1/8/08: The RightWingTrashiest Albums of 2008
We once tried listing the Most Leftist Moments In Music for
2006. Maybe that’s been made redundant by our annual article on the
Most Overrated Albums of any given year—with that link taking you to the worst of 2008. There were some great albums this year, though. There's no guarantee of conservative content in the ten listed below, but we're pretty sure they all avoid any particularly moronic politics…
Original Motion Picture Cast Repo! The Genetic Opera (Lionsgate)The soundtrack to our favorite film of 2008—and the first decent rock opera since
Phantom of the Paradise—also serves as a concept album about a good father who moonlights as a repo man for a medical company that provides people with new organs. It’s all incredibly heavy-handed, and yet never panders with what could’ve been very predictable politics.
Original Broadway Cast Passing Strange (Ghostlight)This one we managed
to write about early, and “Passing Strange” would remain the best theater we saw all year.
Joe Jackson Rain (Rykodisc)Another old favorite (written up in two
past entries), but there’s nothing on this stark piano/bass/drums collection that has Jackson’s daring politics. He’s no conservative, though, so it was equally impressive when Jackson shut up and sang during this year’s best live show—and the best concert we’ve seen at The Apollo since Tom Jones.
Nada Surf Lucky (Barsuk)Every show they played this year seemed to be a benefit for Barack Obama, but you have to respect Nada Surf for preserving with their catchy and neurotic rock songs. Now we’ve all got reasons to be as nervous as they are.
Wreckless Eric & Amy RIgby (Stiff)Two artists with
one long story leading up to a fine album of country-psych. It’s a love story, too.
Electric Six Flashy (Metropolitan)Plenty of lousy bands are goofing on rock’s dopiest trappings. Electric Six continue to prove that the joke is no joke. They’ve also managed
some conservative moments in the past—but we’re not so sure about this album. The lyric sheet is unreadable.
Black Mountain In The Future (Jagjaguwar)The late ’80s and ’90s saw several bands who dreamed of playing a progressive brand of arena rock that was still scummy and stupid. They all ended up as boogie bands that got dropped by their labels. Here’s the record that beats the curse.
Murder By Death Red of Tooth and Claw (Vagrant)They’re essentially Nick Cave for skate punks, and this Indiana act isn't avoiding the tag with song titles like “Spring Break 1899.” The obvious references get even more so with songs such as "Fuego!," which manages a perfect blend of Lee Hazlewood and Ennio Morricone.
Alice Cooper Along Came A Spider (SPV)Another
old favorite gives up his recent Weird Western musings for a throwback to his glam-metal days. The result is a vast improvement over Alice’s ’80s comeback, and the serial-killer motif makes for two favorite concept albums in one year.
Sparks Exotic Creatures of the Deep (Lil Beethoven)This was the third album where the Mael Brothers worked out their bizarre brilliance as creators of rhythm-free pop albums. It’s just slightly tired enough to sound like the end of a trilogy. Hopefully, we’ll next get something closer to
a more traditional Sparks album—as hinted at by this one having a fine tune called “Lighten Up, Morrissey.”
And let’s mention the album that came in 11th place, since that’s another link:
Original Motion Picture Soundtrack Forgetting Sarah Marshall (Verve)There are a lot of great songs on this one, including fine original tunes. We
wrote up the best one when this comedy came out. Sadly, we didn’t know at the time that Russell Brand was playing himself as a vapid Leftist celebrity out of the UK.
Make it your own: Always too lazy to link to places to buy these things; never too lazy to link to our important musings.
