Best Albums of 2008

I break my silence to give you my favorite albums of 2008. You do not have to agree with me, but this is what I liked. So let's get this going...

I will start with number 10 and count down.

10. My 10th fav. album of 2008 is Oracular Spectacular by MGMT (pronounced management). This album beat out all the honorable mentions I will list later. I just recently started to listen to the album, and other than maybe 2 tracks I love all of it. It has all the synth I could ever want and the lyrics are witty. This album is great to play at a party and makes a wonderful headphone record. I appreciated the subtle things they do while listening to this album while on the train. Tracks to Listen to: Time to Pretend and Kids.

9. Number 9 is The Stand Ins by Okkervil River. I loved The Stage Names and this album was a continuation. Okkervil River is one of the best bands playing right now and this album was amazing. It is definitely a huge step musically from previous records, but I still think Black Sheep Boy is their best. Never the less great album. Tracks to Listen to: Lost Coastlines and Pop Lie.

8. This one goes to Max Richter. He is a classical composer that makes beautiful instrumental music. He is heavily influenced by Brian Eno and adds many different sounds to his already complex and awe inspiring arrangements. Tracks have additional white noise and radio static added to give a very different feel. The really neat thing about this album is the concept. He wrote these short, between 1 to 3 min., songs to be played on cell phones. That is right, songs meant to be ringtones, and these would never ruin a movie. This is an album I can listen to anytime of the day. Check out his older albums too, they are just as good. Tracks that would be my ringtone: In Louisville at 7 and Lullaby from the West Coast Sleepers.

7. Evil Urges by My Morning Jacket is my pick. A lot like Okkervil River I liked their previous albums more, but their new one is such a great step forward as well. The mixing of styles they provide on this record is amazing. They sound tighter and more representative of what a live show is like. Very solid record, and who can beat Jim James' voice. Some can imitate (more on that later) but there is no other frontman like him. Tracks to Listen to: Evil Urges and Highly Suspicious.

6. Rounding out the bottom half is a great band from portland called Portugal, the Man. Their album is Censored Colors and has a wide range of feels from song to song. I love the gang vocals that are in almost every song and the huge sound that is on this record. I heard of this band from the Song of the Day on NPR and I am very happy that I got the album. I think it may start stronger than it ends, but it is an album you can get lost in. Tracks to Listen to: Lay Me Back Down and Colors.

5. The first album in the top half is Furr by Blitzen Trapper. This is a really fun band that Derek saw open for Iron and Wine. According to Derek the front man is very Bruce Springstein like. I love delivery of the lyrics and the fun jam sections. It uses some great organ parts and just seems very complete. I expect great things from this band in the future so look forward to seeing them in 2010 or maybe even 2009. Tracks to Listen to: God and Suicide and Gold for Bread.

4. Coming to the business end brings Fate by Dr. Dog. I am a huge Dr. Dog fan and I love their sound. It is very classic 1950's sounding at times maybe even 1920's, like vaudeville. The lyrics are great a catchy, this spells success in my mind. There songs change as they progress and they are one of the few bands consistently making interesting music album after album, and even song after song. One of their best albums to date, if not the best. Tracks to Listen to: The Old Days and The Rabbit, The Bat, and The Reindeer.

3. Bronze metal goes to Fleet Foxes and their self-titled debut. The front man has a very similar sounding voice as Jim James, but the way it mixes with the lush orchestration on this album is what sets it apart. A great album for sure with great track after great track. I love when albums have a general feel from song to song (a theme you will notice with the top 2 as well) and this albums has a great feel. They are going to have to great things to follow this album up. Tracks to Listen to: White Winter Hymnal and Oliver James.

2. The first loser is 3 Rounds and a Sound by Blind Pilot. Another Portland band that is making great music. I found this album in late 2008 but it is an instant classic. Earlier I had been listening to the Dodos a lot and for Blind Pilot is a better version of the guitar and drummer band. They add other sounds when needed, such as keys, horns, and strings, but the base is acoustic and drums. It has a very loose feel but every song hits me. Great song writing and style overall. There are so many songs to choose from for this album but, Tracks to Listen to: One Red Thread and The Bitter End.

1. And the Best Album of 2008 is by far Bon Iver. One could argue that For Emma, Forever Ago is a 2007 album but I count it as 2008. I saw him play at Pitchfork and it was completely moving. The story of this album is Justin Vernon (the man that is Bon Iver) moved to a cabin in Wisconsin following the break up of his band. The plan was to just take some time off and live for a while. While living alone he wrote nine of the most beautiful tracks I have ever heard. The sounds is very bare bones and honest. This is what sets this album apart from the rest, the sheer gut wrenching feelings one gets from the beginning. Bon Iver takes you to a place instantly. It may not be healthy to stay there for a while, but it is magic that he can take you there. Everything he does is perfect on this album so please take a listen if you have not. Tracks to Listen for: Skinny Love (and amazing song) and For Emma.

