And, of course, I can’t not include this “Mulholland Drive” homage set to “The Big Sleep” off the new album… 

“In Ghost Colours” is hands down, my favorite album of 2008.  There’s nothing that I could say about it that hasn’t already been said by every music writer, publication, blog, etc…It is the definitive representation of music (and culture) in 2008, beautifully blending rock and New Wave electronic beats in a way that doesn’t feel sterile or soulless.  With the album, they managed to nail what basically every band of the last year has attempted, and spectacularly failed.  It is unabashedly referential of the 80′s New Wave synth sound ala New Order, Depeche Mode, etc…yet manages to still sound extraordinarily fresh and original.   The opener, “Feel the Love” is unapologetically naive, poppy and disarming.  It’s the kiss of death and you’re hooked.

We have a very intimate relationship.  It’s been there for me through incredible highs and occasional lows.  My go-to album of the last year and the undeniable soundtrack to my life in 2008, if you will.

I absolutely love, and simultaneously hate, how albums can bring you right back to a place in your life.  I know that when I’m 80 years old, I’ll be able to listen to “In Ghost Colours” and remember how I felt as a 24 year old just having moved to Austin.   All the pent up anxiety, hopefulness, passion and lingering doubt will come flooding back to me with the simple click of a finger.  Hazy memories of languid, unbearably hot summer days spent at Barton Springs, sweating it out on the shores of Town Lake with the faint smell of bat dung (you have to live in Austin to get it…), the torturous drive up I-35 to Seiko every morning and the giddy exhuberance I felt going to more shows than I’d ever been to in my life within the span of a month.   Whether good or bad, I treasure those memories.  Just like TV on the Radio and Camera Obscura brings me back to Miami in 2007, Cut Copy encapsulates my introduction to Austin.  So, thanks Cut Copy.

And, no, this isn’t them…But I adore this video and wish I’d made it because “RAD” is the best.

So, I’m hating myself for even thinking, let alone, writing about this, but this just crosses the line.  I really do hate it when people talk about Radiohead like they’re some sacred cow.  It’s totally obnoxious…blah blah blah…But, I really don’t care because I unabashedly adore them.  “OK Computer” consumed a few years of my life.  Yeah, I know, how utterly typical.  Whatever.  However, this conversation is basically the worst.  Miley Cyrus is not allowed to let Radiohead enter her thoughts, let alone listen to them.  And, definitely never ever expect to actually meet Thom Yorke.

So, she’s very coy in the first few minutes about this band that dissed her at the Grammy’s.  A band that is “the reason she loves music”.  Ugh.  Throws in the adjective “stinkin!” somewhere along the line which will undoubtably catch on like wildfire with the tween contingent.  Then, these shitty morning radio DJs are like, “No, lemme guess..Bon Jovi? Foo Fighters? The Wiggles? U2 is the BEST…Coldplay is soooo good.  But Chris Martin is so quirky in interviews.  Haha!!”  My rising anger boils over at this point.

Miley: no amount of your threatening Disney wranglers is going to intimidate them into meeting you, because no matter how much money you make, they’re always going to be fundamentally better people than you.  They have something that money can never buy: integrity.  I know it’s a dreadfully confusing concept to you, but it’s something that truly talented people who passionately believe in their craft possess and an unwavering belief system that they live by.  Let me break it down for you.  Essentially, they’d rather die than be a glorified whore for a large media conglomerate.  They take on indie projects for the love of the process, because they are constantly pushing their own personal boundaries and absolutely must challenge themselves to live, and not to gain some sort of “hip” credibility.  They make music because they MUST.  Success is just a serendipitous perk that comes along with living their lives in a truly authentic way.  I know, I know, you’ll never get it.

And you cried when you met Chris Martin because no matter what you accomplish in life, you’re always going to be a painfully typical person without any original thought to say or think.  Oh, I’d highly recommend not listening to the last few seconds of the interview because (spoiler) she butchers a few lines of “Creep” and your soul will die a little inside having heard it.

And, no, self-proclaimed “music aficionado” morning radio show DJ, “Sex on Fire” is not the best song ever.  You clearly don’t know anything about music due to your praise for Coldplay, U2 and KOL when they’re all clearly past their prime, entirely soulless and churning out the radio hits, having resigned themselves to another cog in the music industry machine.   As a side note, why hasn’t KOL starred in an Apple commercial?  And, no, Miley, their dad doesn’t own a church in Switzerland.  He was a Pentecostal pastor that was “defrocked” because he was a deadbeat alcoholic father in back water Tennessee.  How are you not friends with Bono?  My disdain for the current KOL media whirlwind will have to be resigned for another post, though.  But, seriously, who the hell hadn’t heard of them before their latest?  They have like 4 albums yet people act like they’re a new band.  And, the best still remains “Aha Shake Heartbreak” which was released in 2004.  If I have to hear someone say, “Dude, I am so loving this new band.  They’re called Kings of Leon.  I discovered them.  They’re pretty obscure and a little different, but I think you’ll love em!” or another conversation along those lines, I will get mad and…not do anything.