December 2008
62 posts
Mates of State - The Re-arranger
Shaking off...
“A brain devoted to turning sound into meaning is tickled by an oversupply of...”
– The Economist: Why Music?
Best of 2008
I posted my favorite albums of 2008 a few days ago. In looking back on ‘08, I revisited and re-posted my favorite tunes of 2005, 2006, and 2007. It’s New Years Eve, so if I’m going to share this year’s favorites, I guess I better get to it. In no well-defined order: my entirely subjective Best of 2008.
Cloud Cult - No One Said It Would Be Easy - Feel Good Ghosts...
“Almost nobody keeps New Year’s Resolutions… much easier to keep...”
– Kathy Sierra
Harvard Prof Wants to Broadcast RIAA Case on... →
artistspaid:
ccarella:
Today, Professor Charles Nesson and his team of Harvard Law students filed a motion to broadcast courtroom coverage of the trial on the Internet, which is traditionally prohibited. More specifically, Nesson and his students are hoping to allow audio-visual coverage of the motion and trial proceedings. Nesson is defending Joel Tenenbaum, who has been sued by the RIAA for...
Max Richter's Ringtones
I just bought Max Richter’s 24 Postcards in Full Color, aka the ringtone album. In and of itself, it’s gorgeous. It’s also noteworthy in its purpose. On his website, Max Richter writes:
Thinking about how we listen to music now, with the wide range of options available, I wondered why it is that the ringtone medium so far has been treated as unfit for creative music…
I have no...
My Top 5 Artists (Week Ending 2008-12-21) →
TV on the Radio (36)
Cloud Cult (30)
Death Cab for Cutie (27)
Bon Iver (26)
The Decemberists (16)
Imported from Last.fm Tumblr by JoeLaz
Robert Plant & Alison Krauss - Please Read The...
Best of 2007
This is it for my trip down memory lane. My favorite tunes from 2007. I used to burn these compliations to CD, make nice covers, and mail them out to a group of friends. The Best of 2007 never officially made it out the door, and I’m not sure it’s worth mailing physical copies anymore. Personally, I think I prefer to download the digital files than have to rip a CD - on the other hand,...
“Life on Mars, the 55th Carnegie International, is the latest exercise in...”
– Roberta Smith (NYTimes: An Alien Sighting on Planet Pittsburgh)
fred-wilson:
Bijan discovers Beirut. that’s a...
tracks:
bijan:
Geography - Thao Nguyen
You...
davehyndman:
Good King Wenceslas - The...
Best of 2006
Continuing in the theme of revisiting old favorites, I’ve been listening to the Best of list that I compiled in 2006. This was a good crop. A lot of these albums have stuck with me.
I titled this compilation Drowned But Survived - the name of The Books 2006 tour and a thinly-veiled description of how I felt looking back on the year. ‘06 is the year my now-former partner in crime moved...
Art Brut - Rusted Guns of Milan
This is a great...
My Top 5 Artists (Week Ending 2008-12-21) →
Cloud Cult (30)
Death Cab for Cutie (27)
TV on the Radio (27)
Bon Iver (26)
The Decemberists (16)
Imported from Last.fm Tumblr by JoeLaz
Best of 2005
These were my favorite tracks of the year as compiled in December, 2005.
The American Analog Set - Born On The Cusp - Set Free
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah - Clap Your Hands! - Clap Your Hands Say Yeah
Sufjan Stevens - Decatur, Or, Round Of Applause for Your Step-Mother! - Illinoise
Kanye West - Diamonds from Sierra Leone [Feat. Jay-Z] - Late Registration
My Morning Jacket - Dondante - Z
The...
Revisiting old favorites
In collecting my favorite songs of 2008 (still to come), I revisited my ‘Best of’ playlists from past years. These were posted at some point on sites I’ve since abandoned. I really enjoyed the flashback, so I’m passing it on. Stay tuned for my favorite tunes from 2005-2007.
Best Albums of 2008
As they do every year, the albums I’ve loved over the stretch of days have formed my soundtrack. Music has been a backdrop, a shield, a comment, and a lair. This is it; my favorite albums of 2008.
