Rate 08: 2008 overview

If you only read one post a year, this one shouldn't be it... but it acts as a guide

This year just gone:

Review of the year, month by month

Other people's reviews of the year

Music: watch our selected videos

Valete: This year's obituaries

The key events of the year:

Now Thats What I Call 1983

Q awards | MTV VMAs

Michael Stipe on The One Show

Reading-Leeds

First night: Madonna Hard Candy tour

Kerrang! Awards

T in the Park

Glastonbury

Mandela at 90

Mojo honours

Sony Radio Awards

UK Asian Music Awards

NME nominations

NME award winners

Brit nominations

Brit Awards Liveblog

Grammys

Junos

SXSW

MIDEM

The ten most popular stories published this year:

1. Daily Mail discovers Jools Holland's New Year show isn't live
2. Miley Cyrus shows off her bra
3. Salford Lads Club pushes Smiths to reform for Christmas Number One
4. Robbie Williams abandons pop for UFOs, golf
5. Even the dead: Hendrix punts a sex tape
6. RIP: Jason Rae
7. RIP: John Stewart
8. Video: Brett Anderson - Love Is Dead
9. The Shins get mixed up in allegations of domestic violence
10. Binki Shapiro joins Strokes side project

Week-by-week:


Dec 28
Dec 21
Dec 14
Dec 7
Nov 30
Nov 23
Nov 16
Nov 9
Nov 2
Oct 26
Oct 19
Oct 12
Oct 5
Sep 28
Sep 21
Sep 14
Sep 7
Aug 31
Aug 24
Aug 17
Aug 10
Aug 3
Jul 27
Jul 20
Jul 13
Jul 6
Jun 29
Jun 22
Jun 15
Jun 8
Jun 1
May 25
May 18
May 11
May 4
Apr 27
Apr 20
Apr 13
Apr 6
Mar 30
Mar 23
Mar 16
Mar 9
Mar 2
Feb 24
Feb 17
Feb 10
Feb 3
Jan 27
Jan 20
Jan 13
Jan 6

Rate 08: The review menu

January - Robbie Williams on strike
February - Liverpool hits number 77
March - Shed Seven sneak into Parliamentary debates
April - Miley Cyrus isn't wearing any clothes
May - Duran Duran rejected by Deustche Bank
June - Ricky Martin dumps Bush, endorses Clinton
July - James Blunt goes to war with the Athenians
August - Mike Batt insists downloading music is like stealing bread rolls
September - Bestival barely blown out to sea
October - Pussycat Dolls off Sarah Palin a chance to join another clapped-out old party
November - System of A Down draw on their fans
December - Woolworths sinks the Zavvi ship

2008 in chunks

As we approach the last bits of the year, don't forget to keep an eye on the 2008 best-of list round up entry, which expands as more interesting and questionable reviews of the year appear online. Latest additions include the 2008 Best Box Sets from the New York Times and Fact Magazine's favourite reissues.

Rate 08: Best of lists

This post will expand as more 'best of 2008' lists and selections appear

ilxor is doing a similar thing, only better and DJ Martian is over this sort of thing, too. Largehearted Boy has just started his year-end lists round-up, too.

Bigger Than The Sound's top albums of the year:
5. The Hold Steady - Stay Positive
4. Kanye West - 808s & Heartbreak
3. The Gaslight Anthem - The '59 Sound
2. Deerhunter - Microcastle/ Weird Era Cont.
1. TV on the Radio - Dear Science

Blender's top albums:
10. Fall Out Boy - Folie A Deux
9. Vampire Weekend - Vampire Weekend
8. Randy Newman - Harps and Angels
7. Of Montreal - Skeletal Lamping
6. Robyn - Robyn
5. Hot Chip - Made In The Dark
4. Metallica - Death Magnetic
3. TV On The Radio - Dear Science
2. Girl Talk - Feed The Animals
1. Lil' Wayne - Tha Carter III

Andrew Collins sums up the year, musically:

On reflection, although historic in a geo-political sense and full of financial portent, it's not been a vintage one for stuff. I have been about as underwhelmed by the long-playing record as at any other stage in my music-loving life - but there have been some tremendous songs, so all is not lost.

