OH MY GOLLY IT’S CHRISTMAS EVE, MON

Yo suckaa’s! It be CHRISTMAS EVE today and it’s CHRISTMAS DAY tomorrow! So we’re all in the festive mood! I don’t know if we (being Waddy and I) are still going for a Christmas pint (are pubs open on the big day?), but fuck it! It will be a lorra laughs, yeah?

Anyway, I hope you all watched THE PETER SERAFINOWICZ SHOW CHRISTMAS SPECIAL last night on BBC2 – if you didn’t, watch it on the iPlayer here, but here’s a little clip of a very festive BRIAN BUTTERFIELD:

I love Peter Serafinowicz, he’s a VERY funny man, and a great voice artist (Darth Maul’s voice in The Phantom Menace anyone?).

Towards the end of the year, every publication on the planet seems to make some crappy Top 10 albums/bands/tracks of the year, and they always seem to be the most hyped bands – this year, it’s bands like MGMT, who I kinda liked at first but they’re getting a bit on my nerves now, not being that original and having an average album, barely above average, at the least. Then there’s bands like Coldplay, Glasvegas, and Black Kids, who are pretty awful, and below average albums from Kings of Leon, Fleet Foxes and Ladyhawke, which have little excited or entranced me, and just seem to be bummed by every magazine on the planet, trying to gain indie kudos – well I don’t give a fuck, ’cause I’ve made my own list – the only albums people have been right in praising are any I have mentioned, and I don’t care what they say, cause the NME and The Times or whatever can suck my baubles.

So, here are my TOP 20 ALBUMS OF 2008:

20. ONE DAY AS A LION – ONE DAY AS A LION EP [ANTI-]

Okay, so it isn’t a proper album, but when I first heard about this band I wet myself in excitement, and wasn’t really prepared for what they’d sound like. I found it to be very fucking good, sounding a bit like recent Nine Inch Nails and Queens of the Stone Age, and a complete absence of guitars. Jon Theodore on drums is just as fresh as his drumming on The Mars Volta’s Frances the Mute, and Zack is back on form. Highlights? All of it needs to be heard. I just keep asking, though, where’s the fucking album? I WANT IT!

19. BECK – MODERN GUILT [XL]

I dunno about you, but I don’t really mind Beck being a Scientologist – earlier in the year there was some convention or some shit, and everyone was booing, amongst others (Tom Cruise, John Travolta), Beck, but people should respect his decisions really, especially since he’s been one since birth, and it’s obviously had some effect in his weird songwriting and musical style. This new album was produced by the wonderful Danger Mouse, who is excellent both as an artist (The Grey Album, Dangerdoom’s The Mouse and the Mask) and a producer (Demon Days by Gorillaz, Pieces of the People We Love by The Rapture), and it suits Beck’s new stuff, which seems to collect all of his styles in one album, which is nice. Best moments are ‘Gamma Ray’ and ‘Walls’ – awesome shit. So gutted I missed him play in Southampton with Yeasayer supporting!

18. TV ON THE RADIO – DEAR SCIENCE [4AD]

Right, this is a brave change for TV On The Radio, and I think a lot of people are jumping on the bandwagon when praising this album, cause it clearly isn’t as great as Return to Cookie Mountain, but is still nice to listen to. They seem to have been listening to some funk, maybe Talking Heads, maybe even Death Cab or Bright Eyes (or Coldplay? Eek…), but it really is quite all over the place and possibly a bit too long (most tracks are 4 or 5 minutes, and there are 11 of them). But it is brave of them. I think they saw Radiohead with their new album and thought, “Hey, we could do something that impressive, but of course on a much smaller scale, since we’re not that big yet”, and it worked out well for them. Good on them! Best tracks: ‘Dancing Choose’, ‘Red Dress’, ‘Shout Me Out’.

