More lists

This week's Other Paper has my top five albums for 2008, along with brief write-ups, and the top five Columbus albums (all of which you'll probably recognize).

Semi-regular posting will resume next week.

This week's Other Paper

Christmas music reviews: Rosie Thomas's A Very Rosie Christmas! here, Julian Koster's The Singing Saw at Christmastime here.

Dear Time

TV on the Radio's Dear Science has been popping up on a whole lot of "Best of 2008" lists, even topping off compendiums by mainstream mags like Spin and Rolling Stone. I could bemoan how blog culture is becoming synonymous with the mainstream press like Idolator did, but I'd rather just be happy that most people--Big Media and bloggers/blog readers alike--seem to recognize how great this album is, and they're giving TV on the Radio the credit it deserves for this one (it nabbed the #4 spot on my list).

Time has joined the party too, awarding Dear Science the #2 spot. Now, I hate to be one of those guys who critiques someone else's critique, but I have to say the accompanying writeup smacked of ignorance, especially this line: "With its Beach Boys '"ba-ba-bas" and killer lo-fi guitar, "Halfway Home" is all propulsion and energy, the best album opener of the year."

True, it's a great opener, but "lo-fi guitar"? Is it me, or does almost nothing on this album, guitars included, even approach lo-fi? To my ears, this is one of the most crisp, cleanly recorded albums I heard all year. I don't hear it.

And one more quibble with the closer: "Hopefully the merging of their cerebral side with melodies you can actually hum will finally get TVotR an audience outside their borough." To say that TVotR hasn't had an audience outside Brooklyn until now is just uninformed, lazy journalism.

Guilty Pleasure?

I like the new Fall Out Boy album. In fact, I'll go so far as to say I like most of Fall Out Boy's albums. Yeah, Pete Wentz is a spotlight whore whose lyrics can sometimes be as annoyingly narcissistic as his eyeliner, but Patrick Stump is the real talent. The dude has turned into a real-deal singer, and he has a seemingly endless supply of huge hooks in his head. (And a cameo from Elvis Costello on the eighth track makes up for blatantly stealing the guitar riff from "Teenage Wasteland" on the first track.)

I'll just say this: Folie a Deux is the best Island/Def Jam promo I've received in quite a while (I'm looking in your direction Kanye and Killers).

Love is All, Crystal Stilts, Times New Viking

All of the above bands will be playing tonight at the Summit, next to Cafe Bourbon St. I was supposed to cover the show but woke up feeling like sh*tgaze. It should be a good show, though, and I recommend checking it out. I'm betting the first band will go on around 10 or 10:30. Love is All is a crazy bunch of Swedes playing a crazy bunch of jittery punk, Crystal Stilts play really morose songs that should appeal to the Joy Division crowd or those who like their post-punk sopping wet with reverb. And if you don't know Columbus's own Times New Viking by now, you should.

Anyway, the show tonight also made me already realize I forgot Crystal Stilts' Alight of Night on that big list below. You can mentally insert it somewhere between 35 and 55. (On a semi-related note, I probably should have included the Raconteurs' Consolers of the Lonely somewhere, too.)

Top 55 albums of 2008

I’ve been looking over and reordering this list for a couple weeks, and I’m sure it would change a bit again after another couple weeks and some more re-listening, but at some point you gotta stop and go with what you got. Probably not too many surprises here for regular readers of this blog (all two of you). I’ll also give the usual disclaimer that there are plenty of albums I just never got around to. Oh, and looming deadlines are preventing me from adding any mp3s or (attempts at) pithy descriptions below each. Use the Hype Machine and your imagination, respectively.

