This year, I’ve asked a few Phoenix-area musicians/people of interest for their year-end, best-of lists: albums, songs, whatever. This installment comes from Jason Woodbury, who plays in (at least) two great local bands – Cardiac Party and Hands on Fire – contributes to Tiny Mix Tapes and manages the Zia Records store in Chandler, which I’ve heard has a great vinyl selection.

Jason, whom I’ve tried to convince to contribute some writing around here, offers up his favorite lyrics of 2008. I think you’ll agree we should see more of him on these pages after reading this.

1. Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds – We Call Upon the Author
From Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!! (ANTI Records)

“What we once thought we had we didn’t, and what we have now will never be that way again. So we call upon the author to explain.”

Nick Cave opens his mouth and spits out incredibly profound things. I listened to this song over and over again, dissecting each line like it was scripture. I think what it comes down to is that Cave balances out his reverence for God or the unknown or whatever with really sardonic wit. This song basically asks the undefined higher power to explain the suffering and shittiness in the world, but it doesn’t come across as plaintive or weak willed, it basically sounds like the world is coming off the rails, and Cave and his Bad Seeds are there at the epicenter of it all, demanding answers. Probably my favorite song of the year.

2. The Hold Steady – Constructive Summer
From Stay Positive (Vagrant Records)

“I read the gospel it moved me to tears/but I couldn’t find the hate and I couldn’t find the fear.”

I think my favorite thing about Craig Finn is that there’s this palpable tension in his music between the sacred and the profane. He doesn’t spend half the time singing about wasted teenagers and half the time singing about Christ and the angels; he sings about both of them at once. I like how he recognizes the beauty of the gospel story and the core value, the message of love, sacrifice and redemption, but can’t accept the fear and violence that drives so many faithful. We’re currently involved in two wars, where at least one side (though let’s be honest, it’s both) views the battle as a holy one, Finn’s lyric speaks to the conflict between our ideas of truth, and our willingness to kill/die for them.

3. The Donkeys – Bye Bye Baby
From Living On The Other Side (Dead Oceans)

“Love ain’t nothing but a human disease.”

Well hell, dudes.

4. The Mountain Goats – Heretic Pride
From Heretic Pride (4AD)

“I waited so long and now I taste jasmine on my tongue/And I feel so proud to be alive/And I feel so proud when the reckoning arrives.”

John Darnielle crafts these ridiculously good lyrics and always frames them in interesting ways. Here we have a perfect example, an uplifting tune about the power of life, and the blessed nature of being alive, sung from the perspective of an accused heretic being pulled from his house by an angry mob, dragged along the ground and burned at the stake. Darnielle is a curious dude. This song is the perfect synthesis of Amy Grant and Marduk.

5. Dr Dog – From
From Fate (Park the Van)

“But oh my love [Oh my love]/No it ain’t easy [It ain’t easy]/But it ain’t the type to give up and die.”

I really don’t understand why Dr Dog aren’t given more credit. In addition to creating timeless pop music, their lyrics are fantastic. Never heavy handed or forceful, they ask the Big Questions in really simple, plain, beautiful ways. This song meant a lot to me this year, as I realized that usually, if something is worth anything, it’s extremely difficult to understand and come to terms with. It’s easy to stay comfortable, to try and shrink away from feelings or beliefs, but it takes real stones to acknowledge and confront that stuff. I saw these guys at Club Congress with Hacienda and the Delta Spirit, and I could hardly wrap my head around the vibes and good nature emanating from the stage.

6. TV on the Radio – Lovers Day
From Dear Science (Interscope)

“Give the keys to your hiding place, I’m not going to tear it apart/I’m going to keep you weak in the knees, try to unlock your heart.”

Songs about sex are pretty difficult. You can go straight up sexy, like Let’s Get it On, and achieve classic booty jams status, but to try and get deeper with it usually results in a Sex on Fire, which is unfortunate for the listener and ultimately the act of lovemaking itself. Lover’s Day is a perfectly put together work. It ping pongs between the animalistic nature of the act and the spiritual aspects, it’s at one celebratory and reverent, and it’s heart-stoppingly gorgeous. Every song states something on Dear Science, but I don’t know if any of the tunes stated anything this visceral and universal.

