Dan Wilmer Poop 08


Best Records:


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Vampire Weekend – Vampire Weekend
This album brings me back to days of tapping kegs and watching bands play on the beach at Fairfield University. College pop, in the best way. Love the way that it evokes Paul Simon in songs like Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa and early Police in others like The Kids Don’t Stand A Chance – super songwriting and great beats. Caught them at the Bowery Ballroom earlier in the year and had a blast.


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2. The Virgins – Virgins
Though the majority of this album was pre-released as an EP in 2007, it was in 2008 that I discovered this band. Great riffs combine with a Killers kind of Statlium-Rock polish. Songs like One Week of Danger have a falsetto chorus that Mick would be proud of, while Radio Christiane and Rich Girls have great strutting baselines. Another great Bowery concert.


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3. Calexico – Carried to Dust
Over the past few years, Calexico has probably become my favorite band. With the exception of their collaboration with Sam Beam, Into The Reins, I don’t think they’ve ever done a interior of mixing the Southwestern magic that is Calexico – the mariachis, troubadours, tambourines and such – with songs that are memorable and catchy. This may be their best album – and l have a shelf fu11 of records that l adore from these guys.


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4. Parts & Labor – Receivers
Wow. Wow. Wow. Starting with Satellites and moving on to Nowhere’s Nigh and adding in Little Ones and Wedding In A Wasteland this album rocks. A little proggy, but great overall.


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5. Jim White – Transnormal Skiperoo
This was my favorite singer-songwriter discovery of the year. Starting with the transcendent A Town Called Amen and Blindly We Go this album continues to more traditional work-a-day hymns such as Take Me Away, Diamonds to Coal and Plywood Superman. Jim may be at his best in whimsy and Turquoise Houses is probably the favorite off of this.


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6. The Hold Steady – Stay Positive
2008 was also the year 1 started listening to the Hold Steady. Love the classic rock anthems and the storytelling by the lead singer, Craig Finn.


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7. Bob Dylan – Telltale Signs
27 amazing tracks from the legend.


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8. A.A. Bondy – American Hearts
This is another singer-songwriter discovery for me this year. It’s a sincere and heartfelt acoustic record. “I don’t want to talk about Jesus, I just want to see his face”


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9. TV on the Radio – Dear Science,
The guys from TVOTR put out another original, conically complex album.


  49:00
10. Paul Westerberg – 49:00
This is a tough one for one. Buried in this beautiful mess might be Paul’s best record since the Replacements. It’s got classic songs like Terry Who You Gonna Marry and Devil’s Been A Good Boy and a half a dozen more that you can’t even name due to the fact that they’ve been amalgamated into a single 49 minute track. There’s great, great stuff here, but Paul makes you work a little hard for it.

Best Comeback/Throwbacks

AC/DC’S Black Iceand Metallica’s Death Magnetic both add nicely to these bands’ great catalogs.

Biggest Disappointment!

Chinese Democracy. Ugh.