Best of 2008: Final Thoughts (/w Links)

Figured it would be a good idea to have one place for all this stuff, kind of like a handy reference guide in case you wanted to look up a post or find a link (more likely a link).

1. Atmosphere - When Life Gives You Lemons, You Paint That Shit Gold -> Download
2. The Gaslight Anthem - The '59 Sound -> Download
3. Verse En Coma - Rialto -> Download
4. Up-C Down-C Left-C Right-C ABC + Start - Embers -> Download
5. Verse - Aggression -> Download
6. Transistor Transistor - Ruined Lives -> Download
7. Pygmy Lush - Mount Hope -> Download
8. Fight Like Apes - And the Mystery of the Golden Medallion -> Download
9. Have a Nice Life - Deathconsciousness -> Download 1 2
10. Aussitot Mort - Montuenga -> Download
11. The Max Levine Ensemble - OK Smartypants -> Download
12. Have Heart - Songs to Scream at the Sun -> Download
13. Adebisi Shank - This is the Album of a Band Called Adebisi Shank -> Download
14. Off Minor - Some Blood -> Download
15. Daitro/Sed Non Satiata Split -> Download
16. God is an Astronaut - God is an Astronaut -> Download
17. Metaform - Standing on the Shoulders of Giants -> Download
18. The Mars Volta - Bedlam in Goliath -> Download
19. The Mountain Goats - Heretic Pride -> Download
20. Nine Inch Nails - The Slip -> Download
21. Made Out of Babies - The Ruiner -> Download
22. Baader Brains - The Complete Unfinished Works of the Young Tigers -> Download
23. ...Who Calls So Loud - ...Who Calls So Loud -> Download
24. Mogwai - The Hawk is Howling -> Download
25. Killing the Dream - Fractures -> Download
26. Mesa Verde - The Old Road -> Download
27. pg.lost - It's Not Me, It's You -> Download 1 2
28. The Riot Before - Fists Buried in Pockets -> Download
29. Black Ships - Omens -> Download
30. United Nations - United Nations -> Download

Also, there's some other albums that would have made this list had I gotten into them sooner that I'd like to use this space to give a shout-out to, half-assed though it may be.


Dillinger Four - CIVIL WAR

Attention, Dillinger(s): Kindly never go six years without making a record again. I know you have jobs and real responsibilities that your time would be better spent on and whatnot, but the teasing was just cruel. This album isn't quite on the level of Situationist Comedy, and it lacks the energy of earlier Dillinger Four, but it's still fiercely intelligent punk music that you can hum along to, and dammit, that has to mean something.


Star Fucking Hipsters - Until We're Dead

Longtime Choking Victim followers may not like the move to an often slower, more expansive sound, but I do. There's a weariness to this album, both in the band's propensity to slow things down, and in the vocals of Stza, which have lost a lot of power to them in the past five years (much less the past ten). I'd call it maturity, but anyone who's actually listened to the Hipsters know that's not the case. Either way, Until We're Dead is either a nice reprise or a mild disappointment for anyone who's been jonesing for some crack rock steady (I fall into the former group).


The Rural Alberta Advantage - Hometowns

Delightful Toronto-based, synth-infused indie rock from displaced Albertans remembering with fondness a simpler time in their lives. One that involved prairies. It has been said that the singer sounds like Jeff Mangum, and I agree with that assessment. Fun Fact: I have been to every single city/town they sing about on this album. Yes. That's right. I can feel your jealousy pouring through the computer screen. Anyhoo, this is probably the best example of Canadian music that 2008 has to offer. So if you wanna infuse yourself with a culture far superior to yours in everyway (not that we like to brag), look into this album.