Dab DeLuca's best Phildelphia releases of the year:
3. Dr. Dog - Fate
2. The Roots - Rising Down
1. The War On Drugs - Wagonwheel Blues

Decibel magazine's top albums:
10. Disfear - Live the Storm
9. Made Out of Babies - The Ruiner
8. Wetnurse - Invisible City
7. Origin - Antithesis
6. Rotten Sound - Cycles
5. The Gates of Slumber - Conqueror
4. Opeth - Watershed
3. Genghis Tron - Board Up the House
2. Nachmystium - Assassins: Black Meddle Part 1
1. Torche - Meanderthal

Robert Duffy of DoneWaiting's favourite things:
3. Times New Viking - Rip It Off
2. The Dodos - Visiter
1. Florence & The Machine - Kiss With A Fist (and live at SXSW)

The Duke Spirit's favourite album of the year, via Filter:
The Raconteurs - Consolers of the Lonely

Estelle's albums of the year, via The Observer:
Santogold - Santogold
Raphael Saadiq - The Way I See It

Fact Magazine's best reissues:
5. A Guy Called Gerald - Black Secret Technology
4. Dennis Wilson - Pacific Ocean Blue
3. Aphex Twin - Selected Ambient Works
2. Arthur Russell - Love Is Overtaking Me
1. Gas - Nah Und Fern

Faronheit's worst albums of the year:
10. Of Montreal - Skeletal Lamping
9. Ben Folds - Way to Normal
8. Tapes 'n Tapes - Walk It Off
7. Snow Patrol - A Hundred Million Suns
6. Foo Fighters - Echoes, Silence, Patience and Grace
5. Ryan Adams and the Cardinals - Cardinology
4. Jem - Down to Earth
3. CSS - Donkey
2. Cold War Kids - Loyalty to Loyalty
1. Scarlett Johansson - Anywhere I Lay My Head

Guardian Critic poll top albums of the year:
5. MGMT - Oracular Spectacular
4. Portishead - Third
3. Elbow - The Seldom-Seen Kid
2. Bon Ivor - For Emma, Forever Ago
1. TV On The Radio - Dear Science

The Guardian Guide's best film music moments of 2008:

Can't Smile Without You - Barry Manilow (Helboy 2)
Backing a great buddy moment between two drunk, lovesick monsters. Proof that Manilow can melt any heart.

Eye Of The Tiger - Chiara Mastroianni (Persepolis)
Iran, Islamic revolution: of course a cover of the theme to Rocky III is the obvious choice.

All The Young Dudes - Mott The Hoople (Juno)
You know you're past it when your cheesy nostalgia tracks are the kids' hip new discoveries.

Enola Gay - OMD (Waltz With Bashir)
Putting this 1980s synth-pop classic in the context of the Lebanon war suddenly made it sound doomy and serious again.

Get Back - Ludacris (Tropic Thunder)
Ever wanted to see Tom Cruise bringing his "hip-hop" moves?

Sarah Harding's albums of the year, via The Observer:
Kings Of Leon - Only By The Night
AC/DC - Black Ice

Josh Jackson, editor in chief of Paste, best album:
Bon Iver - For Emma, Forever Ago

Ezra Koenig's favourite albums of the year, via The Observer:
Lil Wayne - Tha Carter III
The Walkmen - You And Me

Steve LaBate, associate editor of Paste, picks his favourite records of the year:
Album: She & Him - Volume One
Single: Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - Dig, Lazarus, Dig

Lefsetz letter annotates the US best-selling albums of 2008 (correct to 21-11-08):

1. Lil Wayne "Tha Carter III" 2,671,816
Do we want to focus on the Internet marketing campaign (i.e. the steady release of free product), the discounts/free goods to retail, the fact that a hip-hop album is number one or the low total gross. I choose to look at this final fact. There’s not a lot of road business. A 360 deal with most rappers won’t help your bottom line. Lil Wayne’s the king, but it’s not the domain it used to be.

2. Coldplay "Viva La Vida" 1,905,679
Based on the hype, you’d think it did 5 million, wouldn’t you?
Most interesting fact? 579,007 of those albums were digital.

Ladytron's favourite album of the year, via Filter:
TV On The Radio - Dear Science

Laura Marling's favourite albums of the year, via the Observer:
Sigur Ros - Með Suð í Eyrum Við Spilum Endalaust
Elbow - The Seldom-Seen Kid

MNFTIU.cc's top ten music of the year:
1. Rock ‘N’ Roll
2. Rap Music
3. Country
4. Dance
5. Instrumental
6. Jazz
7. Classical
8. Soundtracks
9. Flip-Flap
10. Singing Music

Mojo's Top albums:
10. Neil Diamond - Home Before Dark
9. The Bug - London Zoo
8. The Week That Was - The Week That Was
7. Glasvegas - Glasvegas
6. The Hold Steady - Stay Positive
5. Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!!
4. Bon Iver - For Emma, Forever Ago
3. Paul Weller - 22 Dreams
2. The Last Shadow Puppets - The Age Of The Understatement
1. Fleet Foxes - Fleet Foxes

MTV News' hottest R&B single of the year:
T-Pain (featuring Lil Wayne) - Can't Believe It

