Here at Pie, we love lists. Maybe a little too much (I’m pulling for a lift on the Constitutional ban on man/list marriages…). We’ll look for any excuse to compile one. [ed: Does not reflect the opinions of the Pie staff] For example, one look at the Mayan calendar will tell you that 2008 is officially a little past the halfway mark. Here’s a (partial) listing of the greatest musical offerings January through June brought us (Don’t worry, to the chagrin of one certain Pie writer, and the joy of everyone else, it’s 100% Krug-free!) [ed: Again, does not reflect the opinions of the Pie staff]
Santogold – Santogold
On perhaps the debut album of the year, Philadelphia’s answer to M.I.A. delivers sublime hybrids of synth-pop, disco-punk, and many more hyphenated subgenres so fringe they don’t even exist. Don’t be deterred by the recent MTV endorsement; these songs are club bangers even you jaded indies can enjoy unironically.
Download: Creator; Lights Out; L.E.S. Artistes
Girl Talk – Feed the Animals
Yes, the whole mashup thing may be ‘so 2002,’ if you ask MC Lars, but Pittsburgh-based DJ Gregg Gillis takes the A+B concept and adds every other letter of the alphabet to create algebra hell, and pure genius. Magic happens everywhere on his fourth full-length, especially with extended blends such as International Player’s Anthem over Paranoid Android, and Woo Ha! over Every Little Thing She Does is Magic. An ADD-addled music nerd’s Valhalla.
Download: Play Your Part (Pt. 1); Give Me a Beat; No Pause
Vampire Weekend – Vampire Weekend
Say what you will about the latest in the line of over-blogged indie acts (see also: Arcade Tapes N’ Monkeys), this debut is undeniably infectious. What “Graceland” would sound like if Paul Simon regularly said ‘fuck.’ Breezy, buzzy and with its fair share of steel-drum, haters will call it a mediocre cash-in on sounds of old, but just attempt to get “Bryn’s” central riff out of your brain within seven days. No small feat.
Download: Oxford Comma; Walcott; Bryn
Flight of the Conchords – Flight of the Conchords
Whoa, a comedy album, soundtrack and New Zealand oddity all wrapped into one (three usually acrid tastes rarely seen in Pie). The brilliantly-afroed duo from the HBO hit show of the same name deliver smart-yet silly send-ups of modern folk mixed with urban living. Come for the ‘80s synths, stay for the stilted rapping and awkward lady-worship.
Download: Robots; Boom; Inner City Pressure
Honourable Mentions:
Beck – Modern Guilt
Del the Funkee Homosapien – 11th Hour
M83 – Saturdays = Youth
Weezer – Weezer (Red Album)
So, what do we have to look forward to for the rest of this great year? Well, I guess the new Hold Steady is already out (too lazy to Google it)… Don’t expect anything new from Radiohead for another seven years… Oh well, we always have Chinese Democracy to pray for…
-Dan
