by MIRROR MUSIC STAFF
Rupert Bottenberg
Top 10 albums
Various Top Ranking Santogold: A Diplo Dub (Mad Decent)
Santogold self-titled (Downtown)
El Guincho Alegranza (XL/Select)
The Death Set Worldwide (Counter/Outside)
Ratatat LP3 (XL/Select)
Miss Murgatroid & Petra Haden Hearts & Daggers (File Under: Music)
Daedelus Love to Make Music By (Ninja Tune/Outside)
King Khan & the Shrines The Supreme Genius of… (Vice/Outside)
NOMO Ghost Rock (Ubiquity)
Eugene S. Robinson FIGHT: Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Ass-kicking but Were Afraid You’d Get Your Ass Kicked for Asking (Hydra Head/Sonic Unyon)
Bottom 3 albums
Guns N’ Roses Chinese Democracy (Geffen/Universal)
Nickelback Dark Horse (EMI)
Madonna Hard Candy (Warner)
Best song: Ratatat, “Shempi”
Worst song: Soulja Boy, “Yah Trick Yahh”
Best show: Cucurama party with Monareta and Psychotropical Orchestra, Club Lambi, April 25
Worst show: CX Kidtronik, Metropolis, Nov. 13
“They don’t happen often, do they? Those shows where every element—the bands, the setting, the visuals, the lights, the crowd, the tunes, everything—seems to amount to a whole greater than the sum of its parts. Between the vaguely hallucinogenic cumbia rock of Montreal’s Psychotropical Orchestra and the cool-ass Colombian club jams of Monareta—the latter an energetic duo, both sporting bike wheels like propellers on their BMX helmets—Club Lambi was zapped with leftfield Latino lightning, leaving the attendees sweat-soaked and grinning like goofballs. Some pretty sublime shit.”
Lorraine Carpenter
Top 10 albums
TV on the Radio Dear Science (DGC/Interscope)
The Dears Missiles (Dangerbird)
Of Montreal Skeletal Lamping (Polyvinyl)
The Kills Midnight Boom (Domino)
The High Dials Moon Country (independent)
Pop Levi Never Never Love (Counter)
The Organ Thieves EP (Mint)
The Charlatans You Cross My Path (Cooking Vinyl)
Destroyer Trouble in Dreams (Merge)
the raveonettes Lust, Lust, Lust (Vice)
Bottom 3 albums
The Music Strength in Numbers (Universal)
The Fratellis Here We Stand (Interscope/Universal)
Keane Perfect Symmetry (Interscope/Universal)
Best Song: Plaza Musique, “Magazine”
Worst Song: The Killers, “Human”
Best Show: Of Montreal, Metropolis Oct. 29
Worst Show: Oasis, Bell Centre Sept. 5
“When the only possible complaint to be made is that there was too much going on, that you would have to—and would want to—see the two-hour spectacle again five or 10 times to take it all in, that’s one sweet fucking show. Of Montreal’s production was an exercise in excess, an onslaught of costumes and set pieces and performers, straight from the troubled dreamworld of Kevin Barnes and company. Of course it doesn’t hurt that Barnes is the hottest glam rock/electro funk outpatient to ever prance across a stage, and that Skeletal Lamping was the most adventurous pop album of the year.”
