Phoenix – Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix
This was my favorite release of the year. With their guitar/synthesizer sound, Phoenix’s music definitely has its roots in the 1980s (which is probably why I like it so). At the same time, it has a very fresh and modern sound.

7 Worlds Collide – The Sun Came Out
7 Worlds Collide is a project headed by singer/songwriter Neil Finn (of Crowded House and Split Enz fame). He assembled a stellar group of musicians (members of Wilco, Radiohead, KT Tunstall, Johnny Marr, Lisa Germano to name a few) and created this wonderful double album to benefit Oxfam, an international relief organization. While buying a record to fight poverty and injustice is all well and good, this album isn’t just some knock off filled with second hand songs. It could be the best charitable album ever produced. Here are a couple of tracks to give you the feel of this wide-ranging double CD. The first “Learn to Crawl” is a dreamy tune featuring Neil and his son Liam.

The song “Long Time Gone” is a rocker featuring Don McGlashan.

Amadou & Mariam – Welcome to Mali
The afro-pop this duo from Mali makes is simply wonderful. I defy you to sit still while listening to this album.

Neko Case – Middle Cyclone
Anyone who knows my fondness for Neko Case won’t be surprised to find this in the list. I wrote a review of Middle Cyclone back when it first came out.

Son Volt – American Central Dust
Son Volt probably isn’t as well known as Wilco (the other band to come from the ashes of the group Uncle Tupelo), but I think they had the better record this year. A great slice of Americana in their alt-country style.

The Swell Season – Strict Joy
I got this disc as a Christmas gift and I haven’t stopped playing since. It’s haunting, sweet, dreamy, and includes songs that stick with you long after the record has stopped playing.

Tragically Hip – We Are The Same
Tragically Hip’s unique sound is unlike any other band. Is it the lead singers voice? The excellent guitar work? The song writing? It’s probably all of those and more. Yet another strong release from one of my favorite bands.

Best Reissue:
The Beatles – Stereo BoxSet
Listening to these remastered discs was like hearing them fresh for the first time. On every record I hear guitar lines, background vocals, hand claps, and other things I’ve never heard before.

Honerable Mentions

• Cracker – Sunrise in the Land of Milk and Honey
• The Doves – Kingdom of Rust
• Monsters of Folk – Monsters of Folk
• Wilco – The Album
• The XX – XX

Christmas time is here.
Happiness and cheer.
Fun for all that children call,
Their favorite time of the year.

Snowflakes in the air.
Carols everywhere.
Olden times and ancient rhymes,
Of love and dreams to share.

Sleigh bells in the air.
Beauty everywhere.
Yuletide by the fireside,
And joyful memories there.

Christmas time is here.
We’ll be drawing near.
Oh, that we could always see,
Such spirit through the year…

Emmylou Harris’ set began somewhat subdued. Early on she played one of my favorites of the night, the hauntingly beautiful “Red Dirt Girl.” That tone continued with a cover of Lucinda Willams’ “Sweet Old World” and the somber waltz “I Miss the Mississippi and You.”

In addition to her talent for singing, she’s got an excellent ability to select backing musicians. Last night her band, the “Red Dirt Boys” shined and meshed perfectly with Emmylou’s sometimes hushed vocals, especially the fiddle, accordion, and backing vocals on “Sweet Old World.”

Throughout the show, Emmylou’s between-song banter was enjoyable without being too much. Whether she was joking about her “brunette days,” talking about how nice she thought Madison was, or watching the History Channel (or as she put it, “the I live alone channel”), it was all genuine. You get that same feeling when you listen to her music as well.

Later on Emmylou and the band seemed to loosen up a bit with “Two More Bottles of Wine,” and the country rocker “Born to Run.” The latter ended up being a great showcase for the band with each musician getting the chance to demonstrate their skills. Guitarist Buddy Miller (who also opened the show) was especially good. Another uptempo song was also one of my favorites of the night, the bluegrass gospel song “Get Up John.”

After a generous set of 21 songs, Emmylou introduced the band, thanked the audience very graciously and left the stage. They came back for a brief encore, “Save the Last Dance for Me.” It was a fitting encore to an excellent show.

Since I’ve been looking forward to seeing Emmylou Harris perform live for so long, I was a little afraid she wouldn’t be able to stand up to my expectations. My fears were unwarranted from the moment her set began. With an artist like Emmylou Harris, I should have known better.

The other day I was delighted to see one of the bootleg blogs I read posted a link to the audio: Jackson Browne: live on Soundstage 2009.

One highlight of the show was “Time the Conqueror,” the title track from his latest album, which shows he definitely hasn’t lost his talent for songwriting.

Another highlight: Jackson and his band performing a great version of “Lives in the Balance”, featuring his excellent backup singers. He’s also added another poignant verse to the song (which was originally released in 1986), with the last two lines even quoting scripture.

I find it so strange and confusing,
They take God out of our lives day by day,
But when tragedy strikes like 911,
They call for the nation to pray.
But what should America pray for?
For God to smite our enemies?
Or to heal the wounds of history,
And to live with the world in peace?
Seek my face and turn from their wicked ways,
then will I hear from heaven and heal their land.

[chorus]
And there are lives in the balance.
There are people under fire.
There are children at the cannons.
And there is blood on the wire.

Jackson Browne is in my mind an under appreciated artist (especially in recent years). This Soundstage concert illustrates just how good he is.

The band is from Mali and played some very infectious afro-pop. I enjoyed their music a lot. At times when I was shooting, I had to remind myself to stay still for a good shot. It was really hard not to move while they were playing.

Balla Tounkara plays the kora, a West African instrument.

Concert photography presents its own challenges, especially with the lighting. Using a flash is out of the question (you don’t want to annoy, and you do want to capture the stage lighting). So you need to shoot with a higher ISO, which can make things a bit grainy (example below).

Digital Photography School has a couple of good tutorials: the basics of rock concert photography and rock concert photography, beyond the basics.

I liked the next photo even though it was a bit out of focus. Hopefully I can improve my technique by shooting more concerts.

Toward the end of the show there was this young girl “dancing” with a hula hoop in front of the stage. Balla enjoyed her technique so much, he brought her up on stage to hula hoop during the encore. The crowd really cheered her on. After the song he introduced her and gave her a big hug.

I’ve always loved the simplicity and intrigue of “Billy Jean”, my favorite song of his. Thank you Michael, and may you rest in peace.

Billy Jean by Michael Jackson

Back in January, Neko and her record label released a free MP3 of “People Got A Lot Of Nerve”, a song which has a deceptively bright sound, but with lyrics that are a bit on the dark side. I was intrigued and couldn’t wait for the album to come out.

So the saying says, “An elephant never forgets.”
Standing in the concrete cave, swaying sad and insane.
They walked over the ocean, in their dreams they dream awake,
Until the lights grew dim, until the cop cars came.
Everybody tells me this is crazy, yes I know it.
I’m a man, man, man, man, man, man eater.
But still you’re surprised-prised-prised when I eat you.

You know, they call them “killer” whales?!
But you seem surprised,
When it pinned you down to the bottom of the tank,
Where you can’t turn around.
It took half your leg, and both your lungs.
“When I craved I ate hearts of sharks, I know you know it.”
I’m a man, man, man, man, man, man eater.
But still you’re surprised-prised-prised when I eat you.

It will end again in bullets friend…

Animal and nature imagery are very present on this record. One of my current favorite tracks, “Magpie To The Morning” is a perfect example.

Neko’s lyrics have often leaned a bit surrealistic. On “This Tornado Loves You” (the album’s opening track) she sings about a cyclone, chasing her down because of its undying love for her. As I heard Neko tell NPR, the track was inspired by a dream she had.

There are so many wonderful layers to her music. Even in the simple “Middle Cyclone” (also available as a free MP3 from Anti- records), you’ve got a solitary guitar, her beautiful voice, ethereal background vocals, interludes from a music box, and those marvelous lyrics.

Baby, why am I worried now?
Did someone make a fool of me,
‘Fore I could show ‘em how it’s done?
I can’t give up acting tough,
It’s all that I’m made of.
Can’t scrape together quite enough,
To ride the bus, to the outskirts,
Of the fact that I need love.

