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        This, I have come to feel, is the purpose of end of year lists. They may serve as a grand effigy of self applauding wankery to the more pretentious blogger, but end of year lists are the best way to introduce new music to people. Sure, you can spend 364 days of the year telling everyone why Cut Copy are the bottom line of music in 2008, but until you put your money where your mouth is (so to speak) and place them above everybody else in your end of year list, permanently chronicling your opinion for all of posterity to judge and deride, people will find it regrettably easy to overlook them.
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PRO: She & Him? Sun Kil Moon? Lucinda Williams? Paradoxically, the only thing that I like about this list is also why I hate it. It contains a huge number of artists that I haven’t heard about before; and that is, to a certain extent, what these lists should be all about, using the immense influence bestowed upon you to influence music that you truly believe to be fantastic to other people, so that they may derive the same pleasure from it.
The only major strength of this list is that, aside from the baffling choices in the top 10, they’ve opted for the contingent that brought 2008 it’s most sonically beautiful sound-scapes: Sigur Ros, Bon Iver and Fleet Foxes.
CON: I’m afraid that this section’s going to be substantially longer… Not only because it’s easier (and more satisfying!) to criticise, but because the list deserves a bit of a beating.
It would seem to an unknowing observer that Paste Magazine is actually a subsidiary of Pitchfork, such are the parallels between the two. Their list is, essentially, Pitchfork’s favorites plus a few random, beardy folk artists that literally nobody has heard of thrown in for a bit of street cred. It’s basically just a very long way of saying “I know more about music than you”. Now, I am not so arrogant to mind being introduced to music that I don’t know about, but Paste have taken it a step too far this year. Indeed, Paste’s readers have left 35 comments on the list; all of them are negative. It’s most worrying that their readers pointed out that their list is full of people that they gave poor scores to, and omissions include their highest scorers of the year. It would be foolish not to resign yourself to the fact that people’s opinions are bound to differ,and nobody will post your opinion entirely, but for a magazine that had The National, Arcade Fire, Feist, M.I.A, Wilco, Band of Horses and Iron & Wine in it’s top 10 last year, it seems the once predictable Paste Magazine, disappointed by the popular appeal of last year’s list, has made a conscious effort to be different this year. This, in my opinion, is blogger-terrorism. It’s the most heinous crime you can commit with your keyboard and a creative outlet; trying to appear knowledgeable by being false and contrived.
OMG WTF: It’s an obvious one isn’t it… An end of year list? In November? They are depriving themselves of over a twelfth of this year’s music. This includes, of course, The Killers, Kanye West, Britney Spears, Justice and Maroon 5 (they’ll be kicking themselves when they see that one come out).
The list of notable emissions is shocking; Portishead, Elbow, Calexico, Beck, Coldplay, Cut Copy… As I’ve said, opinions always differ, but Beck is an artist who has been on the cover of Paste Magazine. Just what’s going on down there?
It seems to me that Paste Magazine have forsaken the conformity that actually made their list of 2007 damn good, instead opting for an elitist group of unknowns just to seem a little edgy. Maybe I would have been better off just reading NME all year.
Paste Magazine’s Top 50 Albums 2008
50 TV On The Radio - Dear Science (Interscope)
49 Sandra McCracken - Red Balloon (Towhee)
48 REM - Accelerate (Warner Bros.)
47 Laura Marling - Alas, I Cannot Swim (Astralwerks)
46 Lykke Li - Youth Novels (LL)
45 M83 - Saturdays = Youth (Mute)
44 Kathleen Edwards - Asking For Flowers (Zoë)
43 Amanda Palmer - Who Killed Amanda Palmer (Roadrunner)
42 Thao Nguyen and the Get Down Stay Down - We Brave Bee Stings & All (KRS)
41 The Tallest Man On Earth - Shallow Grave (Gravitation)
40 Flight of the Conchords - Flight of the Conchords (Sub Pop)
39 The Dodos - Visiter (Frenchkiss)
38 Jamie Lidell - Jim (Warp)
37 Johnny Flynn & The Sussex Wit - A Larum (Lost Highway)
36 The Bridges - Limits of the Sky (Verve)
35 Colour Revolt - Plunder, Beg and Curse (Fat Possum)
34 Torche - Meanderthal (Hydra Head)
33 Santogold - Santogold (Downtown)
32 Silver Jews - Lookout Mountain, Lookout Sea (Drag City)
31 The Walkmen - You & Me (Gigantic)
30 I’m From Barcelona - Who Killed Harry Houdini? (Mute)
29 Lil Wayne -Â Tha Carter IIIÂ (Cash Money/Universal)
28 MGMT - Oracular Spectacular (Columbia)
27 Liam Finn - I’ll Be Lightning (Yep Roc)
26 Lee Ann Womack - Call Me Crazy (MCA Nashville)
25 Mugison - Mugiboogie (Ipecac)
24 Santogold & Diplo - Top Ranking
 (Mad Decent)
23 Mates of State - Re-Arrange Us (Barsuk)
22 No Age - Nouns (Sub Pop)
21 The Raveonettes - Lust Lust Lust (Vice)
20 Hot Chip - Made In The Dark (Astralwerks)
19 Gentleman Jesse and His Men - Introducing Gentleman Jesse and His Men (Douchemaster)
18 Death Cab
 for Cutie - Narrow Stairs
 (Atlantic)
17 Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy - Lie Down In The Light (Drag City)
16 My Morning Jacket
 - Evil Urges (ATO)
15 Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds - Dig!!! Lazarus Dig!!! (Mute)
14 Langhorne Slim - Langhorne Slim (Kemado)
13 Ida Maria - Fortress Round My Heart (Waterfall/RCA)
12 of Montreal - Skeletal Lamping (Polyvinyl)
11 The Hold Steady - Stay Positive (Vagrant)
10 Deerhunter - Microcastle (Kranky)
09 Lucinda Williams - Little Honey (Lost Highway)
08 Sun Kil Moon - April (Caldo Verde)
07 Girl Talk - Feed the Animals (Illegal Art)
06 Fleet Foxes - Fleet Foxes (Sub Pop)
05. Okkervil River - The Stand Ins (Jagjaguwar)
04. Bon Iver - For Emma, Forever Ago (Jagjaguwar)
03. Vampire Weekend - Vampire Weekend (XL)
02. Sigur Rós - Med sud i eyrum vid spilum endalaust (XL)
01. She & Him - Volume One (Merge)
Paste Magazine’s Top 50 Albums of 2008 Playlist (non-Official)
She & Him – Why Do You Let Me Stay Here?