Jonathan Cummins
Top 10 albums
Torche Meanderthal (Hydra Head/Sonic Unyon)
Fifty Watt Head Fogcutter (Signed by Force)
The Night Marchers See You in Magic (Swami)
Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra & Tra La La Band 13 Blues for 13 Moons (Constellation)
Oneida Preteen Weaponry (JagJaguwar/Outside)
Boris Smile (Southern Lord/Sonic Unyon)
Zozobra Bird of Prey (Hydra Head/Sonic Unyon)
T Bone Burnett Tooth of Crime (Nonesuch/Warner)
Jay Reatard Matador Singles ’08 (Matador/Select)
The Drift Memory Drawings (Temporary Residence)
Bottom 3 albums
Guns N’ Roses Chinese Democracy (Geffen/Universal)
Nickelback Dark Horse (EMI)
Hedley Famous Last Words (Universal)
Best Song: Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, “We Call Upon the Author”
Worst Song: Kid Rock, “All Summer Long”
Best Show: Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds, Metropolis, Oct. 2
Worst show: Tam opening for Nick Cave, Metropolis, Oct. 2
“Pop Montreal hosted my favourite show of the year, when Nick Cave and his Bad Seeds stormed the Metropolis. Things did start off a bit ugly, though, with local opener Tam, whose monotone vocals were submerged under her bar-rock pick-up band’s retread grunge, which was as interesting as watching paint dry. Tam did manage to shake her stupor at the end, fucking up the words and arrangement to “Anarchy in the U.K.,” soaking members of the audience with her beer and taunting them before receiving a storm of boos. At least she gave bloggers and the local press something to talk about. Cave then took the stage and really yinged Tam’s yang with the razzle-dazzle only he can deliver. Even with his trusty sidekick Blixa Bargeld no longer to stage right, Cave and Dirty Three’s Warren Ellis were all smiles. With such a long, varied career, the set-list was jam-packed with plums that received new arrangements and seemed to be played with a newfound energy. This is what rock ’n’ roll is supposed to be like.”
Gerard Dee
Top 10 albums
Estelle Shine (Home School/Warner)
Jazmine Sullivan Fearless (J/Sony BMG)
Robin Thicke Something Else (Interscope/Universal)
Mariah Carey E=MC2 (Island Def Jam/Universal)
Al Green Lay It Down (Blue Note/EMI)
Cassandra Wilson Loverly (Bluenote/EMI)
Algebra Purpose (Kedar/Fontana)
Labelle Back to Now (Verve/Universal)
Anthony David Acey Duecy (Universal)
Incognito Tales From the Beach (Concord)
Bottom 3 albums
Danity Kane Welcome to the Dollhouse (Warner)
Ray J All I Feel (Koch)
Cherish The Truth (EMI)
Best Song: Mary J. Blige, “Just Fine” (Moto Blanco remix)
Worst Song: Pussycat Dolls, “When I Grow Up”
Best Show: George Michael, Bell Centre, July 17
Worst Show: Janet Jackson, Bell Centre, Oct. 6
“It had been a long time coming, but when Michael finally hit the stage on that balmy July night, backlit by the beautifully mounted, three-tiered, recessed stage that housed his superlative band, and assisted by a powerhouse troupe of background singers, it was clear it had been worth the wait. Michael was the consummate performer who had the capacity crowd on its feet for almost the entirety of his two-hour-plus set. Meanwhile, Jackson, claiming “vertigo-induced migraines,” skipped out on her Montreal date as fans were filing into the Bell Centre, carrying the Jackson family penchant for dizzy behaviour to a whole new level.”
 Erik Leijon
Top 10 albums
Wolf Parade At Mount Zoomer (Sub Pop/Outside)
Lil Wayne Tha Carter III (Universal)
Plants and Animals Parc Avenue (Secret City)
Cool Kids The Bake Sale EP (Chocolate/Koch)
Cut Copy In Ghost Colours (Modular/Universal)
Hercules & Love Affair self-titled (DFA/EMI)
Winter Gloves About a Girl (Paper Bag/Universal)
Crystal Castles self-titled (Last Gang)
TV on the Radio Dear Science (Touch & Go/Universal)
Coeur de Pirate self-titled (Grosse Boîte/Select)
Bottom 3 albums
Nickelback Dark Horse (EMI)
Shwayze self-titled (Suretone/Geffen/Universal)
Mobile Tales From the City (Universal)
Best song: Hot Chip, “Ready for the Floor”
Worst Song: My Morning Jacket, “Highly Suspicious”
Best show: Woodhands, Portuguese Association, Oct. 1
Worst show: De La Soul, Metropolis, June 28
“My first exposure to the warm, analog synthy goodness of the Woodhands live experience was when they opened for We Are Wolves at this year’s Jazz Fest—and I continued to sing their praises long after their M for Montreal showcase in November. The Pop Montreal headlining set was their coup de grace because, even at 3 a.m. in a terrible venue, singer/keyboardist Dan Werb was shouting uncontrollably like a Tourette’s victim locked in a room with Sean Avery, his arms awkwardly swinging, while helium-ingesting drummer Paul Banwatt performed some Mighty Mouse MC-ing to complement his lightning-quick drumming. Careful Montreal, a nerdy-looking duo from Toronto just came, saw and conquered.”
