TOP ALBUMS OF ’08!

Disclaimer: I didn’t listen to everything that came out this year (I know, it’s a shocker). There are albums that I know are good but that I didn’t listen to till way later than I should have (i.e. Fleet Foxes, She & Him), so I can’t really justify putting them on this list. Also, I can’t get the freakin’ apostrophe in the ’08 to go the other way and it’s really bothering me. Anyway:

15. Mates of State – Re-Arrange Us (Barsuk)
14. Okkervil River – The Stand Ins (Jagjaguwar)
13. Death Cab For Cutie – Narrow Stairs (Atlantic)
12. Adele – 19 (Sony)
11. Hercules and Love Affair – s/t (Mute)
10. MGMT – Oracular Spectacular (Sony)
9. Kaki King – Dreaming of Revenge (Velour)
8. Santogold – s/t (Downtown)
7. Amanda Palmer – Who Killed Amanda Palmer (Roadrunner)
6. Noah and The Whale – Peaceful, The World Lays Me Down (Cherry Tree)

Top 5 after the jump!

Live photos: Amanda Palmer @ the Magic Bag

Yes, anyone reading this knows I love Amanda Palmer. I went to see her on Tuesday (Dec. 2), expecting it to be almost the same as when I saw her in August, and I was pleasantly surprised that it wasn’t! Obviously, I liked the first show enough to see it again, but this time she had four members of Australian theater group the Danger Ensemble, and also a violinist and cellist to play with her on many of the songs that were much more stripped-down at the NYC show, where it was just her and her piano.

I unfortunately couldn’t see a lot of what was going on (thanks a bunch, guy with the freaking TOP HAT and tall dude in front of me), but she came on stage after a recorded track of Neil Gaiman talking about her being dead (my Gaiman-loving best friend was flipping out), wearing a veil, and I think the Danger Ensemble carried her but I couldn’t really tell …

Amanda and the Danger Ensemble lip-synced to her song “Guitar Hero,” which isn’t one of my favorite on her album, so the lip-syncing with cheesy dancing was pretty awesome. They did the same with Rihanna’s “Umbrella,” which was hysterical. Then during the encore they did “Livin’ On A Prayer” with openers the Builders and the Butchers (who we didn’t get there in time to catch), in honor of the economic crisis — while the (unpaid) Danger Ensemble went around to collect money in their shoes. Also amazing.

Amanda Palmer’s setlist:

“Astronaut”
“Ampersand”
“Blake Says”
“Bad Habit” (Dresden Dolls)
“Yes, Virginia” (Dresden Dolls)
“Strength Through Music”
“Guitar Hero” – lip-synced with the Danger Ensemble
“Look Mummy, No Hands”
“Coin Operated Boy” (Dresden Dolls)
Ask Amanda!
“Oasis”
“Have To Drive”
“Half Jack” (Dresden Dolls)
“Umbrella” (Rihanna) – lip-synced with the Danger Ensemble

Encore:
“I Will Follow You Into The Dark” (Death Cab For Cutie)
“Livin’ On A Prayer” (Bon Jovi) – with the Builders and the Butchers
“Leeds United”

TONS of photos after the jump!

Oh, Amanda Palmer …

… I would be lying if I said I wasn’t a little creeped out by the slightly disturbing marketing campaign for your (awesome) album.

unmarked envelope:

dead (and other) photos — click for full size:

“missing” article:

New music feature: Amanda Palmer


(photo by me, from Amanda Palmer’s Aug. 11 show at Spiegelworld in Manhattan)

Dresden Dolls frontlady Amanda Palmer’s Ben Folds–produced solo album, Who Killed Amanda Palmer, comes out on Tuesday (Sept. 16) and I highly recommend picking up a copy because it is amazing. I think she’s touring again sometime this fall and I am crossing my fingers for a Michigan date!

I interviewed Amanda about a month ago, before her show at Spiegelworld in Manhattan, and my story is finally up on venuszine.com (read it here!).

Amanda Palmer’s MySpace
My review of Amanda Palmer’s NYC show
The Dresden Dolls’ MySpace
The Dresden Dolls’ Web site

Live review/photos: Amanda Palmer @ Spiegelworld

As previewed in my last post, Amanda Palmer rocks. If you’re not familiar, she’s one half of the Dresden Dolls (and if that still doesn’t ring a bell, you should take a listen to them here). She’s releasing a solo album in September (produced by Ben Folds), which I’ve been listening to nonstop, and I saw her on Monday as part of a small-ish tour she’s doing before the album comes out.

I reviewed the show for Filter Magazine’s Web site (yay, my first review there), so you can check that out here! I also interviewed her before the show for venuszine.com, so stay tuned for that in a few weeks.

Lots of photos after the jump!

Amanda Palmer rocks

Hang tight — more on this in a couple of days!

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