ha’fway
(Sub)consciously prompted by this music blog, here are my favs of the first half of 2008… it’s all bound to switch around by year’s end:
Artist Album (label)
- The Secret Chiefs 3 play Masada Book Two: Book of Angels, Vol. 9: Xaphan (Tzadik)
- The Bar Kokhba Sextet play Masada Book Two: Book of Angels, Vol. 10: Lucifer (Tzadik)
- My Brightest Diamond A Thousand Shark’s Teeth (Asthmatic Kitty)
- Opeth Watershed (RoadRunner)
- Earth The Bees Make Honey in the Lion’s Skull (Southern Lord)
- Dave Douglas & Keystone Live at Jazz Standard, 4/10/2008 to 4/13/2008 (2 sets each night = 8 CDs worth, each set downloadable within 24 hours of the performance… cool stuff…) (Green Leaf)
- Sigur Rós Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust (XL)
- Reptet Chicken or Beef? (Monktail Creative Music Concern)
- John Zorn’s The Dreamers (Tzadik)
- King’s X XV (Inside Out)
- Glen Phillips (of Toad the Wet Sprocket) Secrets of the New Explorers -EP- (Umami)
- Ashes Divide (Bill Howerdel of A Perfect Circle) Keep Telling Myself It’s Alright (Island)
- Mike Patton A Perfect Place (Ipecac)
- Puscifer V is for Viagra – The Remixes (Puscifer)
- Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey Lil’ Tae Rides Again (Hyena)
- Bill Frisell History, Mystery (Nonesuch)
- Steven Bernstein (of Sex Mob) Diaspora Suite (Tzadik)
- Hiromi Beyond Standard (Telarc)
- Stebmo Stebmo (Stebmo)
- Bobby Previte & New Bump New Bump: Set the Alarm for Monday (Palmetto)
- Swami Late Plate (Previte & Saft) Doom Jazz (Veal)
- Porcupine Tree We Lost the Skyline -EP- (Transmission)
- Raquy and the Cavemen Mischief (Meef)
- Aimee Mann @#%&*! Smilers (Super Ego)
- Kaki King Dreaming of Revenge (Velour)
.jpg)
The 2nd half of 2008 promises to bring some potential great ones, too… Medeski Martin & Wood play John Zorn’s Masada Book Two, 3 other Medeski Martin & Wood albums (later in the year), Secret Chiefs 3 Book of Souls (maybe), God of Shamisen debut, Extreme Saudades de Rock, Mike Patton‘s Mondo Cane, Mike Patton & Dan the Automator’s Crudo, a new Sufjan Stevens (just speculating, since it’s been a while), Ben Folds is working on one, Ani DiFranco always has something coming out, Jude‘s Cuba, Jon Madof‘s CircuitBreaker debut (and maybe another Rashanim?), The Tango Saloon‘s Transylvania, new Tristeza, Over the Rhine Live from Nowhere III, David Bazan full-length, George Hrab (maybe?), SFJazz 2008 with Dave Douglas & Joe Lovano and others, Frank Zappa‘s One Shot Deal, another installment of the John Zorn avant-metal trio of Mike Patton/Trevor Dunn/Joey Baron… and I’m sure another dozen or more that I’ll dig from Tzadik.
Leave a Reply
-Eyvind Kang
-Frank Zappa
Amazon.com mp3 downloads
Creative Commons
This blog and concert photos therein are licensed under a Creative Commons License. Available with Attribution for Non-Commercial, Non-Derivative Use.
pacificlectic : concert reviews & eclectic music news 
Dan, your list puts me to shame! Mainly due to your awesome album cover montage (not to mention your substantially more adventurous selections). I’m loving the new My Brightest Diamond, btw, even though it didn’t squeak into my list. I can see that one ending the year in the Top 10. -DK
Yeah, I’m diggin’ the new MBD. Her debut was in my Top 3 in 2006. Re: adventurous stuff in my list, I guess so. I tend to gravitate to instrumental stuff (16 of the above — which is higher than a lot of people… perhaps) and indie stuff (21 or so of the above, depending on your definition).
Thanks for the compliments. :) I dig your list, too.
~Dan