me a while), this is a great album. The production is fantastic, the arrangements are borderline flawless, and the wide-eyed, cheeseball idealism that songs like “Graveyard Girl” and “Kim and Jessie” conjure up is the stuff
summers are made from.

6.) Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!!

There is very little about Nick Cave and his crew I don’t like—his songwriting is top-notch, the Bad Seeds are ridiculously tight and the way he spits out a phrase almost commands the listener to pay some goddamned attention. The sequencing of the songs on this album is great, but “Midnight Man” is definitely my favorite of the tracks. Even if you don’t like Nick’s snake-oil-salesman vocal style, the way the band comes together on the cathartic refrain (“Everybody’s coming ‘round to my place!”) is well worth the long and often difficult journey the rest of the album offers.

5.) TV on the Radio, Dear Science

I saw this made most year-end lists, and usually in a top spot. I don’t know that I really have anything to add to the collective heap o’ praise this band seems to be laying beneath these days except that I really, really like this album.

4.) The Walkmen, You & Me

Lead singer Hamilton Leithauser doesn’t just have one of indie rock’s most recognizable voices, he’s got a few of them—from his adenoidal, Dylanesque croon to his trademark upper-register scream; the man doesn’t simply sing a song, he delivers it to the listener in a changing palette of vocal inflections. And though a voice like his might serve keep many would-be fans away from this band, The Walkmen have maintained an uncanny ability to have a singular anthem on each of their albums that reaches for mass appeal (see: “Wake Up,” “The Rat,” “Louisiana”). You & Me’s soaring “In the New Year” is certainly no exception, and the album that surrounds it is a big step forward for a band that’s been frustratingly mercurial to this longtime fan. This
album is definitely the work of old pros who've grown comfortable with the range of their signature sound—the garage-rock organ, upright piano, trebly, reverbed guitar and That Voice don’t seem quite as at odds with each other as on 2006’s just-okay A Hundred Miles Off. There’s a confidence in the album’s sustained moodiness, all dusty corners and faded postcards, with Roy Orbison reverb and a classic live-in-the-room timelessness that will keep this one from sounding dated like so many of this year’s scene-centered releases. Although the album isn’t without modern reference points—I can’t think of a lyric that better captures the unfounded optimism of late 2008 American consciousness than “In the New Year’s”, “He won by a landslide / our troubles are over!” In my hopeful imagination, we’re all singing along when the ball drops.

3.) Pavement, Brighten the Corners: Nicene Creedence Edition

Admittedly, this doesn’t count as a “Best of 2008” contender, the original album having been released in 1997. However, this newest installment in Pavement’s excellent reissue series is one of only two records on this list for which I waited like a excitable, salivating fanboy (You & Me being the other). This album was my first introduction to Pavement, and I can’t recall having a stronger negative reaction to a song on first listen than when I heard “Shady Lane” blasting from a dorm-mate’s room (correct me if I’m wrong, Kent, but I think I said, “Why can’t they just tune the fucking guitars?”). In the years that would follow, I found myself making peace with their
lackluster attention to the finer points of pitch and tone, and drawn further and further into the spell of SM’s off-kilter lyrical genius and the band’s schizophrenic tendencies toward noisy scuzz-jams and sweet almost-ballads, often in the same song (see “Transport Is Arranged”). This album is a great introduction to the band for casual listeners, showcasing some of SM’s greatest imagery (“There’s no women in Alaska / there’s no Creoles in Vermont / there’s no coast of Nebraska / my mother I forgot”), two of “other guy” Spiral Stairs’ best contributions (“Date With Ikea”, “Passat Dream”), and excellent song sequencing, from the bubbling synths at the intro of album opener “Stereo” to the sloppy guitar heroics that elevate closing track “Fin”
to unabashed anthem status. The additional live tracks and b-sides make this a collector’s item worth having if you’re a fan, but it’s my #3 for reminding me how great it is to be excited about music.