7. Grampall Jookabox – Girl Ain’t Preggers
From Ropechain (Asthmatic Kitty)

“Don’t it make you feel good when the girl ain’t preggers? Don’t it make you feel sad when the girl ain’t preggers?”

My dude Bryan Reed over at Tiny Mix Tapes picked up the melancholy nature of this jam while the rest of the indie world was cracking up ’cause he said “preggers.” Sure, Dave Adamson feels he can’t feed himself and a little dude/gal, but at the same time, that strange longing to be a parent is there. A couple of my close friends have had kids recently, and believe me, they were all severely freaked out. I tried to comfort them, saying that if they weren’t freaked out it would be a truly bad sign. I mean, who’s ready to be a dad? Not Grampall. Not me. But still, you know?

8. Matthew Reveles – The New One for Reals
From We’ll Meet Halfway (Independent Freedom Tribe)

“Well I know where I am, and it’s where I’m meant to be/no sense crying over it.”

I kinda went through a Bukowski phase during the summer/fall, drinking more whiskey than I should and generally feeling cynical and sad and horny, and this line just kept playing in my head, until eventually I pulled myself out of it and quit being such a bastard about it all. Whatever crap you’re being dragged through, that’s the crap you’re supposed to be dragged through, that’s the crap that’s going to make you into some sort of better, crap-covered person. My buddy Zane and I were sitting at the bar the other night, and he said to me, “You know that line in the Big Lebowski, were the Stranger says to the Dude, ‘Sometimes you eat the bar, sometimes the bar eats you?’, those both sound like bad situations to me.” And I said, “Sometimes things are bad, and sometimes things are bad.” Matthew’s line, with all that zen simplicity, just kept ringing in my ear, all year while I realized just how joyful everything, even the bad things, can be.

9. Nodzzz – I Don’t Wanna Smoke Marijuana
From I Don’t Wanna Smoke Marijuana (Make a Mess Records)

“I don’t wanna smoke marijuana … I just wanna get high on another drug.”

I don’t even do drugs, but this song is just a perfect little slice of demented power-slop. The guitars and jangly, the drums are simple, the vocals are bratty and perfect. Lots of great garage/low-fi/art punk stuff came out this year, but I can’t think of a single jam that is as moronic, lovable and righteous at this one. Good luck finding the seven inch.

10. Princess Ladyfriend – Gift of Rejection
From History Time Travel Gig (Princessladyfriend.com)

“I’m haunted by grayish-colored ghosts, floating, empty cigarettes and Diet Coke.”

Oh damn thee, Pacific Northwest, for stealing one of the best things we’ve got here in the Valley. Princess Ladyfriend blew my mind consistently this year, and though I’ve no clue what this line really means, it sounds impossibly complex, the imagery inspiring terrific thoughts of lonely ghosts wandering over discarded party favors. Sometimes it’s a case of the classic “not what you say but how you say it,” and when singers Michael James Dunford and Taylor DePonte, both drop dead sexy, belt it out in perfect harmony, you get shivers and hairs stand up on end. Hope Seattle is treating these Phoenix transplants well, and I hope in a year we’re talking about how crazy it is that their Barsuk or whatever debut got a freaking 9 on Pitchdork.

Related:
Favorite albums of 2008
Favorite song(s) of 2008
Guest list: Zachary James Dodds
Guest list: Jim Adkins of Jimmy Eat World
Guest list: Brian Coughlin of Kinch
Guest list: Charlie Brand of Miniature Tigers
Guest list: Jay Wiggins (aka DJ Funkfinger)
Guest list: Brendan Murphy of Source Victoria

This year, I’ve asked a few Phoenix-area musicians/people of interest for their year-end, best-of lists: albums, songs, whatever. This installment comes from Zachary James Dodds, who played guitar in the Via Maris and whose solo EP, One More Life, I reviewed for the Phoenix New Times.

Zach gives us a fresh take on a year-end list (at least on this site): best album covers. (He even saved me the dirty work of finding the jpegs myself.)

