Archive: 2008

Last February, we began our first collaboration with Strangers’ Almanac, a bi-monthly tribute to our much loved singer-songwriters, including both veteran artists and newcomers to the music scene.  Slowly, we’ve been building a thoroughly subjective reference section to help you navigate your way through the best lyrical poets making music today.

Everyone makes their standard "best of's," top 10s" and "year in review" lists, but each December we like to take that model a couple of steps further. We go straight to the artists to see where they found inspiration over the past twelve months, and we don't stop with just album choices. We dig a bit deeper and go for a broader picture of the past year in art. From classic moments on the road to their guilty pleasure confessions, this is a panoramic snapshot of "the best of 2008," and a peek into what to expect in '09.

Let’s check in with the irreverent mind behind Uncensored Interview’s blog, The Shark, for another installment of Uncensored Thursdays…

Never before in most of our lifetimes has the need to maintain employment been so dire. People are literally clinging onto their jobs for dear life, hoping the bloody recession axe slices just above their heads and takes out some other unfortunate douchebag.

I was walking by the unemployment office the other day when I noticed three hookers and a coke dealer waiting in line. You know things are bad when hookers are being laid off! Now who will suck the dicks of all of those greedy, coked-up Wall Street execs who piloted their companies into the ground? Certainly not their wives! It’s a sad, sad situation for America.

Last month I propositioned that being Indie means having a crappy job, but what is an indie kid to do when employment is unavailable at even the crappiest of crappy jobs? Even in a recession, bills still have to be paid, debt still has to be taken care of and new tight pants and newspaper-boy hats have to be purchased:

READ ON for the rest of this week’s Uncensored Thursdays…

If you ever wonder what sets apart the folks who successfully pave thier way through creative endeavors, Jesse Jarnow cut his teeth “beginning in 2nd grade, when he edited ‘2nd Grade News’ by writing it out longhand and Xeroxing it,” and worked on homemade ‘zines and school papers ever since.

His first published piece ran in John Dwork’s now defunct Grateful Dead fanzine, Dupree’s Diamond News, and his first regular gig began with the early days of jambands.com. Jesse Jarnow has now graced the pages (both pulp and processor) of Relix, Paste, the London Times, the Village Voice, the AP, Salon and many more. While it ain’t easy given his prolific output, you can try keep to up with his frenzied pace at the Frank and Earthy blog, his Frow Show radio program on WFMU or his Twitter feed. As longtime readers and fans, we’re excited to have Jesse at HT today to shed some light on the ins and outs on his life as a music scribe.

Ryan Dembinsky: More so than the vast majority of music critics out there, you seem to really strive to carefully construct your record reviews, no matter how long or short, often crafting elaborate sentences, including deep references and devising thoughtful comparisons. Could you walk us through the process of reviewing an album from start to finish?

Jesse Jarnow: Thanks! It’s a bit different each time, depending on how long before deadline I get a copy of what I’m reviewing. Ideally, it’s about a month. For albums I’m psyched about, I’ll first listen straight through on headphones. But, most new music I get goes into a thousand-or-so-song playlist that I run on shuffle most of the time. It’s a combination of everything I’ve gotten recently — music by new bands, random downloads, live stuff, outtakes, compilations, old stuff I’m just discovering… just, everything.

READ ON for more of our Writer’s Workshop with Jesse Jarnow…

Yesterday, after a couple of tracks from Animal Collective’s forthcoming album Merriweather Post Pavilion leaked, an email surfaced purportedly from Brian Weitz aka Geologist imploring their fans to assist in leaking the rest of the album. Well, according to a post on Stereogum Deerhunter front man Bradford Cox is calling the email “bullshit” after speaking […]

Former HT Blips featured artist Alby Cohen has spent the last few months working tirelessly at Rough Magic Studios in Brooklyn on a brand new batch of original songs. Cohen wrote, produced, mixed and played nearly every instrument on these tracks, but has also enlisted the help of some big guns such as Marco Benevento, […]

Jack Johnson and an assortment of musicians on his Brushfire Records roster pitched in to create a debut holiday album called This Warm December.

