Sonic Parthenon's The Year in Music 2008: Part 7

The Ting Tings
I'm not going to kid you. I loved We Started Nothing. They may flame out faster than even Vampire Weekend, but brother, this is a band. Everything felt good, everything sounded good (it certainly did from outside McCarren Park). Every song was a damn hit. Anyone who didn't feel like moving to this band really needs to lighten up a bit.

Titus Andronicus
Their nom-de-song is a keeper, one for the parties and the workouts, and their Maxwell's opening slot for the Dirtbombs was compelling enough.

TV on the Radio
No big shock that Dear Science is one of the best albums of the year. If any band demonstrated a keen ability to make a more open-arms record than what they had previously made it was this band. Essentially, this band can do anything it wants and probably do no wrong. Good on them. And good on Tunde especially for his sly role in Rachel Getting Married and good on Kyp for that hauntingly good opening over the summer for Celebration as Rain Machine, and good on Sitek for helping the Dirtbombs out in a gear jam in Austin last Spring.

Vampire Weekend
Like with the Ting Tings, if anyone truly went out of their way to dislike this band, they really need to consider the concept of loosening up. A band doesn't need to be the greatest thing ever to be good. They just need to be, at the bare minimum, conducive to having a good time. And Vampire Weekend fills that role smashingly. Another record where everything is a hit and so what? Good. They were really only a B+ band going into 2008, but the backlash was so out of proportion, it made them look like an A.

The Virgins
Their opening for the Hold Steady in the Spring at Webster Hall was a lightning bolt of polished pop-rock and the "radio edit" of "Rich Girls" should have been coming out of every car all summer long. 2009 should be a big year for these cats.

The XYZ Affair
With a scene-stealing performance at the Bowery Ballroom in February, and lending "Evening Life" to the soundtrack of our lives, the good, young lads in the XYZ Affair made a sparkling contribution to 2008.

Honorable mentions:
The Bird and the Bee - "Birthday" is such a cutie of a song.

Bound Stems - "Happens to us Otherwise" was the "Our Life is Not a Movie or Maybe" of 2008.

Brazilian Girls - "Good Time" is one of the best, if not the best, party songs of the year, and any band that tastefully covers the Talking Heads is a-ok in my book.

Don Cavalli - "New Hollywood Babylon" is a strange, spooky, captivating hybrid of India, folk, and hiphop.

Katie Costello - "Kaleidoscope" is a darn tootin' sweet pop single if ever there was one.

Katie Herzig - I know nothing about this woman except that "Wish You Well" haunts me everyday.

Holy Fuck - “Lovely Allen” was lovely indeed, an inspiring bit of instrumental heaven.

Honeyhoney – “Little Toy Gun” was an unexpected bit of Tex-Mex rock, a light version of something that belonged in a Tarantino movie.

Jaguar Love - They sounded terrible after literally 2 seconds at Siren Festival but then "Highways of Gold" turned out to be a humdinger of a single.

M.I.A. - Oh, "Paper Planes" - was there ever a better hiphop single that got a second life a year after its release?

The Notwist - once a metal band, now a provocative Indie pop band with "Good Lies". They could only be German.

Passion Pit - They are all over other lists but for purposes here, "Sleepyhead" was a truly great single. It would have been the "Paper Planes" of 2008 if "Paper Planes" hadn't come back. Instead it has to settle for the "D.A.N.C.E." of the year.

Saturday Knights - "45" was the funniest single of the year and sublimely smart too, and it's good that it came via rap.

The Stills - "Being Here" was one of those great Indie rock numbers, the kind you like to listen by your lonesome when feeling sappy, or at the very least, it didn't make you want to puke.

The Teenagers - "Starlett Johaanson" was the novelty hit of 2008. Moving on.

The Watson Twins - With "How Am I To Be" the Watson Twins sorta kinda proved that they were the secret to Jenny Lewis' solo success.

Anna of Airborne Toxic Event Perfoms With Vampire Weekend

The headline is pretty self-explanatory but it can also be pointed out that, as per the report from the Airborne Toxic Event's MySpace bulletin, Anna was a dorm-mate of the VW boys at Columbia.
Vampire Weekend - "Ladies of Cambridge" in the studio

You can see the rest of Vampire Weekend's MySpace Transmissions performance here.

A Big Weekend for Brooklyn

The NY Times profiled a bunch of bands and the scene in general, but...does Vampire Weekend really qualify as a Brooklyn band? At least some of the members moved to the borough but does that really count? They were based out of Columbia before hitting it big.

Whether they are from Brooklyn or not, VW were on SNL this weekend, another notch in their unbelievably rapid fire ascent.

Vampire Weekend on MTV

They play music on MTV? (A swipe as old as MTV's abandonment of music)

But wait - they play music on MTV!

They play Vampire Weekend on MTV.

Just six months ago (?) they were opening for the Thermals at Maxwell's.

It boggles the mind. But in a good way.

