As the year ends and the economy continues to shrivel (or whatever it's doing, I'm not here to debate), it seems like I can't go a day or two without seeing yet another printed report of how CD sales have continued to fall. For whatever reason (laziness?), the articles never bother factoring in online sales. For all I know, maybe that's not making all that much of a difference. My point though, is tangential: all of these media bits give the public the impression that there's actually less music out there. This is definitely not true. In fact, I had a tough time paring down this list to a manageable length.
What follows is an unordered list of my favorite recordings from 2008. Jazz, rock, and everything else are all mixed together. Review links are included where appropriate. And even though I really don't pit these albums against each other, the list does end with my favorite record.
Marc Ribot's Ceramic Dog - Party Intellectuals
From freaky ambient haze to classic rock run through the skronk machine, guitarist Marc Ribot has no fear.
Southside Johnny with La Bamba's Big Band - Grapefruit Moon: The Songs of Tom Waits
For Southside and Tom Waits fans, a dream come true.
Nik Bartsch's Ronin - Holon
Funk-meets-minimalism. I'm not kidding.
Free Form Funky Freqs - Urban Mythology Vol. 1
Vernon Reid, Jamaaladeen Tecuma, G. Calvin Weston. Yikes!
(BC)
Vampire Weekend
Yeah, I know. They seem like the sort of band that I would have loved during the New Wave era, only to discard them two weeks later. The fact is, I listened to this super-catchy CD a bazillion times this year.
Totem> - Solar Forge
Brutal. Just brutal.
Carla Bley & Her Remarkable Big Band - Appearing Nightly
The classic big band era may be long gone, but there are quite a few modern big bands. Bley sits at the top of the heap.
Melvyn Price - Rhythm & Blues
A very cool percussion/funk/soul/jazz reissue thing.
(Jazz.com)
Article comments
1 - Glen Boyd
Exactly the sort of weird and wonderful list I would have expected Mr. Saleski. Now I know where to point my MP5 player for the next couple weeks. Looking forward to another year of "Saleski's Choice" in NAR. Happy New Year to you, sir.
-Glen
2 - zingzing
the nico muhly has taken over my brain recently. it's so... i gotta listen to it again. i don't have the power or knowledge to leave an intelligent comment. *press publish*
3 - Gordon Hauptfleisch
Kate Bush and Captain Beefheart? It may help, intriguingly indeed, but it also strikes me with its serendipitous alliterativeness.
4 - Brian aka Guppusmaximus
all of these media bits give the public the impression that there's actually less music out there.
Well, here's to hoping that it is actually less of that sh!te,they call music, that has been killing the airwaves.
Great List;-}
5 - Pico
No Akoya Afrobeat? Blasphemy ;-)
6 - Mark Saleski
>No Akoya Afrobeat? Blasphemy ;-)
troublemaker.
i know...and no Sean Noonan either. dang, this was tough.
7 - Zak Normandin
Great pick with Vampire Weekend. I picked it up earlier this summer and have been listening to it ever since. The style reminds me of Paul Simon's Graceland album. Really catchy music.