Zach Gill – Johnson’s keyboardist, solo artist and front man for the Animal Liberation Orchestra (ALO) contributed to the Brushfire holiday compilation with a solo track on the album and another one with ALO. Gill has been keeping himself busy lately touring with Mason Jennings after releasing an impressive new solo album entitled Stuff. Read on to see what Christmas is all about for Gill.

Jack Spilberg: What’s better, naughty or nice?

Zach Gill: Naughty is usually very attractive at first, but I’ve found that nice works a lot better in the long run.

JS: Which do you prefer, real or fake Christmas trees?

ZG: I like living Christmas trees the most. We have had the same tree for the last few years- she lives outside for most of the year. It is always exciting when we bring her inside for the holidays and decorate her up. She is tiny compared to standard Christmas trees though. If she ever grows too big to come inside we will plant her permanently outside.

JS: What was the best Christmas gift you ever received?

ZG: My parents got me a puppy (a beagle named Frisky) and tickets to see Huey Lewis and the News when I was nine years old. That was a good year.

READ ON for more of Jack’s holiday interview with Zach Gill…

Brooklyn’s Yeasayer has had quite an impressive 2008. The quartet continues to play to bigger audiences each time they return to a city thanks in large part to their fantastic debut album, All Hour Cymbals. Yeasayer’s world beat-infused psychedelic rock recalls the best of the Talking Heads and Paul Simon’s music with a dash of […]

With original songwriting and an innovative new bluegrass sound, Town Mountain has all the right ingredients to become the newest young bluegrass band sensation.

Pollstar reports the legendary ’80s group, fronted by Morrissey, and rumored to be reforming for Coachella is unlikely true.   “The stories circulating about a Smiths reunion are as usual untrue,” band member Johnny Marr said in a statement. Marr is now playing with Wakefield, U.K., band The Cribs and is set to record an album […]

 Widespread Panic and Yonder Mountain String Band are celebrating the New Year with two nights at the Pepsi Center in Denver, CO, December 30 and 31. The New Year’s Eve show is sold out but you can watch the show from the comfort of your own home. Widespread has partnered with iClips.net and Digomé to […]

When we first heard that Peter Gabriel teamed up with electropop aces Hot Chip to record Vampire Weekend’s Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa, we wondered how the track would turn out. Turns out they actually did a fine job of it. I’m sure Petey got a big kick out of singing his own name. [via Abeano]

Here’s a look at what else is happenin’ this week…

• Animal Collective calls for fans to leak their new album
• Stephen Malkmus would be open to a Pavement reunion
• JasonK created this fantastic Caribbean Holidaze montage
• The Who’s Kids Are Alright is getting the reissue treatment
• Warren’s Christmas Jam benefits Ronald McDonald House
• Brooklyn Vegan shares pics from Of Montreal in Williamsburg

Finally, Neil Young absolutely kicked ass at the Garden on Monday night and his voice and guitar are still as powerful today as they were in his peak. Speaking of Neil Young’s peak, the trailer for the long-awaited Archives Volume 1 project came out yesterday. Check it out after the jump…

Every year around this time our partners at Glide poll your favorite artists on their tops shows, albums and experiences of 2008 along with predictions for the coming year. This year’s list of participants contains more outstanding acts than most major festival announcements including Mike Gordon of Phish, What Made Milwaukee Famous, Reed Mathis of Tea Leaf Green/Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey, Hardy of Dead Confederate and so many others.

[Photo by Adam Kaufman]

Keep your eyes on Glide tomorrow for all of the entries. To whet your appetite, here’s Ryan Stasik of Umphrey’s McGee’s picks for the Glide Magazine Best of 2008…

Best Album(s) of 2008

Skeletal Lamping – Of Montreal, Chinese Democracy – Guns n Fuckin’ Roses, Robotique Majestique – Ghostland Observatory

Favorite Song(s) of 2008

My favorite song of 2008 is from 1968. Just pick one!

