Rather than stew endlessly about the prospects of what to do with the pile of discs sitting upon my desk, I've decided to go for the jugular and finally slay this beast known as 2008. See, last Friday it was the annual geek-a-thon, where participants dissected the year that was, and came up with their top picks for this year. Rules were simple: No Coldplay... just kidding, although no one went that route (and I'm glad they didn't) as I would look like a bigger asshole than I already am having to escort them out of the sniffy mansion. It was a peculiar assembly of tunes I must say. In a year that was one of the best since 05 or 06, there were no selections from some of the big releases like Portishead or Bloc Party (a real stinker) or *cough* Coldplay, but one thing is for sure, Fleet Foxes were the shit, but still not good enough for number 1. Of course there were a few surprises and I even shocked myself by not selecting anything from Mogwai, The Dears or Glasvegas (a band whose demo tape shot up to as high as #3 on my list last year). Just goes to show how strong a year it was. Now that all those teasers are behind us (3 weeks... 7 days... 3 days... boom!), like thank god, I'm quite sorry that there isn't much more of surprise to give you - like a clip of me humping a steel pole in NYC... not that it ever happened. I swear.
On to it?
Rookie Reck's Pick:
The Secret Machines - "Now You're Gone"
(Ace Of Space)
Secret Machines have always been ridiculed for taking themselves too seriously. In a city like NYC (from which they hail) unless you're the son of the owner of a high-class modeling agency, dating Drew Barrymore or your surname starts with the letter "O" and ends in, well, "O" too, then New York isn't paying attention to you. Yes, it is the place where the colour girls go "do-do-do" but not where bands explore colours of sound by implementing an explosion of warm atmospherics in a little thang critics like to call 'space-rock.' Ask Jason Pierce of Spiritualized about the tag and he'll probably tell you its often synonymous with the word 'boring' and not selling a disgusting amount of records. However, for the patient listener, there is something to be said about bands like Secret Machines who are able to reward people (like me) who fall for this stuff every time. And despite its forlorn theme and constant heart-string meddling, singer/bassist Brandon Curtis assures that "Now You're Gone" was written about his ability to lose things like his keys rather than some bimbo down in SoHo. This track easily has been my favourite of the whole session and I must say that I'm a little ashamed for being oblivious to the fact that they even released something this year. It reminds me of all those lost great bands like Remy Zero and is just a shade under being a Stabbing Westward ballad, but thank god, it's only just a shade... Great pick by the rookie!
This person also liked: The Arkells, The Stills and The Raveonettes
Maestro Fresh Reck's Pick:
Girl Talk - "Play Your Part (Part I)"
(Mashes of American Flags)
He's a Biomedical Engineer by day and DJ extraordinaire by night. Either way he's armed with a laptop 24/7 and as much time as he spent knocking the socks off listeners/dancers in 2008, he probably spent looking for an attorney. Nicknamed "a lawsuit waiting to happen" by the New York Times, Gregg Gillis is just your average dude/nerd who stumbled upon the mash-up phenomenon, but found a way to home it out to everyone. How did he achieve this? By becoming your favourite wedding DJ on A.D.D. as his repertoire spans everything from Journey to Sinead to Twisted Sister all within the same track. His set plays out like a Simpsons episode where as many references that you actually *get* the next person might not (and so on). Whether his craft is to be called genius is yet to be determined, but for a fast-paced, loosey-goosey world in which we live in right now, Girl Talk is comfort food for you, the impatient listener who wants an injection of serotonin NOW. Question is, will you be reaching for this album in 5 year's time or Sufjan's Come on Feel The Illinoise? Hmmm...
This person also liked: Goldfrapp, Cat Power and Shearwater
Your Humble Narrator's Pick:
Brian Borcherdt - "Coyotes"
(Full Of Woe And Further To Go)
Selecting a number 1 this year was hard. That's a good thing. That means there was a lot out there to choose from and although Deerhunter came *this* close to taking the cake this year, a little fellow by the name of Brian Borcherdt came out on top and it came down to the last day. Don't get me wrong, Deerhunter's Microcastle is a modern-day OK Computer or Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, but as far as song-wise, Borcherdt's title track from his latest 7-song sampler of haunting beauties got me (The Grinch) right in the spot where my little aorta lies. My first encounter with this dude happened back in 2004 where he played his first show ever as a solo artist and began his set with one of my favourite songs in existence, a number called, "Motel." Then a few years later he played at my friend's 30th birthday bash and covered Madonna's "Girl's Just Want To Have Fun" and made it sound like the most endearing tune ever... (Not that it already isn't?). What sets Borcherdt a part from all those solo-humdrum basement dwellers (ala Hayden, Smog, Elliott Smith et al) is the fact that his wintry expanse of sadness is just an outlet he uses from time-to-time as he's also a member of the highly successful and happy Holy Fuck and doesn't have to escape to a log cabin for 3 months to achieve the same effect as his counterparts. He's the reason I still play guitar and write songs in my bedroom that no one will ever get to hear.
This person also liked: Deerhunter, M83 and Bon Iver
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1 comments:
brian borcherdt ! thank you
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