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The Best Of 2008
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02-Jan-2009 06:00 PM
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Contributed by: pete
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Music News
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I've got this thing where I have to wait until the following year before publishing the obligatory Best Of Last Year article. Part of it is that I need the time away from my full-time job compile the list, but I also need the reality of the new year to put the previous year into perspective. And so, once again, after a holiday season, a crazy new year's eve party with my friends, and a full new year of music just looming ahead of me, here are my picks from 2008.
Best Concerts of 2008
When it comes to shows, I really just enjoy being out and hearing new music. Even when it's not a standout performance, being out at the venues and getting to watch a band put a show together is way better than TV. Looking through my shots from 2008, I estimate that I photographed about 190 different bands/musicians in the past 12 months. Researching for this category is a good time in itself because it meant I had to go back through all my articles from 2008 and remember each and every concert. It's a fun life.
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3
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Arkells
The Horseshoe
December 16th
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7
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Rogue Wave
Olympic Island
June 7th
(opening for Death Cab For Cutie)
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9
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Paper Lions
Toronto Island Park
September 7th
(as part of Virgin Festival)
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Well there it is. Except the honourable mentions, which are:
Top 10 Albums of 2008
There were some great releases in 2008. Checking my iTunes statistics, it shows that I listened to less variety of music this year than in previous years. I think that's because the albums that I liked, I really liked, so I ended up playing them again and again. What it means is that some music that made other people's top 10 lists didn't necessarily get a fair shake from my ears. For example, despite hating the name of the band Vampire Weekend, I listened through the album a couple of times and liked it. But I didn't listen to it enough to even consider it for my top 10 list... I just forgot to listen to it more (or more likely, I was listening to the Arkells instead). Anyway, this list was generated partly by using my iTunes statistics and ratings to expose which albums I actually tend to rate highest and listen to the most. Note that I include albums from 2007 that I didn't discover until 2008 because it seems unfair to exclude albums entirely just because I was slow to learn about them. And in case you're wondering: I added 181 albums to my collection this year.
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1
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Arkells / Jackson Square
Info & Connect: Arkells on MySpace, Facebook
Media: Oh The Boss Is Coming! (video)
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Honourable mentions:
- Weezer / Weezer (Red Album)
- Tapes 'n Tapes / Walk It Off
- Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin / Pershing
- Elbow / The Seldom Seen Kid
- MGMT / Oracular Spectacular (2007)
- People In Planes / Beyond The Horizon
10 Hot Singles of 2008
Sometimes it's not a whole album that grabs me, but just one or two songs that I really love listening to. It takes more than a few songs to put an album in the list above, but here are some singles that really caught my attention this year.
- Oceanographer - Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin from Pershing
- I Don't Always Know What You're Saying - Ladyhawk from Shots [mp3]
- Americanarama - Hollerado from Demo In A Bag #5 [mp3, video]
- N.Y.E. - Dinosaur Bones from EP
- The Crook Of My Good Arm - Pale Young Gentlemen from Black Forest (Tra La La) [mp3]
- Hey! - The Impossible Shapes from 9
- Bitter Radio Single - Hospital Ships from Oh, Ramona [mp3]
- Building A Boat - Matt Mays & El Torpedo from Terminal Romance [mp3]
- Out Of Time - Jason Collett from Here's To Being Here [mp3]
- In Love - The Beautiful Girls from Ziggurats (2007)
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