MFR's Top Ten Best Local Records of 2008

2008 was a boundless year for creativity in the MPLS local music scene, with hip-hop and electronic-leaning groups being responsible for most of the sonic highlights throughout the year. However, there was plenty of room leftover for folk-gypsy wanderings, epic nouveau-psychedelia, and a gloriously righteous exercise in lo-fi punk. But number one belongs to a veteran who set forth another variation of a consistent sound--with thrilling results. Here's MFR's list of the top ten local records of 2008:

1) Dosh - Wolves and Wishes

Download: Dosh - "If You Want To, You Have To"
Download: Dosh - "Capture the Flag"

2) Jeremy Messersmith - The Silver City

Download: Jeremy Messersmith - "Miracles"
Download: Jeremy Messersmith - "Virginia"

3) Dark Dark Dark - The Snow Magic

Download: Dark Dark Dark - "Ashes"

4) Muja Messiah - Thee Adventures of a B-Boy D-Boy

Download: Muja Messiah - "Patriot Act" (feat. I Self Devine)
Download: Muja Messiah - "At All Cost (My Economics)"


5) Kitten Forever - Born Ready

Download: Kitten Forever - "Warpath"
Download: Kitten Forever - "Fat Crush"

6) Vampire Hands - Me and You Cherry Red

Download: Vampire Hands - "Statuette"


7) Kristoff Krane – This Will Work For Now

Download: Kristoff Krane - "Little Willy"***
Download: Kristoff Krane - "Easy Way Out"

8) Unicorn Basement – We Are The Mages of Beauty*

Download: Unicorn Basement - "Oh God!"


9) First Communion Afterparty - Sorry For All The Mondays...

Download: First Communion Afterparty - "Green Turns To Gold"


10) Solid Gold – Bodies of Water**

Download: Solid Gold - "Bible Thumper"

Honorable Mentions:
Atmosphere – Strictly Leakage (released Dec. 2007)
Dallas Orbiter - Motorcycle Diagrams

*Max and Deanna are friends of the writer
**One of the writers on this blog has a business interest in this band
***Incidentally, this is the best song about the ignorance of gender roles--and homophobia--since The Replacements' "Androgynous"

MFR's Top Ten Best Records of 2008

Well, to paraphrase the title--albeit the edited form of its full-length quotation--this is it, and that is that. Here are MFR's top ten albums of 2008. You'll find records that expanded and refined previously developed approaches to great success, veteran acts continuing their creative winning streaks, promising debut albums, and groups who redefine genres with a single blow. Take a look at the records we selected, then comment by adding your own. Once again, the top ten:

1) Frightened Rabbit - The Midnight Organ Fight

Download: Frightened Rabbit - "The Modern Leper"
Download: Frightened Rabbit - "Fast Blood"

2) Fucked Up - The Chemistry of Common Life

Download: Fucked Up - "Twice Born"
Download: Fucked Up - "No Epiphany"

3) Deerhunter - Microcastle

Download: Deerhunter - "Nothing Ever Happened"
Download: Deerhunter - "Never Stops"

4) M83 - Saturdays=Youth

Download: M83 - "Kim & Jessie"
Download: M83 - "Graveyard Girl"

5) Fuck Buttons Street Horrrsing

Download: Fuck Buttons - "Sweet Love For Planet Earth"

6) Deerhoof - Offend Maggie

Download: Deerhoof - "Offend Maggie"
Download: Deerhoof - "The Tears of Music and Love"

7) Fleet Foxes - Fleet Foxes

Download: Fleet Foxes - "White Winter Hymnal"
Download: Fleet Foxes - "He Doesn't Know Why"

8) Ponytail - Ice Cream Spiritual

Download: Ponytail - "Celebrate The Body Electric (It Came From An Angel)"

9) Mates of State - Re-Arrange Us

Download: Mates of State - "My Only Offer"

10) Marnie Stern - This is it...and That is That

Download: Marnie Stern - "Transformer"
Download: Marnie Stern - "Shea Stadium"

Ian's Top Ten:
Frightened Rabbit - Midnight Organ Fight
Deerhoof - Offend Maggie
Deerhunter - Microcastle
Fleet Foxes - Fleet Foxes
Mates of State - Re-Arranger
Conor Oberst - Conor Oberst
Sloan - Parallel Play
Why? - Alopecia
Copeland - You Are My Sunshine

Jon's Top Ten:
Fucked Up – The Chemistry of Common Life
M83 – Saturdays=Youth
Fuck Buttons – Street Horrrsing
Ponytail – Ice Cream Spiritual
Marnie Stern – This is it…and that is that
Shearwater – Rook
Wale – The Mix-Tape About Nothing
Deerhunter – Microcastle
Seun Kuti and Fela’s Egypt 80 – self-titled
The Dodos – Visiter

Honorable Mentions:
High Places – 03/07-09/07
The Walkmen – You and Me
The Raveonettes – Lust Lust Lust
TV on The Radio – Dear Science
The Gaslight Anthem – The ’59 Sound

Stay tuned for tomorrow, where we do our local best-of for 2008!

Herbie Hancock Wins Album Of The Year At The Grammys? Seriously?

Well, I'll give it to the Grammys: At least they're consistent in being wholly, utterly out-of-touch. In the stunner of the year, Herbie Hancock, a pianist/composer who, to be fair, is an incredibly well-regarded and influential jazz musician (though most people probably know his name because of Tommy Boy) and scored a video hit in MTV's early years with the song "Rockit" (see it at the top of this post), won album of the year at the 2008 Grammys over the likes of Kanye West, Amy Winehouse and Foo Fighters, just to name a few. The native Chicagoan (woot! woot!) won for his tribute album to Joni Mitchell, River - Letters To Joni.

This result shouldn't surprise anyone whose paid attention to the Grammys. A few years ago, Steely Dan beat out Eminem for album of the year and, back in 1989, the Grammy gave the first "Best Heavy Metal" album award to Jethro Tull. Their competition that year? Metallica, who the year before put out their poorly-mixed-but-nonetheless-classic-thrash-metal album ...And Justice For All.

And now they've given album of the year to Herbie Hancock.

Congrats?

(Jonathan Graef)