More Nonsense About 2008

A great deal of my mental space for reflection has been taken up by non-musical events this year.  That said, music has always been a thread woven through all aspects of my life.  When my wife and I split up in September, my music followed me out the door and traveled with me to my new apartment.  Sure, it doesn't keep me company the way a human being does, but it does, as always, help me through hard times.

I've always been an obsessive list maker when it comes to music, keeping a dated list of what I've bought.  This kind of thing makes the year end "best of" list very easy to compile.  Unfortunately, this year I'm without a good portion of my list.  My ancient computer finally took a nose dive off the digital cliff, taking my list with it.  This leaves me with my imperfect memory and a partial, post-crash, list.  Oh well. 

Here's the list I've managed to scrabble together.  It's weighted towards the end of the year, with the beginning having faded away into the mists of my past life and the digital coma of an inoperable computer.

Firewater "The Golden Hour"  The perfect post-breakup cd - especially songs like Six Forty Five and Feels Like the End of the World.  Hey Clown is great too - a fitting tribute to the Bush White House. 

Aranos "Samadhi"   Very meditative - In fact, "Samadhi" means "meditation".  This is one long track played on shakuhachi and 6 tibetan singing bowls.  Very nice in a "melt into the floor" kind of way.

Asta Kask "En for Alla Ingen for Nan" lp.  OK, this actually was released a couple of years ago, but I just now got around to getting it.  Asta Kask put out some great records back in the eighties, and this is their first release in a couple of decades - energetic, melodic, gruff, Swedish punk.  Yay!

Katherine Blake "Midnight Flower"  This is for anyone who misses Blake's old band, Miranda Sex Garden.  Very much in the same vein, but perhaps even better.

Bohren & der Club of Gore "Dolores".  I'm still loving this thick, eerie doom jazz stuff.  Angelo Badalamenti is a good reference point.

Gore "Hartgore/Mean Man's Dream" double cd.  I still have the original vinyl of these releases, but this double disc comes with another whole album's worth of bonus material recorded at roughly the same time - live tracks and outtakes.  Essential listening if you like sludgy instrumental dirge metal.

O'death "Broken Hymns Limbs & Skin"  This is great - hyperactive speed folk with ripping fiddle and raging drums! 

Nurse With Wound "Huffin' Rag Blues" and "The Bacteria Magnet" - Great full length and ep!  Lots of fun, as usual.

Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra & Tra-La-La Band "13 Blues for Thirteen Moons"  Simply epic!  Orchestral punk with biting vocals/lyrics.  Now with added electricity!

Triple Tree "Ghosts"  Mr. Wakeford and Mr. King, with some guests, give us some sonic interpretations of the works of M.R. James.  I reread all of James' stories around the time I got this, for added effect.  Very nice indeed.

There you have it.  There were, or course, a lot of other worthwhile music releases this year.  Some of them I haven't yet heard.  Others may have slipped my mind.  At the moment, I'm on an Italian movie soundtrack kick, relistening to lots of old Goblin releases.  I'm glad the year is almost over.  2009 will be a better year, somehow.