In the spirit of the season, I am going to do a “best of” list for this year. This is a big deal to me, as I have been preparing for this since January 2008. I highly recommend the following albums for consumptionâŚ
5. Titus Andronicus – The Airing of Grievances
It is essential to have an album where the whole thing starts off loud and clear with a âFuck you!â. Really gets my heart pumping, and it lets me know that the artist cares. Titus Andronicus have a lo-fi catchy sound, and if you are into that sort of thing (like I am) then this album will register close to perfection for you.
4. Fleet Foxes â Fleet Foxes
If you are reading this blog, there is a 94.3 percent chance you have heard of Fleet Foxes. I really feel as though I donât need to say anything about it. So I wonât. But on the off-chance you havenât heard of Fleet Foxes, get their breakout album immediately.
3. TV on the Radio â Dear Science
TV on the Radio is funky, smart, and really weird. Dear Science is able to take those three adjectives and twist them into a masterpiece of an album. Dear Science is a no-brainer for pretty much every âbest ofâ list this year. And I have been checking.
2. Miniature Tigers â Tell it to the Volcano
Yes, I know. I just heard this album a week or so ago. But that was all it took for me to fall in love with Miniature Tigers. Smart and dark pop-rock takes me by the throat and wonât let me go. There was no need to personify smart and dark pop-rock. Sigh.
1. Born Ruffians â Red, Yellow & Blue
If I started my own country
For the flag, what colours would I use?
Such a myriad to choose from
I would pick red, yellow & blue
Red, for the blood I’d spill to own it
Yellow, for the sun which shines my way
& although I am leader of this country
Blue, because I’d still have sad days
Holy shit.
That is my list. I also loved Q-Tip – The Renaissance, Portishead â Third, No Age â Nouns and a lot of others that would take 40 pages to fill.