My 10 Favorite Things in Music in 2008

Not necessarily my top 10 favorite records released in the last year, just what I enjoyed most about music in the last year.

10 Daytrotter
I found this site before 2008, but over the last 12 months, it not only introduced me to many new artists to listen to. It also offered up some great sets by bands and artists I already knew about. The two that are sticking out most in my mind right now are Kelley Stoltz and Headlights. There are many great places online to check out songs, whole albums, videos, but Daytrotter remains one of my favorites.

Link to the Kelley Stoltz session
Link to the Headlights session.

9 The Whigs on The Late Show with David Letterman
I had been reading about the Whigs and had a bit of an aversion simply because their name is so close to the Afghan Whigs. Thought it was kinda lame. But I saw they were going to be on Letterman and set the DVR. And I got to hear/see "Right Hand on My Heart". Then got my hands on the album, Mission Control. As a whole, it wasn't one of my favorite records of the year. But this song and this clip made me do something I hadn't done in a long time: run right out and get new music. Their drummer alone is worth the price of admission to see them.



8 R.E.M. remembering what they do better than most
It's really all right there in the first single from their Accelerate record, "Supernatural Superserious". Not only does it have one of the best riffs Peter Buck has committed to record in years, there it is...right around 50 seconds in, in this particular version. The Voice. When Mike Mills kicks in with a harmony vocal, it reminds me most of what I love so much about R.E.M.'s sound. So much so, that it made me go out to a store on its release date and buy it as soon as I could. I didn't do that too much this year, and haven't done that for a R.E.M. record probably since Automatic for the People. And the whole album is great. Such a surprise for me; I haven't really enjoyed their recent output. But this one rocks. This is a clip of them performing "Supernatural Superserious" on MTV, I believe in Italy.



7 Music on Comedy Central shows
Not normally where one would look, but Jon Stewart and Steven Colbert had some unique televised musical moments this year. Wilco was on to play "Wilco: the Song", which was a new tune at the time. Willie Nelson, John Legend and Feist were great on Colbert's Christmas special (not to mention Feist's appearance the Report itself). Rush played "Tom Sawyer", seemingly, for 24 hours and R.E.M. had to look up at him on a large, large stool. Even Jon Stewart had on Hall & Oates to sing a farewell to Alan Colmes leaving Sean Hannity to the tune of "She's Gone". And worked in the word "douchebag" to boot. Go to their sites and search, the songs come up pretty easily. To not have this post any longer than it is, I can't pick just one. Go to Colbert Nation or The Daily Show sites and search.

6 The Future is Unwritten
Just when I needed a reminder about how great Joe Strummer was, this Julien Temple documentary reminded me. I only wish it would've been shown on a screen somewhere here in my town, but at least I have the DVD. And so should you.

A clip of the trailer is here

5 Cheap Trick reissue of Live at Budokan
For the amount of time I spent as a kid listening to this album, playing along on my drums, and imagining what the show looked like just by studying the album jacket and gatefold cover, I finally got to see what it was like with the 3 CD/1 DVD reissue that was put out this year. I read a lot of reviews saying it was too much of a good thing, but not for me. I never got my hands on the two-disc CD reissue from years ago and liked getting all that with the film, the bonuses and all the artwork. I think it was just aimed at fans like me. If you're complaining about the price tag or how much new stuff there actually is, then you probably weren't that interested in it in the first place. It's awesome...

Sony has a clip of "Surrender" from the original 1978 show here

4 The love I have that continues to grow for the Faces
You can see it earlier in this blog; this year, I got the 4-disc Five Men Walk Into a Bar... and have been immersed in the sounds of one of the most overlooked bands in rock ever since. I already said it. i could repeat it. Or you could just find that entry. Either way, the Faces, collectively, are one of the most talented groups of musicians that there ever was. The rumors of another show are nice, but it's important that they carefully think about who takes the late bassist/vocalist Ronnie Lane's place. Here, again on this site, is one hell of a performance of "Stay with Me"



3 The love I have that continues to grow for Guided By Voices
There's always another album or five to hunt down. There's the solo records that I've barely scratched the surface of. The numerous side projects. Why is it so addicting? Well, partially because there is so much of it and also because you can repeatedly find My Favorite GBV Song. Then change it a week later. Then go back to it. Then change to another. Every couple of songs on every album will stick out and then spend a long time stuck in your internal jukebox. I re-read the book by former bassist Jim Greer. I watched the DVDs I have over and over. And listen to them walking to work more than almost any other band. Here's a video of one of my current favorites, "The Official Ironmen Rally Song"



2 The Replacements reissues
I don't have them all yet, but plan to. Not only do the records sound great, but the real reason to get them is for the excellent bonus tracks. From singles, out-of-print vinyl, some of demo cassettes that Paul Westerberg gave to former manager Peter Jesperson, it's all exciting to hear for a 'Mats fan like myself. And most of the origins of each bonus track is explained in the liner notes by Jesperson himself. It's like getting those long-promised box sets of unreleased stuff spread out over eight records with the actual bonus being the original recordings sounding better than they ever have on compact disc. Does that ruin the spirit of the earlier stuff? Maybe, but it's still real good to have. Like I said, I still need them all, but it's great to know they're out there. And just the version of "20th Century Boy" keeps a smile on my face as I wait to collect them all. Insert your own baseball card reference here. Or just watch this '81 clip of "Kids Don't Follow" live I found on YouTube.



1 Paul Weller
It's that simple. Weller. The Modfather. I have always listened to Weller and had a few of his records going into 2008. But this year, I went into the deep end. This year alone I got my hands on the live Catch-Flame! from 2006, the 2-disc deluxe reissue of Wild Wood (which I now have no idea how I went so long without owning that album), the Live at Braehead DVD from 2003, his stellar new record 22 Dreams (easily my favorite 2008 release) and, amazingly and thanks to my fiancee, the incredible At the BBC 4-disc set that was released here in December. It has songs from acoustic sessions, full concerts that were aired, from all points of his career: the Jam, the Style Council and his solo work. It was just all about Weller for me this year. Every time I put one record aside, another one took its place in my stereo. Weller's music formed much of the soundtrack to my year. And there's still more I need to get. First is Weller performing one of the singles from 22 Dreams, "Have You Made Up Your Mind" on Later with Jools Holand and then a performance of one of my favorite Weller songs, "From the Floorboards Up" from 2005's As Is Now from BBC4 Sessions.