i apologize for the lack of consistency here. see, i used to have a lot of free time during the day. now i don’t. which means fewer blogs for you kiddos.

BUT. i did find a spare minute at work to scribble some of my favorite albums of this year onto a post-it note and it’s been stuck to the inside of my wallet for the past three weeks. so now [that i’m on day five of this cold/flu/thing], i’m finally getting around to blogging the list for you. i don’t know how much commentary (if any) i’ll give for each one, but hey, it’s better than nothing at all.

(that was an admiral twin reference…)

NUMBER ONE ::

kings of leon - only by the night
i wrote a blog about this album and, however many months on, i don’t have anything new to add. the record is still amazing, phenominal, classic. i still listen to it as much as i did right after i bought it. my dad bought it for me on vinyl for christmas. i haven’t listened to it yet though because i need to hook up some better quality speakers so i can enjoy it in all its imperfect, vinyl-y goodness.

NUMBER TWO ::

oso closo - rest: remixed
i don’t know how much more i can say about oso closo either. this is THE best band i’ve heard all year. incredible musicians, killer songwriting, and the live show. the live show! they’re going on tour early next…er…this year and i strongly suggest you see them for yourself.

NUMBERS THREE - TEN ::
i can’t rank the rest, so here they are…

jonathan tyler and the northern lights - hot trottin’

ludo - you’re awful, i love you

death cab for cutie - narrow stairs
“i will possess your heart.” enough said.

coldplay - viva la vida

john mayer - where the light is

the effects - …and it is

the raconteurs - consolers of the lonely

david cook - david cook
(that link is to the old one, i don’t remember the “official” link off the top of my head). i’m sure this album won’t make many (any?) other “best of” lists, but i like it. i still listen to it. it’s not great, but it’s not terrible. i think there are some really awesome moments on the record. “lie” is one of the best songs i’ve heard a while. the lyrics are so honest and spot on. i can’t wait to hear “a daily anthem” live again, but this time with a thousand people singing the end part instead of fifteen.

anyway. i had a good year in music terms. there were these releases and i was also introduced to jeff buckley and dredg and ryan adams. i rediscovered the feds and the foo fighters.

aforementioned blog. still in my head.

but sudden inspiration struck on the way home from the limbeck show just now and i just couldn’t wait ‘til morning.

BEST SHOWS OF 2008* **
*that i attended
**in chronological order

march 8 :: wilco @ cain’s, tulsa
sadly i’ve tried to block part of this show from my memory, but what i can and do allow myself to focus on is the brilliance of the song “impossible germany” and how it was 10,000 times better live. jeff tweedy seemed geniunely impressed at the turnout and enthusiasm of the tulsa crowd, which always makes me a little proud of tulsa. and his coat was FABULOUS.

march 21 :: admiral twin @ los cabos, broken arrow
the first outdoor show of the season always puts me in good spirits. and i love going to see admiral twin. it feels like family.

march 22 :: phantom planet @ diamond ballroom, okc
the bravery played too. and, going in, i was more excited to see them. but phantom planet absolutely stole the show. they know how to interact with the crowd and make you feel like you’re at a private show (though, to be honest, there weren’t that many people at this show). i hate that they’re breaking up.

march 25 :: dave cook - “billie jean”
ok, so i’m totally cheating on this one since i wasn’t actually in LA or hollywood or wherever they film the show. but come on, this was one of the best, most goosebump-inducing performances of the year. and it was on fucking american idol. i’m sorry, but i’m cheating and putting it on my list. after he sang that, i knew he was never coming back here.

may 18 :: black rebel motorcycle club @ the granada, dallas
the. best. show. of. the. year. period. it was a “private” jack daniels promo. no support, just BRMC. amazing sound. perfect view. not crowded. just….i can’t put into words how incredible this show was. they are absolutely amazing and i’m DYING to see them again.

july 17 :: oso closo @ exit 6c, tulsa
this is the night that oso won the hearts of pretty much everyone in tulsa. i remember being absolutely blown the fuck away by how GOOD they were (and by “GOOD” i mean, superlatives just don’t cut it, so i’ll just revert back to “good” but type it in all-caps for added emphasis). seriously. i’d heard a track and thought it was good (lowercase good) but oso’s forte is the live show. so much energy and talent and passion. i remember shawn from swampfox turning to me after oso’s set and saying, “well fuck. i don’t want to go on now!”

july 26 :: taddy porter @ dfest (mcnellie’s), tulsa
they rock. they packed the room. they gave away their music. they know what they’re doing.

july 26 :: jonathan tyler and the northern lights @ dfest (dirty’s tavern), tulsa
probably my favorite discovery of 2008. it’s close between them and oso closo. this band, jonathan tyler and the northern lights, stopped time at dfest. i planned to hear a few songs and move on. i was rooted to the spot for their entire set. there needs to be more bands like them in the world. take the best parts of kings of leon, the allman brothers… any of the good blues-rooted rock bands from the early ’70s. just…captivating.

