[Listmas 2008]: The Top 50 Albums Of The Year (#50-41)

We've made it to the last week of Listmas 2008, otherwise known as the last 5 days I'll have posts for you this year. Before I take my requisite holiday vacation though, we've got important business to take care of. Namely, my list of the Top 50 Albums of 2008.

As the case as been in past years, I'll spend the week counting down to my favorite album of the year, revealing 10 new albums each day. As it's Monday, we begin the countdown with #50-41. Tomorrow is 40-31 and so forth.

For disclaimer purposes, I'd like to remark that this list was in fact composed around mid-November and it has not changed since that time. I do try and keep my prying eyes away from other lists each year, for fear they might have an influence over me. Rest assured, these Top 50 albums are based 100% on my own opinion only, and any similarities you might find to other lists is purely coincidental. This is especially important as we hit the final 20 or so albums, for you'll probably see a lot of overlap with others. Let's call it an agreement of good taste, eh? Alright, I think I've said enough, so let's get this list started!

50. R.E.M. - Accelerate
On their newest album "Accelerate," R.E.M. needed to prove to fans and non-fans alike that they weren't washed up. Their previous two albums had been slow and plodding and by all accounts very shaky in terms of decent songwriting. What changed with "Accelerate," according to Michael Stipe, is that the guys actually started talking to one another again. As a result, this album does make R.E.M. feel like a cohesive band again, and not only that but one that can crank out some solid, energetic hits. They proved an ability to compete in today's music scene and earned my attention, love and affection. This may not be anywhere near R.E.M.'s greatest album, but it's most definitely their best in 10 or 15 years, which I think is saying a lot.

49. Death Cab for Cutie - Narrow Stairs
Upon the release of the first single from "Narrow Stairs," which was "I Will Possess Your Heart," my initial reaction was similar to a hyperactive child in that I was very excited. The 8-minute slow burner of a song seemed to signal a new direction for the band that was darker and more progressive in nature. Had they held that tone and style across the entire album, I'm relatively confident they could've earned massive critical acclaim and primo rankings on these year-end lists. Instead, it turns out that single was a bit of a one-off experiment to gauge fan and critical reaction, while the rest of the album, though continuing to explore darker themes, remained relatively poppy. It was a disappointment from that standpoint, but on the whole this album was still at the very least an improvement over "Plans." Death Cab also proved they were more than just innocent indie pop heroes, and it was just enough to earn them a slot among my favorite albums of 2008.

48. Amanda Palmer - Who Killed Amanda Palmer? (Download: Blake Says)
I'll readily admit that I've totally got a "thing" for Amanda Palmer, and she's really the only reason why I pay as much attention to The Dresden Dolls as I do. Now that she released her first solo album this year, I had my hopes it'd be better than any Dresden Dolls record. Considering that no Dresden Dolls album has ever made my 50 favorite albums list in the past, this can be viewed as an improvement. In taking on her own solo project, Palmer puts the Brechtian punk cabaret on the side occasionally to explore other musical flourishes that happen to suit her. And it all works remarkably well, from the strings-and-piano ballad of "Ampersand" to the offbeatly hilarious "Oasis." This record also features some of Palmer's finest writing to date, and whether she's wearing her heart on her sleeve or getting snarky, the wordplay is always engaging. It's gotten to the point now where I don't care if there's ever another Dresden Dolls album, provided Amanda Palmer keeps making music in some form or another. This album proves she can more than handle the spotlight all by herself (with some friends occasionally assisting), so of course I wish her nothing but the best for the future.

47. Beck - Modern Guilt (Download: Volcano)
There are plenty of Beck haters out there, and I can't count the number of times I've heard others express their disappointment with "Modern Guilt." Beck's trip back to 60's psychedelia with famed producer Danger Mouse may not have been the most experimental or original thing he's done, but if you ask me the songs are more than solid and drive me to wax ecstatic rather than want to slam the man for taking a break from his kitchen sink albums. There's no rapping or random samples thrown in ala "Odelay" or his last album that attempted to recapture that lightning in a bottle, "The Information." Instead everything's pretty straightforward and I'm more than okay with that. Chan Marshall's backing vocals on a couple tracks still make me smile, and songs like "Chemtrails" and "Gamma Ray" have brought me back to this album time and time again. And clocking in around 30 minutes, this is dramatically shorter than Beck's last two albums, and whets your appetite just enough to keep you wanting more once it's done. Well done Mr. Hansen, for fully snaring my interest in your music for yet another go-around.

46. Frightened Rabbit - Midnight Organ Fight (Download: My Backwards Walk)
Among the many things I'll remember about 2008 in music is that this was the year that fully sold me on Frightened Rabbit. For their second album released less than a year after their debut, the band only seems to grow stronger with time. On "Midnight Organ Fight," the Scottish band crafted a collection of extremely accessible, lyrically incredible songs that both engage the ear and make you think. All things considered, this album should probably be ranked higher on the list than it currently is considering the number of times I've listened to it and loved these individual songs, but two things are holding it back to this spot on the list. First and foremost is an originality issue, because even though these melodies are second-to-none and stay in your brain long after the music's stopped, the band doesn't seem to be clawing for new ground to cover musically. Though they do what they do better than most anybody else. The second factor isn't the band's fault in the least but instead all these other artists are to blame. There were too many great albums released in 2008, which unfortunately means some artists get the shaft. Frightened Rabbit unfortunately suffers from the tremendous output of albums this year, but honestly I do sincerely wish you'd check out "Midnight Organ Fight" if you haven't already because I've got a special place in my heart for this record no matter where it ultimately ranks.

