In January I drove to St. Louis to see The Dresden Dolls perform. It was a spectacular performance complete with acrobatic burlesque dancers (Gravity Plays Favorites), an amazing grunge/dark cabaret act known as Two Ton Boa, and a sickly, yet completely hilarious Brian Viglione. I could not help but watch Brian’s comical miming of the lyrics as he played drums; Amanda was very animated as well and her walk through the crowd during “The Garden” was sultry and pastoral. Amanda’s solo album has been in constant rotation on my iPod Touch since it was released.
My newest fascination and obsession is dubstep. Dubstep is an electronic genre that was born from the UK garage scene but also has been influenced from many other forms of music. Two major characteristics of dubstep that I find appealing is the instrumental aspect and the heavy use of (wobbly, but not always) basslines. I have been enjoying the dubplates of Distance, Stenchman, iTal Tek, Boxcutter, Vex’d, Vaccine, Bar9, and Shackleton consistently. These producers continue to impress me with every release. Dubstep is primarily released as singles, but these producers are very prolific, so there is no shortage of amazing tunes coming out. This genre has reinvigorated my love of music and it reminds me of the excitement of the early 90’s when I first discovered grunge and no wave. I have been longing to relive this feeling for quite some time and dubstep has proven to be that exact experience. Every new release I buy/download grabs me, wakes me up, and fulfills that craving for new and exciting musical experiences.
My Best of 2008:
Distance - Repercussions
Amanda Palmer - Who Killed Amanda Palmer
Portishead - Third
Black Mountain - In The Future
Earth - The Bees Made Honey In The Lion’s Skull
Flying Lotus - L.A.
The Bug - London Zoo
Zomby - Where Were You In ‘92
Tipsy - Buzzz
Neil Landstrumm - Lord For £39
Bohren & Der Club Of Gore - Dolores
Gang Gang Dance - Saint Dymphna
Maduro - Fin De Siecle
Teleoptyk - Bloodfile
The Dresden Dolls - No, Virginia
PJ Harvey - White Chalk
Hot Chip - Made In the Dark
Santogold - Santogold
Bauhaus - Go Away White
Einstürzende Neubauten - Jewels
Date: 2:45 PM December 31st, 2008 | Permalink: Jack’s Year Of Music
Comments: No comments | Tags: Amanda Palmer, Bar9, Boxcutter, Brian Viglione, Distance, Dresden Dolls, dubstep, Gravity Plays Favorites, iTal Tek, Shackleton, Stenchman, Two Ton Boa, Vex'd