The Wire's 50 Records of the Year
 

50. Sao Paulo Underground - The Principle Of Intrusive Relationships
49. Ellen Fullman & Monique Buzzarte - Fluctuations
48. Sic Alps - US EZ
47. Mark Stewart - Edit
46. Alva Noto - Unitxt
45. Peter Rehberg - Works For GV 2004-2008
44. Josephine Foster - This Coming Gladness
43. Murcof - The Versailles Sessions
42. Vajra - Live
41. David Grubbs - An Optimist Notes The Dust
40. Jakob Ullmann - Voice, Books And FIRE 3
39. Toumani Diabate - The Mande Variations
38. Portishead - Third
37. Maryanne Amacher - Sound Characters 2
36. Emeralds - Solar Bridge
35. Vampire Weekend - Vampire Weekend
34. Harvey Milk - Life... The Best Game In Town
33. Stereo Image - S/T
32. Christina Carter - Masque Femine
31. Malcolm Goldstein - A Sounding Of Sources
30. Terry Riley - The Last Camel In Paris
29. Earth - The Bees Made Honey In The Lions Skull
28. Scorces - I Turn Into You
27. Arthur Russell - Love Is Overtaking Me
26. Tricky - Knowle West Boy
25. Robert Ashley - Concrete
24. Jandek - Glasgow Sunday 2005
23. Group Inerane - Guitars From Agadez (Music Of Niger)
22. Hercules & Love Affair - Hercules & Love Affair
21. Lukas Ligeti - African Machinery
20. Stephan Mathieu - Radioland
19. Bill Dixon - 17 Musicians In Seach For A Sound: Darfur
18. Luomo - Convivial
17. Dusk + Blackdown - Margins Music
16. Autechre - Quaristice
15. Kasai Allstars - In The 7th Moon...
14. Eric Chenaux - Sloppy Ground
13. Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - Dig!!! Lazarus, Dig!!!
12. Ryoji Ikeda - Test Pattern
11. Kevin Drumm - Imperial Distortion
10. The Caretaker - Persistent Repetition Of Phrases
9. The Fall - Imperial Wax Solvent
8. William S Burroughs - Real English Tea Made Here
7. Evangelista - Hello, Voyager
6. The Advisory Circle - Other Channels
5. Gang Gang Dance - Saint Dymphna
4. John Butcher - Resonant Spaces
3. The Hospitals - Hairdryer Peace
2. Philip Jeck - Sand
1. The Bug - London Zoo

I haven't listened to any of those. YES!

There's a few of my own 'most listened to' records of the year in there, including Emeralds, Sic Alps, The Hopsitals (I really wasn't expecting this one to be so high up), The Bug, and Kevin Drumm.
But having said that, this list defiently seems less predictable in comparison to the last couple of top 50's The Wire have done.

Wow... I have one of those. I am 2% The Wire hip.

i've got 2! I'm twice as cool as you!

I have these:-

47. Mark Stewart - Edit
43. Murcof - The Versailles Sessions
38. Portishead - Third
29. Earth - The Bees Made Honey In The Lions Skull
13. Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - Dig!!! Lazarus, Dig!!!



and I'm not cool at all.

I heard some of it but usually hated it. :)

I only have that Philip Jeck (great) and the Autechre (not so great but still ok) CD. I don't even know how to comment on that statement.

I've heard 1/5th of that list. Do I win?

I'm more interested as to how many of the list acknowledged your massive penis in song....

hey hey, i own their #3 and #5 on vinyl... i win? also, those are #5 and #2 on my own list.

i've been meaning to give that arthur russell a listen...

the vampire weekend looks out of place, lol

i like the david grubbs album, and i need to give the Harvey Milk soe more spins

On a slightly more serious note, which 2-3 albums from the above list would you say are essential to check out?

I can only imagine the frenzy over on the Dissensus board right now.

I'll post my final list really soon.

Group Inerane - Guitars From Agadez (Music Of Niger) came out a while back, so I didn't know a reissue would be considered one of the best of the year. But yeah that'd be at the top of the list for me.. if it wasn't a reissue.

I only listened to Earth's album.

London Zoo - it really is nearly as good as the Fall in my estimations, which with 'normal person' re-biasing makes it the best record of the year from the list above.

Toumani Diabate - I only got this the other week, but it's a belter. Astonished to see it in the list above, to be honest, not typical Wire fare in the slightest. Really great recording, no tacky 'world music'-isms, and lovely sleeve notes.

The Fall - continue to be the Fall. They are very much like a part of my body, so anything like an objective opinion is far from me.

Ryoji Ikeda - Probably his best release. The first 'noise' thing I've heard in aeons that caught my interest.

I'd avoid the Tricky one - I only heard it for local obligations (I can see Knowle from my window) and you've probably heard the Portishead one. I heard that because I know a few people playing on it.