Honorable Mentions: Girl Talk – Feed The Animals Hot Chip - Made In The Dark Tokyo Police Club - Elephant Shell Cut Copy – In Ghost Colours
10. Jenny Lewis – Acid Tongue
Acid Tongue is the...
LaLa, The Black Sheep Of Music Startups, Just May... →
artistspaid:
Michael Arrington / Techcrunch:
LaLa doesn’t get nearly as much attention as the other streaming music services, probably because they actually charge users to listen to music. Sites like MySpace Music, Imeem and Last.fm all stream music for free these days. But LaLa only lets you listen to a song once. After that, you have to “buy” it for ten cents to listen to it as many times...
200 digital music startups from 2008 →
jonathan-deamer:
Amazing list. Proof if it were needed that this area is slightly competitive! And when you see them all in a list like this, some of the poor ideas people have been convinced by are rather shocking.
(Although, it’s not really fair to call them all “startups” - many are simply fun mash-up projects.)
TV On The Radio - Stork & Owl
Many great...
“Network neutrality is a policy avenue the company is no longer pursuing.”
– Microsoft
Source: WSJ.com. Note that this article is heartily contested, to put it mildly.
Animal Collective Vinyl Release Parties across...
wesharemusic:
Animal Collective’s 9th full length album, Merriweather Post Pavilion, will be released early on deluxe 2xLP 180 gram gatefold vinyl with full album download (WAV or MP3) January 6th, 2009 in North America. The CD & digital release date will remain January 20th (Jan. 12 UK/Europe). To coincide with the early vinyl release we are throwing a series of release/listening parties...
Bon Iver with The Tallest Man on Earth
At long last, I saw Bon Iver perform at The Trocadero last night. As everyone else who has seen this tour has already reported — check your favorite music blog for reference — it was a wonderful show.
The Tallest Man on Earth kicked it off with a short set of inspired Dylan-esque folk. It was a delightful surprise that he was so great and the crowd showed its appreciation. I realize...
My Top 5 Artists (Week Ending 2008-12-14) →
Deerhunter (27)
Burial (18)
Calexico (15)
The Rural Alberta Advantage (14)
Titus Andronicus (12)
Imported from Last.fm Tumblr by JoeLaz
“We’ve had one of these before, when the dot-com bubble burst. What I told our...”
– Steve Jobs (via danw: mikehudack; marco :bijan)
vruz: Economics: Anti-cyclic economic policies paired with social responsibility.
Also seen in China, Brazil and mostly every other ideology-flexible country that has not taken a major hit yet.
It wasn’t long that the Republican party was...
Bon Iver - released in 2007 or '08?
So, AllMusic says “For Emma, Forever Ago, was released on Jagjaguwar in early 2007.” Amazon says “Original Release Date: February 19, 2008. Label: Jagjaguwar.”
Since I discovered it this year, I think it qualifies for my ‘08 Awesomeness list. Thanks for the hedged response, Whit. :)
whitneymcn:
I believe he self-released it at late in 2007, and then it was...
Tumblr Pulls In $4.5 Million In Funding, Puts Out... →
NICE! Sign me up for premium services. I’m sure they’ll be awesome. (via yvynyl)
Bon Iver - released in 2007 or '08?
Can someone please clarify: did For Emma really drop in 2008? AllMusic thinks it was released in 2007, and I thought so too. What’s the word?
“These statistics are assuming that the rates follow a Poisson distribution. ...”
– Fred Silverman (my Operations professor)
Hot Chip - Wrestlers
I’m warming up for my...
“Be fearful when others are greedy, and greedy when others are fearful.”
– Graham and Dodd (via innonate)
Best of '08 Coming Soon
I’m totally getting left in the dust in the surge of top tens hitting the tumblewire. For those anxiously awaiting my picks (mom? Bets?), I’ll start next Monday. Or maybe even Sunday if I 1. make it home, and 2. resemble a human after the partying I’m going to do on Saturday night. Until then, sparse reblogging resumes.