17. THE MARS VOLTA – BEDLAM IN GOLIATH [UNIVERSAL]

Wow. This is the best album from The Mars Volta after Frances the Mute. It really is more furious, psychedlic, and intense than any of their albums too. There are some weirder uses of the vocoder and swaying reverb in the background of some of the louder tracks. Some of it is absolutely catchy. They said themselves this is their most energetic album, and their next will be mostly acoustic, which makes sense seeing as they’re releasing solo albums (well, Omar is, on Stones Throw for example). Loudest tracks are ‘Aberinkula’, ‘Metatron’, ‘Wax Simulacra’ and ‘Goliath’.

16. THE RUBY SUNS – SEA LION [MEMPHIS INDUSTRIES]

I only discovered these guys a few months ago, and loved them instantly. Apparently they’re even signed to Sub Pop over in the US! Anyway, it’s some guy from California who moved to New Zealand and started making tunes with the locals, and came out with some awesome stuff. I think some of the lyrics are in Maori or something too! They’ve been touring with The Shins and covered El Guincho, which is nice, so they’re hanging out with all the right people it seems. Anyway yeah, deeply overlooked, and a fair few brighter beats compared to Fleet Foxes and all that shit. Listen to ‘Oh, Mojave’, and ‘Tane Mahuta’. And if you like that, listen to the Volcano! track Africa Just Wants To Have Fun, The Dodos, or Abe Vigoda’s Skeleton.

15. FLIGHT OF THE CONCHORDS – FLIGHT OF THE CONCHORDS [SUB POP]

I never thought Sub Pop would pick them up, after all, they only seem to sign US grunge or casual indie bands. But do I really need to give reasons why this is one of the albums of the year? See for yourselves:

Just a note – apparently Rhys Darby (Murray from the TV series) is on the new Jim Carrey film, Yes Man, and you should also check out his stand up, as well as Arj Barker (Dave from the TV series) and Aziz Ansari (Sinjay the racist fruitseller from the TV series).

14. MYSTERY JETS – TWENTY ONE [679]

Okay, second albums are difficult, but this is still an alright album. Not as good as the first in my opinion, mainly because of the overdone 80’s undertones that aren’t really needed (probably encouraged by the producer, Mr. Erol Alkan), but still retains the singalong qualities of the former Making Dens. I went to see them play at The Railway earlier in the year (Micachu and Golden Silvers supporting, not bad!) and they asked who preferred the new album to the old, and I think most of the crowd agreed with me, but it’s still pretty successful. I don’t think 679 will drop them like they did with The Futureheads (after their crappy second album), maybe the third will be awesome and heavy? Ha! You should hear…‘Flakes’ and ‘Young Love’.

13. BURAKA SOM SISTEMA – BLACK DIAMOND [FABRIC]

I forgot about this album coming out, and when I got hold of it I was thinking “Ooh, what will this sound like? M.I.A? Diplo? Bonde do Role?” – I was surprised to find it sounded similar, at points, to some of these, but also actually a very unique sound. Imagine if The Prodigy got lost in the jungle with all their equipment and joined a tribe. This album has the elements of Angolan kuduro music, baile funk from Brazil, and European electro, dubstep and breakbeat, shoved all together into very catchy beats. M.I.A, Dieze Tigrona and Kano feature on a few of the tracks, but it wouldn’t be any worse without them. I suggest you listen to ‘Skank & Move’, ‘General’ and ‘D…D…D…D…JAY’, yeah!

12. WHITE DENIM – WORKOUT HOLIDAY [FULL TIME HOBBY]

Since the release of this, White Denim have released another album with some of the same tracks, I think this is the European release. But yes, White Denim are bloody great. It’s a shame they didn’t play at Reading in the end, and I missed them play a one-off show in Southampton (of all places), but I hear they’re amazing live – like the Black Lips, but less immature and more talented, and bluesy! I love the intricacies they have in common with bands like Foals (fiddly guitars), and the raw vocals and swagger derived from Hendrix and possibly even Can. It’s fucking awesome, and they’re one of the best bands of this year now I think about it. You should all hear ‘Sitting’, and for something a bit more manic, try ‘Shake Shake Shake’ or ‘All You Really Have To Do’.

