Perfect Sounds: 2008

Albums:

2008-01-09T03:51:00.000-08:00

TV On the Radio: Dear Science (4AD)
Randy Newman: Harps and Angels (Nonsuch)
Mostly Other People Do the Killing: This Is Our Moosic (Hot Cup)
Taylor Swift: Fearless (Big Machine)
The Roots: Rising Down (Def Jam)
Raphael Saadiq: The Way I See It (Sony)
Robert Forster: The Evangelist (Yep Roc Records)
Fieldwork: Door (Pi Recordings)
Ne-Yo: Year of the Gentleman (Def Jam)
Vampire Weekend: Vampire Weekend (XL Records)
Girl Talk: Feed the Animals (Illegal Art)
Ben Allison & Man Size Safe: Little Things Run the World (Palmetto Records)
Les Amazones de Guinée: Wamato (Sterns Music)
Los Campesinos!: Hold on Now, Youngster... (Witchita / Arts & Crafts)
Hayes Carll: Trouble in Mind (Lost Highway)
No Age: Nouns (Sub Pop)
Anthony Braxton, Milfor Graves, William Parker: Beyond Quantum (Tzadik)
Lil' Wayne: Tha Carter III (Cash Money/Universal/Motown)
Bottomless Pit: Hammer of the Gods (Comedy Minus One)
Santogold: Santogold (Downtown)
Vijay Iyer: Tragicomic (Sunny Side)
William Parker: Petit Oiseau (Aum Fidelity)
So So Glos: Tourism/Terrorism (Green Owl)
Mike Reed: People Places and Things: Proliferation (482 Music)
White Denim: Workout Holiday (Full Time Hobby)
Conor Oberst: Conor Oberst (Merge)
Nas: Nas (Untitled) (Def Jam)
Rob Brown Ensemble: Crown Trunk Root Funk (AUM Fidelity)
Roy Campbell: Akhenaten Suite (AUM Fidelity)
Love Is All: A Hundred Things Keep Me Up At Night (what's Your Rupture?)
Vandermark 5: Beat Reader (Atavistic)
Magnetic Fields: Distortion (Nonesuch)
By Any Means (Rashied Ali/Charles Gayle/William Parker): Live at Crescendo (Ayler Records)
K'Naan: The Dusty Foot Philosopher (IM Culture)
T.I.: Paper Trail (Grand Hustle/Atlantic)
Report Suspicious Activity: Destroy All Evidence (Alternative Tentacles/Revolver)
Jesus H Christ & the Four Hornsmen of the Apocalypse: Happier Than You (Jesus Christ Rocks)
Jean Grae: Jeanius (Blacksmith)
Q-Tip: The Renaissance (Motown)
Fucked Up: Chemistry of Common Life (Matador)
Constantines: Kensington Heights (Arts & Crafts)
Matthew Shipp Quartet: Cosmic Suite (Not Two Records)
Drive-By Truckers: Brighter Than Creation's Spark (New West)
Black Milk: Tronic (Fat Beats)
The Bronx: III (Witchita)
Hamid Drake/Anders Gahnold/William Parker: Last Dances (Ayler Records)
Bill Dixon: 17 Musicians in Search of a Sound: Darfur (Aum Fidelity)
Adam Lane, Lou Grassi, Mark Whitecage: Drunk Butterfly (Clean Feed)
Lucinda Williams: Little Honey (Lost Highway)
William Parker: Double Sunrise Over Neptune (Art for Arts/AUM Fidelity)
Blitzen Trapper: Furr (Sub Pop)
Lindsey Buckingham: Gift of Screws (Reprise)
Hold Steady: Stay Positive (Vagrant)
Jeffrey Lewis: 12 Crass Songs (Rough Trade, 2007)
Fight the Bull: Dying Will Be Easy (Clean Feed)
Dog & Sky. Lhasa Express (Crispin Gover Rec)
Wussy: Left for Dead (Shake It)
Wadada Leo Smith's Golden Quartet: Tabligh (Cuniform)
Re-Up Gang: We Got It 4 Free vol. 3 (Re-Up Records)
Empty Cage Quartet: Stratostrophic (Clean Feed)
Atomic: Retrograde (Jazzland Rec.)

Last update: 26.01.2009

Singles/Tracks:

2008-01-08T09:45:00.000-08:00

Taylor Swift: "Love Story" (Big Machine)
Hayes Carll: "Bad Liver And A Broken Heart" (Lost Highway)
The Bronx: "Young Bloods" (Witchita)
No Age: "Sleeper Hold" (Sub Pop)
TV On the Radio: "Red Dress" (4AD)
Alejandro Escovedo: "Always a Friend" (Back Porch)
Ne-Yo: "Miss Independent" (Def Jam)
Alphabeat: "Fascination" (Copenhagen Records)
White Denim: "Shake Shake Shake" (Full Time Hobby)
Conor Oberst: "I Don't Want to Die (In a Hospital)" (Rough Trade)
The Knux: "Cappuccino" (Universial)
Wire: "One of Us" (Pink Flag)
Kate Perry: "Hot N Cold" (Capitol)
Estelle ft. Kanye West: "American Boy" (Atlantic)
Santogold: "You'll Find a Way" (Downtown)
Report Suspicious Activity: "Destroy All Evidence" (Alternative Tentacles)
The Hold Steady: "Sequestered in Memphis" (Vagrant)
Lykke Li: "Little Bit" (EMI)
Neon Neon: "I Told Her on Alderaan" (Lex Records)
Annie: "I Know Your Girlfriend Hates Me" (Universal/Island)
Jenny Lewis: "Carpetbaggers" (Rough Trade)
Hot Chip: "Ready for the Floor" (EMI)
The Ting Tings: "That's Not My Name" (Sony BMG)
School of Language: "Rockist Pt. 1" (Thrill Jockey)
Fucked Up: "No Epiphany" (Matador)

Note: Although jazz-tunes are frequently notable in their own right, and not just as album tracks, they have not been considered for this list.

Reissues/Vault:

2008-01-07T05:47:00.000-08:00

Franco: Francophonic - A Retrospective Vol. 1: 1953-1980 (2CD) (Sterns Africa)
Charles Gayle/William Parker/Rasied Ali: Touchin' On Trane (Jazzwekstatt, 1991/2007)
Liz Phair: Exile in Guyville (ATO Records, 1993/2008)
Steinski: What Does It All Mean?: 1983-2006 Retrospective (Illegal Art)
Kid Creole: Going Places: The August Darnell Years 1974-1983 (Strut Records)
Pavement: Brighten the Corners (deluxe edition) (Matador)

The Replacements: Hootenanny / Let It Be / Pleased to Meet Me / Sorry Ma, Forgot to Take Out the Trash / Stink / Tim (Rhino)
New Order: Brotherhood / Low-Life / Movement / Power Corruption & Lies / Technique (Rhino)
Thelonious Monk: Brilliant Corners
Pere Ubu: Dub Housing

Yet to hear the full Anthony Braxton Mosaic box-set.
The records outside of the enumerated list have been available in some shape or form fairly recently, but deserve mention as they are all great records.