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Like last year, I came across a huge number of new songs and new artists. There were some that were very good, and some that were well worth forgetting. Here's my favorite new discoveries of 2008:
Bombadil
These guys out of North Carolina play a mean live act. There's energy, lots of hand-eye coordination and some very good songs. While not quite out there as an indie group such as the Decemberists, these guys have a quirky nature to their songwriting that really makes them stand out.
Bon Iver
Excuse my gushing about Bon Iver. He's easily one of the best new artists of this year, and has a fantastic indie-folk sound. More later.
Civil Twilight
I first came across Civil Twilight when their song Human was featured on House, MD. These guys have a good alt-indie-rock sound with plenty of energy and beat behind the lyrics.
The Fairline Parkway
These guys have a light touch when it comes to lyrics and sound. Their first album, A Memory of Open Spaces was catchy and didn't fall into most of the normal sounds that I tend to listen to. It's not quite folk, not quite rock, but something inbetween. Perfect for driving with the top down.
Findlay Napier and the Bar Room Mountaineers
Findlay Napier recently formed the Bar Room Mountaineers with a neo-scottish folk sound that explodes with subtle energy throughout their songs with a distinct modern flavor. I'd love to see them live sometime.
Goodtimes Goodtimes
Franc aka Goodtimes Goodtimes has a strong hand at the guitar. From the opening notes of his first album, Glue, there's a strong rhythm and a set of brilliant lyrics.
Helen Lawson
Helen Lawson's sound seems to be strongly rooted in her home country of England, with a rich history of folk, which she really draws upon here. Her debut EP, Crossing the Bridge is light, soft on the ears and lyrical.
Jon Regen
Regan has released latest album, Let It Go, which is strongly reminiscent of the sound of Marc Cohn. He wouldn't sound out of place in a jazz lounge, and according to the frequent updates I get from him, he's touring strongly.
Let It Go - Jon Regen
Joseph Arthur
Arthur isn't new to the music scene, but he is new to me. His recent album Could We Survive caught my ears, and he carries a strong alt-country/folk sound with him.
Kat Flint
Flint has a new album coming out, Dirty Birds, and she has been on my radar all year as a strong female vocalist. Her voice is solid, guitarwork firm and her lyrics gold.
Matthew Ryan
Ryan is another new artist to me, but he's been around for a little while now. He sings with a gravelly tone that really reminds me at times of Tom Waits (not quite as harsh). His new album Matthew Ryan Vs. the Silver State is a subdued, somber album that sounds fantastic.
Natalia Clavier
Natalia Clavier's album Nectar is a downtempo affair that has a fantastic, smooth sound to it out of South America. There's energy and emotion here, all wrapped up in a fantastic sound.
Oren Lavie
Lavie has released a wonderful album that he recorded himself. Hailing from Israel, his song Her Morning Elegance caught my ears off of a commercial, and the rest of the album has the same unique sound and lyrics that set that one apart.
Sarah Siskind
Sarah Siskind came to my ears via Bon Iver, when he covered one of her songs, and later sang with her. She's gotten another album on the way in 2009 that is something to keep an ear out for. She reminded me a lot of a favorite of mine, Sara Wheeler, but with more depth and drive to her songs.
Tina Dico
Tina Dico is another girl who's worked with Zero 7 before (Sia is also well know for her work here) Her latest album, Count to Ten is a fantastic listen in alt-pop music with some real talent with lyrics and melody here.
It's been a whole five years since the US invaded Iraq in 2003. I remember that morning very clearly - we watched the news as the US moved into the country very successfully. Operationally, things went really well, and then everything went to hell.
Too often, this war has split the country into two sides, for and against. Both sides have valid points. We've eliminated one of the world's worst person, who's responsible for killing thousands and starting border wars which have dragged larger powers in. We've brought a form of democracy to the country. However, it's not all that functional. Large portions of Baghdad are still without power and running water, there's constant violence in the streets and the US has spent nearly 3 trillion dollars on a war that doesn't seem to be in our best interests.
I've taken several classes on international relations and nation-building, and while the war is a financial disaster for the US, it might not be terribly wise to bring everyone out starting 2009 as promised by the Democratic party candidates if they win the general election. Nor do I think it's wise to keep our people there for decades. What we need to do is help eliminate the corruption in their parliament, restore basic utilities and infrastructure, give people jobs to do.
Hopefully, we won't have people looking at this day in five years as the ten year mark while still there.
