That 70's Post

(insert generic message about how I have not written in a while here)

Three things about today's post:

1) Who would have guessed Ashton Kutcher would have turned out to be such a douche (trucker hats, punk'd, Nikon camera commercials)? Growing up, Kelso from That 70's Show seemed like some sort of friendly, blissfully idiotic, joke-cracking half-brother of mine. Regardless, without the Kutch, this post would not be possible. So (trucker) hats of to the Forman Family and Company! (for the record, I also consider Wilmer Valderrama to be a douche bag)

2) Lately, I've been listening to a lot of music that just seems so reminiscent of the 60's/ 70's. I hate to slap a label the decade label on an artist. Saying "That guy sounds so much like Dylan," has become a cliche. But it's bound to happen. Trust me.

3) This post is in the form of an episode of That 70's Show that potentially fits somewhere into Season 4.

....

(opening credits)

(camera 1 gets shot of Forman's sitting down at dinner table)

Kitty: So Red, tell me about your day!
Red: Damnit Kitty, can't you tell that I'm grumpy. I've been grumpy in every damn episode for the past 4 seasons.
Eric: Geez Dad, why don't you give mom a break?
Red: How about I put my foot in your ass!
(laughter)
Eric: Gotta go... (Eric runs into the basement
Kitty: You didn't finish your meatloaf!
(laughter)

(shot of marijuana circle in the Forman's basement)
Kelso: Yeah man, it's like when I hear that album, Shallow Grave, by the Tallest Man on Earth, I just can't help make the comparisons to Bob Dylan. I know it's like so typical to make comparisons to Dylan, but he really does.
Eric: Oh, yeah. That guy sounds so much like Dylan. He's just... like... a little less Jewish sounding.
Fez: Is Dylan the name of that monkey on the cereal box?
(laughter)
Jackie: No, you idiot! Dylan is a type of car!
(even more laughter)
Red: (yelling from upstairs) Hey, Eric! Shallow Grave was a really good album! I can't believe it didn't make Rather Be Pogging's Top Albums of 2008 list. That piece of shit that writes for that blog probably didn't hear the album until 2009! That makes me want to kick your ass!

(transition of Eric and Hyde dancing in front of background scenery)
(Kelso, Hyde, Fez, and Eric in driveway shooting hoops)

Eric: Have any of you guys heard of that group The Dutchess and the Duke?
Kelso: No, but I've heard of the dutch-oven and the puke!
(laughter)
Eric: They are like a folkier version of the Rolling Stones. They got a real good album out called She's The Dutchess He's The Duke.
Fez: Rolling Stones? That was the national past time of the country I come from!
(laughter)
Hyde: Shut up, Fez. Forman is right. The guy's voice even sounds like Mick Jagger. I highly enjoy the song "Reservoir Park."
Red: (yelling from inside) Don't you bums have anything better to do? Get a job! Before I put my foot up each and every one of your asses!

(Jackie and Donna atop the water tower)
Jackie: Have you noticed that I'm prettier than you, Donna?
(laughter)
Donna: Shut up, Jackie.
Jackie: Don't be upset...your pretty too. In fact, you're kind of underrated!
Donna: You mean like that album Paranoid Cocoon by Cotton Jones?
Jackie: Exactly! They sound like if Johnny Cash had a great-grandson who was in some indie-folk-pop group!
Donna: Wait, what does indie mean?
Red:(flying by on a hang glider): I'm gonna kick both of your asses!!!!!

The Antlers - Hospice

The Antlers - Hospice

There is a significant difference between being "emotional" and being "emo." The one term has underlying notions regarding the feelings, thoughts, and behaviors one experiences as a result of the irony in one's life's triumphs and anguishes; the other describes the music Dashboard Confessional makes. It's not to say its necessity for music to be "emotional," but for some reason a lot of best music just seems to fall under that label (i.e. Arcade Fire's Funeral, Bon Iver's For Emma, Forever Ago). Music that has no "emotion" just seems like making love to a fleshlight - it might be worth your time for 10 minutes a day, but it won't bring any lasting satisfaction or joy to your life. Maybe that's why music with "emotion" is the kind of music that you can enjoy the longest. And maybe that's why music that is "emo" can be readily found in an 8th grade girl's Facebook status (Jennifer is... my hopes are so high that your kiss might kill me).

