Since we're halfway through the year, let's do a halfway cheer!

Yes, I know; I haven't been posting. I also have either been in a great mood, or a not so great mood lately. Neutrality is of little persuasion these days. Plus, I've been working quite often, seeing a few key people and slipping into an irreversable state of insanity. I contemplated posting a blog solely consisting of this, but I never even did it:

"All work & no play makes Pluto a dull planet.
All work & no play makes Pluto a dull planet.
All work & no play makes Pluto a dull plaent.
All wrk & no plya makes Pluto a dull planet.
All work & no play make Pluto a dull can't-quite-be-classified-as-a-planet."

Yes, I just copy/pasted (with errors).

So, it's, like, June already, OMG, and I've been mass consuming music (per usual, duhs!), so I gots to thinkin' 'bout posting my tip-tops thus far in 2008. Unlike other lame asses, I won't place Bon Iver's For Emma, Forever Ago as it was self-released in 2007, and I was listening and loving it then (and now). I mean, ahem, it did place 12th on my top albums of 2007 list. Plus, it should've been 11th, at least, but I decided to place Nina Nastasia & Jim White above Bon Iver. Ho-hum. They are two great albums, but I think that Bon Iver has an edge. Either way, on to '08!

And, really, we're halfway to a threeway tie for first place in '08! I've been enjoying Beach House's latest since late '07, and it has stayed strong. Upstarts Fleet Foxes have stormed ahead of their freewheelin' reverb-laden, veteran brethren My Morning Jacket (how's that alliteration for ya?) with a spectacular debut LP. My Morning Jacket on the other hand have produced a highly suspicious and often the antonym of delicious new album. Hail them as key disappointers in 2008. To finish the threeway battle to become number 1 this year, however, are 2005 faves Wolf Parade! Seriously, these guys are more consistent than your favorite band. Sure, it may lack some of the raw impact select tunes from their debut had, but it's still quite a force to reckon with that forces me to smile upon each subsequent listen. Fleet Foxes utilizes the 1959 oil-on-oak panel painting Netherlandish Proverbs by Pieter Bruegel the Elder. Hey! I remember that from my art history class! I mean, you have to check it out along with the album, as some of the proverbs include: 'to shit on the world' (meaning: to despise everything), 'two fools under one hood' (stupidity loves company), 'he who eats fire, shits sparks' (do not be surprised at the outcome if you attempt a dangerous venture), 'they both shit through the same hole' (they are in agreement), and well, a lot of shitting, really.



Here's what you should be hearing this year:

1) Fleet Foxes- Self-Titled
2) Wolf Parade- At Mount Zoomer
3) Beach House- Devotion
4) Silver Jews- Lookout Mountain, Lookout Sea
5) Why?- Alopecia
6) No Age- Nouns
7) Portishead- Third
8) The Ruby Suns- Sea Lion
9) The Dodos- Visiter
10) Deerhunter- Microcastle
11) Crystal Castles- Crystal Castles
12) Dan Friel- Ghost Town
13) Born Ruffians- Red, Yellow, and Blue
14) Au- Verbs

It's early, though, so recent leaks like Deerhunter may climb once I score a tangible copy and some others may vanish completely after I lose interest. Anything can happen!

Some of the best EPs of 2008 are:

Fleet Foxes- Sun Giant EP (duh)
Animal Collective- Water Curses EP
Air France- No Way Down EP
The Cool Kids- The Bake Sale EP
Dirt Dress- Theme Songs EP

Some others that are worthy of checking out (and either were favorites before and have slipped, or may climb when I get the time to listen more):

White Denim- Workout Holiday, Wale- The Mixtape About Nothing, Thomas Function- Celebration, Thao Nyugen- We Brave Bee Stings and All, Stephen Malkmus & the Jicks- Real Emotional Trash, Subtle- ExitingARM, Spiritualized- Songs in A&E, Shearwater- Rook, Quiet Village- Silent Movie, Pocahaunted- Island Diamonds, Plants and Animals- Parc Avenue, My Morning Jacket- Evil Urges (yeah, it's worth a listen if you love MMJ), The Mountain Goats- Heretic Pride, Man Man- Rabbit Habits, M83- Saturdays=Youth, Jamie Lidell- Jim, High Places- 03/07-09/07, The Hold Steady- Stay Positive, Hot Chip- Made in the Dark, Hercules and Love Affair- Self-titled, Ghost Bees- Tasseomancy, Frightened Rabbit- The Midnight Organ Fight, Erykah Badu- New Amerykah Part One (4th World War), Destroyer- Trouble in Dreams, Cut Copy- In Ghost Colours, Cadence Weapon- Afterparty Babies, Boris- Smile, Bonnie 'Prince' Billy- Lie Down in the Light, Black Mountain- In the Future, The Black Keys- Attack & Release, Atlas Sound- Let the Blind Lead Those Who Can See But Cannot Feel

Also, there are some I've yet to get to such as Lil Wayne, HEALTH's DISCO, Ratatat, Wire, Sparks, Sigur Ros, Stars Like Fleas, Crystal Antlers EP, etc.

Alright, now, for people like Ashlynn that don't listen to albums as much as songs, here are a few key tunes this year:

Animal Collective- "Water Curses"
Au- "RR vs. D"
Bell- "It's Oh So Quiet" (Bjork cover)
The Black Keys- "I'm Glad" (Captain Beefheart cover)
The Dodos- "Undeclared"
Grizzly Bear- "While You Wait for the Others"
Jamie Lidell- "Little Bit of Feel Good"
The Magnetic Fields- "The Nun's Litany"
The Mountain Goats- "Autoclave"
Silver Jews- "San Francisco B.C."
Thao Nyugen- "Geography"
Wale- "The Opening Title Sequence"
Weezer- "The Greatest Man That Ever Lived (Variations on a Shaker Hymn)" (yes, I actually like it for now, but most of the album I'd rather not hear again)

And, of course, every song by Fleet Foxes, Wolf Parade and Beach House. Why the hell aren't you listening already?

Musical find of the year: Julia Nunes and her ukelele tunes!

Finally, lets divert our attention to Wii! Game of the year is...

Wii Fit!

Sure, it'll like relinquish it's spot to Mario Kart Wii eventually, but c'mon, so far, when I play Mario Kart Wii, I'm struggling for wins and losing more than I'd like (as in, ever). On Wii Fit, there's nothing to lose! Not even weight! Yeah, I'm skinny. I can only gain balance, strength and overall fitness. That, to me, is a win.

Phew. It's only forward from here. Soon enough, we'll be looking back on 2008. It's good to see us moving forward, for now, instead of allowing time to control us.

I own time.

I own a watch.

I just don't wear it.