The Best Of 2008, Six Months Later

So, since July has been a strangely slow month for album releases, I’m going to use this newfound free time to post something I’ve wanted to compile for some time: a reappraisal of my favorite albums from last year. This seems all the more appropriate, since we’re now just over halfway through 2009. My purpose behind this is to see how albums I liked a lot way back in December have held up after half a year of re-listening. Below is my original list, posted (on Facebook, since this was pre-blog) on December 3-4. It looked a little something like this:

#1: Third, Portishead
#2: Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!!, Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
#3: Songs In A&E, Spiritualized
#4: Brighter Than Creation’s Dark, Drive-By Truckers
#5: 808s And Heartbreak, Kanye West
#6: Dear Science, TV On The Radio
#7: Accelerate, R.E.M.
#8: Rising Down, The Roots
#9: Everything That Happens Will Happen Today, Brian Eno/David Byrne
#10: Fleet Foxes, Fleet Foxes
#11: The Slip, Nine Inch Nails
#12: Beat Pyramid, These New Purtians
#13: Saturnalia, The Gutter Twins
#14: Viva La Vida Or Death And All His Friends, Coldplay
#15: The Age Of The Understatement, The Last Shadow Puppets

And now, here’s my updated list. For the most part, things aren't too different, except at the bottom part of the list. I may be the only one who cares about this edit, but…y’know what?...it’s my blog, so shush. Here’s my new, rank-ordered list of favorite albums from 2008:

#1: Third, Portishead
#2: Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!!, Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
#3: 808s And Heartbreak, Kanye West
#4: Songs In A&E, Spiritualized
#5: Dear Science, TV On The Radio
#6: Brighter Than Creation’s Dark, Drive-By Truckers
#7: Accelerate, R.E.M.
#8: Rising Down, The Roots
#9: Hercules And Love Affair, Hercules And Love Affair
#10: Fleet Foxes, Fleet Foxes
#11: Everything That Happens Will Happen Today, Brian Eno/David Byrne
#12: The Age Of The Understatement, The Last Shadow Puppets
#13: Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust, Sigur Rós
#14: Viva La Vida Or Death And All His Friends, Coldplay
#15: You & Me, The Walkmen

Generally, most albums held on to their spots. Portishead and Nick Cave are still holding strong at the top spots. However, I have the following adjustments in placement:

-Kanye moved up two spots, claiming #3. I know many, many people don’t like 808s and still feel thrown for a loop by it’s cold, icy tone and reliance on Auto-Tune. However, as the months have gone by, I’ve grown more and more attached to this album. I see it as one of the bravest mainstream albums of the decade and one that is actually pretty enjoyable to listen to as well.

-TV On The Radio and Drive-By Truckers switched places, moving TVotR into the top 5. Dear Science has simply started to sound better with time, while the Truckers’ album seems a bit less cohesive than I initially thought.

-Fleet Foxes and the Eno/Byrne collaboration also switched, for similar reasons.

-The Last Shadow Puppets also gained a few spots, simply because that album’s awesome. Do I need more reason than that?

The following albums have also been added to this list for the first time:

-Hercules And Love Affair, Hercules And Love Affair: this was an album that I very quickly dismissed and, in retrospect, that was a huge mistake. This group of New York-based dance afficianados somehow reinvented disco as something enjoyable and edgy, eliminating the canned string sections and replacing them with hip electronic beats and a handful of stunning guest appearances from the one-and-only Antony. Very impressive.

- Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust, Sigur Rós: everyone’s favorite Icelandic band (sorry Bjork) released an album last year that was very much of a grower for me. Multiple listens were required for my ears to unlock what might be the band’s most pleasant and gentle record to date.

-You & Me, The Walkmen: another album that grew a lot on me over the past six months, this was an album that breathed some life back into the smoldering pile of lost potential that the Walkmen had seemingly become.