During my high-school years, my family and I would go to Borders every Thursday night to have a media holiday. My parents would spend the time reading books and sipping coffee in the café of the store, and I would check out new CDs at the store’s listening stations. This was before MySpace, Pitchfork or Pandora were around to help streamline the hunt for new music. When I approached a CD, there were only two factors to convince me of whether I wanted to give it a try. The first factor was a write-up that Borders would place under the CD telling about the artist’s musical style, similar artists, and specific highlighted tracks. The second factor was the album art. It was only because of intriguing album artwork that I initially took a chance on records like Wilco’s Yankee Hotel Foxtrot and Daft Punk’s Discovery. Even though album art has shrunk from the original glory of a 12.5” vinyl record sleeve to the current 1.75” iTunes image, I am still fascinated by it and view it as an integral part of any music release. With that, I present my picks for the Top 10 Album Covers of 2008:

(Click thumbnails for larger image)

1. Fleet Foxes by Fleet Foxes
This cover worked exactly how covers should work. I had no knowledge of Fleet Foxes, yet when I saw this cover posted in a blog, I was taken with it, did a Google search, and was soon enjoying Fleet Foxes’ music. The original painting, “The Blue Cloak” by Pieter Brueghel the Elder, was an excellent choice by the band and is gorgeous in its own right. The text fits the style of the painting and is balanced as not to intrude on the picture, yet not allow the band name to be ignored by its viewer. Perfect.

2. Saturdays = Youth by M83
By far, some of the best portrait photography I’ve seen. It’s intentionally styled with a 1980s look, as the album is a tribute to Anthony Gonzalez’s teenage years that took place during the same decade. The references to films such as The Karate Kid, Sixteen Candles and A Nightmare on Elm Street add nostalgia and fun to it as well. I like the use of a park as the background of the shot. It serves to reinforce the dichotomy of innocence and corruption in the teen years. The grass hasn’t been paved with concrete and the trees aren’t cut down for buildings, but the grass has been mowed and the trees have been segregated. It’s beauty with an edge.

3. Feed the Animals by Girl Talk
In my opinion, there are two main interpretations of this cover. One is that it is referencing the Crann Tara tradition in Scotland in which a burning cross was used to alert townspeople that war was coming and they all needed to arm themselves. The second is that it’s referencing hate crimes. Assuming the light in the house is that of a teenager’s, my guess is that the cover is depicting a call to arms for all Girl Talk fans to defend their love of the groups explicit hip-hop, or a Girl Talk hate crime against an N*Sync fan. Whatever it may be, it’s a very striking image done very well.

4. Crystal Castles by Crystal Castles
Much like Rio by Duran Duran screams 80s, I think this will be an album cover that will eventually scream 00s, and that’s why I love it! It uses flash photography that has become fashionable this decade thanks to the resurgence of Polaroid cameras and nightlife blogs such as The Cobrasnake. In addition, Ethan Kath is sporting a hoody/leather jacket combo and Alice Glass is wearing a vintage t-shirt, both styles that have become popular in recent years. Artistically, the 00s have been a decade about breaking basic aesthetic rules – off-center graphics on shirts, oversized and pixelated fonts, out-of-focus pictures – and this cover breaks the artistic rule that says album titles should be written 3, 5 or 7 times if they’re going to be repeated. Having “Crystal Castles” written twice is a violation, and thus is even more 00s! Right on. It also doesn’t hurt that Alice Glass is a babe and a half.

5. Forth by The Verve
The Verve’s last record, Urban Hymns, was released 11 years ago, sold 8 million copies and yielded the hit single Bittersweet Symphony. With that in mind, I think this cover of an epic, sprawling and heavenly cloud-scape is what the band needed in order to live up to its hype and assure everyone that they were back and were going to be even more massive than before. Although the record received good reviews, it hasn’t surpassed Urban Hymns in praise, sales or fame. However, of all the covers this year, this is the most grandiose, and is tied with Fleet Foxes for the one most likely to look good as a poster on a wall.