Perhaps the latest and greatest (and clearest) example of emotion in music comes from The Antlers' Hospice. Like Arcade Fire's Funeral, Hospice seems to centralize around the idea of life in its final stages. Hospices are centers that focus on lessening the symptoms of a terminally ill patient's symptoms and rely heavily on the help of volunteers to care for the terminally ill - a definition that seems to genuinely reverberate true throughout the album.

If the album is a concept album (which it seems to be), I have to applaud The Antlers because a hospice, thought dark, is in a certain, twisted way a beautiful place - the place people go to die. You have to wonder what can be learned from going to a place like that. Maybe that's why lyrically speaking, Hospice, has an endless amount of kinda-makes-you-think-a-little lines.

"You said you hated my tone, it made you feel so alone, and so you told me I ought to be leaving. But something kept me standing by that hospital bed, I should have quit but instead I took care of you. You made me sleep and uneven, and I didn't believe them when they told me that there was no saving you."

-

"With the bite of the teeth of that ring on my finger, I'm bound to your bedside, your eulogy singer. I'd happily take all those bullets inside you and put them inside of myself"

-

"Some patients can't be saved, but that burden's not on you. Don't ever let anyone tell you you deserve that"

I've only had this album for about 48 hours, so this could just be puppy love, but I'm gonna have to go ahead and give this a 47/48.

Cymbals Eat Guitars

Why, hello there. Long time, no blog - I'm aware. But sometimes you need to take a 21 day break just to create a little buzz (and believe me, I created a buzz). But since all of my fans kept begging me to write...

Cymbals Eat Guitars - Why There Are Mountains

I usually find bands with odd names to be a bit of a turnoff (other turnoffs for all those curious ladies out there: smoking cigarettes, telling me how drunk you are, using the expression "oh my god! hilarious!" more than once a conversation, not telling me how much you like my muscles). Then again, I have somehow got passed bands with names like Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, Architecture in Helsinki, Death Cab For Cutie, I'm From Barcelona, and Vampire Weekend. Rumor has it members from this band are starting a supergroup called "Vampire, Clap Your Barcelona Death Architecture Say Helsinki" (this is neither true nor funny).

But honestly, under what circumstances would a cymbal (or a wild pack of cymbals) eat a guitar? That's like cannibalistic, isn't it? They work together in the same band!

That said, I was a bit reluctant to check out Cymbals Eat Guitars. But there's just something about their debut, Why There Are Mountains, that keeps me coming back for more. After long minutes of thinking and bad-joke making, I think I've found out what that something is:

- Song structures more windy than Lincoln Drive
- Hooks catchier than Jerry Rice's hands (assuming he doesn't have arthritis yet)
- A lead singer more believable than a Snapple Cap fact
- A string section and horn section that fill more holes than Ron Jeremy
- An old school indie-rock sound more reminiscent than an old person without a T.V.

There's just one question left: Why, exactly, are there mountains?

I think you and I both know the answer to that question.

Check out their cymbalseatguitarspace here.
Check out a letter David Cross wrote Larry the Cable Guy here.

Not Another Track Review

Hi all...long time, no write. To be honest, there's just been really nothing worth writing about. Blame it on the economy, I guess. But today I thought I'd share two tracks I've been both listening to and dancing nude to:

Remember that one song with like that guy and the girl who sing in it and like there's like whistling or some shit in it? The one that like Kanye sampled in one of his rap songs? It was like pretty catchy. I think it's a few years old at this point.

