Chimpomatic

Best Of 2008

chimp71

another decent year of pop culture for me, feels like there's been lots of good stuff to get into this year...

TV

The Wire (FX) - season five bowed out in great form. Still the greatest.

Mad Men (BBC4) - convincing, slowburn drama, with fascinating take on early 60s life.

Breaking Bad (FX) Engrossing suburban drug-dealing tension.

Battlestar Galactica (Sky1) - trippy, political, enigmantic, moving sci-fi with some great space battles thrown in for good measure. Don't want it to end, but I do want to find out where they're going with it.

30 Rock (Five) - made even better by Tina Fey getting rid of Sarah Palin. 

Summer Heights High (BBC3) - don't want to be rude, but seriously, did you miss this? That's so random.

Criminal Justice (BBC1) - five nights of proper drama.

Film

Waltz With Bashir - brilliantly thoughtful animation, covering memory, loss and the intensity of war.

Man On Wire - beautifully simple doc about a tightrope walk between the Twin Towers. High tension line, indeed.

Gomorrah - brutal Italian mob chaos. 

In Search Of A Midnight Kiss - lo-fi indie romance

also enjoyed: The Dark Knight, Iron Man, In Bruges, No Country For Old Men

Albums

TV On The Radio - Dear Science an album that sounds like it could only have been made in 2008.

Black Mountain - In The Future retro maybe, but totally heavy and pretty essential

Fleet Foxes - Fleet Foxes great debut.

Bon Iver - For Emma - as was this.

Santogold - Santogold (and Top Ranking, the Diplo-Dub) - and this!

also enjoyed: Vampire Weekend - Vampire Weekend, Grace Jones - Hurricane, Catfish Haven - Devastator

Gigs

Black Mountain - The Scala (great just after breakfast at Glastonbury too)

Jay-Z - Glastonbury a proper big moment. His cover of Wonderwall was deft, subtle and hilarious all at the same time.

Grace Jones - Royal Festival Hall disco from another dimension. Total legend.

Justice - Somerset House huge, gut-shaking digital rock, great to see in a classic setting.

Bjork - Hammersmith Apollo - still one of the best live acts around.

Also enjoyed: Matthew Herbert Big Band - Royal Festival Hall, Radiohead - Victoria Park

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18th Dec 2008 - Add Comment - Tweet

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Best Of 2008

Marmot

Music

Bon Iver - For Emma, Forever Ago: best album of the year by far in my book. Every song is great.

Vampire Weekend - Vampire Weekend: great songs and manages to sound like Paul Simon in a good way.

El Guincho - Alegranza!: this year's Panda Bear, nearly.

TV On The Radio - Dear Science: their sound came together spectacularly well and they managed to take their song writing up a notch.

Bonnie 'Prince' Billy - Is It The Sea?: does a live album count? Slipped out almost unnoticed but is unbelievably good. Bought new vigor back to past songs.

Honorable mentions:

Pete Molinari - A Virtual Landslide : Chet Baker sings the Medway Blues.

Flight Of The Conchords : Very funny and surprisingly listenable.

Film

There Will Be Blood: for the first hour the best film I ever saw. Not so sure about the ending though.

No Country For Old Men: for the haircut.

The Orphanage: old school scary.

The Dark Knight: a bit long and self important but still one of this year's best.

Gigs

Smog @ St. James Church: even though they didn't play 'Dress Sexy At My Funeral'.

Jamie Liddell @ Koko: really.

Jim James @ St. James Church: hauntingly good.

Bog Log III @ 100 Club: his rendition of 'Clap Your Tits' was quite beautiful

TV

A year without television for me.

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17th Dec 2008 - Add Comment - Tweet

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Best Of 2008

Harris Pilton

Best Live Band - Zu

Sneaking in at the last minute (saw them twice in December) come Zu, an instrumental group consisting of Drums, Bass, and Baritone Sax. This, you might think, is not a recipe for success in these modern times but Zu have an unconventional approach to their sound which has to be heard to be believed. The honking Baritone is barked hard through overdrive and fuzz, the Drums played with power and true flair, while the Bass (?) seems to perform the role of just about everything else a band could need - metal guitar, brass riffs, sweeping electronics and some of the deepest low-notes known to mankind. The result is the sheer chunky heaviness of Helmet with the experimentation of Krautrock. No chance of the mix sounding empty with this trio - you just keep wondering who is doing what, and how the hell they can sound like that. Expect unusual time signatures, a party atmosphere and a monstrous sound.

