Best New Releases:
1. Blank Dogs - On Two Sides (vinyl 2007, cd & web 2008)
2. Mi Ami - various 12"s
3. Vivian Girls - s/t
4. Eat Skull - Sick to Death
5. Kurt Vile - Constant Hitmaker
6. Religious Knives - Resin
7. Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds – Dig!!! Lazarus Dig!!!
8. Hank IV – Refuge in Genre
9. High Places - s/t
10. The Mae Shi – HLLLYH [Mae Shi loses best member to gowns, gets signed to a major, goes on to make only album by them that I’ve ever liked…uh, I dunno what the moral of the story is…]
11. Fuck Buttons - Street Horrrsing
12. Indian Jewelry – We Are the Wild Beast
13. Natalie Portman's Shaved Head - Glistening Pleasure
14. Crystal Castles - s/t
15. Suashi - Kettou
16. Sic Alps - U.S. E.Z.
17. Tickley Feather - s/t
18. Ulaan Khol - 1
19. Hush Arbors - s/t
20. Portishead – Third
21. Autechre – Quaristice
22. Does It Offend You, Yeah? – You Have No Idea What You’re Getting Yourself Into
23. Evangelista – Hello, Voyager
24. Hauschka - Ferndorf
25. Burning Star Core - Challenger
26. Silver Jews – Lookout Mountain, Lookout Sea
27. Ben Nash – The Seventh Goodbye
28. Crystal Stilts - Alight of Night
29. Best Friends Forever - Romance Conflict Adventure
30. Lau Nau – Nukkuu
31. Telepathe – Chrome’s On It EP
32. Jack Rose – Dr. Ragtime & Pals / s/t
33. Arms - Kids Aflame
34. Coconut Coolouts - Party Time Machine
35. Pivot - O Soundtrack My Heart
36. The Death Set – Worldwide
37. Crow Tongue – The Red Hand Mark
38. Awesome Color – Electric Aborigines
39. Black Affair – Pleasure Pressure Point
40. Spires that in the Sunset Rise – Curse the Traced Bird
41. Sharron Kraus – The Fox’s Wedding
42. Elvis Costello and the Impostors – Momofuku
43. Delon & Dalcan – Tanz
44. HIV+ - We Are All Haunted Houses
45. Barnacled – Charles
Honorable Mentions, Part 1—25 New Releases from 2008 that have something, but…:
1. Lil' Wayne – Tha Carter III
2. Why? – Alopecia
3. Tobacco – Fucked Up Friends
4. Cut Copy - In Ghost Colours
5. The Black Angels – Directions to See a Ghost
6. Lullatone - The Bedtime Beat
7. Scary Mansion - Every Joke Is Half the Truth
8. Forest Fire – Survival
9. Daniel Darc – Amours Suprêmes
10. Sybris – Into the Trees
11. The Ting Tings - We Started Nothing
12. Ufomammut – Idolum
13. Dananananaykroyd - Sissy Hits
14. Bon Iver - For Emma, Forever Ago
15. Patrick Clifford - Here We Are Are We Here
16. The Teenagers - Reality Check
17. pwrfl power – s/t
18. Shortwave Set – Replica Sun Machine
19. Fleet Foxes – s/t
20. Abe Vigoda – Skeleton [not as good as their older stuff]
21. Shit & Shine – Cherry
22. Painting Petals on Planet Ghost – Fallen Camellias
23. Pacific UV – Longplay 2
24. Bisc1 – When Electric Night Falls
25. TV on the Radio – Dear Science
Best Reissues of 2008 (w/ extra points for things I didn’t know before):
1. Milford Graves Percussion Ensemble with Sunny Morgan – s/t (reissue)
2. Paul Bley Trio – Closer (reissue)
3. Teenage Filmstars – Star (reissue)
4. Fifty Foot Hose – Cauldron (reissue)
5. Bob James Trio – Explosions (reissue)
6. Johnny Osbourne – Truth and Rights (reissue)
7. Ya Ho Wa 13 – Penetration: An Aquarian Symphony (reissue sort of)