Well, the guys who brought you that song - Peter Bjorn and John - are about to release a new album and two of the tracks off of it are just the bee's knees. And this time they sound even more Peterbjornandjohn-ier - whatever that means.

"Nothing to Worry About" and "Lay it Down" provide a little insight into what we can expect from their new album, Living Thing, which is set to drop March 30th. By the looks of both "tap your foot even if that old guy on the subway is getting annoyed by it" tracks, the new album might have some promise - which just might be the remedy I've been looking for due to the lack of new albums to get excited about.

Talk about a stimulus package.

"1901"

Lately, I've been in need of something to just pump my fist to, ya know? Something that's really gonna make me 1999-style raise the roof. Well, problemo solved (translation: "problem solved").

I'd never heard of French pop group Phoenix (despite their 3, soon to be 4 albums) until about 7 hours ago. And as you might have guessed, for the past 7 hours I've been nonstop pumping my fist and raising the roof in jean-shorts and a sleeveless sweatshirt to "1901," a free download I picked up off their website. A funky disco track to be released with their next album, Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix, "1901" is just the tune I've been looking for to get my dance on. You can really only dance to "Gettin' Jiggy Wit It" for so many hours.

Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix to be released May 25, 2009 - around 218 years after Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart died.

Dark Was the Night

I'm fairly poor. Not giving-out-BJ's-for-10-bucks poor. But definitely typical-college-student-living-off-"za"-and-Hurricane-40's poor. That said, I am prone to illegally stealing music (and porn) off the internet. I can't help it. I figure it's better to steal internet music than church money.

But for the first time in a good while, I'm purchasing some music. The catch? Not only does Dark Was the Night contain 30+ tunes from some of my favorite artists, it also goes to a good cause (that is if you consider AIDS a good cause). Now, I'm not here to tell you to go out and buy this indie-tastic compilation (or to turn Atheists into believers), I'm just saying this is certainly one album that I won't be stealing. Plus, it's produced by two of the guys from The National. What more could you want?

Now, you're probably saying "Oh, I don't know Mr. Blogger. With this economy, I don't know if I really should be buying music."

I'm already a step ahead of you - if not two or three steps. That's why I created Rather Be Pogging's first ever "Circle The Appropriate Word To Describe Your Situation" to better aid your thought process in deciding between right and wrong:

"I am a (college student/ over-the-hill parent/ robot from the future) who is desperately in need of some new, good music in order to (impress a chick and get laid/ convince my child I can be cool/ better disguise myself so I can blend in with humans). I did (hear about/ internally process via my splectwettor drive) a new 'indie' music compilation called Dark Was the Night. Maybe I'll just illegally download it. With this economy, it's better to really save the $10-$15 and spend it on (weed and Family Guy DVDs/ the sale coming up at Sears' Hardware/ robot stuff) rather than actually buy the compilation. Oh, wait (a fucking second/ a gosh-darn minute/ .0193 nanoseconds). Apparently, this money goes to a good cause. That would be pretty (dick/ inappropriate/ inhuman) if I just downloaded it. I mean c'mon. How can I forget the fact that I (saw Philadelphia/ knew a guy who died of AIDS/ don't know what AIDS is because I'm a robot). Maybe I shouldn't steal this. Maybe I should just buy it. In fact, I'm gonna buy it as soon as I'm done (looking at beach pics of this chick on Facebook/ complaining about paying bills to anyone who will listen/ finding John Connor)."

You're welcome.

M. Ward - Hold Time

M. Ward - Hold Time

Genre: Reverse-cowgirl folk

M. Ward's past three albums (Post-War, Transistor Radio, Transfiguration of Vincent) have been nothing short of bodacious. In my mind, Mr. Ward can do no wrong.

But like most things in my life that seem to be damn near perfect (my myspace girlfriend, my recent large investment in Circuit City, Jeff Foxworthy's brand of Peppered Beef Jerky), M. Ward's newest album, Hold Time, is a bit of a disappointment. Maybe I should've expected that eventually M. Ward will produce something other than pure gold (also I should've expected the myspace girl to really be a 45 year old man, I should've known better than to take financial advice from a 3rd grader, I should've known anything Jeff Foxworthy is associated with is going to be god awful).