So if you take my Tracks to Listen to and mix them up anyway you like you get my mixtape for the year. Honorable Mentions (or albums just not as good as MGMT's) are I Can't Go On, I'll Go On by The Broken West; In Ghost Colous by Cut Copy; Narrow Stairs by Death Cab for Cutie; Visiter by The Dodos; Re-Arrange Us by Mates of State and Parc Avenue by Plants and Animals.

Feel free to disagree with me, but this is what I think.

Who is he really?

Here is a video of Barack Obama explaining who he really is at a fund raiser. I loved this. I can't wait until he is our next president.

Raping our Churches and Burning our Women

This is the best argument for gun safety laws ever.

Just an idea.

Dear Apple,
I am writing you to request a favor. I have a suggested business venture for your company. If you could, I ask that you become the jersey sponsor for the San Jose EarthQuakes. They are a terrible team and are in great need of good news. So what is in it for you one might ask. Well, there would be the tons of advertising. Your logo would be in every MLS game that is shown on t.v. Not to mention the jersey itself. anytime someone bought a San Jose jersey they would be a walking billboard for your company. There would be the bigger ideas of having MLS games on itunes. There is some added revenue. Plus, you must respond to Microsoft. They are sponsoring their home team, the Seattle Sounders FC. Why should you not be guarding your hometown? The main jersey colors are already white and black, so that is consistent with your image. Let's look at the target audience as well. A soccer fan is a possible apple fan. Most soccer fans are upper-middle class. They are either sub-urban families or urban young adults. This is already your audience. Why miss an opportunity to advertise to them as well. Let's think about the future as well. Buying the space on the jerseys would be cheap right now. Very cheap in fact. But there is so much possibility for growth. An apple sponsorship could make San Jose the "cool" team. Your logo alone could lure a superstar like Luis Figo, or someone else. How could any player turn down a free iphone? Hell, I would practice to make the team just to get one. And lastly, it would just look good. If these arguments are not convincing you, just photoshop your logo on their jersey and see how bad ass it looks. Well, thank you for your time, now make it happen.

Nathan.

Book Review: Starbucked by Taylor Clark

This was a fun and educational read. Clark is a young author (this is his first book) from Portland. He has a dry wit that had me laughing while reading. His book goes into many in aspects of Starbucks, as well as coffee culture here and around the world.
I enjoyed the telling truths about Starbucks as a company. There are many reasons not to like this coffee chain, but many of the reasons you hear every day are BS. Towards the end of the book Clark makes the a comment, really more of a questions, is starbucks a global homogenizing force, or just a product of global homogenization. The fact is Starbucks is not forcing anyone to drink their coffee. People are choosing to do that. We can mourn the loss of culture in places like China and London, but people there are still buying starbucks.
Another key point I took away was the false idea that Starbucks is bad for the mom and pop coffee house. The opposite is actually true. Starbucks is a gateway coffee company. A person begins with a vanilla latte, but will later branch out. Also their coffee is not that good. So when drinking coffee is socially "cool" why not drink good coffee. Starbucks needs the milk in lattes so no one taste what their coffee really is. This leads many to find a local coffee shop and enjoy coffee how one should. (A side note for anyone in Normal, do not seek out Coffee House, its name is misleading. It should be called "Hang out of Patchouli wearing vegetarians that are anti-everything and elitist, but despite how well educated they want you to think they are, can still not tell that they are drinking horrible coffee, House". That place has the worst coffee I have every had, second only to instant). So basically this was a great book for a coffee nerd like me, and Clark writes in a way that even a non-nerd would enjoy it. Check it out if you have some time.

Whoring out the Faith. (reposted)

I originally wrote this for my other blog.

You know I don't think people ever learn. After being fully embarrassed to call myself a christian as the Creation Museum was being built, I now find another reason to blush. In Tennessee there is a Bible theme park proposed. This would be "historical" as the men in charge of the project say. I just say this is ridiculous, and I think all the readers know why. The article even quotes the supports as comparing people who do not support the project to telling a bookstore to stop selling the bible because they are making money off of it. This is crazy. Selling a manuscript that is a crux to a faith is very, very, VERY different than a million dollar theme park that will probably be poorly done, and a financial disaster. I say wait ten years, and if the creation museum has not been turned into the headquarters for an insurance company, or the largest strip club in Ohio, then talk about this. But even then I say this is a stupid idea.

As if Owning a Moleskine didn't Make Me Pretentious Enough...