1. Bon Iver - For Emma, Forever Ago
2. Frightened Rabbit - The Midnight Organ Fight
3. Shearwater - Rook
4. TV on the Radio - Dear Science
5. Blitzen Trapper - Furr
6. Deerhunter - Microcastle
7. Okkervil River - The Stand Ins
8. Sigur Rós - Með Suð Í Eyrum Við Spilum Endalaust
9. The Welcome Wagon - Welcome to the Welcome Wagon
10. The Hold Steady - Stay Positive
11. Gentleman Auction House - Alphabet Graveyard
12. The Low Anthem - Oh My God, Charlie Darwin
13. The Tallest Man on Earth - Shallow Grave
14. Fleet Foxes - Fleet Foxes
15. Anathallo - Canopy Glow
16. Man Man - Rabbit Habbits
17. Vampire Weekend - Vampire Weekend
18. MGMT - Oracular Spectacular
19. Son Lux - At War with Walls and Mazes
20. The Black Keys - Attack & Release
21. My Morning Jacket - Evil Urges
22. Margot & the Nuclear So & So’s - Animal/Not Animal
23. Ra Ra Riot - The Rhumb Line
24. Matt Bauer - The Island Moved in the Storm
25. Alina Simone - Everyone is Calling Out to Me, Beware
26. R.E.M. - Accelerate
27. Mates of State - Re-arrange Us
28. Dodos - Visiter
29. No Age - Nouns
30. The Mountain Goats - Heretic Pride
31. Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson - Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson
32. The Avett Brothers - The Second Gleam
33. Horse Feathers - House with No Home
34. Conor Oberst - Conor Oberst
35. Bodies of Water - A Certain Feeling
36. Centro-Matic/South San Gabriel - Dual Hawks
37. Death Cab for Cutie - Narrow Stairs
38. Bowerbirds - Hymns for a Dark Horse
39. Sun Kil Moon - April
40. Titus Andronicus - The Airing of Grievances
41. The Weepies - Hideaway
42. Butch Walker - Sycamore Meadows
43. Ryan Adams - Cardinology
44. Department of Eagles - In Ear Park
45. The Uglysuit - The Uglysuit
46. Bombadil - A Buzz, A Buzz
47. Throw Me the Statue - Moonbeams
48. Dr. Dog - Fate
49. The Walkmen - You & Me
50. Thao & the Get Down Stay Down - We Brave Bee Stings & All
51. Titles - Up with the Sun
52. Little Joy - Little Joy
53. Lambchop - OH (ohio)
54. Plants & Animals - Parc Avenue
55. Love is All - A Hundred Things Keep Me Up at Night

Best Columbus albums 2008

Since I already gave away that Miranda Sound's self-titled record is my favorite of Columbus album of 2008, I figured I should post all top ten. So here they are, though after the top three the order itself doesn't mean a whole lot--some of these will switch spots with others, depending on the week, day or whatever mood I'm in. The point is, these are all great records. 2008 was a good year for Columbus music. (Links go to previous reviews.)

1. Miranda Sound - Miranda Sound
2. Times New Viking - Rip It Off, Stay Awake E.P.
3. Melty Melty - Rise of the Birdmen
4. Two Cow Garage - Speaking in Cursive
5. Envelope - Shark Bolt!
6. The Lost Revival - Homemade Confetti
7. Moon High - Moon High
8. Our Cat Philip - Apart of Someone
9. Sinkane - Color Voice
10. Brainbow - Brainbow

Sunken Treasure Records: Free!

Sunken Treasure Records, Robert Duffy's Donewaiting.com companion label, announced it's offering its entire catalog as free downloads this month.

You'd be a big dummy not to take advantage of this. If nothing else, at least grab the new (and sadly, last) Miranda Sound record. It's my favorite Columbus album of 2008. But there's also Eric Metronome, the Evil Queens, Megan Palmer and the Celebrity Pilots. So go start downloading.

In other Sunken Treasure news, Duffy also announced an upcoming Black Swans/Alina Simone 7" split next year, as well as the debut from Eve Searles aka Bird and Flower.

Moviola, D. Charles Speer & the Helix - Surly Girl Saloon

Friday’s Moviola show was my second Surly Girl concert experience, the first being the Alina Simone/Jerry DeCicca show back in July. Right now Surly Girl is two for two in my book, and I’ll likely head to more in the future if the bar keeps it up.

Only a living room could be more intimate than this space. Pass all the mildly hectic eating and drinking in the front section of the Short North bar/eatery and you’ll eventually hit a curtain that serves as a visual and aural divider. Behind it, there’s the tiniest of stages and some chairs and benches that look more like church pews. Recessed and red-rope lighting cast a warm, subdued glow to the “Parlour.”