Best Album - The Fall - Imperial Wax Solvent

Thirty years into the turbulent history of The Fall, Mark E Smith is reunited with producer Grant Showbiz and, it would seem, the joy of making records. Imperial Wax Solvent is arguably the best Fall record ever, capturing something that was often hinted at during the previous three decades but never so consistently nailed. Thing is, MES has a great band these days and it sounds like he really digs what they can do, and this in turn produces some great vocal performances and lyrics from the main man. The titles tell you a lot:- Wolf Kidult Man, Latch Key Kid, Senior Twilight Stock Replacer, and 50 Year Old Man. One track is called Can Can Summer, and once it hits the main riff you realise why :- this is the Fall album where MES comes closest in sound to the group he has long-admired - Can. Smith's wife Eleni Poulou makes a considerable contribution to the album with way-cool squelchy analog synths and one lead vocal on the magnificent I've Been Duped (in which you'll hear her sing something about two hairy men digging up Scotland. Brilliant). But central to the proceedings is the wry old goat himself - clearly enjoying himself, sounding happy and enthusiastic, better recorded and lyrically sharp as ever. I've played this album all year long, and can't wait to hear the next one.

Best Game - Far Cry 2 - Ubisoft Montreal

The Far Cry franchise got off to a spectacular start in 2004 with the release of the original PC only game. Stunningly realistic landscaping, open fields of play and extremely smart (cunning even) AI enemies. A great start for any game series, which had console owners chomping at the bit. Sadly, the console based adaptations of the first Far Cry did not live up to expectations, with less diversity to the scenery, dumber AI, and on-rails game play. This was a big disapointment to anyone who'd played the original PC version, leaving console owners feeling rather short-changed. Far Cry 2 can be considered the first proper follow-up to the original, and it even raises the standard by several notches. Coming up to this release, Ubisoft were pretty confident about FC2's landscaping and weather modelling but it's not until you've seen the game running that you'll truly appreciate how spectacular this game looks, and how well it plays. Set in Africa, the story-line is mature and non-patronising, playing as a first person shooter with 50 square kilometers of free-roam play area. You choose your missions and when to do them, leaving you free to just roam about fighting off attacks from just about everyone you encounter. The AI is back to being cunning, the gently unravelling story is compelling, and the action is full-on. Sadly, there is one problem with this otherwise-perfect game:- many Xbox 360 owners have had their game's save files corrupted (all of them) by some mystery bug when they get to 88 percent game completion, forcing them to start all over again. That's a serious glitch and one which Ubisoft should be trying to address without delay. Luckily, I only encountered one single corrupted save file, losing only half an hour of progress. I checked my stats when I completed the game and found that I had enjoyed almost 60 hours of gameplay without ever getting bored.

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16th Dec 2008 - Add Comment - Tweet

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Best Of 2008

CJ

Music
Why? - Alopecia. Leftfield hip-hop of a high standard
Vampire Weekend - Vampire Weekend. Song of the year: "Walcott"
Mighty Joseph - Empire State. As close as we've come to a follow up to the excellent Cannibal Ox - The Cold Vein
Fleet Foxes - Fleet Foxes. I came to this late having enjoyed them on Later recently
Elbow - The Seldom Seen Kid.

Close: Despite a few clangers My Morning Jacket - Evil Urges has been working its way back up my playlists. It also has one of the worst album covers ever.
Atmosphere - When Life Gives You Lemons, You Paint That Shit Gold

Film
No Country For Old Men - gripping
Iron Man - great entertainment

Best gig
Didn't go to enough

Biggest disappointment - The Dark Knight. Didn't live up to my high hopes, especially after Batman Begins

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15th Dec 2008 - Add Comment - Tweet

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Black Milk

Tronic

Fat Beats

Black Milk's official debut Popular Demand dropped last year to critical acclaim across the board. The detroit MC and producer was hailed as the rightful air to J Dilla's crown. And through his next release The Set Up with fellow Detroit MC Fat Ray and this, his second solo album, he is more than living up to the praise that seems to follow him everywhere he goes. Tronic is not only the best collection of songs from Curtis Cross, but sneaks in as one of the hip hop records of the year.