8. 23 Skidoo – Urban Gamelan (reissue)
9. Ohio Players – Gold (reissue)
10. Amon Düül – Fool Moon (reissue)
My Songs of the Year (most not released in 2008):
1. Health – Heaven (video)
2. Javiera Mena – Al siguente nivel (video)
3. Captain Ahab – U Want Me (video)
4. Soulja Boy - Yahh Trick Yahh (video)
5. The Sisters of Transistors - The Don (video)
6. Richard Harris - Macarthur Park (minimalist unofficial video)
7. Bugs Eat Books – Killers from the Start (song is better than video, but)
8. Tokio Hotel - Durch den Monsun (though I only like the german version)
9. Hecuba – Hey Sir (video)
10. Katsen – Where Nobody Can Find Us (video)
Live Performances (almost all in Los Angeles):
1. Justice Yeldham (at the Smell)
2. Aymeric Hainaux (at WOMEN & the Smell)
3. Health (at the Smell & at Terrace)
4. Mount Eerie (at the Smell)
5. Cluster (at FarmLab)
6. Wooden Shjips (at McCabe’s)
7. Captain Ahab (at WOMEN & at Coma Space [NYE 2009])
8. Evangelista [aka Carla Bozulich’s Evangelista] (at Safari Sam’s & at the Smell)
9. Ezra Buchla & Albert Ortega & a third guy who I didn’t recognize (at WOMEN)
10. Tim Perkis, Gino Robair, Tom Djll, & Phillip Greenlief (after the screening of Noisy People at the Silent Movie Theatre)
11. Mi Ami (at FarmLab)
12. Pylon (at the Echoplex during the Part Time Punks anniversary fest)
13. Mick Turner (at the Smell)
14. 88BOADRUM (on the lawn between LACMA & the Tar Pits)
15. xnobbqx (at the Smell)
16. A Certain Ratio (at the Echoplex during the Part Time Punks anniversary fest)
17. High Places (at the Smell)
18. tik///tik (at the Smell & at WOMEN & Coma Space [NYE party 2009])
19. Medium Medium (at the Echoplex during the Part Time Punks anniversary fest)
20. Hauschka (at Largo)
21. Love is All (at the Echoplex during the Part Time Punks anniversary fest)
22. Extreme Animals (at WOMEN)
23. The Nightingales (at the Echoplex during the Part Time Punks anniversary fest)
24. Nero’s Day at Disneyland (at WOMEN & Coma Space [NYE party 2009])
25. My Bloody Valentine (at the Santa Monica Convention Center)
26. Albert Ortega (at the Carousel on Santa Monica Pier during GLOW & at FarmLab)
27. Suzy Poling & Kamau Patton: “Glass House” (in a fiberglass house along the palisade in Santa Monica during GLOW)
28. Whitman (at Pehrspace)
29. Michael Hurley (at McCabe’s)
30. Leslie Hall [aka Leslie & the Ly’s] (at the Echoplex)
31. Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds (at the Hollywood Bowl)
32. Bobb Bruno (at the Smell)
33. Chirgilchin (at the Getty Center)
34. pre (at the Smell)
35. Spiritualized (at the Hollywood Bowl)
36. Lucky Dragons (at the Smell & at FarmLab)
37. Katy Davidson (at the Smell)
38. Religious Knives (at the Smell)
39. Mariee Sioux (at McCabe’s)
40. Bizzart (at the Smell)
41. Kevin Shields (at the Smell & at WOMEN)
42. Yours Truly (at WOMEN)
43. Nite Jewel (at Show Cave)
44. Hank IV (at the Echoplex)
45. Moment Trigger + Brian Miller (at the Smell)
46. Ciaramella (at the Getty Center)
47. The Vivian Girls (at the Echoplex during the Part Time Punks anniversary fest)
48. Arthur Nakane (at the end of the Santa Monica Pier during GLOW)