Suffice it to say, it was a nice, relaxed setting in which to watch Moviola, a Columbus band that has now been in existence about 14 years, with some silent periods sprinkled throughout. The last proper Moviola full-length came last year in the form of Dead Knowledge, one of 2007’s strongest Columbus releases. This year also saw Spirit of Orr release Broken Horses, a collection of songs from the band’s early period, 1994 to 2001.

Friday night was a pieced-together affair with false starts, flubbed notes and imperfect harmonies, but none of that detracted from my enjoyment too much. Guitarist Jerry Dannemiller opened the night with a nice rendition of “Children, Go Where I Send Thee,” an African-American spiritual/Christmas tune he dedicated to the recently deceased Odetta. I was also glad to hear a fair amount from Dead Knowledge, especially “Rudy,” “Akron to Oakland” and “Spanish Moss.” All five members took turns on vocals, as is Moviola’s custom, including keyboardist Parker Paul, who’s apparently a permanent fixture in the band now; his voice often reminded me of Neutral Milk Hotel’s Jeff Mangum.

I’ve just recently started exploring Moviola’s entire catalog, but I can safely assert today’s Moviola sounds quite different from the ’90s version. There has almost always been a rootsy sound that would make an “Americana” classification tough to dispute, but the band’s fuzzy early days were characterized by a more lo-fi approach, earning them Pavement comparisons that probably weren’t undeserved.

But watching Moviola perform, I couldn’t help but wonder if any slacker-rock tags were, in retrospect, an oversimplification. Maybe the band never was slacker rock, just laid-back and unfussy enough to seem like slackers. Whether in its current, rootsier form or lo-fi campus-kids version, Moviola approaches recording and performing in a relaxed, unstrained way that expresses something honest and true.

Sure, it may seem silly to attempt any deep analysis of five aging musicians on a small stage having some fun on a Friday night for a rare gig. But it made me appreciate Moviola for playing music with such rewarding nonchalance.

The intimate stage wasn’t quite as friendly to New Yorkers D. Charles Speer and the Helix, but only because Speer himself (real name: Dave Shuford) is a tall scarecrow of a man, and Surly Girl’s one little spot lamp was practically butting up against his forehead during the set.

But he was a good sport, and after some adjustments to the mix, Shuford’s baritone carried the songs, especially on some of the more muted country tunes. The band’s skilled lead guitarist needed a lesson or two in knowing when not to play his Nashville riffs, but Shuford’s quirky guitar leads, which were more prone to psychedelic flourishes, were an essential part of each song. That said, I could have used a little more psychedelia in the set. While a couple of these guys also play in uber-experimental troupe No-Neck Blues Band, it was often hard to tell.

mp3s: Download Dead Knowledge for free, courtesy of Catbird Records.
mp3: D. Charles Speer & the Helix - Single Again

Critic-based pricing structure

Got this press release from Asthmatic Kitty today. They're experimenting with a new pricing structure that's based on critics' reviews of the label's albums. Well, sort of. In this trial run, critics = Pitchfork. Thoughts? Also, think this statement is true? "It's 2008, but until now [music critics'] point systems had absolutely no effect on the value of music."

Here's the full release:

Music label Asthmatic Kitty Records is experimenting with a new post-In Rainbows method of determining the price of an album. Instead of allowing the consumer to dictate price, Asthmatic Kitty looked to the next obvious choice to determine the value of an album: the music critic.

Today, renowned and respected indie rock critics Pitchfork Media released a review of Ropechain, the second full length album from Indianapolis-based Grampall Jookabox. Employing their 10-point system, Pitchfork scored the album at a 5.4.

Asthmatic Kitty will therefore sell Ropechain for $5.40 for 54 hours from 9am, December 8th.

"Pitchfork's ten point scoring system, along with their infamous one decimal point makes them the ideal choice for a dry run with this experimental pricing structure. It just makes dollars and sense," said Michael Kaufmann, A&R.