The title may suggest that this record sees Cross embracing technology but it's a wonderful mix of earthy beats and futuristic production. You can tell all this from the first song. Long Story Short introduces itself with a gently tinkling piano then launches into the deepest old school break since KRS dropped Step Into A World. It's pounding beat is enshrouded in raw production and synth washes making the whole thing kind of awkward but loose. This is dramatically contrasted with the following track Bounce. Sounding like the backing tune from an 80's Michael Mann car chase Bounce simmers with a rolling synth melody and a gentle click-clap beat. It's as smooth as Long Story is raw so with only 2 tracks under you belt you're already wondering what the USP is on this record. But that's it's beauty, whereas a lot of hip hop records show their cards too early Cross' main objective is quality whichever form that may take.

The tinny funk break on Give The Drummer Sum continues this nod to the old school as a fabulous retro fanfare melody envelopes the whole thing. This is echoed on the soulful Try, full of intricately spliced samples around which Cross slots his effortless verse. Again, in contrast comes Hold It Down with it's deep booming synthesisers and The Matrix, a dark, brooding and deathlessly serious cut curtsy of DJ Premier and featuring some great guest appearances from Pharoahe Monch and Sean Price. It also features the awesome line "You couldn't hang if you were Ving Rhames in Rosewood." Then you've got Cross' rarely seen ability to drop a slice of hip hop so perfect it could storm any pop charts given half a chance. Losing Out is that tune and it's pure class, infinitely listenable, the dopest baseline and some lightning rapping from Cross himself and the mighty Royce Da 5'9. Each verse is spat with strength and power and the production is tight, yet free to evolve as the song progresses.

In short Tronic is solid, exciting, supremely impressive and takes this Detroit artist into new territory. His quality was always evident on his previous releases but Tronic showcases every facet of that quality and introduces some more. It's a powerhouse of a record.

 

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14th Dec 2008 - Add Comment - Tweet

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Shearwater

The Snow Leopard EP

Matador Records

It seems that having gone their separate ways Jonathan Melburg and Okkervile River's Will Sheff have become two of the hardest working and most prolific songwriters on the Americana underground scene. This year saw the release of Rook, Shearwaters mighty and deceptively impressive follow up to Palo Santo and just as the year draws to a close they sneak in this EP, The Snow Leopard. Named after probably the most stunning track on Rook, this EP rounds up many of the non-album B sides and giveaway tracks from the year and also some quite striking recordings from various radio sessions over the summer.

The title track just swells with a power that has become, over the last 2 albums, an expected element in this bands sound. Melburgs sweet voice quivers with all the vulnerability of a flickering flame but then rises with the music to below with dazzling confidence. There's a glimmer of madness in his voice as it reaches its peak only to fall to the floor and quiver once more. Much of this EP demonstrates Melburgs ability paralise the listener with an intimacy that can both freeze you with an icy chill and breath through you with unbelievable warmth. His radio K session performance of Rook, a song that flexes the muscles of this songwriter is stripped of it's strength and whispered with lonely acoustic accompaniment to great effect. Two of the tracks are covers, So Bad, originally by Baby Dee and Henry Lee, a traditional American folk song. They sit perfectly amongst the original Shearwater material and altogether form yet another valuable entry in this bands catalogue. They are an endlessly rewarding group who are really starting to master the many facets of their sound.

 

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12th Dec 2008 - Add Comment - Tweet

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Joan as Police Woman

Concorde 2, Brighton

Brighton’s always had a faintly sordid come down vibe, as though every day is like the last day of a festival. Into the city come Brooklyn’s Joan as Policewoman, intent on banishing the Sunday night gloom.