49. Winners (at the Smell & at WOMEN…now sadly this band is ded)
50. Spectrum (at the Santa Monica Convention Center)
51. Foot Village (at the Smell & at WOMEN)
52. Nick Lowe (at the El Rey)
53. White Rainbow (at the Carousel on Santa Monica Pier during GLOW)
54. The Mae Shi (at the Smell)
55. Dan Deacon (at the Getty Center)
56. Robyn Hitchcock (at the El Rey)
57. BARR (at the Smell)
58. Jason Forrest [aka DJ Donna Dummer] (at the Smell)
59. Seun Kuti & Egypt 80 (at California Plaza Grand Performances)
60. Sikhara (at WOMEN)
61. Learned Helplessness (at WOMEN)
62. No Age (at the Getty Center)
63. Wildildlife (at the Smell)
64. Gang Wizard (at the Smell)
65. Hawnay Troof (at the Smell)
66. Nicolas Hodges (with the L.A. Philharmonic New Music Group at Disney Hall, playing works by Thomas Adès)
67. Mission of Burma (performing “Vs” at the Echoplex)
68. Partch [John Schneider’s ensemble] (at RedCat)
69. pst (at the Smell)
70. Guns ‘n’ Broses (at Coma Space [NYE 2009])
Honorable Mentions, Pt 2—95 releases from 2007 that I discovered in 2008…(this list is long because I can’t get over how much great music came out in 2007):
1. Health - s/t (2007)
2. El Guincho - Alegranza (2007)
3. Tyvek – Fast Metabolism (2007)
4. Davy Graham – Broken Biscuits (2007)
5. Wooden Shijps – s/t (2007)
6. Las Malas Amistades – Patio Bonito (2007)
7. Pink Reason - Cleaning the Mirror (2007)
8. Pre - Epic Fits (2007)
9. King Khan & The Shrines - What Is?! (2007)
10. Hauschka – Room to Expand (2007)
11. Einstürzende Neubauten – Alles Wieder Offen (2007)
12. James Blackshaw – The Cloud of Unknowing (2007)
13. Bird Names - Wooden Lake/Sexual Diner (2007)
14. Tivol – Early Teeth (2007)
15. Polka Dot Dot Dot – Love Letter to New Zealand (2007)
16. Sapat – Mortise and Tenon (2007)
17. Magik Markers – Boss (2007)
18. K.I.T - Broken Voyage (2007)
19. CPC Gangbangs – Mutilation Nation (2007)
20. Woods - How to Survive In + In the Woods (2007)
21. The Pains of Being Pure at Heart - s/t EP (2007)
22. BARR - Summary (2007)
23. Tinariwen – Aman Iman: Water is Life (2007)
24. Dragonette – Galore (2007)
25. Bodies of Water - Ears Will Pop and Eyes Will Blink (2007)
26. Abe Vigoda – Kid City (2007)
27. Caribou – Andorra (2007)
28. Upsilon Acrux – Galapagos Momentum (2007)
29. Susie Ibarra – Drum Sketches (2007)
30. Maps – We Can Create (2007)
31, Mariee Sioux – Faces in the Rocks (2007)
32. Jefre Cantu-Ledesma – The Garden of Forking Paths (2007)
33. Psychedelic Horseshit - Magic Flowers Droned (2007)
34. YACHT – I Believe In You. Your Magic Is Real. (2007)
35. The Mess Hall - Devils Elbow (2007)
36. Jatun - s/t (2007)
37. Fabio Orsi – Find Electronica (2007)
38. Le Loup - The Throne of the Third Heaven of the Nations' Millennium General Assembly (2007)
39. My Teenage Stride - Ears Like Golden Bats (2007)
40. Rafael Anton Irisarri - Daydreaming (2007)
41. Lymbyc System - Love Your Abuser (2007)
42. Teenage Bad Girl - Cocotte (2007)
43. Terror Visions – World of Shit (2007)
44. Paul Metzger – Deliverance (2007)
45. Sawako – Madoromi (2007)
46. White/Lichens – s/t (2007)