2.) Bon Iver, For Emma, Forever Ago

I know this technically came out in 2007, but like many of you, I only started hearing about it when it was re-released earlier this year. To be honest, I don’t think this would have ended up on my top list if I hadn’t been fortunate enough to catch Justin Vernon with his touring band at a church basement show in Philly this summer. Playing in a literal sauna of sweaty hipster kids, with one working ceiling fan doing little but teasing, the four musicians recreated the desolate-winter-cabin vibe of this excellent album with ease and confidence, even as they joked about heatstroke and cutting the set short for safety reasons. There’s little I can say about this album
that hasn’t been written already, so I’ll just say that this is some great music, and if you get a chance to see the live show, do (here’s a sample courtesy, no doubt, of the very kids I was angry at for blocking my view with their cameras). “Re: Stacks” is the jam.

1.) Vampire Weekend, Vampire Weekend

I know it’s almost too easy to hate on these guys—believe me, I love to Rage Against the Buzz—but they’ve made some incredibly likeable music with this record. More than any of my favorites, this one seems to be the most apt for my #1 spot: serving as background music in our home for most of the year, soundtracking many of 2008’s best dinners and Scrabble games (that’s another list), and containing the catchiest, most upbeat music I heard all year, anywhere, period. It’s so good, in fact, that I almost hope they never make another record, so I can enjoy this one, unspoiled by future disappointments, for years to come.

#9:
Sun Kil Moon, April

Honorable Mentions:
The Hold Steady, Stay Positive
Silver Jews, Lookout Mountain, Lookout Sea
My Morning Jacket, Evil Urges
Bonnie Prince Billy, Lie Down in the Light
Flight of the Conchords, Flight of the Conchords
Spiritualized, Songs in A&E
Kaki King, Dreaming of Revenge

notes: 12/18/08 - John & Peters

2008-12-20T14:00:00.000-05:00

I was excited to have old friend and musical foil Mike Oravec (in from San Diego for the holidays) join me back on the J&P's stage for the first time in two years. As such, the set leaned heavily on covers from our old open-mic-duo days (including VU's "Candy Says", a recording of which is posted below). As always, Christina Ward and I rotated sets a few times throughout the evening, which lasted three hours, and culminated with a John Popper sighting that, sadly, did not result in an amazing harmonica jam with us on stage. Maybe next time, John?

12.18.08 - John & Peters
Setlist:
(^ - featuring Lisa Rich, * - featuring Mike Oravec)

1. Corinne (the Drunk Girl Song)
2. Mama, You Been on My Mind (B. Dylan)^
3. Into the Mystic (V. Morrison)
4. Cellophane*
5. Candy Says* (V. Underground)
6. Dear Azalea Gwen*

7. I'll Be Home For Christmas (Trad.)*
8. The Ballad of Brighter Begins*
9. Sad Songs and Waltzes (W. Nelson)*
10. F*** Her Gently (Tenacious D)*
11. How Dare You (M. Oravec)*
12. The Sprinter
13. Creep (Radiohead)*

14. Six, Seven
15. Carmelita (W. Zevon)
16. Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes (P. Simon)
17. House Where Nobody Lives (T. Waits)
18. Wave of Mutilation (Pixies)
19. I Don't Want to Live on the Moon

(songs by Justin Pope unless indicated)

live track: "Into the Mystic"(Van Morrison cover)

live track: "The Ballad of Brighter Begins" (J. Pope, w/ Mike Oravec)

live track: "Candy Says" (Velvet Underground Cover, w/ Mike Oravec)

show this Thursday 12/18

2008-12-16T20:25:00.001-05:00

Playing @ John and Peter's this Thursday night, our usual showcase-style lineup, kicking off at 9:30 p.m., with rotating sets from Christina Ward, Lisa Rich, special guest Mike Oravec (in from San Diego), and myself. Maybe some seasonally-appropriate tunes. Come out if you can make it, music 'til midnight.

Stay tuned for set list and audio files...