It's not to say that I don't enjoy Hold Time; opening track "For Beginners" is an immidiate success, only perhaps to be outdone by "Rave On." But regarding its feel as a whole album, Hold Time never accomplishes what his previous albums did, which unfortunately for M. Ward is not an easy task. The emotions are too scattered when they rarely do appear, the title track is far from whatever the rest of the album is trying to do, and overall its too rock 'n roll for my liking. Once the album is finished, you're left with this empty feeling - kind of like you were waiting and waiting for M. Ward to do something classically significant on the album, but it never ended up coming. Instead, it's probably off somewhere with your ex-girlfriend ordering drinks and appetizers at Red Lobster because one of its friends is the assistant manager and can probably get the two of them a nice discount.

M. Ward is at his best when he's riding on the simplicity of his hazy voice and cleverly flirtatious guitar work. "I'll Be Yr Bird," "Fool Says," and "Chinese Translation" are testaments to this. His previous albums always felt like they were something from a time long ago in a place far away yet so familiar. There was a certain exoticism to each of his albums. This album, although it has a handful of above average tracks, lacks that feel. It seems too ordinary. Maybe if I wasn't so familiar with M. Ward's previous work this album might feel a lot better, but it's only natural to compare.

If this album were a movie sequel it would be Might Ducks 3. And that is my rating.

RBP introduces...

Like so many things in my life (having sex, having conversations, playing chess, getting drunk), Rather Be Pogging has been something I do completely by myself - often locked in my bedroom. This, remarkably, is no longer the case.

I would like to introduce and welcome two new Rather Be Poggers to Rather Be Pogging. Essentially, by allowing these two to make appearances on the blog, I've given Beavis and Butthead the keys to the city, but new perspectives on things might just enhance this blog. Three heads are better one - even if all three have been exposed to enormous amounts of horse-related pornography. Plus, as far as I know you can't accidentally set a blog on fire, so I won't be endangering any of the readers. I really have no idea what either will be writing about. If I had to guess, one will lend his expertise into sex toys and flavored lubricants and the other will probably constantly post vendiagrams comparing and contrasting Matthew Perry and Matthew McConaughey.

So welcome, Chen and Deuce. Your lives will be forever changed for the worse. Welcome.

A Day In The Life

I had an epiphany the other day. No, I'm not gay. No, I didn't find Jesus. But I did realize the profound effect my iPod has on my life. It has turned some of the most uninteresting moments in my life into much more manageable ones. Days otherwise spent soundtracked by chirping birds, honking cars, and farting buttholes, are now enriched by 20 Gigabytes of my choice tuneage.

I don't know what I would do without you, iPod. I like you so much more than most human beings. You're reliable... handy... rechargable... and you don't press charges regardless of how much I touch you.

Well, because of myPod's (you get it?) continued impact on my life, I've decided to give it a little shout out on the blog. So today, as a little experiment, I chronicled (Narnia-like) each moment of the day I was listening to music. I also intentionally attempted to pick a moment-appropriate song from myPod to really soundtrack my day. Give it a shot and see if your day isn't slightly less shitty:

8:00 A.M. - I wake up to Andrew Bird's "Sovay." Waking up to music usually isn't my thang, but then again, waking up to a huge hit of meth usually isn't my thing either.
8:15 - After a quick shower, I make myself some breakfast to "Mushaboom" by Feist. This song is just the pick-me-up to go with my Cocoa Puffs and coffee. That's right, I pour coffee - instead of milk - into my cereal.
8:35 - I sit in my house in Manayunk, waiting for my roommate to take me to the Ivy Ridge train station. "Bluish" from the new Animal Collective is just the right "waiting for my roommate to take me to the Ivy Ridge train station" song.
8:55 - I wait for the train to "The Pain" by L.A. underground rapper MURS. Diagonally in front of me is a good-looking girl. I can see the outline of her nice, round tush through her jeans. She turns around, and I discover she is actually a man. I get his phone number - just in case.
9:09 - The train arrives - 11 minutes late, of course - to "Helicopter" off M.Ward's Transfiguration of Vincent. Ironically enough, "Helicopter" is a good song to ride the train. If I had to guess, it's probably also a good song to listen to when flying a jet pack.
9:30 - Walk to class to a few tracks from Ratatat Remixes Volume II - in particular "Allure," a Jay-Z feat. Biggie remix. Rap tends to make me feel tougher than I really am (which if you can guess is fairly untough). It almost feels like a bulletproof vest when walking through the ghetto of North Philadelphia (a bulletproof vest that unfortunatlely is incapable of saving my life if I was to ever get shot).
11:30 - After class, I walk over to Temple University's Student Center to get some grub while listening to Modest Mouse's "Heart Cooks Brain." Then, when I get there "A Friendly Black Lady Cooks Fried Chicken with a Side of Macaroni and Cheese."
12:10 - More walking to class and thus more rap; Dangerdoom - "Crosshairs," Blu & Exile - "Simply Amazin'," Devin The Dude - "What A Job"
3:40 - Class is over, and I'm looking forward to getting home and napping. At Temple's train station a crackhead kindly asks me for a cigarette. I kindly tell him to "fuck off you one-toothed freak." I go with "Gila" by Beach House, "Westfall" by Okkervil River, and "Painter in Your Pocket" by Destroyer for my commute back to Manayunk. Riding trains are a good time to reflect on your day, and these songs are the perfect reflecting music. Riding trains are also a good time to make funny faces at babies.
6:15 - Wake up from a nap and make myself dinner - and by make myself dinner, I mean look for scraps of French fries in McDonald's dumpster. Stars' "What the Snowman Learned About Love" is perfect dumpster-diving music.
7:00 - I spend the next fews hours watching tv, as well as some youtube videos and SNL Digital Shorts. (FYI: This is usually the point in my night where I duct tape a 40 to each one of my hands and put "Break Stuff" by Linkin Park on repeat. I guess tonight happened to be my off-night)
10:30 - I listen to some background tunes as I do my homework: Antony & the Johnsons - "My Lady Story," Tapes 'n Tapes - "Manitoba," Wilco - "Radio Cure," and Elliott Smith - "Angeles." For the record, I do my homework naked to make things a little more interesting.
12:15 - After a long day, I go to sleep (I unfortunately traded in my bed for a love swing so I sleep entangled in that - at the time it seemed like a good idea).

The Good Feeling Music of Dent May & His Magnificent Ukulele

I've decided to add a new dimension to Rather Be Pogging. It's fairly simple. From now on whenever I discuss an album, I'm going to create a new genre for it. If "shoegaze" can be the name of a genre, I don't see why I can't make up my own stupid names of genres. For example: this next album falls under a little genre I like to call "Sensitive Rock."

The Good Feeling Music of Dent May & His Magnificent Ukulele

Dent May is trapped in the 1950's, and I'm reaping all the benefits. Equipped with creepy molester glasses, a tuxedo, and a ukulele, Mr. May's debut LP just might be the easiest thing to fall in love with since Furbys. And not only is it easy to fall in love with, but it's easy to fall in love to (I have to assume it's easy to fall in love to since no girl will fall in love with me; maybe I should stop doing this... and this).

But seriously, I can completely imagine The Good Feeling Music playing in the background of some cheesy movie's falling-in-love montage. It's the kind of music your parents will slow-dance to once you're away at college. In fact, I can't recall the last time there's been an album packed with so many sha-la-la's and shooby-doo-wop's. If that doesn't spell out L-O-V-E, I don't know what does.