Your Personal Favorite On-stage Moment/Show of 2008

Omega Moo’s show in Boulder CO, with Brendan, Jamie, and Darren…12-4-2008

Classic Album or Artist You Discovered This Year

Sparks, Lalo Schifrin, NKOTB (im sure I’d like it if I heard it)

Best Film You Saw This Year

Rediscovered Russ Meyer and all his works

READ ON for the rest of UM bassist Ryan Stasik’s Best of 2008…

2008 has been a great year for Phish archival releases and the year was capped off by last week’s surprise announcement that the legendary show from December 30, 1997 at MSG would be next. This awe-inspiring concert has it all from bustouts to lengthy exploratory jams to random covers. To celebrate the holiday season, our […]

Jack Johnson and an assortment of musicians on his Brushfire Records roster pitched in to create a debut holiday album called This Warm December.

On the compilation, Money Mark contributes a quirky track called Stuck at the Airport. Mark is probably best known as the Beastie Boys’ longtime keyboardist. Aside from his contributions to the Beasties, he also tours and collaborates with Jack Johnson, and has released a number of impressive solo albums. Mark’s original material is filled with original and catchy tunes and a unique sound that’s tough to stick a label on. Money Mark shares his thoughts below about electric gingerbread guitars, Rudolph the stoned reindeer, and yummy apple cider…

Jack Spilberg: What do you want for Christmas?

Money Mark: I want a full size gingerbread Fender Telecaster guitar with a red licorice whammy bar- yummy!

JS: What’s better, naughty or nice?

MM: Ever heard of WWBD? “What Would Belushi Do?”

JS: Which do you prefer, real or fake Christmas trees?

MM: Fake aluminum Christmas trees mounted upside down on the ceiling- ha ha!

READ ON for more of Jack’s interview with Brushfire’s Money Mark…

Year after year, it is tough to top KINK.FM’s holiday benefit concert. Proving their station’s motto, “True To the Music”, the KINK staff outdid themselves once again. Christmas spirit, a kick ass silent auction and four headliners on the same bill, this yearly extravaganza is truly the show to see in Portland.

Start with the silent auction. Hundreds of items that run the gamut from a hand picked, 20 CD pack of KINK.FM artists to an electric guitar signed by John Mellencamp. Not your cup of tea? Spa treatments, autographed and framed concert posters, drum sticks, symphony tickets, hotel and resort stays. You get the picture. All done with great class and benefiting the Oregon Food Bank. This year’s take: over $23,000.00!!!

First up on the stage, the Bay Area’s Matt Nathanson. My first time seeing him, I was taken by his stage presence. Nathanson has an easy stage presence, relaxed and in control. Tossing one liners to the crowd while checking his tuning, he set up songs with phrases like, “This one is NOT about sex, it’s about ice cream”. He related a story about ‘Poop knocking at the Atlanta airport’ to introduce his wonderfully romantic song (up till I heard his explanation) song, Still.

READ ON for more from KINK-FM’s Holiday Benefit Concert…

Alone II isn't the best release Cuomo has ever put out.  Nor does it offer the best songs he's ever written.  But for someone who has one of the strangest and notoriously guarded history in rock, it's exciting that he has become so open with his past.  I only hope that Alone III isn't that far off.

Major label expatriates and rogue rockers …And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead announce a national US tour in support of their highly anticipated full-length – The Century of Self – out February 17th, 2009 on the band’s Richter Scale Records imprint on Justice Records.  The tour kicks off on the 19th […]

 Neverender marked the triumphant culmination of the band’s four-album album cycle. The historic four-night event featured the band performing each of their four albums in their entirety on four consecutive nights, October 22-25 2008 at New York’s Terminal 5 and was the first time that Coheed had performed the saga that connects the albums in […]

Jason Isbell and The 400 Unit announce their first tour in support of their new self-titled album (Release date: February 17, 2009 on Lightning Rod Records). Presented by Paste Magazine, the tour will begin in Birmingham, AL on February 12 and continue through the band’s mid-March SXSW showcase in Austin, TX. Benji Hughes, Deer Tick, […]