45. David Byrne and Brian Eno - Everything That Happens Will Happen Today
Eno and Byrne separately are legends. Together, they form an all-powerful super team that's about the equivalent of Batman and Superman fighting crime together. It's been far too long since their last official album together, the sonic experiment that was "My Life in the Bush of Ghosts," and it couldn't be better to have them back. Granted, having heard that first Byrne/Eno album could in no way prepare you for what "Everything That Happens Will Happen Today" actually was, as it sounds completely different than the two artists' first record. This new one turned out to be much more of a pop/folk/gospel experiment, and though it's relatively difficult to describe exactly what they're doing sonically from song to song, it all sounds really great and accessible enough for today's music fans. And though their separate careers have brought them so much fame and fortune and some might consider these two men to be washed up rock stars, they've not only proven that they can still make commercially viable music in 2008, but that they're ahead of the curve in many ways, using a website to sell digital copies of the album with no label assistance. Mainly though, I'm impressed with what they've done. Byrne's voice still sounds smooth as silk, and Eno's beats remain innovative. They are superheroes of rock, and let's hope it takes less than 27 years for them to try it again.

44. Ponytail - Ice Cream Spiritual (Download: Celebrate the Body Electric [It Came From An Angel])
My natural inclination was to send "Ice Cream Spiritual" to the ranks of the worst albums of 2008. But kneejerk reactions aren't always right, and depending on who you are, you might completely agree or disagree with my placement of this album among the best of the year. This album is so polarizing mainly because it strives to be completely different from most of what you've heard before. Originality could be considered Ponytail's strong suit, as might ear-piercing screeches. Singer Molly Siegel makes noises that often sound like dying animals, and I'm hard-pressed to identify any actual lyrics this album might have because nothing is easy to understand. As unappealing as that might be to listen to, the band's motivations are understandable, and if you consider Siegel's voice as merely another instrument instead of your typical lead vocal then this band can be called quite creative. And though the noise and sonic beauty ratios are on opposing levels, you can think of Ponytail as sort of the obscurely loud version of Sigur Ros. The comparison being more apt, methinks, upon considering how the singers in both bands (if you don't speak Icelandic) aren't using their words to inspire so much as they're using their voices to take sonic stability (or instability) to an entirely new level. That's where Ponytail succeeds, and how they've earned enough praise to be on my list of favorite albums this past year.

43. Local H - 12 Angry Months (Download: Jesus Christ! Did You See the Size of That Sperm Whale?)
Breaking up is hard to do, and we've had far too many albums dedicated to that exclusive concept. Many of them sit on store shelves collecting dust, while the best (Dylan's "Blood on the Tracks," The Rolling Stones' "Exile on Main Street," or Liz Phair's "Exile In Guyville") continue to capture our imagination so many years later. Done properly, the breakup album can be great. Scott Lucas of Local H probably wouldn't have even thought of making an album like this had he not been put through the most intense relationship and breakup of his life, which lasted for a year. And that's the idea behind "12 Angry Months," in that each of the album's tracks represents a new month of post-breakup emotion. Song emotions range from sad to angry to self-loathing to jealous to hopeful among other things, and if you can relate to these topics than the songs are even better. Of all the albums on this list, I'd say "12 Angry Months" was probably the least talked about and least noticed. For those of you that just know this band as 1-2 hit wonders, you're seriously missing out on one of the best albums by a legendary Chicago band.

42. Girl Talk - Feed the Animals
Greg Gillis puts on some wild live shows, that's for sure. One of the biggest reasons why everybody loves Girl Talk so much is Gillis's incredible talent of taking all sorts of familiar songs and mashing them together into cohesively awesome dance tracks. And while some have argued that the guy is less of an artist and more of a glorified DJ, I'd like to see somebody else pull off the combinations of songs that Girl Talk does. "Feed the Animals" is his second album, and it's filled with even more samples and song combinations than ever before. While I do still like his first record "Night Ripper" a slight bit more than this one, there's still tons to enjoy on "Feed the Animals," and it's a must-have for any decent party. From Roy Orbison to Michael Jackson to Radiohead to Vanilla Ice to Aerosmith to GZA to Yael Naim to Daft Punk to Snoop Dogg to The Beach Boys, you can learn so much about past and present music simply by listening to just one of Girl Talk's songs. Enrich your life and get a better musical education by picking up this album.

41. Be Your Own Pet - Get Awkward (Uncensored Version)
These days, sadness washes over me whenever I think about Be Your Own Pet, for they broke up earlier this year following a pair of relentlessly great albums. Yes, we will hear no more insane punk rock from Jemina Pearl and Co, but let's light a candle and remember what good they did by heaping a hefty dose of praise on their final album "Get Awkward." I want to stress that the album's inclusion on this list is also under the precondition that it's the uncensored version of the album, which includes a couple songs removed for the U.S. release due to "violent content." Later on, those songs got U.S. distribution through an extra EP titled "Get Damaged," but for the rest of the world they were on "Get Awkward." If you ask me, that's where they belong. A great song like "Becky," about killing your former friend, only increases "Get Awkward"'s stock if you ask me. From Jemina Pearl's in-your-face attitude and lyrics to the remarkably catchy songs, "Get Awkward" is an album that kicks your ass yet is also quite intelligent if you listen close enough. Rest in peace, BYOP, you will be sorely missed.

TOMORROW: Top Albums #40-31!

Labels: amanda palmer, be your own pet, Beck, best albums 2008, brian eno, david byrne, Death Cab for Cutie, frightened rabbit, girl talk, listmas, listmas 2008, local h, ponytail, r.e.m.