 Erin MacLeod
Top 10 albums
Hot Chip Made in the Dark (EMI)
Etana The Strong One (VP)
Esau Mwamwaya & Radioclit The Very Best (Ghettopop/Green Owl)
Amadou and Mariam Welcome to Mali (Because)
OG Ron C Fuck Action 50 (Wrecking Yard)
Santogold self-titled (Downtown)
Busy Signal Loaded (VP)
Flying Lotus Los Angeles (Warp)
Toumani Diabate The Mandé Variations (Nonesuch/Warner)
Various An England Story (Soul Jazz)
Bottom 3 albums
Vanilla Ice Vanilla Ice is Back! (Cleopatra)
Scarlett Johansson Anywhere I Lay My Head (Atco)
Connie Talbot Over the Rainbow (Rainbow)
Best Song: Cocoa Tea, “Barack Obama”/Lil Wayne, “A Milli” (tie)
Worst Song: Lee Scratch Perry, “Pum Pum”
Best Show: Tarrus Riley and Duane Stephenson, Medley, Aug. 22/Thunderheist, Club Lambi, Nov. 15 (tie)
Worst Show: N/A
“Big year, big tunes, no real complaints except that we’re spoiled for choice in this city. From Turbo Crunk to Pop Montreal, there were lots of highlights this year—just too many good shows to pick from. Hopefully more and more good reggae will bring sun to the city in 2009 (I keep hoping in vain for a soundsystem-fuelled Piknic électronik), folks’ll keep dancing (if the Thunderheist show was any indication, we certainly like the ass shaking here in Montreal), and I’ll be happy—that is, if OG Ron C continues to defy rumours of his retirement.”
GETTING WARMER: Hot Chip
Lateef Martin
Top 10 albums
Hans Zimmer, James Newton Howard The Dark Knight Original Soundtrack (Warner)
Jake One White Van Music (Rhymesayers)
Killah Priest Behind the Stained Glass (Good Hands)
Kamikaze Baby Uptown VineRise (independent)
Mindless Self Indulgence If (The End)
Kids Eat Crayons Is For Lovers (Den)
Metallica Death Magnetic (Vertigo/Warner)
Nine Inch Nails Ghosts I-IV (The Null Corporation)
Nine Inch Nails The Slip (The Null Corporation)
Unexpect self-titled (The End)
Bottom 3 albums
Flobots Fight With Tools (Universal Republic)
The GZA Pro Tools (Think Differently/Babygrande)
Trapt Only Through the Pain (Eleven Seven)
Best Song: Metallica, “My Apocalypse”
Worst Song: Scars on Broadway, “World Long Gone"
Best Show: Erykah Badu and the Roots, Jacques-Cartier Pier, May 6/Nine Inch Nails, Bell Centre, Nov. 12 (tie)
Worst Show: Wu Tang Clan, Metropolis, April 21
“Nine Inch Nails delivered a hell of a show despite decidedly lighter offerings of late. The light show, provided by Montreal’s own Moment Factory, awed even the jaded with interactive beat machines of light, digital snow that hid the band but exposed Trent in random spots on stage, and red and blue blasts that triggered epilepsy. ‘Reptile,’ from The Downward Spiral, punched holes into people, leaving moshers slipping in the pool. I’ve banged my head to Slayer, Ministry, Metallica, System of a Down and Cradle of Filth, but with Robin Finck back on guitar and super studio gun-for-hire Josh Freese on drums, ‘Reptile’ is the hardest, heaviest song I’ve heard live.”