47. Explosions in the Sky – All of a Sudden I Miss Everyone (2007)
48. Mouthus – Saw a Halo (2007)
49. Yellow Swans – At All Ends (2007)
50. Athletic Automaton – A Journey through Roman’s Empire (2007)
51. Thomas Belhom – Cheval Oblique (2007)
52. Datach’i - The Elements (2007)
53. Ilpo Väisänen – Asuma (2007)
54. Bearsuit – OH: IO (2007)
55. WZT Hearts – Threads Rope Spell Making Your Bones (2007)
56. Sightings – Through the Panama (2007)
57. Lampshade – Modern Behavior (2007)
58. Oren Ambarchi – In the Pendulum’s Embrace (2007)
59. Mass Movement of the Moth – Outerspace (2007)
60. Karl Blau – Dance Positive (2007)
61. Los Campesinos! – Sticking Fingers into Sockets (2007)
62. Primordial – To the Nameless Dead (2007)
63. Shackleton & Appleblim – Skull Disco Soundboy Punishments (2007)
64. Chloé [aka Chloe Thevenin] – The Waiting Room (2007)
65. Crippled Black Phoenix – A Love of Shared Disasters (2007)
66. Seconds in Formaldehyde – II (2007)
67. Residual Echoes – Firsts EP (2007)
68. MGR – Wavering on the Cresting Heft (2007)
69. Do Make Say Think – You, You’re a History of Rust (2007)
70. Au Revoir Simone – The Bird of Music (2007)
71. Air Conditioning – Dead Rails (2007)
72. The One Ensemble – Wayward the Fourth (2007)
73. Shocking Pinks - s/t (2007)
74. Snake Apartment – Paint the Walls (2007)
75. Fridge – The Sun (2007)
76. Martin Simpson – Prodigal Son (2007)
77. Mary J. Blige – Growing Pains (2007)
78. Prurient – And Still, Wanting (2007)
79. Jennifer Gentle – A New Astronomy (2007)
80. Pretty & Nice – Pink & Blue (2007)
81. Cheeseburger – s/t (2007)
82. For Barry Ray – New Days (2007)
83. Helen Love – It’s My Club And I’ll Play What I Want To (2007)
84. Javelins – No Plants Just Animals EP (2007)
85. Rings – Black Habit (2007)
86. Sunroof! – Panzer Division Lou Reed (2007)
87. Pantha du Prince – This Bliss (2007)
88. The Time Flys – Rebels of Babylon (2007)
89. Kitty Hoff – Blick ins Tal (2007)
90. Machinefabriek – Marijn (2007)
91. Eliane Radigue – Jetsun Mila (2007)
92. Keijo – For a While (2007)
93. Kites – Hallucination Guillotine (2007)
94. Panther – Secret Lawns (2007)
95. White Mice – BLasssTPhlEgMEICE (2007)
Honorable mentions, pt. 3—10 Reissues & Collections from 2007 that I didn’t hear until 2008:
1. v/a – Pillows & Prayers: Cherry Red Records, 1981-1984 (2007)
2. Fucked Up - Epics in Minutes (2007)
3. v/a – Authenticité—The Syliphone Years: Guinea's Orchestres Nationaux and Federaux, 1965-1980 (2007)
4. v/a – Can’t Stop It! II: Australian Post-Punk 1979-1984 (2007)
5. v/a – Bearded Ladies, vol. 1 (2007)
6. v/a – Bugged Out! Classics (2007)
7. v/a – Thai Pop Spectacular (Sublime Frequencies) (2007)
8. Vashti Bunyan – Some Things Just Stick In Your Mind: Singles and Demos 1964-1967 (2007 reissue sort of)
9. Judee Sill - Live in London: The BBC Recordings 1972-1973 (2007 reissue)
10. Black Tape for a Blue Girl – Remnants of a Deeper Purity (2007 reissue)
A few things I had on endless repeat in 2008:
Fela Kuti (as much as I could find)
The Bats (ditto)
My Dad is Dead (ditto)
Grouper – Way Their Crept
Mount Eerie - No Flashlight
A sampling from among my many discoveries in 2008, aka news to me but not the world in 2008:
Ponytail – Kamehameha
Masters of Persian Music [Mohammed Reza Shajarian, Hossein Alizadeh, Kayhan Kalhor, Homayoun Shajarian] - Faryad
Maja S.K. Ratkje & Jaap Blonk – Improvisors
v/a - From the Copperbelt: Zambian Miners’ Songs
Rikk Agnew – All by Myself
Jim Hall [w/ Paul Desmond, Chet Baker, Ron Carter, Steve Gadd, & Roland Hanna] – Concierto
Ata Kak
AO
Annelies Monseré
Fatou Laobe
Baiano & Os Novos Caetanos [aka Novos Baianos]
Clap
Tewelde Redda
Derek & Clive
Pointed Sticks
Tsèhaytu Bèraki
Dead Letters Spell out Dead Words
Felipe + Forté
October Tide
Dana & Karen Kletter
Abed Azrié
Amin Xaaji Cusmaan
Boban Marković Orkestar
Bugskull
Cassambo
The Gamblers [old surf]
Glomag
Hala Strana
Hanadensha
(Jules Baptiste's) Red Decade
Mugen Crack System
Nice & Smooth
Shattered Hymen
Faytinga
Murder by Death
Under Byen
Wedi Tikabo
Hem
Toecutter
Novemthree
void>null
Dory Previn
Natural Snow Buildings
Excepter
Acid House Kings
The Franciscan Hobbies
A Spoon Called Phranc
Streams of Europe
Annette Krebs
Sara Goes Pop
Joe Bataan
Hardrock Gunter
Victor Gama
Spank Rock
Bibio
Hyperviper
Mavado
Cow's Eye
Bob Desper
Fatlip
Mechanical Servants
Gruppo di improvvisazione nuova consonanza
Cloudland Canyon
House of Low Culture
The Green Chair
The Telescopes
Splattercell
Susanna & The Magical Orchestra
Wizzard
Adeva
Pale Fountains
Marin Marais
Mahmoud Ahmed
Tappa Zukie
Korpiklaani
The Flying Lizards
Eater
Johann Johannsson
Vaavi
The Gerbils
Tata Dindin
Time Toy
The Scrotum Poles
Claudine Longet
Larkin Grimm
Lumsk
Tender Forever
Even as We Speak
Clark [aka Chris Clark]
Super Lover Cee & Casanova Rudd
Lulu’s Marble
Girolamo Frescobaldi
White Noise
Grey Daturas
Shawn David Mcmillen
David Ruffin
Ari Brown
Chris and Cosey
Georgius
Antony Milton
Helmut Lachenmann
Loop
Shu-De
Sainkho [aka Sainkho Namtchylak]
Strawbs [& Sandy Denny & the Strawbs]
Manuela
Rheingold
Skywave
Brainbombs
Dandy Livingstone
Sandrine Kiberlain
The Golden Oaks
Mikaela’s Fiend
Martin Carthy
Alec K. Redfearn and The Eyesores
The Lighthouse Keepers
Stragula
Laurel Glen Regular Baptist Church
Daby Balde
Paper Thin Stages
Working for a Nuclear Free City
Sad Lovers and Giants
Chara
Micah P. Hinson
Googoosh
Boubacar Traoré
Steeleye Span
Värttinä
Roberto Roena
Goblin
Born Heller
Boris Vian
Four Pals
Sneaky Feelings
Juana Molina
Manu Dibango
High Rise
Flower Travellin’ Band
Amina [aka Amiina]
Harry Taussig
Biting Tongues
Daedelus
Gordon Mumma
Nara Leão
Tim Maia
Luiz Bonfa
Marcos Valle
Wynona Carr
KTL
The Copper Family
Trader Horne
Dominique Petitgand
Beth Custer
Rest in Peace (music & radio):
Andy Palacio
Jim Jones (of Pere Ubu & Electric Eels)
Mauricio Kagel
Isaac Hayes
Tony Schwartz
Jerry Wexler
Levi Stubbs (of the Four Tops)
Yma Sumac
Studs Terkel
Miriam Makeba
Odetta
Eartha Kitt
Freddie Hubbard
Rest in Peace (the rest):
Heath Ledger
Alain Robbe-Grillet
Robert Rauschenberg
Arthur C. Clarke
Robert Fagles
Michael Mahoney
Manny Farber
Del Martin
Paul Newman
Jørn Utzon
George Brecht
Sunny von Bülow
Oliver Postgate
Bettie Page
Majel Barrett Roddenberry
Harold Pinter
hopes for financial security