musical

Mandy's been reminding me that I have failed to post my list of top albums of 2008. My main excuse is that I haven't wanted to take the time to write my commentary on each album, but since it is now more than five months past the end of 2008, it's time to just get this baby done. So, this year's list has no commentary other than this: Muse rocks live! What follows is my list of 31 albums released in 2008 in alphabetical order by artist:

1. "19" (Adele)
2. "Modern Guilt" (Beck)
   
3. "Intimacy" (Bloc Party)
   
4. "Jukebox" (Cat Power)
   
5. "Viva La Vida/Prospekt's March" (Coldplay)
   
6. "Conor Oberst" (Conor Oberst)
   
7. "Narrow Stairs" (Death Cab for Cutie)
   
8. "Carry the Weight" (Denison Witmer)
   
9. "Electric Arguments" (The Fireman and Youth Paul McCartney)
   
10. "The '59 Sound" (The Gaslight Anthem)
    
11. "Feed the Animals" (Girl Talk)
    
12. "Be OK" (Ingrid Michaelson)
    
13. "Down to Earth" (Jem)
    
14. "Life Death Love and Freedom" (John Mellencamp)
    
15. "808s & Heartbreak" (Kanye West)
    
16. "Perfect Symmetry" (Keane)
    
17. "Day & Age" (The Killers)
    
18. "Only by the Night" (Kings of Leon)
    
19. "The Sucker Punch Show" (Lovedrug)
    
20. "H.A.A.R.P." (Muse)
    
21. "With Arrows With Poise" (The Myriad)
    
22. "The Slip" (Nine Inch Nails)
    
23. "Accelerate" (R.E.M.)
    
24. "Consolers Of The Lonely" (The Raconteurs)
    
25. "Lust Lust Lust" (The Raveonettes)
    
26. "Some People Have Real Problems" (Sia)
    
27. "Ode to J. Smith" (Travis)
    
28. "Forth" (The Verve)
    
29. "You and Me" (The Walkmen)
    
30. "Pink and Blue" (Waterdeep)
    
31. "Hideaway" (The Weepies)
    

François Macré - Thriller (reprise A'cappella 64 pistes)

Both cool and creepy, Michael Jackson's Thriller recorded in 64 individual a capella tracks. Seemed to be a good post-Halloween post.

Won free tickets to see The Swell Season (Glen Hansard of the Frames and Marketa Irglova -- they made a little movie called Once that you might have seen) at the Royal Oak Music Theatre. They had really tight harmonies and great passion for their music; it was a solid show. While I was uploading the pictures I decided to add the pics from Eisley and MuteMath at St. Andrew's Hall as well. MuteMath puts on a phenomenally energetic show, but Eisley was somewhat underwhelming. All pictures were taken with my iPhone, so don't expect anything too high quality.

Finally, just a month into 2008, I release the annual list of top albums (for previous years, see 2006, 2005, or 2004). 2007 was certainly an awesome year for music, so this has taken awhile to compile! This year's list is an astonishing 30 albums long, and I listened to them all quite a bit. Not all are classics; some are just included because I listened to them so often. So here they are, in no particular order, the top albums of 2007:

