[virometal]

That's not good enough. It was a good year for metal, so argue that point, and I may change my mind.

 

[TheWuss]

enslaved - vertebrae
boris - smile
iced earth - something wicked part 2
opeth - watershed
torche - meanderthal
 
 
wow... even i'm impressed with the metal from 2008.
overall, not a great year for music, tho...

 

[leveller1642]

Mainstream indie is hardly comparable to metal. 

 

[tolkencatholic]

"Mainstream indie"
 
lol sounds like an oxymoron

 

[bob111]

haha at first it does, then you compare it to saying nirvana or pearl jam being mainstream alternative and it makes sense lol
 
Quote:

"Mainstream indie"
 
lol sounds like an oxymoron

 

[DrSpiv]

 
Quote:

Alison Krauss & Robert Plant - Raising Sand
 

 
Quote:

Bon Iver - For Emma, Forever Ago
 

 
Seconded on both counts. Exceptional Albums from 08. For 2010 I'll submit:
 
Black Keys - Brothers
Ratatat - LP4
 

 

[Mr Do]

Indie is on an independent label by my definition. Mainstream bands are no longer indie if there are signed to a major label. It is debatable but this is how I view it and not everyone will agree. To each his own.
 
 
 

 

[Davey]

 
Quote:

OK, so I've also been listening a lot to the Radar Bros who put out Auditorium the beginning of the year. And it does spend some time with that Mercury Rev Deserter's Songs psych-Americana sound that I like so much. Great record, maybe not quite the greatness that I assign to their And the Surrounding Mountains, but that's one of my favorites from the last decade, actually one of my favorites from any decade (but that probably says more about my tastes than the quality of the record

). Pretty nice sound on this latest too. Good bass and in-room presence. Maybe a bit slow moving for some, but I really like it, and definitely one of my favorites of this year, getting better with each listen, and I liked it a lot from go. Any other Radar Bros. fans hanging around?

Hehehe, fun to see an old dead post resurface, and get more response than the first time around


Yea, I do tend to agree with viro, not exactly one of the classic years of modern rock, regardless of how indie you wanna be. But on the other hand, I am still listening to a few ...


Dodos Visiter - silly band name, intentionally misspelled album title, no wonder this one got kind of overshadowed by the emergence of (the also silly named) Fleet Foxes and Vampire Weekend and all the others. But this is some very good and eclectic pop music, sometimes very melodic and accessible, other times noisy and adventurous, all the time with a nice sense of song craft, and nothing ever seems to unfold completely so you want to keep coming back. Like so many of the modern bands I like, a very healthy dose of the Kinks, sometimes pushing it toward the sound of that catchy Strokes' debut, but oftentimes more sophisticated. Fun CD, and nice to see that it actually wound up very high on many best of 2008 lists. Engineered by John Askew, who in his other job as the band Tracker, made a very cool little record a few years ago that I love called Polk.


Wovenhand Ten Stones - middle section knocks it down for me - but the new The Threshing Floor is amazing - best of 2010 right now


Radar Bros Auditorium - by all rights, this sound just shouldn't really work much beyond one CD, kinda slow moving layers upon layers of sound without much change in pace over the course of a CD (or two), but And the Surrounding Mountains remains one of my alltime favorites, and this one is close behind - guess it's just one of those records that fits like an old shoe.


Shearwater Rook - sometimes you get the feel an artist has been working their whole career for that one defining record, and I think it all came together this time for Meiburg, the inspired lyrical imagery coupled with his allegorical music vision, sophisticated but still very musical. Even harkens back at times to the progressive folk of Jethro Tull's Songs from the Wood or bits of Aqualung, and especially Van Morrison, whose Veedon Fleece he gives a tribute in the amazing "Home Life", by way of a direct quote. Pretty obviously channeled through Talk Talk's later Spirit of Eden to strip away some of the modern excesses. His voice is the best it has ever been, recorded without most of the needless reverb this time, it floats and then soars effortlessly, like the majestic birds that live in so much of his music. Just 35 minutes, but a beautiful record.


Bon Iver For Emma, Forever Ago - Already mentioned a few times, and what a classic sounding mix of folk and pop music in the tradition of Nick Drake and Elliot Smith. Great songwriting and production, mastered very nice too. Refreshingly so, and it really does get better with each listen. Gonna be tough for him to do something like this again, something that so captures a little place in time with so many people, mostly just word of mouth in the beginning, bloggers that had heard the initial self-released CD and had to talk about it, and finally a real indie label release, and many more like myself getting the chance to listen over and over. I remember downloading "re: stacks" early in '08, and it became almost like a spring soundtrack, just that one song, until the record was finally released. Should be like one of those classic, yet underappreciated, records that continues to shimmer many years after the tide goes out, kind of quaint and fragile, but full of wonder, gaining stature as the word is passed around. Has a real timeless quality to it, beautiful, charming record. Almost everything about it is understated, even the artwork, but that's one of the things that makes it so nice.

And there were a few others  like ...

Sun Kil Moon - April
Vampire Weekend
Throw Me the Statue - Moonbeams
British Sea Power - Do You Like Rock Music?

 

 

[leveller1642]

Quote:

Indie is on an independent label by my definition. Mainstream bands are no longer indie if there are signed to a major label. It is debatable but this is how I view it and not everyone will agree. To each his own.
 
 
 

Sorry for going OT again in your thread Davey.
 
That would be the strict definition. What about bands that start out on an indie label and then get signed to a major label- does the genre of their music change? Maybe I should have said mainstream alternative and indie music. It is just the album based music that many of us listen to these days. 
 
Anyway, that is all beside the the point. I was just responding to the people who only listen to metal who insist on lumping metal into the mainstream. It will never be anywhere approaching mainstream, but will always be a very specific genre for a small minority of people, who are understandably over-represented on the internet. 

 

[tolkencatholic]

 
NEW DEERHUNTER ALBUM OUT ON SEPT. 28: HALCYON DIGEST !!!

 

[tolkencatholic]

Perfect timing too. That's when the new No Age record comes out too!
 
 

 
Sweeeeeet!

 

[virometal]

leveller1642:

I was just responding to the people who only listen to metal who insist on lumping metal into the mainstream. It will never be anywhere approaching mainstream, but will always be a very specific genre for a small minority of people, who are understandably over-represented on the internet. 

Well, if I one whom you were responding to, I object. First I listen to a lot of Indie and metal. There is no reason the two can't coincide, and that I can't hold that opinion. Second, I typed "popular music", which I most definitely consider metal. Third,  the thread is titled "best record of the year," and Davey mentioned no specific genre. Thus, one can mention metal, electronic, jazz or whichever genre of music that they listen to.

 

[tolkencatholic]

 
Quote:

Third,  the thread is titled "best record of the year," and Davey mentioned no specific genre.

Or it could be a thread designed to showcase his love for Deerhunter.

JK

 

[pow3rtr1p]

I didn't even know Deer Hunter had a new album. I suck...

 

[Davey]

Still 2 months out, but a couple songs are out on a 7".
 
I do have the new Arcade Fire spinning, and that is kinda fun. Think a lot of people are gonna like this one a lot.