This is one of my favorite pieces from the website 'skine art. There a lot of different styles, so I am sure you will find something you like. I mainly use my moleskine for writing things down; ideas, lists, directions, but I wish I used mine in this way. Check it out.

Frontline on healthcare.

Tonight on PBS is a frontline report on healthcare. I watched the reporter on Charlie Rose today and it interested me. He makes points that Japan and Germany do not have "socialized" medicine, but they have much better healthcare than here in the US. I hope even you right aligned readers take time to watch this and learn that there are ways to have functioning healthcare here in America. Here is a trailer. There are multiple air times, so check your local listings, and I think you can watch it online after that.

Marrying for Love is Not the Whole Story.

I found this article in The Star very interesting. It essentially says that in mixed marriages someone of a minority ethnicity "marries down" with a white partner. I don't know what group this is most offensive to, but either way it is a little offensive. The article also talks about how little romantic love actually plays into marriage choices, instead suggesting that a better indicatior is social class. This makes sense when one thinks that a person is normally attracted to someone who has similar experiences to themselves. Being from a social science background, I can really point out that there are too many factors interacting with one another to really say anything concrete, but again I though this was interesting.

So much Faith.

After having a great conversation about some specifics of differing worldviews with a friend, I decided to post somethings on the blog I contribute to. I posted a review of a book a read and a link to a long, and very thought provoking, article about evangelistic atheism. Check them out.

New Monasticism

This article from the Boston Globe caught my eye. I would love to look at this more in depth. The basic ideas are something that I, and I know some of my friends, have been thinking about for a while. I do not think that the mega-church is the devil, but to me this is a more real faith. I just went to a church today that I liked, but it was not where I feel I should be. To find a community like this is something I wish I had in my life. Well anyway, take time to read this article, it is not that long.

Where you always get a free onion.

I was talking with a friend about this commercial. This was a huge part of me growing up. The difference is when I first saw this commercial it was an old man (his father?) breaking the sticks with him. I am glad that you still get a free onion. Keep it up big Mike.

Money is not everything.

This story from 60 min. is interesting. I am sure there are problems in Denmark, but living there is looking more appealing than here. One of the danes interviewed is getting paid to stay at home for 6 months with his child. Now that is something I could get behind. I love how this story points out that money is not everything. In a side note, this story also mentions positive psychology. This is something I have done a bit of study on, and I am not a big fan. It makes sense to study good aspects of a person, but healthy people don't need doctors. Of course I could just be angry at a professor I have right now that loves pos. psych and is one of the worst teachers I have. Anyway enjoy this clip.

A Gift for all of You.

Today is the arrival of the new album by Derek Porter. I am proud to say I helped in small way, getting writing credit on one song. It is a very good album and if you were a fan of The Ways I'm Going Blind, this will not disappoint. The best part is it is FREE. You can download it for free and enjoy the music now. What are you waiting for. Have a good V-day.

Yellow Card for Stupidity.

Tonight was a fun night of soccer. My room mate (Nathan) and I (also Nathan) went to watch the match between U.S. and Mexico. I have been looking forward to this game for this whole week. The game started and the U.S. went up, then Mexico struck back. Then the U.S. went up again followed by a third goal by Dempsey that was called back. Then Mexico tied it up, and that was how the score remained until the end. The real loser was me. I went to Maggie Miley's, an Irish pub. This should be the most soccer friendly place in town, however at the end of the game a I was greeted by an idiot.

With about 10 min. left in the game a guy sat down under the T.V. He was wearing a camouflage coat, so I could barely see him. He began his contact with me and the 3 other soccer fans by saying, "what does a yellow card mean". After starting on the right foot he waited for about 2 min. and then asked "Does Pele still play." I tried to keep my head from exploding. I instantly said no and then started doing the math, yes about 25 years ago he retired. that would make him about 60 years old. I caught a glance of a soccer fan next to me and we shared a "what the hell is that guy talking about" look. The man next to me then leaned over as said "I bet he would be offended if we asked if Dale Earnhart was still driving."

After a good laugh at NASCAR the game was over. Two soccer fans left and it was down to me and my room mate again. NASCAR then came at sat by me. He asked if it was ok that the U.S. was playing Mexico because of NAFTA. Yes, this should keep these two teams apart? I said it was fine, and then in my mind noted that NAFTA would probably aid international games, given that NAFTA and soccer made any sense being put together.

I digress, the main point is not that I was not really the loser, but that U.S. soccer was. The most famous soccer player to your regular American is still Pele, yes the old Brazilian star is still more famous than Landon Donovan, or Clint Dempsey, or Jozy Altidore, or even Freddy Adu. But who am I kidding most people reading this (assuming anyone is) don't know who they are either.

Super Tues.