6. When Life Gives You Lemons, You Paint That Shit Gold by Atmosphere
In keeping the artwork extremely simple, using gold ink for the cover, and embossing the letters, Atmosphere did a great job of emphasizing their humorously blunt album title. Other artists might have put a naked woman in gold paint on the cover and served up sex appeal, but these guys kept the focus where it needed to be. Could the title also be addressing the issue of “fake it ‘til you make it” in the music industry? Wonderful simplicity.

7. Para Siempre [Special Edition] by Vicente Fernandez
Vicente Fernandez looks, dresses and sounds awesome and has also stayed true to his regional Mexican music roots his entire career. The reason I love this cover is because it looks like all the rest of his covers. Something has to be said for not giving a damn about keeping up with the times, sticking to what one loves and being authentic.

8. Remind Me in 3 Days by The Knux
Out of all the hip-hoppers, I’ve always admired the guys like Public Enemy, Outkast, and The Roots, who made it their goal to let their personality shine through instead of always playing the rich-badass-thug card. When I look at this cover, I see a very believable scene of rappers Krispy Kream and Rah al Millio chilling out. Through the men’s posture, expressions and clothing choice, they give off a vibe of being intelligent, hip, cool, confident and genuine; kind of like urban gurus. Mixed with the conflicting scenery of a beautifully hand-carved Victorian couch in a cracked-concrete alley, the cover is both cool and intriguing.

9. Keep Your Silver Shined by Devon Sproule
This is the kind of record cover that I find peace in on the days when I’m tired of the sometimes glam-stained and mellow dramatic antics of the entertainment industry. The cover has a classic layout and features a muted black and white picture of three friends in the midst of everyday life. Visually, it’s quiet, and that’s what draws me to it. It’s a refuge for the eyes that are tired of cover images screaming out for attention.

10. Pop Up by Yelle
Putting the fun and energy back into pop music, French artist Yelle matches her cover to her own music perfectly. What you see is what you’ll hear. Simple as that. In addition, her jump is loaded with emotion. I’m gonna call it a sex-jump to rock ‘n roll heaven.

Related:
Favorite albums of 2008
Favorite song(s) of 2008
Guest list: Jim Adkins of Jimmy Eat World
Guest list: Brian Coughlin of Kinch
Guest list: Charlie Brand of Miniature Tigers
Guest list: Jay Wiggins (aka DJ Funkfinger)
Guest list: Brendan Murphy of Source Victoria

This year, I’ve asked a few Phoenix-area musicians/people of interest for their year-end, best-of lists: albums, songs, whatever. This installment comes from Jim Adkins, frontman for Jimmy Eat World, one of this state’s greatest music success stories.

The band, working on its follow-up to 2007’s Chase This Light, will embark in early 2009 on the Clarity x 10 tour, which concludes (fittingly) with a March 7 date at Marquee Theatre.

Frightened Rabbit – The Midnight Organ Fight (Fat Cat).
This was my favorite album of the year. Such a great combination of writing and delivery. One of the best live acts I got to see this year, as well. I am really excited to see what 2009 brings for these guys.

It was too hard to decide a hierarchy for the others, so consider them all close 2nd.

• Ida – Lovers Prayers (LP) / My Fair, My Dark (EP) (Polyvinyl)
• Sun Kil Moon – April (Caldo Verde)
• Calexico – Carried To Dust (Quarterstick)
• Vampire Weekend – self-titled (XL)
• Sigur Ros – Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust (XL)
• Little Joy – self-titled (Rough Trade)
• M83 – Saturdays = Youth (Mute Records)
• French Kicks – Swimming (Vagrant)

Here are some of my favorite 2008 songs:

• Sparkadia – Jealousy
• The Walkmen – In the New Year
• The Notwist – Good Lies
• Calexico – Two Silver Trees
• Sun Kil Moon – Moorestown
• Land of Talk – Some Are Lakes
• Frightened Rabbit – The Twist

Related:
Favorite albums of 2008
Favorite song(s) of 2008
Guest list: Brian Coughlin of Kinch
Guest list: Charlie Brand of Miniature Tigers
Guest list: Jay Wiggins (aka DJ Funkfinger)
Guest list: Brendan Murphy of Source Victoria