IMAGI-BLOG
Best of 2008: it's half-yearly check-in time
Submitted by three imaginary... on July 1, 2008.As of today, we're officially in the second half of 2008. Welcome! To gear you up for another fabulous six months of local Northwest releases, we here at imaginary headquarters have brainstormed an imaginary mix for all of you, containing some of our favorite songs by Northwest artists released this year to date thus far.
No promises that each of these will make our Best of 2008 Reader's Poll final list, but at least this way you have the next six months to follow-up and listen to these releases before you have to decide. In alphabetical order, we have...
The top imaginary 33 Northwest songs of 2008 {so far}:
- Sera Cahoone "The Colder the Air" (from the release Only As The Day is Long)
- Common Market "Watership Down" (from the release Black Patch War)
- Death Cab for Cutie "Cath" (from the release Narrow Stairs)
- Dyme Def "3Badbrothaaas" (from the release 3Badbrothaaas Mixtape)
- Fleet Foxes "White Winter Hymnal" (from the release Fleet Foxes)
- Head Like a Kite "Big FM Radio Hit" (from the release There Is Loud Laughter Everywhere)
- The Helio Sequence "Keep Your Eyes Ahead" (from the release Keep Your Eyes Ahead)
- Grand Archives "Index Moon" (from the release The Grand Archives)
- Kay Kay and His Weathered Underground "Simon Courage Flees the Coop" (from the release Kay Kay and His Weathered Underground)
- Little Party and the Bad Business "A Free Box for Everyone" (from the release Jock Therapy)
- M. Bison "Party All The Time" (from an unreleased EP)
- Man Plus "Not For All the Cocaine in the World" (from the release The Hungarian Suicide Songbook)
- Natalie Portman's Shaved Head "Me + Yr Daughter" (from the release Glistening Pleasure)
- The Nextdoor Neighbors "Town Full of Mannequins" (from an unreleased EP)
- The New Bloods "Oh, Deadly Nightshade" (from the release The Secret Life)
- The Old Haunts "Volatile" (from the release Poisonous Times)
- Panda & Angel "Sirens" (from an unreleased EP)
- The Pharmacy "Little Toys On The Shelf" (from the release Choose Yr Own Adventure)
- Mark Pickerel "She Calls" (from the release Cody’s Dream)
- Pleasureboaters "Elliptical Realism" (from the release !Gross!)
- Shim "Satisfied" (from the release Feel Like a King)
- Star Anna "If Wishes Were Horses" (from the release Crooked Path)
- The Saturday Knights "Dog Park" (from the release Mingle)
- Shake Some Action! "Half Past Three" (from the release Sunny Days Ahead)
- Tea for Julie "Pollyanna" (from the release The Sense in Tying Knots)
- Team Gina "Wife-Swapping" (from the release Product of the Eighties)
- Tennis Pro "Shelley Gets High" (from the release Are You There God? It's Me, Tennis Pro.)
- Thee Emergency "Call 911" (from the release Solid)
- Throw Me The Statue "Yucatan Gold" (from the release Moonbeams)
- The Turn-Ons "Here She Is" (from the release Curse)
- Shane Tutmarc and the Travelling Mercies "Honey I Chose You" (from the release Hey Lazarus)
- Chris Walla "Two-Fifty" (from the release Field Manual)
- The Young Sportsmen "Girl Pants" (from the release If You Want It)
To paraphrase imaginary ChrisB, we feel like this list is pretty unfuckwithable. But that doesn't mean that we didn't inadvertently overlook something great. If you have additions for our list, please chime in with your comments below.
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3
Diana Salier said on July 1, 2008:
i think "Lately" is hands down the best song on the new Helio Sequence record...unless we're talking about singles only
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4
josh bomb said on July 1, 2008:
as much as i enjoy the term 'unfuckwitable' i feel like this list is missing some serious CRYSTAL CASTLES action.
my money is on either '1991' or 'xxzxcuzx me'
xoxo
josh bomb
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5
Al said on July 2, 2008:
While I can't find a bad song on the Grand Archives album i'd have picked "Swan Matches" instead. Maybe it's getting to hear Mat and Jenn singing together.
And I think you forgot "Four Beds For Boat" from their forthcoming 7".
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6
Erik Gonzalez said on July 2, 2008:
I'll say my piece and then hide from the rotten vegetables.
2008 has disappointed me so far, music-wise. There really hasn't been an album that I have latched onto like in the last few years. Sure, I've liked a couple releases a lot - the Portishead disc is solid, Girl Talk is a lot of fun, I listened to the Fleet Foxes about 10 times in a row when I first got it, the Silver Jews album is a Silver Jews album - but nothing has made that big of an impression on me. In fact, looking back, so far the year has been littered with disappointments (to me at least) both major and minor: Death Cab for Cutie, Fratellis, Islands, Malkmus, Nick Cave, Gutter Twins, Breeders and so on. I don't know how to explain it. Well, admittedly part of it was a rejection of the internet music babbling scene due to its overall elitism, but I think I've gotten over that, but I'm still waiting for my "disc of 2008" to be released.