11. LATE OF THE PIER – FANTASY BLACK CHANNEL [PARLOPHONE]

Mmmmmm, the end of last year, Late of the Pier were my favourite band. I’ve been listening to them for aaages, and seen them a few times, and they’re an amazing band. The album was also produced by Erol Alkan, like their friends Mystery Jets, but I had heard most of the songs hundreds of times over the last 2 or so years, so it wasn’t too fresh. But it damn is impressive still – it’s completely ‘random’, as some might say, and can jump from dancey to melodic to LOUD in a dozen or so seconds. So yeah, I’d say this is the most different album of the year, different in the sense that it doesn’t sound like anything else and doesn’t follow any typical conventions that an album should, save the epic intro. Start from ‘Hot Tent Blues’, and listen from there.

10. ELBOW – THE SELDOM SEEN KID [FICTION]

I admit, when I heard this won the Mercury Music Prize I was thinking, “What the fuck?”, since I had only heard a few tracks from their 2005 album Leaders of the Free World before, and it was pretty bland from what I remembered, though since then I have realised them to be just as essential as Doves or Interpol. This album has many very different styled tracks, I can’t really cover all of them, so I won’t bother. It’s kinda a bit like Radiohead at points, which isn’t a bad thing. I would just recommend you give it a chance, like I did, cause it’s really a beautiful record, especially ‘Grounds for Divorce’, ‘One Day Like This’, ‘The Bones of You’ and ‘Mirrorball’.

9. PETE AND THE PIRATES – LITTLE DEATH [STOLEN]

I almost forgot about this album, and it was almost omitted from my list! But it’s too good an album to forget about, and I don’t care they were primarily played on Radio 2, cause they’re one of the best bands in Britain at the moment. I saw them at Reading with Waddy, and they play lovely music to slap on when you’re bored, and they cheer me up. They hold a consistent sound, unlike their buddays Let’s Wrestle – here’s proof: ‘Knots’, ‘She Doesn’t Belong To Me’, ‘Bears’ and ‘Bright Lights’.

8. FOALS – ANTIDOTES [TRANSGRESSIVE]

I wasn’t sure about this album at the end of last year, and I think it’s a bit of a grower, and I took it for granted a bit, but I still enjoy putting it on every now and then. Foals, despite being quite pop, are pretty well respected from where I stand, and are probably fed up of being compared to the acutely superior Battles. The album was produced by TV On The Radio’s very own Dave Sitek (the white one), and he has done very well with not putting in too much brass or woodwind or electronic bleeps, and it’s all focused on rhythm and layering. The re-recorded demos fit well together, and the new tracks are pretty sexy, so I’d say listen to ‘Tron’, ‘Two Steps Twice’ and ‘Olympic Airways’ and get back to me bebe.

7. HOT CHIP – MADE IN THE DARK [EMI]

Wahey! You can never go wrong with Hot Chip. This came out at the start of the year, so has also been forgotten by some, who are still obsessing over MGMT by the looks of it, but is still good. Perhaps not as exciting as it was at the beginning of the year, for me at least – we went to see them in Portsmouth earlier in the year and it was an awesome show, even got reviewed in The Guardian! Anyway, Hot Chip have got from strength to strength really, I wouldn’t be surprised their next album to be all-out dance, maybe even quite heavy and dark. Some of it is quite LCD Soundsystem-esque, and other stuff quite R’n'B, or softer (probably Alexis’ influence – hear his solo album Rubbed Out). Their first album was quite minimal and quiet, the next a critical success, and this one a mixture of the two, so I hope their next is even better! I’d take note of these: ‘Wrestlers’, ‘Out At The Pictures’, ‘We’re Looking For A Lot Of Love’ and ‘Don’t Dance’.

