My Top Ten
For this week’s issue of The Uniter, on newsstands today, I wrote an article about year-end best music lists. I wanted to know if there was something more to them than music geekery/snobbery—if they served a purpose for more than just being able to show off your taste.
What I found while researching and writing the article is that they do. Ultimately, all of the people I interviewed said the same thing: year-end best music lists exist to get people talking about music, and to expose people to things they may have missed throughout the year.
“I used to love making people mix tapes, and now mix CDs, and I think the top 10 list, for me at least, has grown out of that,” said Jeff Friesen, who hosts The New Decay every Friday afternoon on 101.5 UMFM. “It’s to kind of show people what I’ve been listening to, and some [albums] that I think others might appreciate as well.”
Brenda Grunau, station manager at CITR 101.9 FM in Vancouver, agreed.
“You want to put something on your list that you want to proselytize, because proselytizing about music is the most exciting thing,” she told me.
So this is it—my chance to preach, to tell you what I liked this year.
- 10. Chinese Democracy - Guns N’ Roses
- 9. Dear Science - TV on the Radio
- 8. Narrow Stairs - Death Cab for Cutie
- 7. 808s & Heartbreak - Kanye West
- 6. Mae Dae - Coda
- 5. Vs. The Anti-Mother - Norma Jean
- 4. Death Magnetic - Metallica
- 3. District Line - Bob Mould
- 2. (tie) One Boy’s Guide to the Moon / These Nautical Miles - Quinzy
- 1. Holding On To Whatever It Is - The Waking Eyes
One could argue nepotism is the reason this one topped my list—TWE’s bass player is a cousin and close friend of mine. But really, the reason the third offering from this local pop-rock quartet topped my list is that there was no other album I was more looking forward to, there was no other album that I listened to more, and there was no other album I found to be as satisfying front to back. Holding On To Whatever It Is (or “Hot Wii,” as I like to call it—OK, that’s a lie, I never call it “Hot Wii”) is a strong and varied offering that showcases this band’s immense songwriting and performing talent. I only hope it’s not another four years before we get new music from them.
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I should mention that four of the people featured in the Top 10 article have blogs. Not all are 100 per cent dedicated to music, but all are worth checking out:
Mykael Sopher - Painting Over Silence
Rex Sorgatz - Fimoculous
Jonathan Dyck - Late Church Goers
Michael Elves - Ear to the Sound
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Working on my article about Anberlin (also in this week’s issue of The Uniter) got me wondering about what else ex-Semisonic frontman Dan Wilson has been up to lately. That led me to his MySpace page, where there’s at least one really excellent song: “Free Life,” the title track to an album he released in 2007. I definitely recommend you check it out.
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Last but not least: what were your favourite albums of 2008? Feel free to post your own list in the comments section. Then go and read Curran’s list—it’s entertaining.