However, if you had to pin me to it, my top 5 so far, it might be
1. Portishead: Third
2. Los Campesinos!: Death to Los Campesinos!
3. Hot Chip: Made in the Dark
4. Vampire Weekend: Vampire Weekend
5. Fleet Foxes: Fleet Foxes
With honorable mentions to Girl Talk, Silver Jews, Xiu Xiu, Young Knives
Here's to the rest of 2008!
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7
ChrisB said on July 2, 2008:
I think your top 5 is pretty solid, Erik and tough to argue with too much. So far, mine is:
1. Be Your Own Pet - Get Awkward
2. Sons & Daughters - This Gift
3. Lil Wayne - Tha Carter III
4. The B-52's - Funplex
5. The Saturday Knights - Mingle
I just started listening to the Girl Talk record this morning and I'm really loving that, too.
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8
Tim Hanken said on July 2, 2008:
I'm with Erik, 2008 hasn't had too many mind blowing moments for me and there have been a handful of "that's it" reactions when albums came out. My favorites thus far:
1.The Notwist: The Devil, You + Me
2.Girl Talk: Feed The Animals
3.Hot Chip: Made In The Dark
4.My Morning Jacket: Evil Urges
5.Vampire Weekend: Vampire Weekend
Although technically In Rainbows was released in January, so I guess that makes 2008 a whole lot better if you want to split hairs.
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9
Imaginary Shrie said on July 2, 2008:
See, I don't know... I don't really agree with all this.
Chris: I saw Sons & Daughters and their entire record sounded the same.. every track. Lil Wayne is at the top of the pot though fo sho. Love him.
Breeders, Gutter Twins, Portishead, Vampire Weekend are all pretty disappointing in my book.
Girl Talk is solid I think (even in comparison to Night Ripper, it's just different) and MMJ was good but not great.
I don't know... I guess I'm not inspired either.
IGshr*e
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10
Tim Hanken said on July 3, 2008:
That's just it, most of the releases this year have been good but not great. I'll put my first two up against anything, but after that.........
Especially when you look at albums that woulda/coulda/shoulda been great or at least good but are just "eh"
Wolf Parade
Booka Shade
M83
The Raconteurs
Coldplay
To me they mostly sound like watered down versions of thier older records. Except for M83 which sounds like watered down M83 that went back in time to the 1980s.
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11
Imaginary Shrie said on July 3, 2008:
Ugh the new M83 was totally horribly to me. Gross even. Booka Shade was fairly solid though... I enjoy his brand of dance.
But yeah Tim, you're right... nothing has been great. And that sucks.
IGshr*e
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12
elle said on July 3, 2008:
I'm sitting three years in the past, because I've been totally hooked on Devendra Banhart's Cripple Crow the past two weeks. What a fantastic album, save for the last two songs.
I guess now that I have money again, you will see me at the record store trying to catch up with all the rest of you. But I do agree with "josh bomb" @4, a Crystal Castles song should be on here, at least on our "Songs for the Summer" list.
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imaginary liz said on July 3, 2008:
It sounds like you all haven't heard the Nana Grizol album yet. It has restored my faith that there's still great records out there yet to be discovered or even released. (Sometimes the amount of new music that relies on recycling can get tiresome). That album is so much my favorite thing. Although I can understand if it's Bright Eyes / Neutral Milk Hotel style isn't quite your thing, but to those of us who freak out about that stuff it is absolutely effing amazing.
Others ranking really high on my non-local list are Girl Talk, Los Campesinos and Soda Fountain Rag (another album that impressed me from out of nowhere). My oh my, I love those albums.
Luckily I wasn't actually looking forward to any of those above releases (MMJ, M83, WP, etc) because (besides not liking their last efforts) I've been distracted by the awesomeness of new albums from localites like The Pharmacy and my way high hopes for the new Long Winters and Conor Oberst albums.
But one album that did live up to my vision of it is the new Breeders album. I don't listen to it on repeat on a daily basis, but it's a solid effort that makes me smile whenever I do decide to put it on.
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14
josh bomb said on July 3, 2008:
i've tried and tried and tried, but i just cannot get into the new girl talk album...with the exception of track 10... nirvana and the b-52s together is BRILL!! xo
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kristina said on July 3, 2008:
Dyme Def is great and I am really digging the new Portishead. Would have liked to see the always underrated Carrie Akre on this list. She's like the NW Aimee Mann.
My most listened to local album is def the Man Plus album. The songwriting is heads and shoulders above the pack. Every song is a single, so it's hard to pick a favorite, but Cocaine is a great kiss off song. Heard them on KEXP, but I haven't seen 'em live yet, but planning to at Block Party!
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Reviews
douglas martin said on July 1, 2008:
"unfuckwithable" = one of the best words (i'm using the term "word" very loosely in this case) in the english language.
"banana song" by PWRFL power is probably one of my favorites that isn't already on this list. "DON'T MAKE AWKWARD EXCUSE" is my vote for "northwest one-liner of the year."