Muzzle Of Bees' best concerts:
5. David Byrne - Austin City Limits, Austin (Muzzle of Bees Review)
4. My Morning Jacket - Riverside Theater, Milwaukee
3. Bon Iver/AA Bondy - Pabst Theater, Milwaukee
2. Bruce Springsteen - Lakefront/Harley-Davidson 105th
1. Tom Waits - Moren Theater, Jacksonville

New York Times best pop and jazz box sets:
Lester Young With Count Basie
Love Train: The Sound of Philadelphia
Johnny Cash - At Folsom Prison
Toshiko Akiyosh-Lew Tabackin Big Band - Mosaic Select 33
And This Is Free: The Life & Times Of Chicago's Legendary Maxwell Street
Arabian Prince - Innovative Life
Black Sabbath - The Rules Of Hell
Boots Buckles & Spurs: 50 Songs Celebrate 50 Years Of The Cowboy Tradition
Anthony Braxton - The Complete Arista Recordings
Calypsoul 70: Caribbean Soul & Calypso Crossover, 1969-1979
Cheap Trick - Budokan
D'Angelo - The Best So Far
Miles Davis - Kind Of Blue
Franco & Le Tpok Jazz - Francophonic: Africa's Greatest
Genesis - 1970 - 1975
The Grateful Dead - Rocking The Cradle: Egypt 1975
The Jesus & Mary Chain - The Power Of Negative Thinking
The Manhattans - Sweet Talkin' Soul
Reba McEntire - 50 Greatest Hits
Willie Nelson - One Hell Of A Ride
1970s Algerian Proto-Rai Underground
Larry Norman - Rebel Poet, Jukebox Balladeer
Roy Orbison - The Soul Of Rock & Roll
Augustus Pablo - The Mysterious World Of Augustus Pablo
Phish - At The Roxy
Otis Redding - Live In Paris And London
Nina Simone - To Be Free
Will C - Down The Dial
Hank Williams - The Unreleased Recordings

NME writer's top tracks:
5. MGMT - Electric Feel
4. MGMT - Time To Pretend
3. Mystery Jets - Two Doors Down
2. Glasvegas - Geraldine
1. MGMT - Kids

Oh Warfair & Therapy's favourite track of the year:
Sigur Ros - Gobbledigook

Paste magazine's 50 Best albums of the year:
10. Deerhunter - Microcastle
9. Lucinda Williams - Little Honey
8. Sun Kil Moon - April
7. Girl Talk - Feed The Animals
6. Fleet Foxes - Fleet Foxes
5. Okkervil River- The Stand Ins
4. Bon Iver - For Emma, Forever Ago
3. Vampire Weekend - Vampire Weekend
2. Sigur Rós - Med sud i eyrum vid spilum endalaust
1. She & Him - Volume One

Q Readers' favourite tracks of 2008:
5. Goldfrapp - A&E
4. Oasis - I'm Outta Time
3. Coldplay - Viva La Vida
2. Kings Of Leon - Sex On Fire
1. Keane - Perfect Symmetry

Q Readers' favourite albums of 2008:
[Kudos, by the way, to Q to making the most clunky navigation for any top music list yet uncovered: sure, theoretically you might get thirty page views for a single list, but who really will make it to the end of click-slowload-click-slowload?]
10. REM - Acclerate
9. The Last Shadow Puppets - The Age Of Understatement
8. Sparks - Exotic Creatures Of The Deep
7. Elbow - The Seldom-Seen Kid
6. Coldplay - Viva La Vida
5. Kings Of Leon - Only By The Night
4. Oasis - Dig Out Your Soul
3. Goldfrapp - Seventh Tree
2. Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds - Dig, Lazarus, Dig
1. Keane - Perfect Symmetry

Ra Ra Riot's favourite album of the year, via Filter:
Ceremony - Still Nothing Moves You

Sarah Rodman of the Boston Globe's favourite albums of the year:
She & Him - Volume One
Guns N Roses - Chinese Democracy
The Roots - Rising Down
Sugarland - Love On The Inside
Vampire Weekend - Vampire Weekend
Al Green - Lay It Down
Joe Jackson - Rain
The Hold Steady - Stay Positive
Raphael Saddiq - The Way I See It
TV On The Radio - Dear Science

Britney Spear's 2008, as seen by MTV News:

If anyone is the comeback kid of 2008, it's Britney Spears. That's pretty amazing, considering the fact that in just the first week of the year, she was placed in a hospital for psychiatric observation and lost custody of her two young sons. But over the course of the past 12 months, she seems to have recuperated her losses. She got back to work, showed off her comedic chops on TV, hit the recording and dance studios, won some VMAs, made a tell-all documentary and had a #1 single and album.