Sonic Parthenon's The Year In Music 2007: Part 5

“Shabop Shalom” by Devandra Banheardt
This one got annoying really fast, especially lyrically, but the melodic roots of weirdo Devandra’s shane madel soliloquy are hard to pass up.
Listen here

Spoon

• Songs: “The Underdog”; “You Got Yr Cherry Bomb”

Spoon’s Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga was more than praised on the year-end lists and whatever whatever, the point is, these two tracks showcase Britt and the gang at their best. Pleasant and pop-filled, that is where Spoon succeeds and always with a little bit of funk or soul to boot. If only they had more oomph, they would be all over this blog like some other bands.

Cherry Bomb on SNL

Southpaw
If Terminal 5 owned the major acts during the final quarter of the year, Southpaw held down the fort for the entirety of it. The Dirtbombs, Reigning Sound, the Raveonettes, Black Tie Revue, Electric Six, and Les Sans Culottes all had fun there this year.

St. Vincent

• Song: “Paris is Burning”

“Marry Me” and “Paris is Burning” are but two of the reasons that Annie Clark is a resident Indie cutie. Oh yeah, and she has substance too. Just make sure she has a band backing her.


Stephanie’s Id

• Live Show
• Record: Grus Americanus
  

One random night at Sidewalk can do wonders. One of the great secrets on the Indie circuit (a secret for now at least), Ashevillians Stephanie’s Id should be a force to reckon with in the coming years.
Live Slice

Terminal 5
I think I live here. That’s right, there’s a little cubby hole for Elwood D. Pennypacker to crawl into at night. This makes it easier since it feels like there is a Sonic Parthenon gig review from Terminal 5 just about every night of the week. The National kicked off the joint (with St. Vincent), and very quickly the place was overwhelmed by Gogol Bordello, Band of Horses, the Hold Steady, Art Brut, 1990s, and Ween. And in the interim, the Shins, Justice and M.I.A. held down the fort. Quite the line-up for a brand new place, right off the bat. It’s like an expansion team starting out with all-stars. And the madness continues next year with Blonde Redhead, the Raveonettes, and Cat Power, among others, booked. But it’s all going to be a wash if the Bowery Presents can’t find a way to improve the sound quality in the house. It’s too drum and bass heavy. Vocals are done a disservice. And even worse than that, crowd control and movement is a problem on many nights because of the way they laid out the place. And of course on top of all that is the out of the way location. They may want to consider shuttle busses or vans to Columbus Circle.

Uncle Monk

• Live Show

Ol’ Tommy Ramone is having a blast with his bluegrass project and he’s making us all have a blast with him.


Union Hall
Not to be outdone by Southpaw or even big, bad Terminal 5 – yuppie Union Hall, the most beautiful looking venue in the city, had a very good year with the Hard Lessons, the XYZ Affair, and a trio of the Chicago bands – the Changes, Scotland Yard Gospel Choir, and the 1900’s. Rumors are going around that the owners will shift the venue to an out of the ways spot in Sunset Park (offset by rumors that the owners of the old Bottom Line are contemplating a joint in the same place). They shouldn’t do it.

Vampire Weekend
The most pushed blog band of the year, Vampire Weekend delivered on all the promises by other people and even withstood the insta-backlash. More one dimensional with their Afro-centric pop than the last mega-hyped band, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, VW will nevertheless be good to have around for a long while.
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VHS or Beta

• Live Show
• Record: Bring On The Comets
• Songs: “Can’t Believe A Single Word”; “Burn It All Down”
  

Kinda dorky and so-cool-they’re-square, VHS or Beta is certainly not afraid to do what they do. And they do it damn well. Be tough all you want, you are dared not to move to “Can’t Believe A Single Word” and “Burn It All Down”. And quiet, alone time is what “Fall Down Lightly” is made for. Very sneakily, they are kind of one of the bands of the year. Yeah, go figure. Good for them!

Birth of a Big Band: Vampire Weekend

Vampire Weekend
@ Music Hall of Williamsburg
New York, NY - September 8, 2007

Where the heck did these kids come from? Were they even in an existence as a band a year ago? They don't even have an LP out yet (it comes out next January). Just a couple months ago, they were opening for the Thermals at Maxwell's. Yet here they are, Vampire Weekend, headlining a sold out show at the brand spanking new Music Hall of Williamsburg (so brand spanking new that the wood isn't polished yet). And not only was the place packed, but the several hundred in attendance were singing along with almost every song and pretty active towards the front and even on the sides. One would have no idea how relatively new this band is and would therefore be flummoxed by the rapidity with which they are climbing. In fact, this writer does have an idea and he's still flummoxed.
As for the music itself - if you like the Police, you'll like Vampire Weekend. But if you can only take so much Police, you will only be able to take so much Vampire Weekend (how poetic is it that this band busts out in the year that the Police reunite...well maybe not poetic, but something...). My favorite tune of theirs, "Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa" (video below), is more Paul Simon Graceland and mid-late Talking Heads than the Police, but a few twists and turns aside, this is a pleasant, white original ska affair.
And the funniest part of all...they only played for 45 minutes. They don't even know enough songs to play for an hour!
Photos here


Apologies to the Harlem Shakes and Yeasayer for missing them. The former have been toiling around for years and I've never had a chance to see them. Yeasayer is another rising band and if these trends continue, next week they'll be headlining the Music Hall while Vampire Weekend plays Giants Stadium.

Quick note on the video: It's terribly shot. I know. Believe me. I know. But still, in case you weren't there: