best albums of 2008

so here it is. the obligatory list of 10 of my favorite albums from 2008. in no particular order:

For Emma, Forever Ago

Bon Iver

Justin Vernon, the man behind Bon Iver (pronounced “bon eever”), went off into the woods to hibernate in a cabin for 3 months. after that time of solitude, what emerged was an album called For Emma, Forever Ago. Not only is it one of my favorite albums from 2008, it’s one of my favorite albums of all time.
I think because this album was created in a solitary atmosphere, it has the feeling of solitude, and is a perfect album to put on when you just want to be alone and think. I’m definitely into that sort of thing.

Fleet Foxes (self titled)

it took me a while to warm up to this album. i grew up in church, and the last thing i wanted to hear was more hymns. but after about my 6th time listening to this album, it clicked.
it’s like if the choir at my church sang a bunch of delicious indie folk songs around a campfire. i can dig it.

Elephant Shell

Tokyo Police Club

i fell in love with Tokyo Police Club the first time my roommate in college played their first EP: “A Lesson in Crime” for me. We danced our faces off and jammed on our air guitars. The newest TPC installment is no disappointment. Every song on this album makes me want to whip out my air guitar again and dance like nobody’s business.

Feed the Animals

Girl Talk

i’m not sure how Gregg Gillis (aka Girl Talk) does it… but Feed the Animals is a masterpiece like you wouldn’t believe. It’s 53 minutes and 53 seconds of straight mash up of songs from artists ranging from Jimmy Hendrix to Mims to Santogold to Cat Stevens to Queen and everything in between. you can check out the full list of artists he samples on the wiki page, or you can get the album for whatever you want to pay.

Santogold (self-titled)

santogold has such a unique indie style, but her album has that summertime listening appeal that makes you want to play it at the beach or the pool or when you’re driving with your windows down. it’s just got that easy listenability, the kind that makes you keep coming back for more.

Crystal Castles (self-titled)

this cd is in my car stereo right now, and it’s been there for about a week. it stayed off the mainstream radar, which makes it that much more fun to know about. it’s a dance album, but it’s got this grungy/gritty feeling which is cool. and i don’t mean like the fuzz box kind of grunge/grit. just dirty. and it’s good. when they do lives shows, they’ve got a live drummer, which makes me like them that much more. i can’t really describe the sound of this album, so just go check it out on iTunes or something.

A Cross The Universe

Justice

i wanted to put Justice’s “Cross” album in the list, but it came out in 2007, so this is the next best thing. Justice is a French DJ Duo proving that France knows how to make dance music (Daft Punk. case. closed.)
A Cross the Universe is a recording of their live show in LA (i think) and it’s got an energy and freshness that just adds to the experience of their first album. the vicarious excitement is exhilarating.

Lykke Li

Youth Novels

this swedish chick definitely has some style. her melodies are catchy, and despite the fact that i really only started out liking the song “Little Bit,” as i kept listening, i kept finding new gems over and over, and this album is on the list as one of my favorites from 2008.

Saturdays = Youth

M83

again, the French know how to do it. this album is a completely unique piece of artistry. it’s almost a throwback to the 80’s with its heavy synth and deep tom driven drum fills. i saw M83 live at Tremont Music Hall back in november, and it was quite the experience. you have to hear it to understand.

Hawk is Howling

Mogwai

mogwai is one of those bands that i don’t even try to classify or explain. if i could describe it at all, i’d say that this album is, simply put: energy contained.
there are no words, no verses or choruses, but the sheer gravity of the album is overwhelming. definitely worth the purchase.

i’m a little pissed that i only chose to do 10, and that i can only pick albums from 2008, and that i missed out on 2007 and 2006 which were good years.

but this is my blog and i do what i want. so here’s an album i’ve been digging recently, which i highly recommend you check out, despite the fact that it came out in 2007.

Post-War

M. Ward

this is an album that i recently got turned on to, because of the movie The Go-Getter. M. Ward made the soundtrack for the movie, and the reason i like it is because it matches the plot of the movie perfectly. the reason i like the movie is because it’s about a kid who feels stuck in his life, and wants to do something different, something a little crazy. he steals a car and drives to see his brother in Reno. he meets all kind of people along the way, some changed him for the better, some for the worse, and the destination wasn’t what he expected. but that’s not what the journey is about. it’s about the getting there. it’s about the experience.
no… i didn’t explain the album in musical terms… but musical terms and genres are shallow for this kind of album. it needed something more. i think my little narrative captures the essence of the album more than any musical analysis could.

Posted by: Josh Abe on December 23, 2008

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santa’s augmented reality

as dirty as the title of this post sounds, and as much as i hate doing two christmas pieces in a row… i had to share this.
it’s the first non-prototype augmented reality site that i’ve seen in a readily available format online.
if you don’t understand any of those words… augmented reality is a term for a software that views a real-life object, and then takes information in that object and adds a graphic to it when viewed through a camera or lens of some kind.
a common example of AR are the graphics rendered on a football field to display the 1st down line.

you can read the boring wikipedia entry, or you can check out this virtual christmas card from McCann in Brazil.
all the instructions are in Portuguese, so i’ll tell you what you need to do to make it work.

1. go to the website
2. print out the pdf from the second link in the list
3. if your webcam doesn’t automatically show up in the big box in the middle: right click on it, choose settings, go to the webcam tab, and find your webcam in the list. if you don’t know which one it is, click down the list until it shows in the window.
4. show the printed pdf to the webcam and watch santa get funky fresh.

Posted by: Josh Abe on December 23, 2008

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merry christmas – from AKQA

i suppose i had to post a christmas related piece sooner or later, so when i found this video by one of my favorite design corporations, i knew i had found what i needed.
it’s wonderfully short and sweet, and magically elegant in its simplicity.
i hope you enjoy it as much as i do, and merry christmas. from AKQA and from me. because this is probably the only christmas related post you’ll get this year. (probably)

Posted by: Josh Abe on December 16, 2008

Filed under: Video | 2 Comments

sunday morning

this is the first of mixtapes that i’ll be releasing over time.

it’s a good mix to listen to on cold sunday mornings when you just can’t make it out of bed. put this mix on, brew some coffee, and go back to bed for a while.

you can download it by right-clicking this link, or just listen to it now.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

i hope you enjoy it. i’ve got a bunch more lined up, and i’ll upload them when i get around to it.

Posted by: Josh Abe on December 14, 2008

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marc johns

marc johns is an illustrator that i’ve never heard of, but stumbled upon this illustration on Swissmiss.

he’s got funky fresh style in all the stuff he does, but i still love this illustration the best.

check out his work on Flickr s’il vous plaît.

Posted by: Josh Abe on December 10, 2008

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free gmail stickers

if you love Gmail as much as i do, you’ll love these new stickers featured on the Google blog. if you send a self-addressed stamped envelope to the address, you’ll get a whole mess of Gmail vinyl stickers, including a set of Gmail keyboard shortcut reminders, which is very helpful.
if you want to get a set of these stickers, visit this website, or just send a self-addressed stamped envelope to:

Send me some Gmail stickers already
P.O. Box 391420
Mountain View, CA 94039-1420

Posted by: Josh Abe on December 10, 2008

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tilt shift monster truck

tilt shift is a method of treating video so that it looks like it was taken of tiny objects, almost like a model train set or something like that. if you look around at a few of the other videos this submitter has uploaded to vimeo, you’ll see more examples.

Posted by: Josh Abe on December 9, 2008

Filed under: Video | No Comments