Textura's 2008 Best Labels:
12k
Experimedia
Hyperdub
Hypnos
Infraction
Kning Disk
Miasmah
Schole
SPEKK
U-Cover

Uncut's top albums
10. Paul Weller - 22 Dreams
9. Kings Of Leon - Only By The Night
8. Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - Dig!!! Lazarus, Dig!!!
7. Neon Neon - Stainless Style
6. Elbow - The Seldom Seen Kid
5. Vampire Weekend - Vampire Weekend
4. Bon Iver - For Emma, Forever Ago
3. TV On The Radio - Dear Science
2. Fleet Foxes - Fleet Foxes
1. Portishead - Third

James Walsh of Starsailor's favourite album, via Filter:
Panic At The Disco - Pretty Odd

Last updated: 26-12-08

Lest we forget: 2007 | 2006 | 2005

Cowell: The Brits are snobs

You might recall last month Simon Cowell was telling everyone how it was a good thing Leona Lewis didn't win a Brit:

"I was glad Leona didn't win at the Brits. It was the best thing that could have happened."

Only now, it turns out, he thinks it was a bad thing:

"Leona at The Brits tells you everything about the record business. I believe you should recognise and celebrate success."

Although not doing so was supposedly the best thing that could have happened.

What's really going on here is nothing to do with Leona Lewis, and everything to do with Simon Cowell's feeling that he's the victim of some establishment conspiracy:

"I don't like The Brits, they're too sarcastic. They don't represent what's right in Britain at the moment."

The Brits are too sarcastic? This from a man whose main schtick is delivering pre-written 'witticisms' of a "My Way? You should try it any other way" nature?

And as for "not expressing what's right in Britain" - if that actually means anything - if he's suggesting that the Brits should just give prizes on sales, wouldn't that make them the charts?

It's because the music industry doesn't like us show people, cries Cowell:

I believe you should recognise and celebrate success. You don't sneer at it and it doesn't matter where that artist came from.

"This is the problem. People say, 'Leona can't be serious because she entered X Factor.' They sneer. But shows like X Factor are there because doors have been closed. You have to start changing your attitude - give her one award for God's sake!"

This does miss the somewhat key fact that Lewis was invited to perform in front of the watching many, which hardly suggests the Brits organisers were sneering at her (unless we missed something - was ITV2 simultaneously showing people pointing and laughing?) and, indeed, shortlisted her for a number of awards.

And is it really true to say that X Factor exists to open doors which have otherwise been closed to potential artists? Isn't the ability of labels to generate easy sales off the short-lived backs of Chicos and Gareths doing more harm to the ability of young, talented pop musicians than it does good? Surely part of the reason EMI's regime feels confident about downsizing A&R is because they can just wait until a reality TV star turns up with a camera crew and a lopsided demo of them doing a cover of Christina Aguilera's Beautiful from Granada Reports?

Liverpool lands third-most important MTV promotional exercise of 2008

The MTV Europe Awards - second only to the MTV Video Music Awards, if you don't count the MTV Movie Awards when it comes to promoting the declining MTV brand - is coming back to the UK for 2008, when it'll form part of the glittering Liverpool Capital of Culture year:

"Not only is it the European Capital of Culture next year but the influence of its rich musical heritage is still felt today," producer Richard Godfrey said.

It's obviously those reasons that Liverpool has been chosen. Oh, and because the host city pumps money into the event - the last UK staging, in Edinburgh, saw costs spiral out of control and a large chunk of the money paid by the city clumsily hidden from the initial figures. Not, of course, that the Liverpool Culture Company would find itself in such a situation.

Radiohead book some flights

So, it turns out that Thom Yorke's pronouncements about stopping touring to save the planet might have fallen apart when faced with the prospect of not earning money from touring; the band are lining up a leisurely tour for 2008, says manager Bryce Edge:

"We plan to tour next year," he said. "Starting in May through to probably the end of the year, with lots of holidays in that period.

"At the moment we are talking with our agents in North America and for the rest of the world, trying to get a schedule which works for the band and works financially."

Talking to Gothamist a few days ago, Jonny Greenwood made some mumbly noises about trying to work out a way to tour ecologically, without falling into the Coldplay trap of believing in carbon-offsets as doing more than assuaging guilt:

We’ve heard bad things about that. I’m not sure that that’s enough; to buy off our guilt with money. That might not be the best way to do it. We’re kind of looking at a few other ideas. It’s interesting; we’ve had a report done on touring and how much pollution gets created and what would be the most efficient way to do it: playing small venues or big venues, playing venues inside a city or outside a city, playing a big venue and having lots of people drive a long way to get to see you or whether it’s better for us to travel to different places. There are a lot of things to balance out. Whether it’s better to play a festival. So we’ve got to factor that in as well.

We're not quite sure there's a way to play a territory like the US that doesn't involve pumping polar-bear-drowning levels of carbon into the atmosphere, unless they ship themselves over the Atlantic and power everything with windmills - but, to be honest, you wouldn't put that past them, would you?