Bom Bom Bom - Living Things
Soldier - Civil Twilight
Horse Soldier! Horse Soldier! - Corb Lund
For Emma, Forever Ago -
For people who loved Iron & Wine, this guy's for you. This album's already on my short list for one of my top albums of the year, and I suspect that it'll remain on it. This guy just put together a beautiful album - highly minimalist, quiet, calm - something that I've listened to a number of times and just can't stop - the imagery that some of these songs conjures up, such as Re: Stacks, like a winter day here in Vermont.
Flume - Bon Iver
Lump Sum - Bon Iver
Re: Stacks - Bon Iver
Human -
Civil Twilight came to my attention via the show House with the title track. These guys sound good, a solid album that really fits together well, with a number of songs that I've really enjoyed listening to. There's nothing innovative or totally original here, but that's okay - they've got a good sound, lyrics and style, and that's good for me.
Human - Civil Twilight
Letters from the Sky - Civil Twilight
Soldier - Civil Twilight
Gnarls Barkley's back with another catchy song that will be stuck in my head for a while now. Run is a nice followup to Crazy, but it's not a copy of it. Rather, it's fast, retro-sounding song that'll be big on the radio.
Run - Gnarls Barkley
Joshua Radin has released a new EP in preparation for his upcoming album later this year. It's a nice, quiet tune, a good duet.
The Fear You Won't Fall - Joshua Radin
This song (and video) just made me completely crack up when I first watched it. I'm not a big fan of Sarah Silverman, but I am one of Matt Damon, and I can't stop laughing when he comes in for this.
I'm F*cking Matt Damon - Sarah Silverman
I wasn't familiar with Flint prior to coming across her music on a couple music blogs and her myspace page. I fell in love with her voice and acoustic sound - both work well together - a really good sound here.
Fearsome Crowd - Kat Flint
Ohio - Kat Flint
Sheryl Crow's latest album, another one that's sure to drive up the top 40 tracks. The songs that I've heard from this album really feel like some of her earlier stuff, which brings me back to the 90s when I was in middle and high school, listening to her stuff on the school bus's radio in the morning. Both of these tracks are my favorites from the album - very free and fun songs.
Love is Free - Sheryl Crow
Shine Over Babylon - Sheryl Crow
Tina Dico is one artist that'll most likely rate a mention on a new discoveries list at the end of this year. A collaborator with Zero 7, she's got a wonderful album coming out soon, Count To Ten, with some fantastic stories and a great sound.
On The Run - Tina Dico
Sacre Coeur - Tina Dico
Tristan Prettyman's coming out with a new, richer and better album that I'll probably talk about more soon, when we get closer to the release date. I'm really looking forwards to it. This is reminiscent of her last. album, Twentythree, but slightly better.
Madly Madly - Tristan Prettyman
I'm a huge fan of the TV show House, MD. It's got good stories, even better characters and a fantastic taste in music for it. Last fall, FOX released a soundtrack of some of the songs that made it onto the show. It's a very fun soundtrack, with some really good, and some rare songs onto it.
Beyond that album, there's a bunch of other songs that have made it onto the show that didn't make it onto that soundtrack (and a couple that did, but are still really good.)
The main point in looking at this cross section of music from the show is it's tone and how that relates to the show itself, particularly when it comes to the character of house. All of the below songs are fairly moody ones - mostly dealing with loss or are otherwise not really 'up' songs. Overall, they form a really good feel for the show and House himself, who is a fairly depressed character all things considered. The comedy in the show aside, there's usually a couple of moments where we really see House as himself - alone and depressed. These songs fit perfectly.
Are You Alright? - Lucinda Williams
Beautiful - Elvis Costello
Colors - Amos Lee
Good Man - Josh Ritter
Grey Room - Damien Rice
Hope for the Hopeless - A Fine Frenzy
Human - Civil Twilight
In The Deep - Bird York
Orange Sky - Alexi Murdoch
See The World - Gomez
Some Devil - Dave Matthews
Walter Reed - Michael Penn
I'm a sucker for any music that's on the show House MD, generally. Props to whoever picks the music for that show, because they've got one killer soundtrack.
Last night's episode, right after the Superbowl, featured a new and upcoming artist, Civil Twilight. They're a trio out of South Africa, who's just released their first album, entitled Human.
Already, off the bat, I'm really liking these guy's sound and style - something like Bono working with the band Mute Math (another fantastic group to check out sometime)
According to their MySpace, Human is supposed to be on iTunes by now, but it doesn't seem to have made it's way up there yet. It's also available at their website for a $5 download, $10 hard copy, or for free, with a donation requested. It's worth picking up - these guys have a fantastic first album on their hands.
Human - Civil Twilight
Perfect Stranger - Civil Twilight
