what i think of 2008

Someone asked the other day at Plan 9 what 2008’s good new releases were. I said, “Nothing.” I spoke honestly. Hardly anything released this year has been worth buying. I told her Radiohead is the only good new release this year, and she agreed, and we talked about In Rainbows for a while. Aside from the new Radiohead – which came out New Year’s Day and technically came out last year via the internet – nothing has impressed me this year. I’m not suffering from the hipster malady of bowing down to Radiohead and saying all other music is inferior. In Rainbows is clearly head and shoulders above the rest, and in actuality I haven’t listened to it in a couple of months. I liked it for a while. Now I have moved on.

That’s been my experience with new music this year. I like it for a while, then I move on. Moving on takes one of two forms. With Radiohead, it’s moving on and looking for something different. There’s a lot of music to listen to out there, and I don’t want the first major release of the year to occupy all my time. With the rest of the year’s releases, I move on because it’s bland. Little has been good this year. Nothing has grabbed me. We have one incredibly hyped band in Vampire Weekend, but I never want to listen to them again. They’re weak. The music is uninspired and they haven’t convinced me to drop fourteen dollars on their record. By this time next year they will have gone the way of Hot Hot Heat. Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks released a new album, too, which I purchased primarily on the strength of Janet Weiss, but after a few listens I regretted it. They’re talented musicians, but the music is dull. I read a review at Amazon that recommended giving Real Emotional Trash a few listens before judging, and I did. My judgment is fair. I expect more from them.

In Rainbows is the only record so far this year to withstand a test of a few listens. Each listen brings out new strengths, even if those strengths are just tapping your foot more or a deeper hypnosis from Thom Yorke’s voice while you drive home from work on a chilly night. Just writing about it now makes me want to listen to it again. In Rainbows isn’t a great record by any means, but it’s a pretty good record. 2008 is a year where pretty good will have to suffice, but that goes against all of my principles. That sounds like I’m giving music a free ride just because 2008 is an off year. If anything I’m more vicious. My patience is thin and I’m sick of dull music. I am waiting.

By way of a post script, check out the new Gnarls Barkley. It’s lived in my car for five days and it gets better and better with each listen. Again, it’s not a great record, but it’s a pretty good record.