The Best of Times, The Worst of Times (Part 1)

I guess we've exhausted all of the great new album releases for the year. I know I've been a little inactive as of late, but a lack of anticipated releases will do this to a guy. That being said, I literally cannot read a blog or music publication without avoiding an artist or editor's picks of the year. Rolling Stone's top-50 list is an abomination, fyi. I guess it's that time of season, so why not jump on the retrospective bandwagon? The rest of this year's blog articles (for the most part) will list the best and worst that this year had to offer in music. So here it goes, folks:

Best Comeback of 2008:
R.E.M.
For awhile, R.E.M. was arguably the most consistent band on this side of the Atlantic. These guys couldn't put out a bad record if they tried. That was, until Bill Berry left. The departure of an original member seemed to throw these guys out of whack. The band's last excellent effort was 1996's New Adventures In Hi-Fi. After releasing a string of mediocre albums in the late 90's/early 00's, the band came roaring back with the aggressive Accelerate, which came out this April. Not since 1994's Monster have we heard R.E.M. so inspired. These guys are like the Kurt Warner of rock bands. This album successfully rejuvenated what was otherwise considered as a finished career. Welcome back, boys.

Worst "Comeback" of 2008:
Counting Crows
I was rooting for these guys, I honestly was. August and Everything After changed my life in the 90's, and This Dessert Life was one of the most underrated albums of the past decade (aside from "Hanginaround"). I still believe Adam Duritz is an extremely talented songwriter in the same vein as Bruce Springsteen, so I marked my calender this past March when the Crows' oft-delayed first album in nearly six years (Saturday Nights & Sunday Mornings) finally came out. The good news is that it did come out. The bad news is that it did nothing for me. I liked what I heard, but nothing stuck. Before I knew it, this one became undeserving of my iPod real estate. Too bad.

Best Album Artwork of 2008:
Sigur Ros - Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust
Who doesn't love streakers? I can't think of an album cover that better accentuates the feel the music contained inside. "Gobbldigook" is as free-spirited as Iceland's best band has ever been. Why not get naked and run around?







Worst Album Artwork of 2008:
My Morning Jacket - Evil Urges
Yikes! This may be the only time I agree with Pitchfork Media, but they put it best when they said this looks more like "Brian Dennehey trying to crack the DaVinci Code."








Worst Album Artwork Trend of 2008:
Stealing masterpieces
If you know me, you know that I love art and history. Luckily, living in New York affords me the opportunity to check out the best that the world has to offer in these departments. For museums, this is just fine. Record shops, no thank you. For some reason, several bands in 2008 took the concept of album "artwork" too literally. Now I'm not asking for a simple mug shot of the band (a la Gaslight Anthem), but using a masterpiece to represent your own body of work is just too pretentious for me. Even if you are Coldplay. Still don't know what I'm taking about? Well Chris Martin and crew tapped Eugene Delacroix's "Liberty Leading The People" for Viva La Vida and then AGAIN for the follow-up EP Prospekt's March -- this time using "Battle of Poitiers". Coldplay's not the only guilty party here. As much as I love the band, the Fleet Foxes made the same blunder. They used Bruegel's 16th century painting, "Netherlandish Proverbs."

Do these look familiar? It's not just Joe Satriani's work that's being "borrowed" by Coldplay.



Best Attempted Crossover of 2008:
Panic At The Disco - Pretty. Odd.
The exclamation point at the end of the name wasn't the only thing this emo-branded band dropped. They also departed ways with the signature Fueled By Ramen sound most associated with acts like Fall Out Boy and Cobra Starship. Rather than duplicating the pattern that helped them bombard the VMA's two years ago, the guys opted to escape their inevitable kitschy fate by choosing to create a virtual homage to Sergeant Pepper's -- bells, whistles, and all. The end result is damn good. Songs like "Nine In The Afternoon" and "When The Day Met The Night" are crafted beautifully. One of the best surprises of the year for sure.

Worst Attempted Crossover of 2008:
Oasis (...again) - Dig Out Your Soul
The Gallaghers should one of two things: 1) take lessons from Brendon Urie about how to make a Beatles-sounding album 2) give up entirely on trying to make a Beatles-sounding album. Here we go again -- Oasis shamelessly trying to be something they're not. When this band was amazing, they sounded more like the Stone Roses and this just fit. The guitars were noisy, Liam's voice was distorted, and the bass was thumping. Bottom line, it rocked. They started going to shit at about album number four (Standing On the Shoulder of Giants), when they literally thought they were the next incarnation of Lennon/McCartney. Their sound has since waned, culminating in the utter failure that was this year's attempt at a psychedelic album. Whatever, I still love them.

Pretty. Good.

It looks like Panic At The Disco are the latest pop-rock sensation to go endure the trials and tribulations of a follow-up identity crisis. The band has reached the pivotal make-or-break point which either defines legitimacy or creates one-album-wonders. The Killers' second effort gave us a lackluster homage to the Boss. My Chemical Romance returned with a brilliant opus that Freddie Mercury would be proud of. After turning the emo world on its head with their debut disc A Fever You Can't Sweat Out (and winning some MTV Awards along the way), Panic does not let up on their sophomore release, appropriately named Pretty. Odd. Conventionalists be warned, this album sounds nothing like the Fall Out Boy-infused emo of yesteryear, so if this is not your shtick you might want to pass this one up.

For those brave enough to explore a new pop-punk realm, this concept album is the bees knees. Nixing the electronica that was so prevalent on their first record, Panic At The Disco has pulled out all the stops to capture a sound unmistakably similar to (dare I say) to later works of the Beatles. I know. I somehow feel guilty writing this, but I gotta give the guys credit. The introductory song on the record ("We're So Starving") contains the same orchestrated bombast as "Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Heart's Club Band", going as far as overtly easing the listener into their "Pretty. Odd." world. "Starving" leads perfectly into the album's infectious first single, "Nine In The Afternoon" in a fashion eerily similar to "With A Little Help From My Friends". The horns, violins, and uptempto beat remain throughout much of the record, creating an optimistic sound that is layered and decadent, yet damn good. After breezing through some of the album's standout tracks including the Beach Boys-sounding "When The Day Met The Night" and the pop perfection that is "Do You Know What I Am Seeing?" the realization kicks in that there is absolutely nothing punk about Pretty. Odd., which is (yes), pretty odd. But you know what, it works. The guys get a little too ironic for their own good on the old-timey "I Have Friends In Holy Spaces" and the hoedown track "Folkin' Around," but this does not take away from the sheer brilliance of this album. If creativity can erase the possibility of a sophomore slump, then Panic At The Disco has it down to a formula. Crisis diverted.

AND for one of the more bizarre clips I've seen in a while: