VINCE’S TOP FIVE NON-METAL ALBUMS OF 2008
Thursday, December 18th, 2008 at 3:55pm by Vince NeilsteinWe can’t listen to metal all the time, but whatwith the massive amount of CDs and press packs we receive it’s hard to find time to get to anything else. Usually if I’m not listening to metal it’s ’70s soul/r&b/funk with some classic reggae or dub thrown in for the more “festive” occasions, but there were a few non-metal records releases in 2008 that snuck their way into my iPod rotation this year. (And if you missed it… check out all of the MetalSucks staffers’ picks for Best Metal Albums of 2008).
My picks, after the fold…
1. Sara Bareilles – Little Voice: Far and away my #1 non-metal pick for 2008. Imagine a more up-beat, less weepy Fiona Apple. Delectable little pop folk-rock nuggets, this album has songs in spades, and Ms. Bareilles can fucking sing. [Listen]
2. Hello Demons… Meet Skeletons – Chills: This choice is kind of cheating since it’s Clint Lowery’s (Sevendust) solo project, but this EP of mostly acoustic songs (with all instruments and singing by Clint himself) is fucking fantastic. [Listen]
3. Meese – Count Me Out: This is actually just one song… but “Count Me Out” by Denver’s Meese is easily the best pop song of the year. Yeah, it borders on emo. Fuck off. [Listen]
4. Tiger Lou – s/t: Chill, trippy, echo-y, guitar-based electronic stuff. But more indie-based… kind of like a more understandable, less-artsy Radiohead. And hey, they’re from Sweden! [Listen]
5. Fighting With Wire – Man vs. Monster : I’m not even sure if this record is out in the U.S. yet, but the advance copy I’ve heard is fucking great. Think Artist in the Ambulance-era Thrice but with more of the rock and less of the punk. [Listen]
Now that that’s out of the way… back to Gojira.
-VN
What? No Avril Lavigne?
YOUR MY BOY (tiger) BLOU!!
WORST LIST EVERZ
PROTEST THE HERO DOODZZZ
it’s nice to see that metallers like things other than just metal…
Nothing wrong with guilty pleasures.
And yes, the Clint Lowry stuff is really fucking good.
@ Sammy: Who said anything about feeling guilty?
In no particular order:
1. Fleet Foxes – Self Titled
2. Zappa Plays Zappa
3. Mats/Morgan Band – Heat Beats: Live
4. Alla – Es Tiempo
5. Zappa Plays Zappa
Here’s my top 10 non-metal albums of the year…
King Hobo – King Hobo
HorrorPops – Kiss Kiss Kill Kill
MC Frontalot – Final Boss
Caldera – Mist Through Your Consciousness
Pennywise – Reason To Believe
Mitch Hedberg – Do You Believe In Gosh?
The Living End – White noise
MC Chris – MC Chris Is Dead
Nine Inch Nails – The Slip
Mindless Self Indulgence – If
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds – “Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!!”
Absolutely astounding.
I like alot of different music though metal is my primary love. My top non-metal albums would have to be:
Apocalyptica – Worlds Collide
Puscifer – V is for Vagina & V is for Viagra(remixes)
The Tossers – On a Fine Spring Evening
I know some people include Apocalyptica as metal but I don’t.
YES! WE FINALLY GOT THIS LIST! This reaffirms why I love this site… you’re metal enough to confess your love for Sara Bareilles. Just out of interest, are you a Tori fan at all?
oh, and my list would have to be:
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds – Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!! (possibly my single favourite of 2008 regardless of genre)
Ani DiFranco – Red Letter Year
Fleet Foxes – Fleet Foxes
Girl Talk – Feed the Animals
Goldfrapp – Seventh Tree
Jenny Lewis – Acid Tongue
Portishead – Third
Rhymefest – Man in the Mirror
Thrice – The Alchemy Index Vols. III & IV
TV on the Radio – Dear Science
Weezer – Weezer (The Red Album)
I dunno about new stuff released, but non-metal releases:
Billie Holiday – any
John Coltrane – any
Stevie Ray Vaughan – any
Dvorak – Symphony of the new Millennium
Indigo Girls – ST
Blizzard Software – Morrowind soundtrack
WOW soundtrack (i don’t play the game but the soundtrack is awesome)
Benny Goodman – any
Woody Guthrie
Actually I fucked up, it wasn’t Blizzard it was Bethedsta Software for Morrowind.
Man, where’s the love for other genres besides anything even close to metal?
I mean, besides Burst’s Lazarus Bird which could be somewhat considered not metal,
Crystal Castles – ST
Wale – Mixtape About Nothing
Girl Talk – Feed the Animals (glad to see someone else agrees)
Are three I can think of offhand. And fk Girl Talk becoming so popular.
Nice to see some love given to the non-metal variety. Some of my other favorites (for what it’s worth):
Dig Lazarus Dig!!! – Nick Cave (which was easily the best show I saw all year as well)
The Gutter Twins – Saturnalia
Portishead – Third
The Constantines – Kensington Heights
And no mention of the ass-kicking live Clutch album that came out???
Vince Neilstein…you are incredibly, unbelievably gay.
Good god! Sarah Bareilles? I love that chick. I just got Lips for the Xbox 360 and spend my nights pounding scotch and pwning my wife at “Love Song”.
Also, Santogold was pretty bitchin’. It’s like Gwen Stefani, if Gwen Stefani got paid money to cut people’s throats.
i completely agree with picking Little Voice. i can always listen to that album and find something new i never heard before