Five Favorite CDs of 2008

Peer pressure compels me to make a list of favorite things from the rapidly closing year. I'm not going to do a top ten, though--that's too much work. Instead I'll just do a few top fives.

So without further ado--my favorite CDs of 2008.

1. Pretty. Odd.--Panic at the Disco. Joy in a jewel case, this is the perfect disc to slide into the player when you're in a bad mood. You'll be feeling better before it hits the third track. Favorite tracks: Northern Downpour, Behind the Sea.

2. The Black Parade--My Chemical Romance. Okay, not technically a 2008 disc, but I discovered it this year. With its over-the-top, theatrical anthems to death, dying, bad relationships, and other items of Deep Despair, it still makes me happy. Go figure. Favorite tracks: Welcome to the Black Parade, I Don't Love You, Cancer.

3. Folie a Deux--Fall Out Boy. Barely a 2008 CD, since it just came out this week, but it still counts. Helped along with guest spots by Elvis Costello, Debbie Harry, Brendon Urie and others, Pete Wentz and crew have never sounded better than they do here, happily skewering the pop culture of which they're such an integral part. Favorite tracks: What a Catch, Donnie, I Don't Care, (Coffee's for Closers).

4. Fast Times at Barrington High--The Academy Is... This should be the breakout album for this band, and it just might be, having been listed in the top 50 albums of the year by Rolling Stone. A breezy tribute to high school, Fast Times should have been a summer album but wasn't quite, so give it a listen and let it warm up your winter. Favorite tracks: About a Girl, After the Last Midtown Show.

5. Howl--Empires. A superb album from a label-less group, available for free download at weareempires.com. What are you waiting for? Go get it! Favorite tracks: Believe, I Want Blood.

Steve Carlson--Stripped Down

Steve Carlson's new album, Stripped Down, is still listed as "Coming Soon," but you can now listen to the full album in streaming audio at his website. It features old and new songs in, well, stripped down acoustic versions, including two new songs, "Where my River Flows," and "Love you or Leave You," co-written with none other than Jensen Ackles. Check it out at his website. It'll be available at CD Baby and iTunes when it's officially released. Can't seem to find a date though, but I'll post an update when I see one. This one is going to be well worth the money.

UPDATE: Looks like the official release date is May 6th. \o/

Music!

It's the beginning of the month, so that means new music for me! I belong to eMusic, so at the beggining of the month I get my new monthly downloads with my membership. This month I got Dashboard Confessional, Dusk and Summer, Whiskey on a Sunday by Flogging Molly, Two EPs from TV on the Radio called New Health Rock and Young Liars, and two singles--"Strangers in the Night" from Cake, and "Black Star" from Gillian Welch. So far I've listened to Dashboard Confessional, Flogging Molly and the Cake single, and have very much enjoyed both. eMusic is a great value for the money, by the way--30 downloads a month for $9.99, all DRM-free MP3's. I highly recommend it.

It's Pretty Odd. No, Seriously...

I'm lounging here tonight listening to Pretty. Odd., the new album from punctuation innovators Panic at the Disco (sans exclamation point). And I have to say I'm impressed. Their last effort spawned a couple of catchy tunes, my favorite being "I Write Sins Not Tragedies," but failed to keep my attention. This one is an entirely different story. Lots of textures, catchy tunes that don't all sound the same (my biggest complaint about A Fever You Can't Sweat Out), and the Beatlesque comparisons are not undeserved. I knew it was going to be different when I first heard "Nine in the Afternoon," and the rest of the CD does not disappoint. Keep it up, kids--if you're this good now imagine what you'll be able to do when you're all grown up! *pets tiny baby rock stars*

Video for "She's a Handsome Woman."



Okay, so it's muppets. Sue me. It's still fabulous.

Here's a REAL video for "Nine in the Afternoon." Also fabulous.

Music—Shearwater

Shearwater is a small-label band with a neat sound. I'm not really sure how to describe it--they use banjos but it's not country music, and they have a good solid driving beat but it's not mainstream rock, either. Whatever you want to call it, it's good music. Check them out at Misra Records.

CD Reviews

I joined BMG Music Service recently, and just received my CDs today. I've belonged to BMG before, and generally came away with a lot of music for a reasonable price, so I decided to try it again.

The initial order was for 6 CDs. Here's what I've listened to so far:

Kate Bush: The Whole Story. A "greatest hits" compilation from 1986, featuring her best-known songs, including "Running Up That Hill," "Wuthering Heights," and "Babooshka." I have a long-standing gooey love for Kate Bush, so this was a treat. I have the video compilation from this CD somewhere on VHS, but I'd never managed to buy the actual CD.

Mary Chapin Carpenter: time*sex*love. I'm about halfway through this one--I'm listening right now. This is a beautiful CD. Chapin Carpenter is a wonderful, emotional songwriter, with a voice like velvet.

Patty Griffin: Living With Ghosts. I accidentally bought this one twice--once from BMG and once from yourmusic.com (which looks like it might be affiliated with BMG, but that's another story). Anyway, this isn't my favorite of Patty Griffin's albums, but it's still very good. An entirely acoustic CD with powerful songs, it's very much worth the money. Patty Griffin is also a great songwriter. While she's not received the attention she's deserved, some of her songs have. The Dixie Chicks had a big hit with Patty's song "Top of the World," on their album "Home."

Three more to go after these...

Tell Her to Make Me a Cambric Shirt

Somebody emailed me last night asking me what a cambric shirt was. Of course, I knew right away that the person in question was listening to Scarborough Fair, and I wondered why I'd never bothered to look that up, even though that song was a lullaby staple at my house for years.

According to dictionary.com, cambric is "a thin, plain cotton or linen fabric of fine close weave, usually white." And here's an interesting article at Wikipedia about the origins of the song.