6. RATATAT – LP3 [XL]

I heard Ratatat were releasing new stuff, and I thought “GREAT!”, but was a bit wary seeing as their last two were quite hit-and-miss, and acted more like a soundtrack than a well-rounded album. I listened to the pre-album single ‘Shiller’, and wasn’t too impressed, although they had managed an epic scale, albiet sounding a bit like the soundtrack to Zelda, or Mike Oldfield’s Tubular Bells. But as an opening track to the album, it is perfect, and opens up to a brilliant album that hasn’t gained much notoriety this year, which is WRONG! They’ve taken the best bits of Daft Punk, Cornelius and Moby and absorbed them into their previously agressive beats, and the outcome has been somewhat world musicy. This is no longer a soundtrack just for listenings sake, but a soundtrack to your life. I look forward to hearing Animal Collective’s remix of ‘Mirando’. Check out ‘Black Heroes’, ‘Falcon Jab’ and, of course, ‘Mirando’.

5. VAMPIRE WEEKEND – VAMPIRE WEEKEND [XL]

Okay, this has been out for some time, but is still strictly a 2008 album. And what a one it is. It would’ve been the best album of 2008 in my eyes but unfortunately it’s had quite a good running time, and everybody knows it’s good anyway. If you haven’t realised this band are obsessed with Paul Simon’s Graceland yet, then you need to update your knowledge and go listen to that (it was one of my favourite albums when this came out). Seeing them is as enjoyable as listening to them on a Sunday morning, and this album is beautifully complete. Easily singalongable, easily memorable. If you haven’t heard this, or are avoiding this, you must be crazy, and if you don’t like it, you probably don’t like life, or Christmas, or being happy at all. Highlights for me are ‘One (Blake’s Got A New Face)’ and ‘Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa’ – which reminds me, you should listen to Hot Chip and Peter Gabriel’s cover of the last one mentioned (listen out for the lyric mentioning Mr. Gabriel in the cover version).

4. BORN RUFFIANS – RED, YELLOW AND BLUE [WARP]

I’ve loved this band since they started and released a few singles on XL, and realised how brilliant they were when they covered ‘Knife’ by Grizzly Bear. The album was only a matter of time (2 years!) before they released this, and what an album it is! Perhaps the catchiest Canadian band I can think of, even more so than Tokyo Police Club (omg did you see them on Desperate Housewives?). I’m running out of steam a little, but I’d say listen to them or you’ll regret it – try ‘Barnacle Goose’, ‘I Need A Life’, and ‘Kurt Vonnegut’.

3. EL GUINCHO – ALEGRANZA! [YOUNG TURKS]

Okay okay, everyone compares this guy to Panda Bear from Animal Collective, but it’s not quite the same. First of all, there isn’t unneccessary amounts of echo on the vocals, and he doesn’t apparently idolise Brian Wilson. El Guincho is this dude Pablo from Barcelona who thought it’d be fun to sample repetitively, much like Brian Eno & David Byrne’s My Life In The Bush Of Ghosts but with weird old calypso shit. I think he just uses a synth and maybe some percussion. But anyway, it’s pretty fucking impressive, and that’s probably why people compare him to Animal Collective. Listening to may make you feel like you’re eating pineapple or dancing with a weird Mexican family or drunkenly riding a zebra, but only vaguely, and I have never before done any of those things, but I’d imagine this is what I’d listen to if I was. It’s what I would want to listen to! Try ‘Palmitos Park’, ‘Cuando Maavilla Fui’ and ‘Prez Lagarto’!

2. METRONOMY – LIGHTS OUT [BECAUSE]

Wow. This was a grower for me. It didn’t feel quite complete when I first heard it, but I was still taken aback. Some parts aren’t that strong, like the middle of the album, but I treat it like two parts; like an LP. Metronomy have always had a unique electronic sound, and they utilise this to the extreme, making pop tracks with great singalong vocals as well as chillingly awesome electro ditties. I think everybody should get this album just to hear something different. I love this band, and the first album was just a collection of tracks, kinda like Zongamin’s first album, so this was a definite improvement, and they deserve all the attention they get. I still remember seeing part of their set at Reading last year, and them playing ‘Black Eye/Burnt Thumb’ – I knew they wouldn’t let me down with a second album. All hear ‘A Thing For Me’, ‘My Heart Rate Rapid’, ‘Back On The Motorway’ and ‘The End Of You Too’.

