top cds of 2008

the 2008 season of music is all but over and for me, it's all colour revolt and the new frontiers this year's. from there, the list isn't a whole lot to talk about. sadly, combined those two bands probably didn't even sell 40,000 records.

last year there were so many amazing cds that it's bled over into 2008. most of what i have listened to this year came out last year. this would also include the new frontiers cd - it pre-released about 6 months before it came out this february. 2007 cd's like bowerbirds, aa bondy, spoon and laura veirs would have worn out this year if i'd actually bought a cd. which raises an interesting point: sometimes it takes longer than a year for a good band to break out. the speed at which a band pings across the indie-scene point radar is not the end-all measure of a band. the slow ping has already killed the new frontiers, hopefully in 2009 colour revolt will start to come into their own.

for the rest of the list:

fleet foxes is in my top ten, blah, blah, blah: we don't need anyone else to write about how they've single handledly saved the universe a million times over for their stunning wonderfulness throughout the universe.

santogold is amazing and is easily in my top 10. i'm not huge on m.i.a. - santogold refines what m.i.a. does and has created a better complete project with less gaps and shortcomings. girltalk's feed the animals is so great and still makes me smile when i catch something in the mix that had previously gone unnoticed. bon iver's for emma, forever ago is in my top 10 also. aa bondy is a top 10 of this year even though that cd technically came out in 2007 and we released in 08.

margot and the nuclear so & so's new cd is really good, but i would put it in the honorable mention category, as is denison witmer's carry the weight.

so that's pretty incomplete, but it's been a sparse year. i liked ben folds' new cd too, but not enough to crack this almost top 10. sigur ros i would put in the top 10. also brendan canning and coldplay maybe.

for disappointments...

lovedrug & copeland: i'm combing these two cds beacuse they came out around the same time and both left me bummed. i had high expectations for the new lovedrug, but it was too much of the same powerfully delivered, scorching lyrics without a solid musical composition. i expected zero from copeland and it was actually pretty good so i guess it wasn't a disappointment.

cold war kids put out a decent album, but i expected more i think. i'll write about best concerts soon.