Generation X Life Support

With just 1 day left in the year, I ask you – Is there a better time to spotlight some great music that came out of 2008?  I think not!  So, I’m just going to run down a list of music that I thought really stood out in 2008.

Now, I know I can’t sit here and say that this list is as valid as a list from Rolling Stone or your “Precious Cream Magazines” (cryptic Kids in the Hall reference there), but I think you might be pleasantly surprised by some of this stuff I’m going to recommend.  Also note that this post will focus more on Rock – Indy, Alternative, and Hard Rock.  I’m not knocking on Country, R&B, Hip Hop or Pop, but I don’t really listen to much from those genres, and they certainly don’t need any more exposure from me.

So without further ado, here it goes…

Great New Artists of 2008 (in no particular order)

• Duffy, Rockferry - Is it me, or does Duffy do a wonderful job of taking a classic sound and moving it forward?  Her voice has a hint of Ronnie Spector, and all the soul and emotion to match.  I really enjoyed Duffy’s first effort, and this is as close to Top 40 as my list gets.  She was also excellent live.
• King Khan and the Shrines, What is?! – A great German based band producing straight forward garage rock that is inspired by bands like the Troggs, MC5 and the Stooges.
• A Fine Frenzy, One Cell in the Sea – Very Sarah McLachlan inspired set complete with nice piano arrangements and soothing vocals.  Don’t be looking for a fun night out after listening to this one.
• De Novo Sahl, Move Every Muscle, Make Every Sound – Take punk, mix in some pop rock influences Like Marshall Crenshaw, new wave influences from Elvis Costello, and retro psychedelic styles ala Supergrass, Kula Shaker and Oasis. Though this is not their first album, “Move Every…” is pretty much their first recognized effort.
• TOBACCO, Fucked Up Friends – This just might be my favorite album of the year.  This is a trippy, synth soaked dance record that is just amazing.  The gratuitous use of synth reminds me of the Art of Noise.  A lot of fun to listen to.

Great 2008 Albums from Established Artists (in no particular order)

• M83, Saturdays = Youth – While writing this up, I really thought this was a new band, but it turns out they have 5 Albums and have been around for awhile.  M83′s sound is straight out of the 80′s, using heavy synth that will remind you of bands like the Flock of Seagulls, Missing Persons, Modern English and til Tuesday.
• Beck, Modern Guilt – Beck once again delivers a solid record.  On this effort, Beck follows the same path as “the Information” by taking elements from previous albums and applying those elements in each song.  A really nice compilation of sounds and grooves.
• Radiohead, In Rainbows – Just a good all around album from Radiohead.  If I have just one criticism, it might be a little over use of electronics, but still, they do a great job of staying current, and made a great album.  Especially since it was FREE.
• Nine Inch Nails, The Slip – A great, angry album, pretty much summing up the disasters of the past 8 years in music.  If your sick and tired of it, and your not going to be taking it anymore, this is the record playing in the background as you throw shit out your window, or storm the halls of a government building!  By the way, this album was FREE, too.
• Eric Avery, Help Wanted – Founding Bassist for Jane’s Addiction puts out the best solo effort of any Jane’s Member.  After disappointing deliveries from Perry Farrell’s “Satellite Party” and Dave Navarro’s “Panic Channel”, Eric steps in to show other band mates why they cannot call it a comeback without him.  An awesome set, heavily influenced by Joy Division/New Order, with some “help given” by Flea (on trumpet) and Shirley Manson from Garbage.  Great stuff here.
• The Duke Spirit, Neptune – Neptune is the Duke’s sophomore effort, but delivers just as well as their 1st album “Cuts Across the Land“.  You can’t help notice lead singer Leila Moss’s similarities to Grace Slick’s sound in early Jefferson Airplane, and you won’t be disappointed by that especially with the tremendous dark and grungy sound of the band itself.  The Duke Spirit are threatening to be my new favorite band, because I just can’t believe how good they are.
• The Raconteurs, Consolers of the Lonely – I once said to a friend that if the Beatles were still around today, this is what they would sound like.  The Raconteurs, thanks to the combination of both Brendan Benson and Jack White, deliver a pop rock sound that has never been successfully harnessed since the digital age began.  And while this decade saw some great (and not so great) homages to the synth sounds of the 80′s, straight forward late 60′s bred garage rock never got it’s due until this band formed.  Amen.
• TV on the Radio, Dear Science, – Apparently, no “Best of ’08″ list is complete without it, but honestly, it is a great record.  Hints of Prince, hints of U2, and hints of Beck.  Just fun stuff.
• Rodrigo y Gabriella, (Self Titled) – I first heard Rodrigo y Gabriella at the 2008 Virgin Mobile Festival, and I was hooked.  Beautiful Iberian/Latin based acoustic guitar tracks that includes a cover of Metallica’s Instrumental “Orion” off of their “Master of Puppets” Album.
• Kings of Leon, Only by the Night – Well, I have to say this record is very different than what they’ve released in the past, and that’s a good thing.  I remember everyone saying when this band first came out that they were a southern rock version of The Strokes, and their first record pretty much illustrated that.  This 3rd album really leaves that perception in the dust.  It’s a good rock album, daring to go in some different directions electronically, but nothing like the 80′s synth tributes we’ve seen this past decade.
• Deer Hoof, Offend Maggie – Really good art rock, reminding me of early Flaming Lips and Violent Femmes.
• Kaiser Chiefs, Off with their Heads – I know this band really digs their feet into that 80′s sound, but boy do they do it really well and balanced.  While you can certainly hear the 80′s influences in their music, they play it really tight.  Just a good sounding band that takes a cacophony of sounds and brings order to them.
• Blind Melon, For My Friends - No this is not a mistake, and yes, this is a great album.  Unfortunately, it looks like they might already be losing their new lead singer, Travis Warren (it seems Travis is having very similar problems handling the road as his predecessor), but we will see what happens.  I hope Travis can shape up and realize he’s blowing a huge opportunity. Anyway, check out this record.  Blind Melon was and is a great band, and should not vanish from this Earth.

