Transmissions from the Ovulation Station: PoOP List – Best Albums of 2008   Buy New or Used via Amazon 1.) Goldmund – The Malady of Elegance (Type Records, 2008). In an age where we are unfairly expected to process and comprehend arsenals of information on a daily basis, whether it be the fine print of an insurance contract, the numerous deductions from a paycheck, or the barrage of horrifying news we view on the television, it should come as no surprise that we are crying for LESS and not more these days. This is represented most clearly in the music…

Lists, Trends and Random Notes Sweet Sixteen   Buy New or Used via Amazon Orchestra Baobab – Made in Dakar Their most accessible effort has flowing guitar lines, smoldering saxophones, Afro-Cuban accents and special guest star and secret weapon Youssou NDour.   Buy New or Used via Amazon Robyn – Robyn Combines Nenah Cherry and Madonna over hip hop, electronic beats and achingly beautiful melodies. Her Be Mine performance at the Nobel Peace Prize on YouTube is incredibly affecting.   Buy New or Used via Amazon John Mellencamp – Live Death Love and Freedom Who would have thought Jack and…

the top 10:   Buy New or Used via Amazon 1. Xiu Xiu: Women As Lovers   Buy New or Used via Amazon 2. John Zorn: The Dreamers   Buy New or Used via Amazon 3. Sigur Ros: Med Sud I Eyrum Vid Spilum Endalaust   Buy New or Used via Amazon 4. Deerhunter: Microcastle/Weird Era Continued   Buy New or Used via Amazon 5. Atlas Sound: Let The Blind Lead Those Who Can See But Cannot Feel   Buy New or Used via Amazon 6. My Morning Jacket: Evil Urges Buy New or Used via Amazon Buy New or…

What I Listened to in 2008 So, who did I listen to in 2008? Well, let’s see. There was Wolf, Anderson, Campbell, David Gergin, John King, Soledad, Keith O., Chris Matthews, Rachel M., Tim (RIP – what a crime for him to die in THIS year), et al. Music just did not seem all that relevant – still doesn’t. Probably bought less music this year than in any year since puberty. I feel single-handedly responsible for the drop in CD sales. Old age? Maybe. It all just seems less important to me than it used to. So, much of the…

  Buy New or Used via Amazon 1. FLEET FOXES- Fleet Foxes: Sounding like the bastard children of David Crosby and the Beach Boys circa late 60s and early 70s coming off the commune, this was easily my favorite disc of the year.   Buy New or Used via Amazon 2. DUFFY- Rockferry: Shades of Dusty, Petula, Cilla, even Amy and a long line of British pop singers. She does them all proud.   Buy New or Used via Amazon 3. SIGUR ROS- Med Sud I Eyrum Vid Spilum Endalaust: The lyrics are as undecipherable as the album title (and…

MY FIRST EVER POOP DISC-CLAIMER (disc-lamer?): I don’t know if it’s because I bought less, heard less or cared less, or whether I found David Gergen and Campbell Brown more intriguing than Stephen Malkmus, or Soledad O’Brien infinitely more appealing than anyone else on these lists, but I spent considerably more time watching CNN this year than listening to CDs. I’m still not sure whether it was just a bad year for music or a thrilling year for political theater. In either event, 2008 was a fascinating media year, just not the medium I ordinarily revel in. With that out…

My 2008 Albums:   Buy New or Used via Amazon The Dodos: Visitor This is a band that continues to grow on me. Great melodies and driving rhythms, all done in a very low-fi format. This is the band you and your college friends were always going to start.   Buy New or Used via Amazon Blitzen Trapper: Furr This was a recommendation from a Poopster (Matt Nerney), so on a whim before heading off for a flight to Chicago I bought a copy, I have not regretted it since. Really can’t say enough good things about this album, biggest…

All Mixed Up-“Best of 2008” Bob Dylan-“Tell Tale Signs” Bon Iver-“For Emma, Forever Ago” Beck-“Modern Guilt” The Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band-“Pour l’Amour des Chiens” Black Keys-“Attack & Release” Calexico-“Carried To Dust” David Byrne & Brian Eno-“Everything That Happens Will Happen Today” Delta Spirit-“Ode To Sunshine” Emiliana Torrini-“Me and Armini” Fleet Foxes Golden Animals-“Free Your Mind & Win A Pony” The Hold Steady-“Stay Positive” Irma Thomas-“Simply Grand” Lambchop-“OH” Jenny Lewis-“Acid Tongue” Julianna Hatfield-“How To Walk Away” Langhorne Slim & The War Eagles Lightspeed Champion-“Falling Off The Lavender Bridge” My Morning Jacket-“Evil Urges” Nick Cave-“Dig Lazarus, Dig” Paul Weller-“22 Dreams” Pinback-“Autumn of…

HOW I SPENT 2008 IN FRONT OF MY TV. A List by Patrick Kennedy Instead of a list focused on everything under the sun, I wanted to use my two pages to look at the year in videogames. Partly because it’s a topic I hold dear to my dorky heart, and partly because I think the cultural relevance of videogames is increasing with every passing year. I missed just about every AAA game release in 2008 – I just got my PS3 in December and continue to make up for lost time – and many others were skipped for reasons…