1. "A Weekend in the City" (Bloc Party) According to iTunes, I listened to this album more than any other in 2007. I guess iTunes is telling me something. I think it is telling me, "Bloc Party rocks!"
2. "Ben Hardt and His Symphony" (Ben Hardt) I'm not saying this just because Ben is my friend. This album is stellar! Ben was just named the Pittsburgh 2007 musician of the year, a fitting honor. Also, be sure to look for him in Mischa Barton's new movie!
3. "The Khrusty Brothers" (The Khrusty Brothers) Two words: Appalachian Mourntronica.
4. "The Boy with No Name" (Travis) Saw Travis at St. Andrews this year (see gallery). Great album, but even better live.
5. "Heart Attack Time Machine" (Waterdeep) First new album from Waterdeep in a long time. Doesn't disappoint.
6. "Back to Black" (Amy Winehouse) British bad girl lives up to her reputation. The hype is semi-deserved.
7. "Neon Bible" (Arcade Fire) After Wake Up opened every show on U2's Vertigo Tour, I had high hopes for this album. My Body is a Cage, the last track on "Neon Bible," finally hits its stride.
8. "The Shade of Poison Trees" (Dashboard Confessional) New, vintage Dashboard that brings back memories of the early years. Not nearly as produced as "Dusk and Summer," and not quite as grand.
9. "Our Love to Admire" (Interpol) This album is nothing we haven't heard from Interpol before. Saw them at the Fillmore just after this album came out, and neither the live show nor the album quite lived up to my expectations, but both were solid performances.
10. "Alright, Still" (Lily Allen) Though technically this was first released in 2006, it's re-release in 2007 was what made Lily Allen explode. Just another British female singer-rapper? Yes, but it's fun.
11. "Everything Starts Where It Ends" (Lovedrug) I think Lovedrug was on a few when this was recorded. Not as tight and punchy as their first album. Saw Lovedrug at House of Blues in Vegas earlier in the year, and honestly, they where somewhat underwhelming. Maybe it was just because they were opening for Plain White T's, I don't know. Too much sorrow, not enough anger it seemed.
12. "In Rainbows" (Radiohead) This is good Radiohead, but the only greatness was in the "pay what you feel like" delivery method. I love Radiohead. OK Computer changed my life. But this time Radiohead's life-changing was the delivery, not the content. "In Rainbows" is just good Radiohead.
13. "Friend Opportunity" (Deerhoof) I didn't listen to this nearly as much as I should have in 2007. It's a phenomenal album, but somehow I kept overlooking it.
14. "B-Sides & Live (2001-2005)" (Echo & The Bunnymen) Even their b-sides are great. The instrumental versions of some of the classics are awesome, but make you miss the lyrics.
15. "The Reminder" (Feist) Yes, it's the iPod commercial song, but it's Leslie Feist, and she's awesome.
16. "One Man Band" (James Taylor) For some reason, James Taylor is conspicuously absent from my music collection. After getting this live album, I'm ok with that, since I don't think any of his albums could top his live performance. He's legendary for good reason.
17. "Memory Almost Full" (Paul McCartney) Speaking of legends, Paul McCartney's latest proves that he is still relevant, still a phenomenal songwriter, and still a pop icon. This is a big win for the Starbucks label!
18. "Year Zero" (Nine Inch Nails) While I have a tremendous amount of respect for Trent Reznor, in my book, his greatest work will always be "Pretty Hate Machine." "Year Zero" is solid, but not revolutionary.
19. "Combinations" (Eisley) I listened to this quite a bit, just because I knew that I would see Eisley opening for MuteMath. Honestly, I don't understand the draw. It's an ok album, and they were ok live, but I don't quite understand the Eisley cult following.
20. "Introducing Joss Stone" (Joss Stone) Wow. She's got a whole lotta soul for a white Brit.
21. "Challengers" (The New Pornographers) Add this to the list of albums I didn't listen to enough last year. Good stuff, but not mind-blowing.
22. "The Great Longing" (Phil Roy) This is really a beautiful hidden gem by songwriter Phil Roy. Featuring Amos Lee and Madeline Peyroux, look for this to make a major-label debut in 2008.
23. "The Fragile Army" (The Polyphonic Spree) The Polyphonic Spree. No one else like them. Rock choir for the ages.
24. "Icky Thump" (The White Stripes) Can Jack White do no wrong? This album delivers again and again.
25. "A Strange Education" (The Cinematics) Saw them open for MuteMath, and they put on a pretty darn good show. I expect to see more from them before too long.
26. "Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer?" (Of Montreal) Wow. Yet another album that I should have listened to more often. Maybe I like the idea of liking Of Montreal better than I actually like their music. I'll have to follow up on this theory.
27. "Theology" (Sinead O'Connor) A 2-disc set with two versions of every song. Because one version is not enough.
28. "Hey Venus!" (Super Furry Animals) Powerpop infused with innuendo. Nothing tops "Phantom Power," but they're sure working at it.
29. "B-Sides and Rarities" (Cake) I used to love Cake. This takes me back.
30. "The Trumpet Child" (Over the Rhine) A great album from a great band.

This weekend, I was in Chicago for The Concordia Invitational Tournament (CIT), the second-oldest college basketball tournament in the country (older than March Madness!). After trailing throughout their entire first game, our women's team tied it up with two minutes left, took the lead with one minute remaining, and held on to win their first CIT game in recent memory! Unfortunately, the women lost a close, hard-fought championship game. Our men's team lost two close games, with the youngest team at the tournament. Often, we had four freshmen on the court. I had all the freshman guys in my First-Year Seminar class this fall, and it was exciting to see them learn to take leadership on the court and follow the example of the graduating seniors. Watching these guys play their hearts out and the women fight tooth and nail for a win, I have never felt so much pride for our students.

The teams' coaches were spectacular, wholly focused through all forty minutes of each game, pacing the bench, challenging bad calls (of which there were many!), and shouting instructions to their players. Seeing the coaches and players performing to their full potential was inspiring. On the drive home, I pondered how we humans might relate differently if we all had a chance to see each other functioning in our greatest strengths. Perhaps narcissistically, I also wondered, "When am I living to my full potential? What are my championship game coaching and playing moments? What is my court? Who are my teammates and how do we enable each other?"

This evening, I stumbled across the embedded YouTube video of a young prodigy performing "Carry On Wayward Son" by Kansas. If this doesn't inspire you to do what you're created to do, I don't know what will.

This weekend, Mandy and I took a trip to Detroit to get away from the status quo for awhile and relax. We visited the Detroit Hard Rock Cafe, got a massage, and did some shopping at the Somerset Collection. Had a really great time!

On a somewhat related note, I got Bloc Party's new album “Weekend in the City” from eMusic, which is one of the best new albums I've heard in a long time. A perfect soundtrack for our weekend in the city.

ARTISTdirect is offering free mp3s for your Zune. This offer features some great artists (Spoon, David Byrne & Brian Eno, Postal Service, and Joseph Arthur), some OK artists (Ani Difranco, Belle and Sebastian, Moby, and Josh Ritter), and some artists that are sooo like 2005 (Sufjan Stevens, Barenaked Ladies, Aimee Mann, and The Shins). Download your favorites here.

P.S. - These will also play in one of those iPod things, in case you don't have a Zune.

P.S.S. - If anyone ever offers threatens to squirt me with their brown Zune, I will hurt them.