Best of 2008

John Curley’s Picks:

SOLO ARTIST OF THE YEAR: Paul Weller
Paul Weller, the former leader of The Jam and The Style Council, celebrated his 50th birthday in 2008. He also released 22 Dreams in 2008, one of the year’s most critically acclaimed albums. At an age by which most artists have long since fallen into a somewhat comfortable mediocrity, Weller has produced one of his most striking works. 22 Dreams mixes folk, trip-hop, and rock in a fascinating way. Weller also put together a new touring band (with the exception of longtime guitarist and collaborator, Steve Craddock) and performed shows that were raved about by both fans and critics as his best live gigs in years.

BAND OF THE YEAR: The Enemy
In 2008, The Enemy released their stellar debut, We’ll Live And Die In These Towns, in America. (The album came out in the UK in 2007.) And The Enemy supported the American release of the album with their first shows Stateside. I had the good fortune to be in attendance for The Enemy’s New York City debut, which took place in August at the Bowery Ballroom. They are an incredible live band. This year will see the release of their second album as well as a high-profile support slot with Oasis at London’s Wembley Stadium this summer. This Coventry, England-based trio is going to be one of the biggest bands of the next decade. Bank on it.

ALBUM OF THE YEAR: Midnight Boom by The Kills
Midnight Boom, the third album by the Anglo-American duo of Jamie Hince and Alison Mosshart who go by the moniker of The Kills, is a stunning and absolutely terrific piece of work. Containing the indie-rock hits “Cheap and Cheerful” and “Last Day of Magic,” Midnight Boom raised the profile of The Kills considerably. Hince even began dating the English supermodel Kate Moss. Mosshart and Hince supported the release of the album with many incendiary shows all over the world, including one amazing gig that I attended with Pat Prince, the founder of this Web site, at New York City’s Webster Hall in May.

BEST NEW ARTIST: Duffy
Duffy’s retro-sounding debut album, Rockferry, was one of the smash hits of 2008, selling millions of copies. So, I suppose that the question concerning Duffy is this: Does Duffy justify the hype. And the answer is simple: Damn right she does! Rockferry is a masterpiece, an amazing collection that brings to mind the best female vocalists of the 1960s. I saw Duffy put on a very sexually charged and emotional performance at Webster Hall in New York City in October. The blonde Welsh songbird flirted with the crowd and even broke down in tears at one point during the show, so overwhelmed was she by the raucous reaction of the New York crowd to her music. She is one hell of a performer and surely has a brilliant future in front of her.

BEST NEW BAND: Gran Ronde (Los Angeles, CA) and Nouvellas (New York, NY)—tie
Yeah, yeah, yeah. I know that having a tie between two bands is a weak-ass thing to do. But I think that both of these bands needed to be acknowledged. I saw both bands in support slots at different shows at the Bowery Ballroom in New York City.

I was introduced to the music of Gran Ronde when I saw them on the same bill as The Enemy in August. They were really great, and their single “Wisdom” was a particular standout in their set. And the Suits at iTunes agreed, making “Wisdom” one of their free singles of the week in August.

I first heard the retro stylings of Nouvellas when I saw them in a support slot to Nicole Atkins & the Sea in November. Nouvellas are fronted by two very engaging female singers named Jaime and Leah. They were amazing, and they sounded like Booker T. & the MGs fronted by The Ronettes. Nouvellas’ single, “Satisfied,” is easily one of the best singles that I heard in 2008. “Satisfied” can be purchased from iTunes if you want to check it out. You can thank me later.

BEST SINGLE: “Alright” by The Subways
“Alright,” the second single from The Subways’ second album, All or Nothing, is a great piece of rock and roll. Loud and ferocious from start to finish, “Alright” received a great deal of airplay on rock stations in the UK upon its release. As good as it sounds on the album, “Alright” rocks even harder live. It sounded great when I saw The Subways in New York City in July. I’ll never understand why American rock radio hasn’t gotten behind The Subways in a big way. They are one of the most exciting young bands in the UK at the present.

BEST VIDEO: “Last Day of Magic” by The Kills
This video absolutely crackles with sexual intensity. It mixes clips of Alison Mosshart and Jamie Hince on stage with shots of them pushing each other around and wrestling. Hince even sports a black eye at one point during the video. And the song is spectacular, arguably the best track on Midnight Boom.

