2008

Last day of 2008. It's been a wonderful year in some ways, a horrible year in others. Let's hope 2009 is fuckin' well better in those other ways.

Good things to keep in mind for 2009:

1) May should be a great month for movies.
2) After February the manufactured corporate holidays end for a good long while. Well, okay after Easter then.
3) July is a great month for birthdays.
4) Perhaps the new government can make some steps to repair the damage of the last eight years.
5) And the world is not scheduled to end until 2012, so we don't have to start worrying about that for a couple more years.

Top 10 Albums of 2008

1. Centro-matic/South San Gabriel "Dual Hawks"
Double albums are hard to pull off. Count how many truly great double albums come to mind. Not that many, right? This is
the best double album I've heard in a long long time.

2. Okkervil River "Stand Ins"
The companion piece to their last album "The Stage Names". They should have been released together and this would have been the best double album I've heard in a long long time.

3. Jenny Lewis "Acid Tongue"
Last time she was funneled through folk and country, this time it's soul, r & b and gospel and Gawd-o-mighty it's good.

4. Death Cab for Cutie "Narrow Stairs"
Their best album as far as I'm concerned. They tend to get too precious at times, but they avoid that almost completely on this one.

5. Amanda Palmer "Who Killed Amanda Palmer?"
Listen to "Leeds United", a mix of piano and cabaret singing and you will most likely be hooked. She also gets the prize for album title of the year, hell, the decade.

6. Destroyer "Trouble In Dreams"
I was a huge Destroyer fan after "This Night" came out, but my interest waned over the subsequent albums. This to me is a big return to form.

7. Hello Saferide "More Modern Short Stories From..."
Hello Saferide. I first discovered them on Cable and Tweed's blog. Annika has a great voice and the lyrics are really something special. I love it when she sings "You Stupid Fuck" three times in a row.

8. Black Mountain "In the Future"
After their first LP, I was looking forward to this one immensely and it was not a disappointment.

9. Shearwater "Rook"
Another beautiful record from this band led by Jonathan Meiburg who used to be part of Okkervil River.

10. Elvis Costello "Momofuku"
The best Elvis alive. He rarely has a clunker and this album definitely does not clunk.

Honorable Mentions:
Vampire Weekend “s/t”
Mudcrutch “s/t”
Conor Oberst “s/t”
Fleet Foxes “s/t”
Foxboro Hot Tubs “Stop Drop and Roll”
British Sea Power "Do You Like Rock Music?"

Other Awards:
Best album title: Amanda Palmer "Who Killed Amanda Palmer?"
Best Double Album in years: Centro-matic/South San Gabriel "Dual Hawks"
Best Album Cover: Shearwater "Rook"

Best of What I've Seen, Read or Watched This Year

Movies:

The Future Is Unwritten
Michael Clayton
The Proposition
30 Days of Night
Iron Man
Dark Knight
No Country For Old Men
Tropic Thunder
Step Brothers
Persepolis

Books:

Gilbert Hernandez - Palomar: The Heartbreak Soup Stories
Jamie Hernandez - Locas: The Maggie and Hopey Stories
Alan Moore & J. H. Williams III - Promethea book 1
Nicola Barker - Darkmans
Craig Thompson - Goodbye, Chunky Rice
Craig Thompson - Blankets
Elmore Leonard - Swag
Elmore Leonard - Mr. Paradise
Donald Westlake - What's So Funny?
Mark Waid - Superman: Birthright
Brian Wood - DMZ book 1
Kurt Vonnegut - Slaughterhouse Five

TV:

True Blood
Fringe
Dexter
Californication
Life
Torchwood
Dr. Who

Webcomics:

Girls With Slingshots
Cat And Girl
Bears With Nuts
The Abominable Charles Christopher
Freak Angels
Octopus Pie
Kukuburi
Something Positive
Thingpart!

Characters:

Luba from Palomar
Hopey from Locas
Grace from Promethea
Lafayette from True Blood
Tidwell from Life
Lew Ashby from Californication
John from Torchwood
Tilda Swinton's character from Michael Clayton
John Travolta looking governer, Blagojevich, from Illinois

Amanda Palmer - Leeds United video

Amanda Palmer - Leeds United

Picks

Movies:

The Future is Unwritten
The Slaughter Rule

Books:

Houdini: The Handcuff King by Jason Lutes & Nick Bertozzi

Quotes:

"Watch where you step." - Unknown or myself