There’s an echo of Chrissie Hynde and Elvis Presley about Joan Wasser, with a bit of PJ Harvey thrown somewhere in between. It’s all a bit incongruous, as though she’s far more confident than you give her credit for, or far less, you can’t quite tell which.

It starts as an emotional romp of contemplative, melancholic offerings to the dead. ‘Flushed Chest’ for former lover Jeff Buckley, ‘To Be Lonely’, the beautifully synthy ‘Start of My Heart’ and ‘We Don’t Own It’ dedicated to Elliott Smith. Her vocal range yearns to be unleashed but Joan likes to keep you waiting. The emotional foreplay comes to an end with a unique interpretation of Jimi Hendrix’s ‘Light my Fire’ and the throbbing ‘Christobel’ which lifts the mood completely. ‘This is for the new Black House ….. yeeeeeeow!’ screams Joan as the band launch ‘To America’ - a duet recorded with long time cohort Rufus Wainwright. Tonight Rufus’ falsetto vocals are gallantly performed by bassist Timo Ellis and drummer Kindred Parker. The energy leads into a ferocious ‘Furious’, the highlight of the night, but just as they get going the lights come up.

See more photos on our Flickr page.

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11th Dec 2008 - Add Comment - Tweet

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The Roots

The Forum, Kentish Town, London

The legendary Roots crew brought a healthy dose of their Philly flare to a cold and wet winter's night in North London on Friday as they jammed with unfailing enthusiasm for about 2 hours. They brought with them a full live band and though I searched high and wide, no sign of any turntables. For these hip hop heavyweights it's no longer the platters that matter as ?uestlove engineers the beats from his lofty drum-kit mounted high on a plinth at the back. With his afro rising like a sun from behind his drum prison the man never stopped as both his unrelenting rhythmical structure and his physical presence formed the backbone of this incredible sound. And the reason it was incredible is that it redefined what a hip hop gig could be for me.

The show was by no means perfect and there were often times when my attention wandered but never once did it conform to a typical hip hop gig. Entering the stage first was a musician clad in a glorious tuba (later referred to as Tuba Gooding Junior) his deep, booming sound filling the venue. This introduction was mesmerizing and I was transfixed from the start as all the musicians took up their positions, keyboards, rhythm guitar, bass guitar, saxophone, percussion and drums all were in place and in struts Black Thought, baseball cap, sunglasses and phat gold chain. Taking his cue from ?uestlove who belts out the Apache rhythm that forms Phrenology's greatest cut Thought @ Work, the show commences in style. They frantically blend into Get Busy from the new album and it's not until this mayhem draws to a close that we are given time to breath.

With this live formation the band provide themselves with a lot of freedom, they're not constrained by programmed or sampled drum beats and so they are able to go where they please. They are able to tail off from one track into an impromptu rendition of Jungle Boogie led by the saxophonist, or let a song amble into a mammoth duel between ?uestlove's drum-kit and the percussionist's bongo dexterity. The other effect the live band has is the removal of the MC as the central focal point. Black Thought is way more central and way more impressive on record than he is on stage. This isn't really a critism of him, he's electrifying when on a flow, but is more of an observation about a front man that is quite willing to fade into the background and let his band take center stage. Sometimes he'd even fade off his rap mid-verse so that only he could hear his own words, like he was unaware of an audience.

They clearly love playing and seemed to never stop, flowing from one song to the next. The torrent of words flooding out over such a complex mixture of sounds does ask a lot of the audience and there definitely was a lull during the middle period, as this energy is hard to maintain. Black Thought's words were often enveloped by the music making it hard to hear him and with each song undergoing major changes it was hard to recognise some of them and many favorites passed me by unnoticed. Strangely enough, it was the musical interludes like the drum battle and the awesome bass guitar solo that thrilled me the most. They displayed the band's potential to turn on a knife edge and change up the genres altogether. And that was the principle success of the night. Black Thought's gold chain was the only conventional hip hop representative present that night. I didn't feel like I was at a hip hop gig and I was glad of it. People were moving to the back where there was more space to dance. As the whole show culminated in a rapturous and frenzied rendition of one of their biggest singles The Seed and every hand was thrust into the air I felt like I was in the presence of a truly legendary crew who were really writing their own rules and breaking them as well. The skill and creativity on that stage was palpable and a wonder to behold.