In a run up to Super Tues. I have learned of another supporter for Obama. The artist Shepard Faireys has made some posters for the Obama camp. I vote tomorrow and as I said in 2006, Obama 08. Let's hope it works out tomorrow. Until then enjoy the art.

Mistaken Identity.

Today I get onto the elevator in DeGarmo and start going down to the basement. At the first floor a 40 year old woman who wants to go up, but doesn't see that I am going down gets on. After I inform her of our direction, she inhales and says what I haven't heard for a while, and was beginning to be thankful of. "You look like Josh Groban." I thanked her and said "I get that a lot." And I do. Too much. Yes I have curly hair and a large nose and squinty eyes. Why is this always Josh Groban? The only good thing was that she did not ask the question that I hate more than being told I look like Josh Groban. "Can you sing like him?" Yes, yes I can sing like him and I look like him but I choose to waste my life at ISU rather than singing to adoring fans. Yes I like ISU more than 40 women speechless at how I sing "Silent Night" Christ on crutches! No, I can not sing like him. Why do I have to look like a guy that attracts 40 year olds, and not my peers? Why can't I look similar to Brad Pitt or who ever the hell that guy from the OC is. Why can't 20 year old women find me attractive? Why me?

Staying Current?

well, after my last post getting 2 comments (the most yet) i have decided, since people are reading what i put up here, I will try to post more often. I have no good story this time, my life is full of homework, watching primary returns, and most recently touring a over 100 year old boat with my dad. But this is something that caught my eye. I liked the first one. Props to Geetha for pointing me to it.

Creating the wrong Scene.

So last night began in a pretty regular way. I went to a show that my room mate's band was in. I haven't been to shows in a while so I was a little excited. We get to the Coffee House and there is a line out the door, already a little strange for this type of a show. We get in and I start to look around.

The first thing I notice is that the mean age in the room is roughly 15.7. And as one of my friends said, the average height was about 5 flat. Men in girls jeans and scene hair cuts everywhere. If I saw another androgynous person flip his/her hair one more time I was going to through up.

Feeling out of place and old, I was eager for the show to start, and start it did. The first act was a 17 year old girl on piano. She covered such classics as "Jumper" by Third Eye Blind, as well as songs about high school and one called "22". She also ended every phrase while singing with the ever-appealing "aahhh" You know what I'm talking about, the way people just let all of their breath out, as if each line is a punch in the gut. You might know that sound from places such as but not exclusively to Blink 182, Damien Rice, Paramore, Taking Back Sunday, and de-inflating a beach ball.

My friends band played next. They were good. Big Ace eyed the 15 year olds.

The band after that was a blast from the past. Seriously, it was a SKA band. I thought high school would have changed since I left, but apparently not. This band was good at what they did, but the last time I heard those kind of songs was 2000, you know the time ska died. There were such annoying kids there skanking as the guy with a plastic pumpkin on his head. Seriously, how much can someone yell for attention. There were all of those kids, pushing each other around. It got especially rowdy with the fan favorite, and deep revealing lyrics of "Hey, Fuck You". Yes those were the only words to the song, and yes it moved me.

The last band was a dance/techno/same one song repackaged bank. They were ok, at least they were somewhat current. The joy of them only have one real song is that I liked their whole set.

Now don't get me wrong, I was one of those kids, but that was about 4 years ago, and am I really that old. In like a gave a look to pumpkin head and his friend comment "that guy up there just looked at you like you were an idiot". Well, I did and he was. But that is not the real point, when did this group stop being like me. I am sorry I am not a vegan for personal reason, but do nothing real to stop hunger, I'm sorry I don't go to shows 4 nights of the week and "let the music take me over". I don't have time for the shit, I am busy. I am sorry I don't think I am better than everyone else because I took way to long to get my look down for whatever the hell I'm doing that night. When did I get to old for this?

Fw: No more hate mongering

Forwards are from Satan. I hate getting forwards, and the person that sends me the most is my mom. Most of the time they are just pictures of dogs or a lame fart joke. Sometimes they are the most ignorant things (and often fake) that I have read. My mom's forwarding brought me the email that Obama is a Muslim. On a related note she sends me one about the Islamic population in Denmark. The email is obviously pandering to hate. It states how most of the government services are being used on immigrants. It makes large claims and is missing something, you can never guess what, REFERENCES. No links to the New York Times or UN statistics. I tend not to believe large claims without facts. Well, anyway, this email claim that the fear of radical Islam cause the government of Denmark to make it harder to become a citizen. This discounts the it makes perfect sense for a Government with tons of social programs would want to give those programs to its citizens. I thought there was nothing wrong with that, and why does that mean they are afraid of Muslims? I just don't get it.

It has been a while.

I am breaking my silence to bring you this. two of my favorite things, Jimmy Carter and the Onion.

I Got What America Needs Right Here