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Top 2008 Music

coldplay-prospekts-march11/ After long and hard consideration, the jury put Coldplay with Prospekt’s March on top of 2008’s releases. It is considered an unprecedented example of post-completion to an already genuinely great work, Viva La Vida (or Death and all His Friends).

The jury particularly appreciates the massive consistency. Personally I also love the guys for using the ghost title of the pre-release Viva.

2/ Not to be forgotten, to say the least, are:

  • Nine Inch Nails – Ghosts. Genius re-emerges beyond words
  • Brett Anderson – Wilderness. Former glam star contemplates (still)
  • The Verve – Forth. Grinding comeback with beatle-esque dignity
  • The Triffids – The Black Swan. Original intentions evilly reinstated

3/ The jury got used to the high performance level of Usual Suspects:

  • Kaiser Chiefs – Off With Their Heads.

4/ Unofficial commenting of the jury:

  • Eva De Roovere – Over & weer. Bevestiging van -levende- belofte
  • CPeX – Verzameld. Schitterende wederkomst onder de zon
  • Alanis Morissette – Flavors of Entanglement. Expanded scapes
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Intimacy under a Hundred Million Suns

snow-patrol-a-hundred-million-sunsSnow Patrol‘s new album, A Hundred Million Suns, shows all of the strengths of these great musicmen. (a) It has the overall, familiar SP sense of intimacy, (b) with still some great, vintage radio hit songs and (c) above all a silent, but clear artistic evolution towards a broader spectrum in the closing 15 minutes, three-part song The Lightning Strike.

I had to play it loud however to really feel the album, to get all the enlightening background sounds and effects, the intimate detail voices and the acoustic guitars gently embracing the electrical riffs.

Maybe, just maybe, it misses a song like Run, that still gets me in tears.  Although e.g. Lifeboats certainly also gets to me. And of course, a duet of the upmost emotional tension with a great female singer like Martha Wainwright cannot be repeated.

bloc-party-intimacy

The connection with Bloc Party‘s newest pearl is not only the element of Intimacy but also the producer: Jacknife Lee. And, not to forget, the fact that both records are brilliant (like >100.000.000 suns). So far for the similarities between the 2 works of recording.

bloc-party-a-weekend-in-the-city

Bloc Party has not just explored new electronic horizons. They’ve seemlessly integrated it into their already distinct songs and sound. Looping, sampling, repetitive voices sound as if they’ve always been there. I love it, but I still have a slight preference for the more rock oriented Weekend In The City.

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Top 2007 Music

My top music selection for 2007:

An End Has A Start1. Editors – An End Has A Start watch / 2. Bloc Party – A Weekend In The City / 3. PJ Harvey – White Chalk / 4. Interpol – Our Love To Admire / 5. Kaiser Chiefs – Yours Truly, Angry Mob / 6. Arcade Fire – Neon Bible / 7. Grinderman / 8. Arctic Monkeys – Favorite Worst Nightmare / 9. Brett Anderson

Fascinating and hopeful to find that there are bands able to put out a second recording that exceeds their already incredible debut album.

Apologies to Trent. Continue reading Top 2007 Music