Saturday, December 6, 2008

Top Ten Albums of 2008: Rhythm & Muse Style!

So we're Rhythm & Muse, you know? We don't like to play favorites, see? We're more the "A for Effort!" kind of people around here. So coming up with a top ten list kinda goes against the grain. You know?

Plus we all have pretty Type A personalities, and putting together a top ten list quickly became a Quest. Yes, a Great Quest to create The Perfect List. Much debating could be heard behind the register: "Yes, the Calexico album was good, definitely. But was it really the best example of what was new and innovative in the music world this past year?" "Can we really count the new Dylan as a best album when most of these songs were recorded pre-2008?" "Dylan? Are you seriously considering Dylan? Ah. You're serious. Ok, then."

And then someone thought to ask: "Hey, haven't we, like, completely forgotten about jazz?"

Obviously, this was all far too overwhelming. 

Therefore, without further ado and in no particular order, here is our list of ten albums from the past year that surprised us, inspired us, offered us something new, or simply got our toes tapping. We loved them and we think you should too:
1. Radiohead, "In Rainbows"

2. The Kills "Midnight Boom"

3. David Byrne and Brian Eno, "Everything That Happens Will Happen Today"

4. TV on the Radio, "Dear Science"

5. Ray LaMontagne, "Gossip in the Grain"

6. Silver Jews, "Lookout Mountain"

7. Mountain Goats, "Heretic Pride"

8. Calexico, "Carried to Dust"

9. Fleet Foxes, "Fleet Foxes"

10. Jenny Lewis, "Acid Tongue"

What were your favorite albums from the past year? (See! It's hard, right?!)


3 comments:

Unknown said...

Nice list-- only one in common with mine, but I agree with many, and still have yet to hear some (I keep hearing about the Fleet Foxes album but haven't heard it yet.)

My list is here:http://icouldbethewalrus.blogspot.com/2008/12/mikes-10-best-albums-of-2008.html

Randomly happened on the site through Google-- wish I was in the area to check out the store.

Anonymous said...

Here are a few others that stood out to me:
* Thao, "We Brave Bee Stings and All" (beautiful indie-pop, a bit reminiscent of Cat Power)
* Breeders, "Mountain Battles" (Kim Deal and crew cover the spectrum, from raucous rock to sweet, lilting pop)
* Kooks, "Konk" (energetic garage rock)
* Little Joy, "S/T" (Strokes drummer, Brazilian indie rocker and L.A. singer cook up a charming batch of songs)

Anonymous said...

*Breeders: Mountain Battles
*Kaki King: Dreaming of Revenge
*MGMT: Oracular Spectacular
*Tilly and the Wall: O

Those are my additions!
-Rebekah