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10th Dec 2008 - Add Comment - Tweet

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ATP Weekender Curated by Mike Patton / Melvins: The Nightmare Before Christmas

Butlins, Minehead

When ATP announced this event six months ago, I could hardly believe my luck. I make no secret of my devotion to the Melvins and all things Ipecac (Patton's label), so this weekend festival (3 hours drive away) was like a gift from the almighty. As acts got added to the lineup the ticket value seemed to increase - especially when Butthole Surfers were added to the bill - so this was an event for which my expectations were pretty high. And whaddya know? They delivered 100 percent satisfaction, a weekend of eclectic and exciting music surrounded by like-minded people. And so, amidst the spartan tat of this windswept and freezing off-season holiday stalag, people gathered from all over the world to celebrate the left-of-centre and the truly gifted, on two main sound stages and one quadrophonic rig in a smaller venue.

(The) Melvins opened up on Friday as 'Melvins 83' - bringing original drummer Mike Dillard back to revisit their punky roots. Regular Melvins drummer Dale Crover played bass for this short set and was introduced as Matt Lukin. They were great - Mike Dillard sounded really tight - a performance that he can be justly proud of.

With so much going on, there were often choices to be made between two stages - throwing up some unexpected delights and a few minor disappointments. And so, in no particular order, a few words about some of the performances that I did see.

Best thing I've seen all year award goes to Zu - Italian noise-funk trio with the HEAVIEST sound I have EVER heard. Absolutely astounding virtuoso playing with not a hint of chin-stroking introspection. Big, noisy, intelligent party music - I cannot recommend this band highly enough. Want to see the most highly drilled weirdos in the world? Then check out The Locust - falling under the vague umbrella of Math-rock, these costumed and masked humanoids deliver precision salvos of Rhythm'n'Noise. What the drummer was doing looked inhuman. Brilliant. There were some understated and beautiful performances too - notably Martina Topley Bird who has the voice of an angel and Joe Lally (Fugazi) who has the dignity of a war veteran. At the other end of the scale (ie, dignity and restraint missing) was Squarepusher. Whilst his playing and programming are faultless, the smothering fog of his gigantic ego suffocated the fun out of the room. Thanks Tom, but we can make our own minds up about when to cheer. Audience response happens naturally when the music connects with people, and the winners in this respect were Taraf De Haidouks - the most awesome gypsy band on the planet. When they played, the room became a party, and once their time onstage was finished they just carried on outside. Makes you wonder how come our own folk music is so dull. Representing the slightly looser approach to music was the amazingly messy Butthole Surfers. Who knows how wasted Gibby Haines was, but he did punctuate one song by shouting "Three fuckin' hits of MDMA!", so that might have been a clue. Pretty damn psychedelic. Another treat was country-pickin' Junior Brown - possibly the greatest stunt-guitarist you will ever hear in your life, and with a rich barritone voice like a fine matured bourbon. There was a special performance of Stockhausen's Kontakte in the quadrophonic room - mixed from the original masters by Stockhausen's sound projectionist and complimented by a pianist and percussionist on stage. The sound system was crystal clear and the crowd remained quiet and respectfully awed by the one of the original noise-masters. By contrast, "America's funny man" Neil Hamburger was trying to achieve the goal of goading the audience towards "a crescendo of boo's" as he put it. Provocatively tasteless and badly delivered jokes about Michael Jackson and Heath Ledger coupled with general abuse of audience members. I liked it - and there was one genuinely funny joke - (What's worse than Muslim Extremism? Chinese Democracy). Mike Patton himself resisted the temptation to make appearances with multiple bands, concentrating instead on orchestrating a fine performance of The Director's Cut with his band Fantomas. They played the whole album and it sounded wonderful, with Patton clearly in an excellent mood - so much so they even gave us an encore of Al Green's Simply Beautiful which Patton dedicated to "all the laydeez in the house", prompting many female screams, whistles and a general gusset-moistening.