Vampire Weekend – Everywhere
Bon Iver – Skinny Love
Death Cab For Cutie – Cath…
Hot Chip – Ready For The Floor (Shake A Fist Diplo Mix)
Santogold – I’m A Lady (Diplo Mix Ft Amanda Blank)
Lykke Li – Little Bit (CSS Remix)
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Phil Gwyn is a guest-blogger here at Pretty Much Amazing. You can read his entries at his blog, Not Many Experts.Â
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Tags: Best of 2008 Lists, Lists
Both magazines are crap. There are many more music magazines out there that are a bit less pretentious. But this list just looks like what’s been on a million blogs this year. That’s not to say some of the same bands wouldn’t be on my list, but one has to question any 2008 list when She & Him is at the top. Yes, they put out an excellent album, but I find it hard to believe that would be anyone’s #1. As for “throwing in some beardy folk artists that literally nobody has heard of thrown in for a bit of street cred,” I did not see a single truly unknown artist anywhere…
I disagree, there are many artists on this list that are obnoxiously obscure.
“Gentleman Jesse and His Men”???
Thao Nguyen and the Get Down Stay Down, The Tallest Man On Earth, Johnny Flynn & The Sussex Wit, Mugison?? Are these Pitchfork endorsed bands?
a) the gentleman jesse album is amazing power pop
b) son kil moon is the guy from red house painters as a solo artist, not at all obscure or bearded
c) this list will be nothing like pitchfork’s
d) problems would be: lucinda williams album is boring compared to her old output, tv on the radio at only 50, flight of the conchords on the list at all (?), mgmt album came out in 2007. list is ridiculous.
omissions:
black keys
fuck buttons
crystal antlers
That is a random fuckin list. I cant help but wonder how She & Him ended up as #1. That is the one album this year I could hardly stand to listen to and just deleted.
Just because you haven’t heard of them does not make them “obnoxiously obscure.” Thao toured with Rilo Kiley and is pretty well known as far as I can tell, its a nice album so check it. The Tallest Man On Earth is a Swedish folk singer who has been all over blogs for months now. I think he even broke into the top 10 charts on Elbo.ws at one time. I think the only one on here that I have never seen anywhere is Mugison. But I guess it depends on how closely you watch and where you live.
Thao’s album is pretty amazing, actually, I’d definitely check it out if you haven’t had a chance.
I’m thrilled to see Thao’s album on there. She’s an amazing artist. I’m also glad Sigur Ros made it so close to the top too, but really…no Coldplay?? That’s like having….a sundae with no hot fudge. Just plain ice cream. Where’s the chocolatey goodness?
I’d like to believe that anyone with a real love of music could justify putting ANY album at the top #1 spot, whether it’s substantial or not, popular or not, “hip” or not, original or not, critically approved or not. I might even get a bigger kick out of someone trying to posit White Lion’s March comeback album “Return of the Pride” as the year’s choice music than, say, Fleet Foxes for the 40th time. More interesting that way. On the other hand if they are just being different to stand out, that’s undeniably obnoxious. But there’s no concrete proof of that, apart from a stench of pretense, so we shouldn’t be so harsh.
And yeah there are a few artists I’ve never heard of, but I’m sure plenty of other people have. No need to assume that one person’s ignorance is universal. I didn’t know who Thao Nguyen was until her latest album came out this year, but she’s done plenty to establish herself. “Bag of Hammers”, by the way, is a very enjoyable song.
And personally, while I may not respect Paste’s list all that much, as with most lists, I’m at least pleased to find a few personal faves that are routinely ignored littered within, like The Raveonettes (ahem, technically 2007 but whatever), Mates of State, I’m from Barcelona, and Langhorne Slim. I mean yeah Of Montreal and Okkervil River and Nick Cave, but they’re always on the invite list. I’m hoping to eventually find someone like The Dutchess and the Duke or Tilly and the Wall on one of these popular best-ofs.
people complain because they have never heard of some of these artists, this should be celebrated instead as a means of finding new and interesting music, I for one am glad that I didn’t know all the bands as I have now discovered Thao and Gentleman jesse!
johnny flynn is AMAZING!!!