CHIRP: The Chicago Independent Radio Project

Adrian Rew writes

TOP TEN ALBUMS/SHOWS OF 2008

Around this time of year, all the music websites, magazines, and nerds begin to compile their end-of-year best-album lists. And yes, recorded albums are important as a permanent documentation of an artist’s music, but just as a properly cared-for record can last a lifetime, so can a well-tended memory of a great show. The following top 10 of 2008 takes into consideration both my favorite albums and the most intimate, energetic, and generally mind-blowing shows I’ve been to this year.

1. Times New Viking – Rip It Off

At first it’s painfully noisy, but, like all good lo-fi albums, repeated listens reveal a bunch of excellent pop songs. In “The Wait”, Beth Murphy and Adam Elliott gleefully exclaim, “doesn’t it feel great to feel anything!?” and that is exactly the emotion that fills me to the brink every time I hear this album.

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