So this is SA’s list of great music from 2008.  I know I hesitate in putting these in order, but if you said, “Hey SA, give me at least 3 records from above to check out”, I’d say Beck, The Duke Spirit, and TOBACCO.  3 very good and very different sounding records.

I hope my recommendations help you spend some quality time on eMusic, iTunes, Amazon or even a record store (if you still do that kind of thing).  Of course, I’ll go look at my iPod tomorrow and realize I left some great band/record off this ’08 list and kick myself for it.

Happy New Year, and Happy Listening!

For the past few days, I’ve been catching some snippets here and there on the Democratic National Convention, mostly from the one trusted source I can count on, the Daily Show.

It amazes me that followers of Hillary Clinton just can’t seem to let go.

While many analysts and “experts” say she didn’t do much to effectively endorse Obama (her most dramatic statement served only to reject McCain, rather than promote Obama), I think she pretty much did what she had to – she rejected the GOP and (mildly) endorsed Obama.

So what more do Hillarites, want?

Listen folks, I’m no political expert, but when you put the person ahead of the issues, that’s a problem.

So Dem’s who wanted universal health care (high on the list for both Obama and Clinton), an end or clear timeline to end the war (championed by both Obama and Clinton), preservation of woman’s rights over their own bodies (both want preserved, as opposed to McCain, who wants Roe v Wade overturned) and several other issues that clearly differ from the GOP’s platform, they’d rather use their vote to protest their party than unify to support the cause.

Sickening.

Just some advice to the Hillarites out there – Please think about swallowing your pride and vote for Obama.  Put the cause before the person.  This is a democracy, not a monarchy, and we should not assume anyone in this country is entitled to the presidency.  Didn’t we learn anything from the Bush administration?

Ok, so I’ve been thinking about how to kick off my first post on this site.

Do I try to put something up to describe what a GenXer is? Do I dare attempt to define a generation that refuses to be defined? A generation that always sought out “the alternatives”?

Do I dare attempt to lay out requirements on what does or doesn’t make you GenX? Well, hell, if Generation X as a generation defining term is in dispute over at Wikipedia, who the fuck am I to lay down the ground rules? That won’t work.

Should I try to argue or whine about what is or isn’t GenX? Hell, that’s too predictable, and predictability is not becoming of a GenXer.

So, to kick shit off here, I guess I’ll just say – Hey, welcome. Feel free to dig around (I know, there isn’t much up here…yet) or feel free to reply to this with some topics you’d like to discuss.

Is it fun stuff, like toys games and gadgets? Fuck Yeah! They don’t call us “slackers” for nuthin!

Is it Music? Yeah, we’ve got opinions on that.

Is it Politics? Yeah, we can talk about that a bit.

Is it career advice? Yeah, we’ve got a ton of experience living in the cubical coal mine, so feel free to ask or kick off topics.

Is it raising your kids? Well, we can talk about it, but maybe that’s something we can all try to discuss and kick around as a subject.

Is it investing? Well, after the dot com era, most of us lost a ton of cash, but shit, maybe you can teach us a thing or 2.

Is it about Bigfoot, the Loch Ness Monster or the Chupacabra? AWESOME (Well for me, I’m a bit of a Cryptozoology junkie. Feel free to lol).

Basically, we want this to be as much about you as us. We’re gonna come here, spew shit that ticks us off, makes us happy, and might even embarrass us a bit, but fuck it. Why start caring now?