a.m.p.m. favourites of 2008

Squeezing as many songs as possible into 80 minutes in order to summarise the best of a whole year of music is a pretty daunting task involving tough decisions and regrettably obligatory omissions. But after much deliberation, here are my favourite tracks from 2008:
01 Why? - Fatalist Palmistry
02 Amadou and Mariam - Sabali
03 Born Ruffians - Kurt Vonnegut
04 TV on the Radio - Family Tree
05 The Walkmen - In the New Year
06 Titus Andronicus - My Time Outside The Womb
07 Islands - Creeper
08 Laura Marling - The Captain And Hourglass
09 Fleet Foxes - He Doesn't Know Why
10 No Age - Eraser
11 Crystal Castles - Courtship Date
12 Lykke Li - Dance Dance Dance
13 Shearwater - Rooks
14 White Denim - I Can Tell
15 Little Joy - Keep Me In Mind
16 Frightened Rabbit - The Twist
17 Foals - Cassius
18 Love Is All - Wishing Well
19 Times New Viking - Drop-Out
20 Ratatat - Falcon Jab
21 Chad VanGaalen - Willow Tree
22 Grand Archives - Sleepdriving
23 Jay Jay Pistolet - Friend

The whole kit and caboodle: ampm2008mix.zip

Thanks to Andy Gilmore for the cover art.

a.m.p.m.'s favourite albums of 2008

Aside from the obvious quartet of MGMT, Bon Iver, Vampire Weekend and TV on the Radio, here are 10 albums (in no particular order) that knocked my socks off in 2008:

1. Born Ruffians - Red Yellow and Blue
Born Ruffians - Badonkadonkey

2. Why? - Alopecia
Why? - These Few Presidents

3. Titus Andronicus - The Airing of Grievances
Titus Andronicus - Arms Against Atrophy

4. Fleet Foxes - Fleet Foxes
Fleet Foxes - Tiger Mountain Peasant Song

5. Crystal Castles - Crystal Castles
Crystal Castles - Air War

6. Grand Archives - The Grand Archives
Grand Archives - The Crime Window

7. Frightened Rabbit - The Midnight Organ Fight
Frightened Rabbit - Old Old Fashioned

8. Lindstrom - Where You Go I Go Too
Lindstrom - Grand Ideas

9. Chad VanGaalen - Soft Airplane
Chad VanGaalen - Cries of the Dead

10. The Hold Steady - Stay Positive
The Hold Steady - Constructive Summer

Friday Five Plus One - Coffin Rehearsal

Hey homies. Here's a roundup of five of my favourite tracks from the past few weeks.

Why? - Fatalist Palmistry
I reckon that it's close enough to December 31st for me to say with almost total certainty that Alopecia by Why? will be in my top ten albums of 2008 list. And most likely in the top five rather than the bottom.

The Walkmen - The Blue Route
Another classic track from another superb album. If you haven't given You & Me by the Walkmen a thorough listen, do it now. Now!

Amadou & Mariam - Sabali
I've been a big fan of the magical Malian duo Amadou & Mariam for several years now and couldn't be more excited about their new album, Welcome to Mali, which was released on Monday. 'Sabali' features production by Damon Albarn and is so good it's almost unreal.

Deerhunter - Nothing Ever Happened
On this track Atlanta's Deerhunter really remind me of Guided by Voices circa Universal Truths & Cycles, and that's a very good thing. The forementioned band's critically acclaimed album Microcastle was officially released late last month, but leaked online way back in May. Head Deerhunter Bradford Cox names David Bowie, Brian Eno, Echo & The Bunnymen and My Bloody Valentine among his influences so if you like any of those bands, chances are you'll dig Microcastle.

Love Is All - Wishing Well
bonus: Crystal Stilts - Shattered Shine
The Swedish band Love Is All released their first proper album last week (2005's Nine Times That Same Song was really just a compilation of the group's earlier singles) and it's a doozy. Lucky Canadians will be able to check them out live as they'll soon be making stops in Vancouver (Nov 24), Montreal (Dec 10) and Toronto (Dec 11) with Brooklyn's Crystal Stilts. That's a swell double bill.

'Wishing Well' video:

Friday Five!

The Walkmen - In the New Year

A wailing good time with organ-drenched choruses and all sorts of jangly goodness. One of, if not the best song from their latest, You and Me, which is terrific.

Jadakiss feat. Jay-Z - Who Run This

Jada, or Al Qaeda, his less than clever gangstaish tag (but why not, it rhymes) gets some help from Jiggaman on this track from Jada's new LP. Jay adlibs in place of any real hook, no verse from him either, but the beat makes up for that, rumbling with a murky east coast vibe.

Ra Ra Riot - Dying is Fine

Well written pop rock, bounces along, string backing, etc. Sounds like it could be many other bands but it's secretly a few notches above mediocre.

Thee More Shallows - Fly Paper

This album (Book of Bad Breaks) came out last year on Anticon and really didn't/doesn't seem to be on anybody's radar, at least where I'm at. A shame really, as it shares a lot of what makes Why? so compelling, with headphone-worthy production and tense and scatterbrained sing-speak lyrics.

The National - Santa Clara

This Virginia E.P. track continues to be a favorite from my favorite band of a while now. They can do no wrong with beautifully melancholic and tongue in cheek songs like this, and end it with some horns why don't you. This is the B-material from a band making so much A stuff they have to curve the grade somewhere.

WHY?

Why not, I say.

Why? - Close To Me

- a.m.p.m.