Most of the recent Eoy lists have been representing "Third very well". More so then an other album. Alot of #1's and high placements.

I think we have another album to contend for #1 overall.

When is the next update?. Im Exited!

I'm doing a recount in my own way, and it is true, Portishead and TV On The Radio are matched with Fleet Foxes. Appeared 15 days ago that the disc of the year was Fleet Foxes, but things are changing ...

Yeah, I'm afraid so...
artists that are already critics' favorites (Portishead, TVOR) have more chances to win than a young folk-rock band that made a very brilliant debut.
I'll be sad if FF don't make it.
I think the record is a masterpiece (maybe in my all time top 20). And the worst part of that is that I think the band still has some improvment to make (simplify song structures for instance)
But I know how biased the critics are towards a kind of music that is more intellectual than physical or sensitive.
Too bad.
This is my very un-objective point of view.
I'd gladly sleep one night in the cold (and it's f... freezing in Paris, with -10°C) just to have written songs like "Tiger Mountain Peasant Song" or "Meadowlarks", not speaking of "White Winter Hymnal" (very appropriate these days)

"and it's f*** freezin'"... for a Frenchman of course;
If it's -10 in Paris, I can't imagine what it is in Germany, Holland, Scandinavia and Northern American States

I don't think we can be pointing the underrated finger in the direction of Fleet Foxes. Let's be honest.

Would rather see Portishead higher up than the other two #1 albums as I don't think they really the very best of the year.

Each to his or her own though.

I am much less bothered to see such a tie between 3 albums than past year !
I saw in Rainbows and Neon Bible as albums less interesting than the former albums of the bands and not really innovative, all getting part of their acclaims thanks to the brilliant past of the bands, while Sound of Silver was fabulous !

I think it is different this year, with Third and Dear Science both challenging, creative, even though a bit below the best album of their bands.
Against them we have Fleet Foxes, a beautiful album which does not create something new but goes against what the other bands do at the same time.
3 great albums, no masterpieces (in my opinion), to me they deserve the same acclaim, and I really don't care who finish first since none of them are among my top 3 of the year and as I said, they should be ranked close one to the other (which will probably be the case). That would also be quite representative of a year with lots of good albums but which lacked of major ones. (same thing for songs by the way, I don't think any song will rank high in the final AM 3000 list).
As some of you may know (following the various polls), I am among the most 00s oriented users of the forum, and 2008 will be the only year of the decade with no song on my top 200 (or maybe just one) and with the less albums on my top 100.

I think the band still has some improvement to make (simplify song structures for instance). Agree 100%
Agree with the cold too, 0ºC in Valencia (not usual even in winter).

Wonder when we'll have our next update?

Possibly tonight, more likely within a couple of days.

Kaooool`!

... and I'm one of the least 00's-oriented guy on this forum... probably why I love FF so much.
as I said in my review , it looks like the guys grew up listening to their parents'records : Dave Crosby (anybody knows "If I Could Only Remember My Name), Simon & G, the Beach Boys, Zombies, etc...
No wonder why "I Wasn't Made For These Times" is one of my favorite songs on "Pet Sounds"...
Maybe it's their innocence that I love the most, this kind of grace. I've listened to the Portishead record and found it so depressive, so full of self pity... almost inbearable (the lyrics).

Awesome news on another update so soon. Sad to think that so many people think 2008 was a bad year, looking back I think this may be my favorite year in this decade after 2002.

I'm not too fond of 2008 either. For some reason though, I really loved 2007. I think there might be around 5 albums from that year in my Top 100 albums...

As for Portishead, I never really "got" them. I don't like their sound and it doesn't suit me...

2007 was great. I have 5 in my 100 as well

In rainbows
person pitch
Neon Bible
Boxer
Sound of silver

Third was my favorite album of the year from the first time I heard it, and then it never moved from that spot. I think it's better than Dummy.

Between 2007 and 2008, I do think 2007 will have more in my top 100. But in 20 years when I'm looking at my old dusty CD collection and codgeringly swearing to my children it's better to own a physical copy, I think there will be maybe 10 to 12 2007 albums and more like 15-20 2008 albums.

I think Portishead actually would have had a harder time getting to the top of the list than Fleet Foxes. Fleet Foxes was a hugely buzzed indie band, and Portishead couldn't possibly have released anything without having it be compared to Dummy. (And I'm the only person I've ever heard compare it positively).

Anyway, between the inevitable top three I rank them as follows:
#1) Portishead
#2) TVOTR
#15) Fleet Foxes

So you know my position on all of this.

I love all three of those records

I dont think we can deny that those were truely the best 3 of the year. Bon Iver, and Nick Cave were great, but those 3 were the only significant albums to come out this year with the possibility of being remembered long term.

All the talk about these albums in almost "absolute" terms in an area that is at least largely subjective is disconcerting to me. I think people are passionate about their tastes, which is a good thing, but sometimes mistake their opinions for fact. Let's try not to forget that.