Maybe it's appropriate this album comes out only 11 days prior to Valentine's Day - a day I will spend drinking whiskey, eating Cheez-Its, and crying alone in my bedroom. The album is a 35 minute daydreamy stroll through the clouds. The euphoric mixture of the ukulele and baritone voice, complimented by charming background doo-wops just makes me want to fall in love (and this time with a real girl instead of an internet-girl). Dent May just might be the "softest boy in Mississippi." He certainly is the Mississippi version of Jens Lekman (he's also that episode of "Friends" where Rachel and Ross fall in love).

This album feels like hugging a teddy bear. It tastes like chocolate. It reeks of flowers. It's web address might just be eharmony.com. Personally, it reminds me of the 7 girls I fell love with (5 of those 7 didn't even know who I was - thus my rating).


Listen to Dent May's lovespace here.

Animal Collective - Merriweather Post Pavilion

"Somebody once told me the world is gonna roll me/ I ain't the sharpest tool in the shed."

-

Just some Smash Mouth lyrics that are forever etched into my brain. I didn't even have to google "smash mouth all star lyrics" to ensure the lyrics were right. I knew they were. I haven't heard that song in probably four years, yet I could have perfectly typed every single lyric to that song if I wanted. I can sing the melody note-for-note. I'm not bragging. It's just the way it is. You probably can too.

(Rather Be Pogging Fun Fact #2: it is rumored that all the money Smash Mouth made off the song "All Star" was spent on cocaine and prostitutes)

Though I didn't really understand what music was back in the 4th grade, I knew I liked the song "All Star" by Smash Mouth. Back then, I considered it "The Best Song Ever," and I was certain it would never grow old (and I was right). Listening to it was like doing some sort of awesome, addictive drug (a drug that appeared on Shrek's soundtrack) that every 4th grader in the United States also enjoyed doing (my drug dealer: Best Buy). Like most drugs, this one required a process - singing along with the song and knowing every lyric - in order to experience the high - feeling cool.

(other things that made me feel cool in 4th grade: chain necklace, chain wallet, Old Navy tech-vest, a fresh bowl-cut from the barber, a shirt with dragons on it, having a crush on a girl, writing a note during class that said "do you like me? circle yes or no," passing that note to a girl I had a crush on, her circling yes, being the starting running back on my recess football team, telling my crush to watch me play football at recess)

(things that made me feel uncool in 7th grade: chain necklaces, wallets, tech-vests, dragon shirts and bowlcuts all going out of style, my crush hitting puberty and no longer being worth crushing on, being too fragile to play for my middle school's football team)

When people consider a song or an album "poppy," I always think back to "All Star" by Smash Mouth - a song so lovable that most of us are not even capable of forgetting the melody and lyrics. I think that's what makes good "pop" music good. Hooks that you can't get out of your head. Refrains that you wake up singing. Even your farts start sounding like the end of the second verse. And the only way to stop from going crazy is to go listen to the song again, and again, and again.

Recently, I've been listening to the new album Animal Collective (not Smash Mouth) has just released. Merriweather Post Pavilion. An album that people are calling "Animal Collective's pop album." Immediately, I'm looking for comparisons to "All Star," and, though there's probably never been two works of "pop" farther apart, I do see some underlying similarities: 1) I enjoy both "All Star" and Merriweather Post Pavilion 2) both provoke(d) some feeling deep within 3) both are things people listen to 4) both are what my dad calls "crunchy-ass tunes brother man."

(dissimilarities: thirteen-year-olds won't ever grind to "My Girls" at their middle school's Valentine's dance)

Alas, Merriweather Post Pavilion is a difficult album to listen to by most people's standards. The "pop" Animal Collective creates is a much less-listenable "pop" than the kind Smash Mouth creates. Either you'll greatly enjoy Merriweather Post Pavilion or you'll be greatly confused why I ever called it "pop" (for the record, I will continue to put the word "pop" in quotation marks). Smash Mouth and Animal Collective have different artistic values and musical abilities (and haircuts and weight issues) and that's reason enough that their music is nothing alike. But whether or not you like what Animal Collective has done in the past, I recommend checking out Merriweather Post Pavilion and see if you can't fall in love with a new definition of "pop."