BEST LIVE GIG; Paul Weller at The HighLine Ballroom, New York, NY, September 11, 2008 (Honorary mention: The Kills, Webster Hall, New York, NY, May 1, 2008)
This was a tough one to pick because I saw so many fantastic gigs in 2008. However, I’ve been a fan of Paul Weller’s music since 1980, when I first heard “That’s Entertainment” by The Jam. So getting to see Weller play a live gig with his full band in an intimate venue like the 650-capacity HighLine Ballroom was quite a privilege indeed. And Weller and his very capable backing band delivered an incredible performance. Weller’s performance of a radically reworked “Wild Wood,” which now sounds like psychedelic trip-hop, was a particular highlight of the show. The members of Oasis, except for Noel Gallagher (who was recuperating from his injuries after being pushed off the stage in Toronto), were there, and they were enjoying the show as much as the rest of the crowd. Gem Archer of Oasis joined Weller and his band on stage for “Echoes Round The Sun.” And Liam Gallagher came on stage briefly with great comedic effect during “That’s Entertainment.” The support band, The Rifles, were excellent as well. It was a night of music that I won’t soon forget.

The Kills also merit a mention here for their May 1st performance at New York City’s Webster Hall. Several songs into the set, just as The Kills were hitting their stride and the crowd was going berserk, a firefighter in full gear appeared on stage. At first, the crowd thought it was part of the show. Then, someone from Webster Hall came on stage to inform the crowd that there was a small fire backstage and that the show was being halted temporarily so that the firefighters could deal with it. After a break lasting 25 minutes or so, The Kills returned to the stage and picked up right where they left off. They had the crowd going nuts again in no time. A lesser band would have been thrown by that momentum-killing interruption to the show. But The Kills triumphed, and went on to deliver an absolutely incredible performance.

BEST RAPPER: Jay-Z
I must confess that I’m not much of a fan of modern hip-hop. I strongly prefer Grandmaster Flash and early Run-DMC to any of the hip-hop of today. But Jay-Z deserves some props because of his triumphant performance at England’s Glastonbury Festival this past summer. Jay-Z overcame the slings and arrows from some people in the rock community, notably Noel Gallagher, who said that hip-hop didn’t belong at Glastonbury. After Jay-Z’s performance, the critics seemed to disagree with Gallagher.

BIGGEST MUSIC EVENT OF THE YEAR: Nothing
Unlike 2005, which had Live 8, or 2007, which had the Led Zeppelin reunion in London, there was really no standout music event in 2008 that everyone could point to as THE event of the year. This year, the choice is really up to you. For me, there was no one event. However, I did get to see many great live performances this year in venues both big and small, from British rock legends The Who at the Izod Center in New Jersey to the new Welsh superstar Duffy at New York City’s Webster Hall to British up-and-comer Adele at New York City’s Joe’s Pub to New Jersey’s own Nicole Atkins at the tiny Blend in the suburbs of Ridgewood, New Jersey. The health of the live music scene in these terrible economic times should be a source of pride for the music industry. The flagging sales numbers for music retailers on the other hand . . .

BEST COMEBACK: Blur and The Specials—tie
While rumored reunions of The Smiths and Led Zeppelin turned out to be just that—rumors—two other legendary UK acts will be getting back together for shows in 2009. Nineties Britpop superstars Blur and early 1980s ska legends The Specials both announced reunion plans in 2008 for live shows in 2009. Blur will be playing several huge shows in London’s Hyde Park this summer which will be preceded by a few warm-up gigs at other locations in the UK. The Specials will be doing a full-scale tour of the UK. Here’s hoping that both bands decide to cross the Atlantic for reunion shows on this side of the pond.

BAND TO WATCH OUT FOR IN 2009: Howling Bells
The Australian-born, London-based indie-rock quartet, Howling Bells, will see the release of their sophomore effort, Radio Wars, in February 2009. The first single from the album, “Into The Chaos,” has already been released, and it is excellent. I did an exclusive e-mail Q&A for Powerline A.D. with Juanita Stein of Howling Bells in January 2008, just before the band went in to the studio to begin work on the new album. Of the new material, Juanita told me, “New songs are very exciting, I think. Brash, bold, and inspiring.” They are a great band. Their debut album was a terrific piece of work. I expect more of the same from the new album. I think that 2009 will be a big year for them, with the release of the new album and a very busy touring schedule. I have yet to see them play live, so I look forward to that with great anticipation. Hopefully, New York City will be one of their tour stops at some point in 2009.