Carl Alvarez’s Best of 2008
Top 10 Best Albums-no order:
Q-Tip ‘Renaissance’ Universal/Motown
Ice Cube ‘Raw Footage’ Lench Mob/EMI
Erykah Badu ‘New Amerykah pt.1’ Universal/Motown
Kanye West ‘808s & Heartbreak’ Island/Def Jam
Young Jeezy ‘The Recession’ Island/Def Jam
Lil Wayne ‘Tha Carter III’ Universal/Motown
Metallica ‘Death Magnetic’ Warner Bros.
Fleet Foxes ‘Fleet Foxes’ Sub Pop
Motorhead ‘Motorizer’ SPV
Plant Life ‘The Return of Jack Splash’ Counterflow/Caroline/EMI
Top 10 gigs-in order:
DJ Premiere & Pete Rock DJ/Producer Battle at Crash Mansion LA, CA-April 2008
Iron Maiden at Verizon Amphitheatre formerly Irvine Meadows, Irvine, CA-May 2008
Hot 97 Summer Jam with Lil Wayne, Kanye , Jim Jones, Public Enemy at Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, NJ-June 2008
DJ Green Lantern, Statik Selektah & Don Cannon DJ/Producer Battle at the One Stop Shop Producer’s Conference, Phoenix, AZ-March 2008
American Idol-Idol Gives Back at the Kodak Theatre Hollywood, CA-April 2008
Kanye West, Lupe Fiasco-Glow in the Dark Tour at the Nokia Theatre LA, CA-April 2008
Alicia Keys at Staples Center LA, CA-May 2008
Wyclef Jean at the House of Blues Anaheim, CA-February 2008
Judas Priest, Black Sabbath, Motorhead & Testament at San Manuel Casino Pavilion San Bernardino, CA -August 2008
Ice Cube at the Grove Anaheim, CA-August 2008
Top 50 “What’s Playing” Hip Hop & R&B songs-in order:
Lil Wayne “A Milli”
Young Jeezy ft. Kanye West “Put On”
T.I. “Swing Your Rag”
Ryan Leslie “Diamond Girl”
Estelle ft. Kanye West “American Boy”
Jazmine Sullivan “I Need You Bad”
Trey Songz “Can’t Help But Wait”
Alicia Keys ft. Ludacris “Like You’ll Never See Me Again” remix
Ice Cube “Gangsta Rap Made Me Do It”
Big Boi ft. Mary J. Blige “Something’s Gotta Give”
Missy Elliott “Ching Ching”
Jay-Z “BK Anthem”
Nas “Black President”
Game ft. Common “Angel”
Musiqsoul Child ft. Mary J. Blige “If You Leave”
Janet Jackson “Rock With U”
Beyonce “Halo”
Lil Wayne ft. Static Major “Lollipop”
Natasha Bedingfield ft. Sean Kingston “Love Like This”
T-Pain ft. Justin Timberlake “Can’t Believe It” remix
Usher ft. Young Jeezy “Love in the Club”
Jay-Z “Jocking Jay-Z (Dope Boy Fresh)”
Solange Knowles “T.O.N.Y.”
Brandy “Right Here (Departed)”
E-40 ft. Lil Jon “Turf Drop”
J.Holiday “Higher”
Kanye West “Robocop”
Jay Electronica “Exibit A (Transformation)”
Rock City “Losin It”
Idle Worship “Steady”
Kanye West “Streetlights”
DJ Feli Fel ft. Kanye West, Ne-Yo, Jermaine Dupri & Fabulous “The Finer Things”
Ill Bill “A Bullet Never Lies”
Big Boi ft. Andre 3000 & Raekwon “Royal Flush”
Busta Rhymes “Don’t Touch Me (Throw Da Water On Em)”
T.I. “No Matter What”
T.I. “What’s Happening, What’s Up”
Omar Cruz ft. Frankie J “To The Top”
Common ft. Pharrell “Universal Mind Control”
Bishop Lamont “Grow Up”
Nina Sky ft. Rick Ross “Curtain Call”
Monica ft. Ludacris “Still Standing”
Scarface ft. Lil Wayne & Bun B “Forgot About Me”
Sophia Fresh “Drop It”
Justin Timberlake “Magic”
Trey Songz “Feelin Like Money”
Keri Hilson ft. Lil Wayne “Turning Me On”
Toni Braxton “Melt”
Sean Garrett ft. Rick Ross “6 in the Morning”
Justin Timberlake ft. T.I. “If I”
2009 Bright Spots in Hip Hop & R&B-no order:
Jay Electronica
Lil Wayne ‘Tha Carter IV’
Dr. Dre ‘Detox’
Outkast, Andre 3000, Big Boi
Bone Thugs n Harmony reunion/album
Jay-Z ‘Blueprint 3’
Idle Worship (Talib Kweli, Res & Graph Nobel)
Vaughn Anthony
Ryan Leslie
Beastie Boys
People we will miss & remember in 2008:
Isaac Hayes-singer & actor
Bernie Mac-comedian & actor
Bettie Page-pin up queen
George Carlin-comedian & actor
Neil Aspinall-music industry (worked with Beatles)
Heath Ledger-actor
Miriam Makeba-musician/singer
Shakir Stewart-talent scout/music industry (Island/Def Jam)
Michael Crichton-author
Mitch Mitchell-musician/rock drummer (Jimi Hendrix)
Buddy Miles-musician/rock drummer (Jimi Hendrix)
Jeff Healey-musician/blues guitarist
Odetta-musician/singer
Johnny Grant-Hollywood Mayor
Maharishi-Yogi/Guru
Norman Whitfield-music producer/songwriter
Jerry Wexler-music producer
Mikky Dread-musician/reggae artist
Joe Gibbs-music producer/reggae
Jerry Finn-music producer/punk & indie rock
Johnny J-music producer/hip hop
Static Major-artist & producer/hip hop
Paul Newman-actor
Charlton Heston-actor
Yves Saint Laurent-fashion designer
Jimmy McGriff-musician/jazz organist
Pervis Jackson-singer (Spinners)
Levi Stubbs-singer (Four Tops)
Andre Young Jr.-aspiring rapper (son of Dr. Dre)
LeRoi Moore-musician/saxophonist (Dave Matthews Band)
Jerry Reed-musician/actor
Rick Wright-musician/keyboardist (Pink Floyd)
Munetaka Higuchi-musician/rock drummer (Loudness)
Rudy Ray Moore-comedian & actor
MC Breed-musician/rapper
Dave Ehrlich’s Best of 2008
Albums, in descending order:
10. TV On The Radio – Dear Science (Interscope)
09. No Age – Nouns (Sub Pop)
08. Torche – Meanderthal (Hydrahead)
07. Thee Oh Sees – The Master’s Bedroom Is Worth Spending A Night In (Tomlab)
06. The Night Marchers – See You In Magic (Vagrant)
05. Deerhunter – Microcastle / Weird Era Cont. (Kranky)
04. The Black Angels – Directions To See a Ghost (Light in the Attic)
03. Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds – Dig, Lazarus, Dig!! (Anti-)
02. British Sea Power – Do You Like Rock Music? (Rough Trade)
01. Fucked Up – The Chemistry of Common Life (Matador)
Bubbling under:
The Dirtbombs – We Have You Surrounded (In The Red)
The Duke Spirit – Neptune (Artist First)
Wire – Object 47 (Pink Flag)
Eagles of Death Metal – Heart On (Downtown)
Boris – Smile (Southern Lord)
Jay Reatard – Singles 06-07 (In The Red)
Jay Reatard – Matador Singles 08(Matador)
Songs of the Year:
“Leopardman at C&A” – The Dirtbombs
“Days of Last” – Fucked Up
“No Lucifer” – British Sea Power
“Today’s Lesson” – Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds
“Doves” – The Black Angels
“And I Keep Holding On” – The Night Marchers
“Visit Colonel” – Thee Oh Sees
“Never Stops” – Deerhunter
“We Carry On” – Portishead
“Healer” – Torche
“Halfway Home” – TV On The Radio
“Oh, It’s Such a Shame” – Jay Reatard
“Where Do You Run To?” – Vivian Girls
“Wolf Kidult Man” – The Fall
“This Ship Was Built To Last” – The Duke Spirit
“Statement” – Boris
“Geraldine” – Glasvegas
“One of Us” – Wire
Films:
01. Let the Right One In (dir. Tomas Alfredson)
02. Inside (dir. Alexandre Bustillo & Julien Maury)
03. Mother of Tears (dir. Dario Argento)
04. Frontier(s) (dir. Xavier Gens)
05. Iron Man (dir. Jon Favreau)
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