august 2 :: oso closo, the feds, & fair to midland @ house of blues, dallas
i didn’t know how oso would fit with the feds and FTM, but they killed it. the feds made a shoutout to tulsa since there were a TON of us in town for the show and well, we were more awesome than that majority of the texans in the room. unfortunately i don’t remember much of FTM. we had a rule, no shots after fair to midland starts. or maybe it was the feds. either way, the rule was broken.

august 28 :: the feds @ belle isle brewery, okc
kind of an all-around awesome show. they sounded good (especially for belle isle). the crowd was such that the show was pretty much all-request. and afterward i got to hang with all the boys. i’ll admit i like being with “the guys” more than “the girls.” Conversation’s almost always better.

august 29 :: ludo @ the marquee, tulsa
the feds & my solstice (yes?) played too. i hadn’t seen ludo in AGES. i’d forgotten the lyrics to “good will hunting.” i love going to see bands like ludo. bands who spent a lot of time in tulsa and then scored some radio success or what have you. i love when they come back and the crowd is bigger and more into it and they get to turn more people on. love it love it love it.

september 23 :: the parlor mob @ diamond ballroom, okc
…should go here, but i suffer from chronic tardiness and missed all but two and a half of their songs.

october 24 :: dredg @ the marquee, tulsa
second best show of the year. dredg falls under the same category as blue october for me. blue october’s music/shows have always been extremely theraputic for me. there’s something about justin furstenfeld’s lyrics and/or writing style that just pulls me in. regardless of whether i’m listening to the cd or to him live, it’s like you’re sitting down with a good friend and having a one-on-one conversation. it’s just…music as it should be. but i digress. though not as much lyrically, dredg also makes me feel like that. it’s always been there on the cd, but i didn’t really notice that peaceful calm until i saw them live.

november 14 :: the feds @ dan’s silver leaf, denton
the feds are on here a lot. probably because they’re breaking up and i’m making up for the years that i kind of shrugged them off and didn’t go see them all that much. but this was a FANTASTIC show. not as good as tulsa will be, i’m sure, but the tulsa show isn’t for another month, so. the feds last texas show ever. on the list.

november 16 :: coldplay @ ford center, okc
better than the 2006 show. kind of peaked early at “fix you” but that’s ok. i hate going to arena shows, there’s no intimacy, but somehow coldplay seems to get to you.

december 6 :: taddy porter & jonathan tyler and the northern lights @ the colony, tulsa
i’ve already told you about these two. and they played TOGETHER. musical orgasm! of note: the northern lights covered “crosstown traffic,” making them even more awesome in my book.

and that’s all kiddos. i’m exhausted. this took longer than expected. it’s now 2:30am and i have to be at work in a few hours.

stay tuned for my (now) annual best albums of the year list very soon.

i recently read about a new program at the university of central oklahoma, the academy of contemporary music (or ACM@UCO), on the oklahomarock.com blog. the post sparked a few comments about the value of formally studying music and the business or just going it alone. it got me thinking about it so here’s my two cents on “rock universities” and music business majors, etc.

i feel like going to college to study music, (or any other artistic avenue) has two purposes, neither of which are to create a musician. you are a musician, or you aren’t. you either have the talent or you don’t. anyone can learn to play the guitar, but not everyone can be a guitarist.

the first reason to study music in college is internal. formal training on your instrument, voice, music theory…it makes you a better and more well-rounded musician. you are pushed by your professors and your peers to go deeper into your creativity and to not be content. you hear things you may never have heard otherwise. you have experiences you may never have had. all of these things give you more to draw upon when you’re creating your own music. more inspiration.

listen to a band like oso closo and you can hear that they’ve had formal training. a thought bubble may not pop up above your head that says “they must’ve studied music in college” but you notice something. and it doesn’t matter if people can’t put their finger on the something, you just need to have it. if you don’t stand out and catch people off guard, you’ll never be more than just another band.

oso closo is as rock n roll as the next band, but they write music in a way that other untrained (for lack of a better word) bands probably wouldn’t think about. they take rock and throw in jazz time signatures and notes and chords that should be wrong, but theoretically aren’t. i’m not saying you can’t be original and off-kilter if you didn’t study music in college. i’m just saying that it’s an advantage when your goal should be to find a way to differentiate your sound.

the second reason to go to “rock school” is external. you make SO MANY contacts.

arguably more important than having the talent, is networking. you could be better than zeppelin, but if you can’t find the right people to support your music, no one will ever hear you. studying music in college or going to a school like berklee or this ACM@UCO…it’s all about making contacts. bands form in college. your instructors know people who also know people. and any one of these people you meet are potentially the person who will hear your music, fall in love, and invest their time, their talent, and their money (if you’re lucky) in your band. if you’re even luckier, they’ll tell everyone they know about you and those people will tell their friends, and so on. it’s like pay-it-forward. the music business is all about who you know, and unless you can sell water to a fish, going to college and taking a program like this is a really easy way to network.

do i think the only great bands are the ones who studied music in college? no. a rectangle is sometimes a square and sometimes it’s not. there are just as many great bands that have no formal training as there are great bands that do. i don’t think college is a prerequisite to being great, but i think it helps on both internal creativity and the external networking (especially the networking). if i had the talent, i’d study music in college. but i’m not a guitarist, i’m just someone who sometimes plays guitar.