Jack Oatmon
Top 10 albums
Poni Hoax Images of Sigrid (Tigersushi)
Black Devil Disco Club Eight Oh Eight (Lo)
Wolf Parade At Mount Zoomer (Sub Pop/Outside)
Cut Copy In Ghost Colours (Modular/Universal)
Hot Chip Made in the Dark (EMI)
Hercules & Love Affair self-titled (DFA/EMI)
Squarepusher Just a Souvenir (Warp)
Booka Shade The Sun & the Neon Light (Get Physical)
Mr. Oizo Lambs Anger (Ed Banger)
MGMT Oracular Spectacular (Columbia)
Bottom 3 albums
Kanye West 808s & Heartbreak (Def Jam/Universal)
Girl Talk Feed the Animals (Illegal Art)
Nickelback Dark Horse (EMI)
Best Song: Chemical Brothers, “Midnight Madness”
Worst Song: Kanye West, “Love Lockdown”
Best Show: Juan Maclean, Zoobizarre, Sept. 3
Worst Show: Free Blood, Metropolis, April 15
“The Juan Maclean is the greatest live electronic dance music band in the entire world, hands down, bar none, no exceptions under any circumstances. Only two dozen people showed up for the concert and they were treated to a virtuosic demonstration of why most dance music bands have got light years of improvement to make before they approach the visceral thrill that, for instance, rock or jazz have achieved and refined over the decades. The Juan played their entire upcoming album and I can already pretty much guarantee you it will be on this Top 10 list for 2009.”
HEARTBREAKER: Kanye WestMorgan Steiker
Top 10 albums
Young Jeezy The Recession (Def Jam/Universal)
Payz Play self-titled (Anubis)
Portishead Third (Mercury/Island)
Megasoid Tank Thong Mixtape (independent)
Ludacris Theatre of the Mind (Def Jam/Universal)
The Roots Rising Down (Def Jam/Universal)
Kidz in the Hall The In Crowd (Duck Down)
RZA as Bobby Digital Digi Snacks (Koch)
Koriass Les racines dans le béton (PID)
Buckshot & 9th Wonder The Formula (Duck Down)
Bottom 3 albums
E-40 The Ball Street Journal (Reprise/Warner)
Kanye West 808s & Heartbreak (Def Jam/Universal)
Fat Joe The Elephant in the Room (Virgin/EMI)
Best Song: Jake One feat. Freeway & Brother Ali, “The Truth”
Worst Song: T.I. feat Kanye West, Jay-Z & Lil Wayne, “Swagga Like Us”
Best Show: RA the Rugged Man, Foufounes Électriques, Dec. 10
Worst Show: N/A
“RA stripped down to his boxers, pulled his fat gut out for a whole song, ripped a girl’s clothes off on stage, got her best friend to come rescue her, got both chicks to kiss, made out with one of them, grabbed their asses like a savage beast, forced a guy to kiss his girlfriend, joked about how she was looking at him during the kiss, made fun of everybody in the front row, slapped kids in the crowd as he was rapping, slapped his own DJ and kicked him off stage, demanded that everybody start punching the person next to them, gave a glass bottle to a girl in the crowd and told her to smash it on some kid’s face, started a mosh pit while ripping the mic and ended the show by marching through the venue with 40 kids attached to him like magnets. All the while spitting some of the most legendary verses in rap and being the most hardcore white rapper ever. The best part is that it was the lowest attendance I’ve ever seen at Foufs but by far the best rap show in Montreal all year. Rugged.”
|
