Most Overrated/Disappointing of 2008
Yes, 2008 had its share of duds as well as highlights. The below ten are, whether for personal or critical reasons, records that I felt underachieved or didn’t live up to the (often incredible) hype. Agree to disagree!
10.
Guns ‘N Roses – Chinese Democracy
Geffen Records
Released: November 23
Yeah, I gave this album a fairly positive review when it came out, but considering it took Axl sixteen years to finally clear the creative constipation, the end result is more than a little underwhelming.
9.
The Stills – Oceans Will Rise
Arts & Crafts
Released: August 19
A purely personal choice for me, Oceans Will Rise was a huge letdown from one of my favorite bands after 2006’s critically lambasted Without Feathers, a record that holds a special place in my heart. Maybe the critics were right after all, but I still feel like the Stills had something better than this in them.
8.
Gnarls Barkley – The Odd Couple
Atlantic
Released: March 18
St. Elsewhere was a debut worthy of the heaps of praise it accumulated from the press, a eclectic, diverse arrangement of alternative hip-hop mixed with Danger Mouse’s extraordinarily experimental production and Cee-Lo’s oddball lyrics and fluid phrasing. The Odd Couple was pretty much St. Elsewhere redux, and considering the potential within these two guys, it’s unerring sameness was frustrating.
7.
Weezer – Weezer (The Red Album)
Geffen Records
Released: June 3
At this point, it’s hard to say that Weezer’s latest was a real disappointment, as I’ve expected nothing but that from this once-proud band since 2005 (yes, I hung on even after Maladroit). The Red Album was trumpeted as the band’s comeback, and while it showed a few fading signs of the old Weezer, the band’s delusions of grandeur and Cuomo’s declining lyrical abilities made it instead a last gasp, “Pork and Beans” reminding me only of what could have been.
6.
Lil Wayne – Tha Carter III
Cash Money
Released: June 10
An overblown, bloated, scattered collection of egoism that had just as many misfires as it had genuine hits. 2008 was without doubt the year of Weezy, but there is such a thing as too much Weezy; the over-saturation of Lil Wayne on the airwaves led to Tha Carter III as not having much more than that which you haven’t already heard. It was ambitious and defiantly creative, but not the modern rap masterpiece many critics made it out to be.
5.
My Morning Jacket – Evil Urges
ATO Records
Released: June 10
This album could’ve been a lot worse than it was, if the band had gone more with the faux-funk style of songs like the title track and the god-awful “Highly Suspicious” than the sort of country-fried rock they have mastered and made their own. Luckily, songs like “I’m Amazed” and “Librarian” prove that My Morning Jacket haven’t lost their way, but Evil Urges is just a little too close for comfort.
4.
Wolf Parade – At Mount Zoomer
Sub Pop
Released: June 16
A shining example of where experimental urges overtook smart pop sensibilities. Apologies To The Queen Mary was a brilliant work of sharp guitar-rock and jangly chamber-pop from a few wild-eyed Canadians. Unfortunately, their unbridled creativity got the better of them here, where pop turns to prog and 3-4 minute songs turn into nine minutes of bullshit. An inspired record, but not one with the kind of staying power or the unrelenting hooks of Apologies.
3.
Black Kids – Partie Traumatic
Almost Gold/Columbia
Released: July 7
Black Kids are the reason I try not to overreact to hipster/blogosphere hype. After setting online music tastemakers and forums ablaze with their ’07 EP Wizard of Ahhhs, the Jacksonville, FL group released their debut, Partie Traumatic, a record that expanded on, well, absolutely nothing from their EP. The best songs were those everyone had already heard, and I didn’t know how repetitive and annoying singer Reggie Youngblood’s vocals could get until I’d heard thirty-eight minutes of it.
2.
Kanye West – 808s & Heartbreak
Roc-A-Fella Records
Released: November 24
808s & Heartbreak proved that Kanye really didn’t give a damn what people thought; it’s fresh, bold, and inventive, remaking Kanye again in the image of a fearless pioneer of pop music, one unbound by the typical constraints and courts of public opinion that chain other stars. Unfortunately, 808s & Heartbreak is an album that is limited by its very own originality; Kanye’s insistent use of Auto-Tune, the doggedly depressing subject matter, and lack of, well, truly good songs turned the album into a double-edged sword. Okay, Kanye, we know you can do something different than what everyone expects of you; now do something exceptional with it.
1.
Of Montreal – Skeletal Lamping
Polyvinyl Records
Released: October 21
Kevin Barnes has been cruel to me. After the one-two punch Satanic Panic in the Attic and Sunlandic Twins turned Of Montreal into one of my favorite bands, the experimental squall of Hissing Fauna, Are You The Destroyer? was interesting, to be sure, but turned me off more than a little after the perfect electronica-meets-power-pop of the aforementioned records. Skeletal Lamping is perhaps even more disjointed and uneven than Hissing Fauna, a record that bounces from random idea to opaque lyric to out-of-the-blue musical flourish with the attention span of a ADHD-afflicted schizophrenic six-year-old with a sugar rush. Barnes is no doubt a kind of musical visionary; just not the kind I expected or really even wanted.
Themocracy
I would put Raconteurs much higher on your list of best of 08 and to put it bluntly id rather stick my dick in a toaster and set on high than read your review of My Morning Jacket and Evil Urges being on Disappointed List because that CD could be one of my top albums of the year.
-Much Love
Ched
Weezer-The Red Album-a disappointment? Who rates this cock-a-doodle shit anyways?? File this musical commentators rating under The Top 10 Most Disappointing Comments of the Year. Hopefully 2009 will bring more credible reviews.