"Sick and tired of hearing all the people talk about what's the deal with this pop life and when's it gonna fade out. The thing you got to realize is what we doing is not a trend. We got the gift of melody, we gonna bring it til the end."

- Justin Timberlake (21st century philosopher)

*I used some form of the word "pop" in this post 10 times. Thus, my rating of this album is a 10 out of 10.

1. Fleet Foxes - Sun Giant EP/ Fleet Foxes

Ahhh...(the "Ahhh" sound you make when you're feeling relieved about something) finally we (I) have reached the end of this long countdown road. It's been some good times. It's been some bad times. Frankly, it's been way too fucking long. But today, finally, is my last post for this "First Annual Rather Be Pogging Countdown of My Favorite Albums and Songs of the Year." I feel kind of like the last kid to hit the button on the top of the Aggro Crag on Nickelodeon's GUTS (except Mo isn't keeping score). At this point, everyone has been long done with their year-end-lists, and yet I'm just finishing in the middle of January. Just another testament to how fat and lazy I am (another testament would be the fact I use two doughnuts in place of a hamburger roll).

As I promised, below is a list of my favorite 25 (actually 30) songs of 2008:

30. Why? - Good Friday
29. Fleet Foxes - Your Protector
28. Dodos - Red & Purple
27. The Hold Steady - Constructive Summer
26. Born Ruffians - Little Garcon
25. Ben Folds (ft. Regina Spektor) - You Don't Me
24. Estelle (ft. Kanye West) - American Boy
23. Blitzen Trapper - Furr
22. Beach House - Gila
21. Okkervil River - Lost Coastlines
20. She & Him - Sentimental Heart
19. MGMT - Kids
18. Born Ruffians - Hummingbird
17. TV On The Radio - The Stork and Owl
16. El Guincho - Palmitto's Park
15. Lupe Fiasco - Little Weapon
14. Vampire Weekend - Walcott
13. Passion Pit - Sleepyhead
12. Why? - The Hollows
11. Joel Alme - The Queen's Corner
10. Department of Eagles - No One Does It Like You
9. Lil Wayne (ft. Jay-Z) - Mr. Carter
8. My Morning Jacket - Highly Suspicious
7. Animal Collective - Water Curses
6. Bon Iver - Lump Sum
5. Fleet Foxes - Mykonos
4. The Hold Steady - Slapped Actress
3. Dodos - Fools
2. Sigur Rós - Gobbledigook
1. MGMT - Electric Feel

Now, before we (I) get to my favorite album of 2008, let's take a gander at some of my favorite albums from 2008 that didn't make the list:

My Morning Jacket - Evil Urges
Okkervil River - The Stand Ins
Sigur Ros -Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust
Why? - Alopecia
MGMT - Oracular Spectacular
Passion Pit - Chunk of Change EP
El Guincho - Alegranza!
Lupe Fiasco - The Cool

And now...my favorite album of 2008...

1. Fleet Foxes - Sun Giant EP/ Fleet Foxes

Coming in at #1 and winner of the prestigious "First Annual Rather Be Pogging Countdown of My Favorite Albums" are Fleet Foxes and their EP/ self-titled album.

At first I was skeptical about putting this album at #1. The songs on both the EP and album are just seem so simple, and the sound they produce is too 60's folk, I figured their work wasn't worth #1. Unlike some of my favorite albums-of-the-year from previous years (I liked 2004- Arcade Fire Funeral 2005- Sufjan Stevens Illinois or Wolf Parade Apologies to the Queen Mary 2007 - LCD Soundsystem Sound of Silver or Panda Bear Person Pitch) I felt Sun Giant EP/ Fleet Foxes were an old, revised sound, rather than a new sound that pushed the progression of music forward. But after seeing these guys live, it became clear to me that though their sound may be a mountainier version of Beach Boys, their songwriting and talent (especially singing harmonies live) are just as deserving as every other year's #1.