Actually, I've heard more of that list than I'd initially thought. I wouldn't recommend the others I've heard particularly.

yeah, on that list, I'd say the following are "essential": Ryoji Ikeda, Group Inerane, Bill Dixon, Kasai Allstars, and perhaps David Grubbs.

imma check out ryoji. i've heard good things, and if glice and atsonicpark are reccing it. then i'll check it

I fucking love that new Mark Stewart record.

All and all, a good list. Out of all the bigger music publications, the Wire generally has pretty good and varied and sometimes unpredictable lists.

Im stoked London Zoo got one, that record totally deserves it. Its not my favorite album of the year (its my 7th) but I can honestly say it is probably the most interesting piece of music created in 2008. Ok, that was overstatement of the century, but its a great record.

london zoo annoys me. am i racist?

and Hairdryer Peace at third! Go wire! (almost makes up for including vampire weekend)

Out of those records I've heard and Loved (most of) these: sic alps, mark stewart, david grubbs, portishead (good album, no need to hear it again though), emeralds, christina carter, earth (this album was beautiful, in the earth catalog its prolly only second to 2 which is seminal, i have no problem saying this, "yall are sleeping on dylan carlson"), jandek, group inerane, bill dixon, autechre, nick cave (that album is a piece of shit by the way), kasai allstars, ikeda (this album wasnt my thing at all to be honest, bored the shit out of me), drumm (another album by a pretty famous experimental dude that is absolutley perfect and as good as anything hes done and isnt getting enough love), the fall, evangelista, gang gang dance (i admit, the record is kinda good), the hospitals, THE BUG

kevin martin is white

you prolly just dont like dancehall, youre not along there either so dont worry about it. id try listening more though, the album reveals some new nook and cranny that floors me everytime i hear it. im positive itll be remembered as martin's masterpiece, and that was a dude who played on 16-17's 'gyatso', so that says something right there.

Glice - thanks very much for your recommends. I already have the Fall one, but the others I will most definitely pick up.

Why do you have to talk such rhetorical shit? Seriously though?

London Zoo is a fucking awesome record. If you've been keeping up with Dancehall (where are the new riddims these days?) it's a bllinder. If you've been keeping up with (snore) Dubstep [/bassline], it's a blinder. The Warrior Queen vocal is the single but I haven't heard anything so Hackney as Skeng for... well, since early Ratchet. For me, it's such a British record. It's informed by all these other things, but there's no way it'd be made by anything other than a British head. Same as Burial. 'Cos that's what British dance music (in its broadest sense) is about. Being a head. If you're a head, do it. That's why I'm all about Sy and Hixxy. Heads. Y'know?

NB - have been drinking more than is sensible.

The only two I've heard from the list are Portishead and Earth.

Love them both.

Green Magnesuim - if you're a girl, I know people who've played on the P'head record.

If you're not - pssh. Whatever.

Not as predictable as last years list.

The inclusion of the The Fall album is ample evidence that even the trendiest mag list can be stained like ones own past. Other than that, i intend to spend the money i now have on some of the cool sounds of last year.

The only one I can vouch for at this time is Quarstice by Autechre which was quite good (I liked it better than Confield). There are quite a few records I'm curious about. I wish the station I dj at didn't have college kid music directors who make no effort to get stuff like that or even put it out if they do.

I've heard 10 of those records. Philip Jeck and The Hospitals stand out. The Group Inerane one is stellar. Kasai Allstars is good too.

I can be whatever you want me to be ;)

really? There's so much substance and depth in Confield... I got bored of Quaristice VERY quickly. Same could be said about Untilted and Draft... I'm really into their middle period, EP7, LP5, Confield, Chiastic slide; even tri repetae.
But the last one sounds lazy and the tewo previous ones are very RANDOM to me. bah.

Personally, after much thought, Draft is my favorite. But I love them all.

No Fennesz (Black Sea)? They're losing it - or perhaps everyone already submitted their lists before it came out.

i'm not surprised:D

I was just thinking the same thing about my local station, and then it hit me that I've heard almost a half of that list thanks to said station. Dead-Air you are probably one of the elder-statesmen at your station, that should count for something,don't ya think?

Ive been listening to Autechre's first album a lot recently, it's excellent!

As far as being let to do what I want, it counts. But as far as music acquisitions our MDs just suck. I've tried to address it, but the student manager gets all defensive about how the student MDs are doing all they can. Which is frankly BS, having been an MD at KAOS, I know the job is incredibly easy and fun if you happen to like a broad variety of music. So I just bring my own stuff 90% and since I have good personal relations with Beta-lactam ring, ROIR, and a few other great labels, they end up getting disproportional representation on my show. Which is o.k. since tons of great stuff comes out on those labels, but I simply can't afford to buy much music these days.

Some college radio stations will just play stuff from a band's myspace, purevolume, etc., so you can pretty much request anything you want and they can get it. Do you have that option?

i like that, but like the reissue of Amanaz' _Africa_ even more. Shadoks put out a lot of great stuff this year.