Booby Prizes go to the following - Big Business (hampered by a blown-up bass amp, and a subsequently muddy mix), Leila (technical problems not exactly enhancing something that seemed boring in the first place), Porn (onstage intrusion by mystery drunk guitarist [turns out it was the bloke out of Mastodon] leading to aimless collapse of order), James Blood Ulmer (great voice, but guitar playing somewhere beyond loose), and White Noise (the ledgendary David Vorhaus served up softcore euro-trance which bore no reference to his early experimental works). Didn't get to see Mastodon, Isis, The Damned, Farmer's Market or Kool Keith, so sorry about that. There was only so much a person could take in, but having said that, this was still the best music festival I have ever been to. Support ATP! They rule.

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9th Dec 2008 - 1 comments - Add Comment - Tweet

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Thee Oh Sees

A Master's Bedroom Is Worth Spending Time In

Tomlab

After numerous acronyms and name changes John Dwyer settles on Thee Oh Sees as his latest incarnation and The Master's Bedroom sees this Bay Area musician belt out churning garage rock in a manner that doesn't take itself too seriously and is so effortless that you will keep on listening despite its repetitive nature.

Sounding something like the B-52's - devoid of all production niceties and jamming furiously in a disused aircraft hanger - Thee Oh Sees create here a dirty assault on your ears but with the best of intentions. Dwyer's vocals are filtered through what sounds like a loud speaker and are often shadowed by Brigid Dawson, whose high-pitch accompaniment adds melody and texture to this muddy concoction. The pace is furious and unrelenting with pounding guitars chiming and jangling forth with delightful energy while being encased in crashing cymbals and pounding rhythm. Songs like opener Block Of Ice and Poison Finger take a punk intensity but inject a pop melody to keep it all sweet. The music is vicious but the overall feeling is palatable and it's all down to the insistence on the pop hooks that force their way through the muck. The only step down from this pace is by way of the thick psychedelia in songs like Grease. These songs employ the same density but at a slower pace they seem almost impenetrably gooey.

While The Master's Bedroom isn't quite so interesting as some of its lo-fi drone rock counterparts that have been lighting me up recently, they certainly have a place in what's going on in California musically at the moment. With only a handful of tempos and a limited sonic palette this album does lack variety but all the same it rocks hard and that's good enough for me sometimes.

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8th Dec 2008 - Add Comment - Tweet

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Unforgiven

(dir. Clint Eastwood)

Malpaso

THEN: Seen as something of a resurgence for the serious western, Unforgiven tells the tale of two retired gunslingers (Clint Eastwood and Morgan Freeman), who are approached by a short-sighted young hopeful, after a local whorehouse puts up a bounty for two brutal cowboys. Meanwhile, hard-nosed sheriff Gene Hackman rules the town with an iron first - and runs any bounty hunters out of town.

David Webb Peoples' excellent script re-wrote the heroism, bravery and gentlemanly behaviors of the old west into a bloody, misfiring, mauling - and cast Eastwood perfectly as a bastion of days gone by. The film was something of a return to form for Eastwood, as both and actor and a director - and the Academy duly noted him for both. He moved up a notch in directing terms after this and hasn't really looked back.

NOW: Still unbelievably powerful, if anything, Unforgiven has improved with age, sitting comfortably with the films that it was made in honour of, at the western's throne. Eastwood handles the action and the direction like a master carpenter - showing a magnificent storytelling skill inherited from the likes of Don Siegel and Sergio Leone. There's no flashy camera work, just a restrained observation that never interferes with the story and serves it perfectly.

Eastwood's central performance as William Munny is so reserved and withdrawn, it's surprising you can feel anything for him at all. Few actors can remain silent in a scene while everyone talks around them - and still steal the show, but Eastwood does it, drawing heavily on much of his prior screen history to silently fill out Munny's back story. Morgan Freeman comes a close second of course and the pair of them have a great chemistry, which would be repeated masterfully in Million Dollar Baby. Brutal, engaging, vengeful and brilliant.

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5th Dec 2008 - 3 comments - Add Comment - Tweet

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