It's hard to say exactly what makes Fleet Foxes so worth listening to. Maybe it's their angelic harmonies. Maybe it's their obscurely ruggid yet romantic lyrics. Maybe it's their hippyness. Maybe we should ask Bill Nye the Science Guys (science rulez) why it's so enjoyable. But whatever it is, Fleet Foxes have made me realize one thing about music; a lesson most hipsters could use:

Music does not need to be progressive to be liked. Kind of an obvious statement, but still one many of us look past. It often seems like people in general want to like whatever is most cutting edge (this is probably why more and more rappers are using that weird synthesizer voice). Music will make it's progressions (just think of how each decade has it's own "sound"), but good music will always be good music, regardless of what era it came from. Fleet Foxes' are the anti-cutting edge. And by being the anti-cutting edge they have become cutting-edge (I've lost my mind).

Good-bye 2008. Hello 2009. (8 days late)

2. Bon Iver - For Emma, Forever Ago

If there is anything less exciting than finishing a list of my favorite albums from 2008 in 2009, it has to be including an album that technically came out in 2007. Let's be honest, does anyone even remember 2007? The only thing that really comes to mind is the premier of "The Big Bang Theory" on CBS. Other than that, pretty much nothing happened. Oh yeah, Bon Iver's For Emma, Forever Ago was self-released in the Fall of 2007. So I guess that makes two interesting things that happened in 2007.

But it wasn't until the album was re-released through Jagjaguwar in February of 2008 that I actually heard the album. And to be honest, the album feels so wintery that I have to consider it's February 2008 release as it's official release. So fuck off Wikipedia (c'mon baby you know I don't mean that - your facts are the best).

2. Bon Iver - For Emma, Forever Ago

Coming in at #2 and winner of the "Henry David Thoreau Walden Pond" Award is Bon Iver and For Emma, Forever Ago.

Mostly recorded over three months of seclusion in a remote cabin in Wisconsin, For Emma, Forever Ago feels (and sounds) like isolation. In fact, I can't imagine this album ever being created without his Thoreau/ Alexander Supertramp-like self-isolation. If an artist has ever captured the feeling of walking alone into a cold snowy, woods at sunset and chopping down a tree for firewood, it would have to be Bon Iver (there's no word on whether or not he knew how to properly conserve moose-meat).

Perhaps Wikipedia says it best (or whoever edited this page): "Solitude is a state of seclusion and isolation, i.e. lack of contact with people or love." A lack of contact with people or love. I probably didn't need to type that twice, but that statement just describes Mr. Iver's (his real name is Justin Vernon) album best. Not only does the album feel like Northwestern Wisconsin or winter or chopping down trees or the smell of pines or isolation, but if feels like a lack of contact with people or love. Imagine what having a clear head did to his songwriting. The only things to join him beside his fire are past memories of people he knew and love he experienced. Maybe he found out what or who truly meant something to him. Maybe this album was him saying "Emma, I should have told you this forever ago." Yes this is a wild guess, but even the title is interesting. And if none of that means anything to you, let me put it this way:

Dude was straight lonely as a mothafuck.

But enough about his loneliness, the music itself is awesome. Most of the songs are him strumming away at his acoustic guitar (not like that corny guy at the party who's covering Dave Matthews Band) and layering harmonies stickier than Vermont pancake syrup. He's got a falsetto sweeter and warmer than a campfire-toasted marshmallow. Music can do two things (actually it probably can do thousands of things). It can provoke a feeling from the listener or it can document a time in a musicians life. And Bon Iver does the latter, but by doing so, provokes many a feeling from the listener.

Listen to the whole album out of order on his guyspace.
Download the mediafire here.
Watch a few fantastic videos here:
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