I Suck at Video Games

Every year, I produce a Best Of list for the albums of the year, and every year I have to talk about how I make my selections. In a year where the Fleet Foxes are appearing near the top of everyone’s list, I think I should emphasize my criteria. I chose albums based on what I not only liked to listen to during the past year, but what I’m really likely to continue listening to. I think the Fleet Foxes album is excellent; it’s very pretty. But for something to really touch me, I have to know I am going to keep on singing, dancing or playing my drums along with the album for some time to come.

This is always the longest thing I write every year. Comments of “tl;dr” will not be appreciated.

I also do this thing where I don’t choose my favorite album of the year until two years later. Maybe I haven’t heard it yet! I don’t have time to buy pirate every album that comes out during a year. So look for bonus content at the end, where I select my favorite album of 2006. The 2008 albums–11 of them–are listed in alphabetical order by artist.

Bloc Party – Intimacy. Another great album from Bloc Party. The lyrics on this album aren’t as personal or confessional as they were on A Weekend in the City, but whatever. It sounds great and it’s fun to drum along with. In my opinion, this album has some production issues; some of the tracks sound distorted when played on my car stereo. This is obnoxious, and cost the record some points. And yes, this is the actual CD, too.

Death Cab For Cutie – Narrow Stairs. I never buy it when a band says they are trying to work differently than they had worked previously, and that their new album will be a departure. I didn’t buy it here, but it doesn’t matter. There is one standout track that sounds different from their previous work–I Will Possess Your Heart, which is an instant inductee into the Stalker Song Hall of Fame. The rest sounds like good Death Cab For Cutie, which means I like it.

Elbow – The Seldom Seen Kid. Here’s the album I listened to most often. I always champion Elbow, and tell people they should love them. I’m sure many people are sick of me talking about them. Well, this album won the Mercury Prize, an award given to the best album by a United Kingdom artist during the award year. Good for them! It’s Elbow’s best record, and the lyrics and vocals are uniformly excellent.

Foals – Antidotes. Last year, I called Battles “like King Crimson, but you can dance to it.” I should have saved that for Foals. I’ve seen this album called math rock, but it’s really just a dance record. There are spots where it delves into ska, with horns playing syncopated rhythms. There are spots where it falls into a Franz Ferdinand style groove, and then there’s some slower airy moments.

Girl Talk – Feed the Animals. The Internet is awash with blog posts about this CD. There’s nothing else I want to add to the debate right now. Let’s just say that this is one of my favorite albums to listen to and leave it at that. Is it fair use? Is it outright theft? I’ll let the lawyers sort it out, and I’ll just keep on dancing.

Helio Sequence – Keep Your Eyes Ahead. Helio Sequence is a band I thought was going to disappear, and I didn’t think I’d miss them. I had their previous album, and with the exception of Harmonica Song, I wasn’t all that fond of it. So when Pandora threw the track “The Captive Mind” at me, I was surprised at how much I liked it. I bought the album, and it turned out the whole thing was great. The singer/guitarist/songwriter dealt with some throat problems, and the incredible drummer had a short stint in Modest Mouse (listen to “The Ocean Breathes Salty”). They’ve come back stronger and better then ever.

Radiohead – In Rainbows. The Internet is also awash with blog posts about this album. I paid the minimum to download it when it came out, and have bought the physical CD as well (in Tokyo, where it came with a bonus CD). I was on the fence about whether or not I liked it until I saw Radiohead at the Hollywood Bowl this summer. On both nights, they played the entirety of the record, and by the end of those shows, I was a fan of the album. It’s an unfair advantage for them, I know.

Sons & Daughters – This Gift. This was the early Oscar contender that I nearly forgot about. Then I added it to my “2008 Contenders” playlist, and started running the album over and over again. I saw this band in Austin back in March, and bought this CD before I even left town. I listened to it a bunch in March, and then a bunch again this December. Admittedly, this is the one I had to add to make this list 11 albums long, but I didn’t think it fair to leave it off. I’ve said more about my process than about the album, but I’m out of room. Better listen to it yourself then.

The Ting Tings – We Started Nothing. This album features a couple of hard-to-avoid singles, “Shut Up and Let Me Go” and “That’s Not My Name.” There are people who may find these songs annoying, and they wouldn’t be wrong. If you’re not on the dance floor, these could be annoying songs. Overall, though, this record has a persistent dance groove and singable melodies. It’s not all shouting of inane lyrics. I promise.

TV on the Radio – Dear Science. I haven’t seen many top 10 lists that haven’t included this one. I’m not trying to be all different, so it’s here too. What this record offers that has been missing from TVotR’s previous output is space. It’s just easier to hear the different sounds, which makes it more pleasant to listen to, and also makes it Rock more when it wants to rock, and makes it a lot funkier when it’s trying to be funky. Just everything about this album is outstanding. In 2010, it will be a clear favorite for 2008’s album of the year.

Vampire Weekend – Vampire Weekend. Internet, awash, blog entries, blah blah blah. Some may feel like this record is a bit too “precious.” I tend to agree, but that’s not such a bad thing here. Precious records are good. If this band hadn’t been hyped to death, I would probably be begging people to listen to it. “Look,” I’d say, “he’s namedropping Peter Gabriel in a song that sounds like it might be a Peter Gabriel song!” OK, so maybe it is a bit too precious. I like it regardless. You will, too.

Here’s the secret text some of you have been waiting to see. As always, if you email gordon@isuckatvideogames.com with your snail mail address, I’ll send you the official Gordon’s Best of 2008 mix CD. This offer valid for the first 15 people to respond. Now, here are my choices in some specialty categories!

The “No apologies” song of the year: Miley Cyrus – See You Again (“See You Again”). I heard this song between sets at NoisePop last year. I asked Joel to use his Verizon song identification phone doohickey on it, but his battery was dead. So I jotted down the lyrics and looked it up when I got home. Miley Cyrus? Really? Hannah Montana? Whatever, this is a great pop song. Admittedly, the lyrics are a little childish. I do wonder, though. Is her best friend really named Leslie?

Live Album: Muse – HAARP. Read below for comments.

Favorite album of the Year For 2006: Muse – Black Holes and Revelations. It’s a bit unfair when a great live act like Muse releases a live album that features my favorite album of 2006. You can see me talk all about that album in my 2006 music review column. (Maybe it’s Googlable?) What’s good about it, however, is that I can use one song on my mix CD to represent both records. One of my dreams is to go to Wembley Stadium to see a Muse show. This live CD (and the accompanying DVD) have shown me that this is not some sort of crazy dream. It would be an amazing show. I particularly like when he yells out “C’mon England!” And of course, this recording features my absolute favorite thing in the world: giant crowds singing along with guitar solos. (See my coverage of Rush in Rio for more on this phenomenon.)

Only movie soundtrack I actually bought, thus my choice for soundtrack of the year: The Dark Knight by Hans Zimmer and James Newton Howard. Every bunch of years, I buy a score album from a movie. It’s incredibly rare. In fact, it’s possible that the last one I bought was Antz. This one, though, is a bit of a dream team of film composers, and the score that came out of it is great to listen to, especially very loudly. My car shakes at parts. I feel like Batman and want to fight crime. I just don’t think the suit would fit me all that well.

Thanks for reading! Comments are encouraged.