I'm sure lots of other people have different and valid opinions. I like all three of those albums as well, but TVOTR's album is the only one I'm likely to return to frequently. Fleet Foxes occasionally, and Portishead on rare occasions. My ranks of those three are #3, #12 and #19 respectively.

Sure its subjective. But being #1 in your given year is like winning an oscar for best album. I know if I was a musician that being a magazine's "best album of the year" would be an honor. Bands already know thier fanbase, but some artists like to know that thier respected by the people that get a chance to listen to everything. We read movie, music, resturant, fashion reviews because we know these are the only people that know exactly whats all out there, and whats good. Not everyone has that ability, money, or knowledge, and those with it are given the pleasure of making recommendations through reviews. A good review or high placement on year end lists allows less fortunate people to experience something they otherwise wouldnt. If people enjoy your recommendations, then not only do you feel satisfied, but the artist gains a fan. Lets face it, pretty soon the music business will be run by fans, not cd sales. It'll be live shows, and live streaming. Its a new age. You can't just get lucky and run into the next Velvet Undergourd at your local bar and grill.

Nicolas said about Fleet Foxes: I think the band still has some improvement to make (simplify song structures for instance)
I said: Agree 100%
And I’ve decided to prove it. Let me introduce you to DJ Hon, the “song structure simplificator”. Please listen to my own edit of “Ragged Wood”. You are completely free of preferring the original Fleet Foxes version but IMHO they simply let their own song slowly die without any help (he let the song “die in their hands” in a literal translation of Spanish). You CAN’T begin a song so vibrantly and then let dilute and finally lose this initial push.
Sorry for the imperfections on the edit (of course I’m not a studio engineer) but surely it’s enough to get the idea…


share your files at box.net

I mean they let the song die in their hands...

Spreadsheet updated! And the number one is...

Indeed, my predictions have been confirmed. Portishead is not "THIRD" is now "FIRST"

I knew it.
Well I've listend to the Portishead album after leaving it out for a few months (the first 6 tracks for the moment)
I don't know if it's the winter or what, but I really liked what I heard.
Not to the point of having them in my top 10 though.
I'd give them a 7.5 / 10

FF : 9.5 /10
TVOR : 7 / 10 (but only one listening session)

and Honorio what you did to FF looks very intersting I have to listen to it more carefully and compare it to the original version
You're like me : when I hear a song I really like, I ask myself : would I record it like that ?
We should become producers

Hey, we could be like the two producers of “Joshua Tree”, you could be Nicolas Lanois, more root-based and I could be Brian Hono, more avant-garde (well, not that much).

Yes, Portishead is more suitable for darker times, not exactly for summer beach parties ...

Nicolas, you should give TV on the Radio a second try, it's not that bad as you wrote about it earlier this year...

I'm gonna stick with FF, purely because the album does something special to me that the others don't.
For that same reason I switched back to Wilco's SBS being my favourite 2007 album. Last year I first had Wilco as album of 2007, than Radiohead for a while, but in the end what counts most is the emotional reaction to the songs. Third still doesn't do much to me, whereas Dummy is one of my all-time favourites ...

"in the end what counts most is the emotional reaction to the songs"
100 % agree. That has always been my only approach as an amateur critic. Don't care about the form, genre or anything, but the question is : does this music speak to me, not to my brain, but to an inner, deeper being ? That's the effect of a good song : it changes the perceprion you have of things, it alters your senses. You're listening to sthg good and suddenly all you see (the people around you, the view out of a window) is modified, like it was sculpted by the music. It is sthg dificult to put into words, even so in a foreign language.
Only 3 or 4 2008 albums did that to me. you'll know which ones later
And yes, if I have the time I'll give another try to TVOR. I had overreacted about them that's true.
So we have the same favorites in 2007 and 2008.

Honorio : please, not Lanois ! I can't stand the guy (although i'd probably love his record collection). looks like he turns wood to plastic musically

Well, Nicolas, I was only joking about the Lanois thing. Anyway I do like many of the lanois productions.

Yes I know you were joking ...
I have mixed feelings in fact about his productions, and I don't really like his first solo album.
What he and Eno did for "Jishua Tree" is excellent job. No question about that. Maybe sometimes a little too much emphasis, but that's U2 !!!

But take the Neville Brothers' "Yellow Moon". I can't help but thinking that the album would have been even better without all the polishing he did.
He probably helped them pick excellent material for (Dylan songs, Sam Cooke) but I find his productions a little too neat for my taste.

Well it was nice to wake up and see that my suspicions were realized. Maybe Portishead will hold onto it for a while. It was a huge jump. I would still like to see Dear science over take them both, but I doubt there's enough lists left out there.

I love Dear Science, and I think no other album this year has represented our times then this one.

*Better than this one

Totally deserved. After a few listens it's my first election for album of the year, without question.

And I'm with BillAdam, i like it even more than Dummy.