There were times, that I tried.
One for every glass of water that I spilled,
Next to the bed, retching pennies in a boiling well,
In a dream,
That at once becomes a foundry of mute and heavy bells.
They shake me deaf and dumb.
Say, “Someone made a fool of me,
‘Fore I could show ‘em how it’s done.”

It was so clear to me,
that it was almost invisible.
I lie across the path waiting,
Just for a chance to be,
A spiderweb, trapped in your lashes.
For that, I would trade you my empire for ashes.
But I choke it back, how much I need love…

With all those layers, it’s still that gorgeous voice that stands out for me. I could probably be mesemerized by listening to Neko Case sing nursery rhymes. Her voice shines beautifully on “The Pharoahs.”

Toward the end of the album, in the song “Don’t Forget Me,” she reminisces sweetly about a former love. The song’s chorus urges:

Don’t forget me, don’t forget me.
Make it easy, only just for a little while.
You know I think about you,
Let me know you think about me too.

Forget Neko Case? Not a chance.

I’ve posted before that sports and rock & roll don’t necessarily go well together. Having said that, Bruce Springsteen’s halftime performance was my favorite thing about yesterday’s big game.

Springsteen and his band are the quintessential showmen, even when they’re only playing for twelve minutes, they push it to the full limit.

And you’ve got to love that introduction…

I want you to step back from the guacamole dip. I want you to put the chicken fingers down, and turn your television all the way up!

Update: The NFL had YouTube remove the videos I was linking to. (Boo!) However, you can download bootlegs of the performance. T.U.B.E. has links to an audio bootleg of Bruce Springsteen’s halftime show as well as a video bootleg.

From now until February 13, Neko Case and Anti records will donate five dollars for every blog that posts the song (or one dollar for every user of iLike that adds the song to their profile) to the Best Friends Animal Society.

The new song is from her forthcoming release Middle Cyclone (coming out on March 3, 2009). What a great way to put out the word on the new material. Thanks Neko! I can’t wait for the new album.

Vampire Weekend – Vampire Weekend
The fresh and unique sound of Vampire Weekend made this my favorite album of the year. It’s also the best debut album of 2008. See my post from last February for a review of Vampire Weekend.

Kathleen Edwards – Asking for Flowers
I really should have written up a full review of this album. For the past five years Kathleen has released three solid records, and I think this one stands at the top. She has a definite talent for songwriting, singing and musicianship. She can go from quiet and introspective, to loud and raucous, and everything in between. Kathleen and her band also performed my favorite concert of 2008.

The Hold Steady – Stay Positive
This band plays straight rock and roll with vivid, storytelling lyrics. They’ve been compared to Springsteen and the E-Street Band, which is spot on.

Cowboy Junkies – Trinity Revisited
See the review of Trinity Revisited I wrote back in August.

2008 was a banner year for neo soul music. I’ve got three outstanding titles in that category:

Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings – 100 Days 100 Nights
Sharon Jones has a classic soul voice reminiscent of soul singers from days gone by, and the Dap-Kings do an excellent job backing her up. As an aside, this disc was actually released in 2007, but I didn’t discover it until I received it as a surprise Christmas gift. It’s such a good record, it deserves to be highlighted, even if I am a little late.

Gnarls Barkley – The Odd Couple
I posted a review of The Odd Couple last summer.

Raphael Saadiq – The Way I See It
Raphael Saadiq (formerly of Tony! Toni! Toné!) has a sound that comes straight out of Motown. Hearing his voice makes you wonder if he’s got DNA from Smokey Robinson. This album is very strong, and features guest artists like Stevie Wonder, Josh Stone, and Jay-Z.

Big Blue Ball
A few weeks ago I wrote a review of Big Blue Ball.

The Verve – Fourth
The Verve reunited after ten years and released an excellent album. While I do like Richard Ashcroft’s solo records, when he’s with the other members of The Verve, the music is over the top. I’ll give them the best comeback award of 2008.

Sun Kil Moon – April
See the review of April I posted earlier this year.

Honorable Mentions

• Alejando Escovedo – Real Animal
• Fleet Foxes – Fleet Foxes
• Ryan Adams & The Cardinals – Cardinology