Moose, frontman for Grampall Jookabox, commented, "I know that it has been a long and difficult road for music critics everywhere. It's 2008, but until now their point systems had absolutely no effect on the value of music. Today, they rightly take their place as determiners of the value of music. "

Both Moose and Kaufmann are so excited about this new move for the label and band that they quickly collaborated in a music video of "Let's Get Mad Together" from Ropechain to commemorate the new pricing structure. Moose dons a dollar bill costume and dances while Kaufmann stands on his head. The video is here:
http://vimeo.com/2446399

Whether this pricing structure will proliferate through the entire record industry depends both on the experiment's success at Asthmatic Kitty Records, and the willingness of music critics to adjust their reviews to fit currency valuation. Just as Radiohead's album sale did, this move may send shock waves through the industry. It is expected that those publications using grade levels, percentage points, or "stars" may have to quickly adjust. Some have purportedly already started converting their scores straight into U.S. dollars.

Consumers wishing to participate in the experiment can buy the album from this news item:
http://asthmatickitty.com/news.php?newsID=372

Welcome to the Welcome Wagon

Sufjan Stevens is woefully behind on that whole 50-albums-about-50-states project he started a few years ago. He covered Michigan in 2003 and Illinois in ’05, but since then all we’ve heard, other than a Christmas box set (which I recommend--’tis the season!), was 2006’s Illinois outtakes, The Avalanche.

I, for one, have been getting impatient for more Sufjan, and now, finally, I have something to sate my need for Soof. No, there’s still no new release, but the Stevens-produced debut from the Welcome Wagon is a more-than-capable stand in ’till then.

The husband-wife team of Vito and Monique Aiuto form the band’s core, and like Stevens, much of the Aiutos’ music is biblically anchored, though more overtly in this case. Given Vito’s day job as pastor of a Presbyterian church in Williamsburg, Brooklyn (remember “Vito’s Ordination Song” on Michigan?), it’s not surprising. A few of the songs on Welcome to the Welcome Wagon are reworked versions of old spirituals, and the album cover and jacket are filled with dated, Precious Moments-evoking images. It’s purposefully campy and perhaps a bit ironic, but you get the feeling the couple is also sincere when the cover says, “May it help to comfort and sustain you.”

In the liner notes--written by Stevens, of course--he describes the Welcome Wagon as gospel music that is “refreshingly plain,” explaining that “it doesn’t impose its religious pitch on the listener with hyped up garnishes of sound; it merely conveys the deepest of convictions with the deadpan verdict of a surgeon.”

That’s pretty accurate. The Welcome Wagon manages to write gospel music that preaches without preachiness. Part of that’s the unadorned way in which the couple sings: Vito sounds astoundingly similar to Sufjan, and Monique’s voice is so childlike and dryly sweet that disliking it is akin to punching a puppy. The record’s charming, homespun vibe also plays a part in the band’s lack of pretense. The last song ends with Monique admitting, “Um, I screwed up twice.”

Old spirituals aren’t the only revamped source material here. The Auitos try their hand at the Smiths’ “Half a Person” and the Velvet Underground’s “Jesus,” and Daniel Smith (of Danielson) gets the songwriting credit for “Sold! To the Nice Rich Man.” It’s not surprisingly the most springy, near-danceable track.

Stevens’s fingerprints are all over the album, which makes sense, as he produced, recorded, engineered and mixed it, not to mention added vocals, banjo, bass, guitar, drums and on and on--more instruments than Vito and Monique combined. And in typical Sufjan fashion, some of the arrangements are overly ambitious (“I Am a Stranger”) and threaten to topple the “refreshingly plain” songs. But others, like the woozy marching-band romp of “You Made My Day,” are perfect.

So yes, it’s an album to tide you over till the next Sufjan Stevens outing, but it’s more than that, too. For me, that realization crystallized on the songs Vito wrote himself, like “American Legion.” At times it’s just Vito and a simple acoustic guitar recounting a somber memory. “If I’d been there I’d surely have stayed with you/ If I’d been there I’d surely have prayed for you, I want you to know,” he sings. It’s one of several moments where I realized this pastor and his wife are something special, with or without their friend with the funny first name.

Welcome to the Welcome Wagon is out Dec. 9 on Asthmatic Kitty Records.

mp3: The Welcome Wagon - Sold! To the Nice Rich Man