1. LITTLE JOY – LITTLE JOY [ROUGH TRADE]

I don’t know why people haven’t heard this album – I haven’t yet met anyone who seems to give a damn about this band. They’re the solo project of Fab Moretti from The Strokes (come on, THE STROKES?), and this album is superb. He teamed up with his girlfriend, Binki, and his Brazilian mate, Rodrigo, and they hung out in LA, and came up with a few ideas. When it came to recording they got some of their friends (other Strokes members, Devendra Banhart etc) to help out a bit on the instrumentation, and just went for it. And after hearing Albert Hammond Jr’s attempts to become a star – two mediocre albums and one retarded girlfriend – I was pleased that Fab was doing something worth listening to and admiring, despite him not being the coolest Stroke (Nick Valensi or Julian Casablancas much?). So yes, I would recommend this – it has hints of Velvet Underground and even Vampire Weekend, so I’d put this on your ‘To Hear’ list. Start with ‘No One’s Better Sake’, ‘Keep Me In Mind’, ‘The Next Time Around’ and ‘How To Hang A Warhol’.

Special mentions go to AC/DC with Black Ice, Weezer’s Red Album, Dan Le Sac vs Scroobius Pip with Angles, XX Teens‘ Welcome to Goon Island, Plastic Little with Welcome To The Jang House, Flobots‘ Fight With Tools, The Dodos with their album Visiter, Lykke Li with Youth Novels, Nine Inch Nails with The Slip, Tokyo Police Club with Elephant Shell, Lovvers‘ Think, Jay Reatard’s Matador Singles, Neon Neon’s Stainless Style, Roots Manuva with Slime and Reason, David Byrne & Brian Eno’s Everything That Happens Will Happen Today, Cadence Weapon’s Afterparty Babies, The Glimmers‘ Are Gee Gee Fazzi, Yo Majesty with Futuristically Speaking…Never Be Afraid, Monkey by Damon Albarn & Jamie Hewlett, Midfield General with General Disarray, Cut Off Your Hands with You and I, 2 by Semifinalists, Mr. Scruff with Ninja Tuna, Liquid Liquid’s Slip In and Out of Phenomenon…I can’t think of any more right now, but you get the idea. Still need to listen properly to People Under The Stairs‘ Fun DMC, Alopecia by Why?, and The Breeders‘ Mountain Battles, and probably some others according to other people. Wasn’t too impressed by MGMT at the end of the day, or the Friendly Fires and Santogold records (if I’m being honest). Soon we’re getting new albums by MF DOOM, Animal Collective and Mos Def, so fingers crossed they’ll be good, and projects like The BPA and N.A.S.A? I’m sure Waddy and Stan have their own top albums, so they could put theirs up sometime?

Anyway, Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year and all that shit! I’ll leave you with a few festive traxxx:

The Go! Team – ‘The Ice Storm’ [zshare] <<< .mp3 file

Eels – ‘Christmas Is Going To The Dogs’ [zshare] <<< .mp3 file

Weezer – Christmas with Weezer [zshare] <<< .zip file

!!!UPDATE!!!

I have recently been listening to TV On The Radio a lot, the new album particularly, and decide it is essential and probably should be higher in the top 20, but hey! So here you go, a couple of awesome covers of awesome songs by awesome bands:

Jay Reatard – ‘Gamma Ray (Beck Cover)’ [box] <<< .mp3 file

TV On The Radio – ‘Mr. Grieves (Pixies Cover)’ [box] <<< .mp3 file

That’s it this year! I hear next year there will be some awesome films (Watchmen, Funny People, Star Trek?) and some awesome new albums (Battles maybe?) so yeah, let’s go!