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…

I suspect a lot of people will address a lot of big issues. Allow me to be more myopic. I’ve been doing this thing for seventeen years now. That’s a solid career for anyone. However, just like an artist or an athlete, we PooPsters suffer poor years. Consider this my Knocked Out Loaded, my ‘85-’86 Jordan, my vomit year. Joe Namath’s knees and Steve Earle’s needs. I faced some serious health issues as the new-year dawned and as my weight plummeted to 120 lbs. I lost not only my ability to eat but also my taste for new music. Astral…

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…

Geeze. It’s not like I don’t spend hours listening to music and this is all I can come up with?! With the incredible 161 volume USA Garage Greats, the fun 76 volume Round Wonders, the Soulin’ CDs, mash-ups and all the wonderful tracks that get passed through the atmospheres, I barely find enough time for new music…..So educate me Poopers! Below are the albums I did manage to grab a hold of which I do like, the first six very much.   Buy New or Used via Amazon CONOR OBERST – Conor Oberst I think it’s silly when people call…

Due to numerous computer malfunctions, etc. , I have finally had the opportunity to put this whole thing together. Unfortunately, during the computer crash I lost about 5000 songs downloaded this past year. With that was my playlists and various ways to remember what I listened to in 08. So without my CLIFF NOTES , as best I remember it, here goes…   Buy New or Used via Amazon Bob Dylan – TELL TALE SIGNS This double CD set traveled with me during my trip south a few months ago. Played almost exclusively on the 900 mile trek, this collection…

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…

“THAT’S WHAT THEY ALL SAY…” In the end, 2008 was the year of Change and a great feeling of elation in many people I know. At a Little Annie show at Santos Party House on November 6, she couldn’t stop smiling and finally came out with, “How can I sing the blues when I feel so happy?” But, beware, Grasshopper! As the great philosopher Bonzo Dogband once said, “No matter who you vote for, the government always gets in”. 2008 to me was a year of some nice but unspectacular recordings, and some great concerts. First, the concerts: By far…

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…

Recordings 08:   Buy New or Used via Amazon C.W. Stoneking- King Hokum   Buy New or Used via Amazon Red Stick Ramblers- Made in the Shade   Buy New or Used via Amazon The Sacred Shakers (eilen jewell’s gospel band) – the sacred shakers   Buy New or Used via Amazon Living is hard: West African music in Britain 1927-29 honest jons records, UK   Buy New or Used via Amazon Bollywood Steel Guitar on Sublime Frequencies

TONY’S TOP 10 +   Buy New or Used via Amazon 1. THE HI-RISERS – Once We Get Started   Buy New or Used via Amazon 2. CHEAP TIME   Buy New or Used via Amazon 3. THE BASEBALL PROJECT 4. HOLMES – Free The Preacher   Buy New or Used via Amazon 5. THE MOVE – Anthology 1966-1972   Buy New or Used via Amazon 6. STEVE WYNN – Crossing Dragon Bridge   Buy New or Used via Amazon 7. THE FALLEN LEAVES – It’s Too Late Now   Buy New or Used via Amazon 8. CUTE LEPERS –…

or…. My Retro Can Beat up Your Retro Steering clear of politics and death. Just music; hooks in the mouth, holes in the cheek and the wind blowing through. A lot, maybe too much, of what I liked this year piles on the MC5, Johnny Thunders, Only Ones, psych-garage or Tin Huey, but I prefer it to sounding like Seals and Crofts, America or Bread. The WNPR list was pretty close to the one in Pitchfork; both had me suppressing the gag reflex.   But New or Used via Amazon 1. Simone Massaron featuring Carla Bozulich- DANDELIONS ON FIRE  …

Well, where did 2008 go? I know there were a lot of babies around. Of course, Nat and I had our new bairn, Finn Arden. Already, we can tell that she’s going to be just as much of a character as her brother, Declan. She’s a trip. Meanwhile, he’s always off on some adventure … slaying dragons, battling on the pirate ship, or racing to put out the fire. Talk about action-packed! With these two, there seems to be a near-constant cacophony of sound that threatens to envelope the house like a tornado. It does make it hard to hear…

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…

  Buy New or Used via Amazon Portishead – “Third” (Mercury/Island) What’s that? How long did you say they’d been away? 10 years? And to come back so strong? Ooooofff!   Buy New or Used via Amazon Santogold – “Santogold” (Downtown / Atlantic) Diplo featuring Santogold – “Top Ranking” – A Diplo Dub mix tape (find it on the torrent sites) With Santogold vocals over a few choice tracks. Bouncy mix all the way through.   Buy New or Used via Amazon Franco – “Francophonic: A Retrospective Vol. 1 1953-1980” (Sterns) Two CD set, well chosen, good notes, decent sound….

The top 8 of 08’, top eight of two thousand and eight, 8 records in 08’ that are deemed GREAT. Here we are. Quite a year I must say. This time I bring you my usual diverse list of records, however this year I will not bore you with the cliché of “close but no cigar/2nd fiddle” titles, nor will I consume your eyes & brains with the list of “letdown” releases. Instead I give to you the crème de la crème, the SHIT, the best of the best, the PoOp. Put on your napkin, pull up a plate, sharpen…