I went a slightly different direction for 2008′s songs list — there’s some crossover with yesterday’s albums list because my favorite three albums happened to have my favorite three songs of the year, but other than that I tried to spotlight 20 singles and album tracks by artists who didn’t quite stand out enough across the board to crack the albums best-of. Get your left-field on after the jump and remember, the Rawkblog pledge drive ends this weekend — please give now!

5. Hayden – “The Van Song”: mp3
Simple but elegant, “The Van Song’s” unembellished piano runs hand-in-hand with Hayden’s plaintive vocals, until he jumps an octave and the song gives way a horn solo. It feels lived-in and off-the-cuff without sacrificing craft — the combination that, when he strikes it just right, makes Hayden one of his generation’s finest folkies.

4. The Walkmen – “In The New Year”: mp3
You & Me was a disappointment — two-thirds great, one-third dross — but “In The New Year” speaks to all the Walkmen’s best qualities. It’s at once celebratory and funereal, a look forward even as the present crumbles around their ankles. Would that they could muster this kind of passion with every song.

3. The Hold Steady – “Constructive Summer”
We built this city on rock ‘n’ roll. Bernie Taupin would be proud.

2. Cut Copy – “Strangers In The Wind”
The most wistful moment on In Ghost Colours, and the most affecting for it. “Run to the lights of the city / these moments passing will be there,” goes the chorus, and an album embraced by the youth begins to grow up.

1. Fleet Foxes – “Blue Ridge Mountains”: mp3
Robin Pecknold throws down the gauntlet and challenges Jim James to a duel — vocal cords at a dawn! — and wins. “Blue Ridge Mountains” single-handedly vindicates the Eagles’ back catalog. Or maybe America’s.

***

Al Green – “Take Your Time” (featuring Corinne Bailey Rae)
The Reverend’s still got it! And Corinne finally gets a song worthy of her magnificent pipes.
The Explorer’s Club – “If You Go”: mp3
The year’s finest ballad. It plays with the ease of a Neruda poem and the teen nerves of Buddy Holly.
Empire Of The Sun – “Walking On A Dream”: mp3
Which of these things is not like the others? The good half of Empire of the Sun’s glossed-up debut hits me as hard last year as any beard-folk — this song is like Phoenix with a drug problem and a recurring role on Miami Vice.
The Wedding Present – “Don’t Take Me Home Until I’m Drunk”: mp3
The best bit of the Wedding Present’s Albini-produced mid-life crisis treatise on barhopping and romance in Los Angeles.
Angela Desveaux – “Soon Enough”: mp3
The catchiest damn thing I heard all year. What a hook — and earnest, too.
Vivian Girls – “Where Do You Run To”: mp3
My least favorite Girls do, yes, have a certifiable jam. The Ronettes via Beat Happening.
Throw Me The Statue – “Your Girlfriend’s Car”
The Clientele – “George Says He Has Lost His Way In The World”
Jon Brion – “Little Person”
From the Synecdoche, New York soundtrack. If only he sang on it.
The National – “Tall Saint (Demo)”
If this is actually a demo, I’ll eat my blog. Biting my nails until LPV.
Garlands – “David”: mp3
Charming and it’s about me. Indie pop represent.
Silver Jews – “Open Field”
If Lookout Mountain, Lookout Sea is really David Berman’s last album, he went out on a high note — or several, sung by his wife and good intentions.
Gentleman Jesse and His Men – “You Don’t Have To If You Don’t Want To”
While the Gentleman’s debut album wasn’t as fruitful as the band’s early singles hinted at, it offered at least one particularly ripe jam, a big, juicy bite of ’60s garage that silently pleads with an oblivious girl, “But I want to!”
Ports of Call – “Aireals”: mp3
Expert My Bloody Valentine aping tempered with just enough melodic clarity.
David Vandervelde – “I Will Be Fine”: mp3
A near-perfect slice of ’70s session-pop sunshine from an album that barely missed my top 30.

More: 2008 Rawky Awards | Best of 2008: Albums of the Year | Lists Archive

Apologies for the tardiness, folks, but with some distance from the — let’s just go ahead and say it — shitty trends that characterized 2008, I feel pretty good about the year. It didn’t offer a lot of new classics to my ears, but it was a fantastic time for indie-folk (excluding Bon Iver: Shitty!) and new artists, or at least those who were fresh to me — I became a Hold Steady and Mountain Goats convert, and the debuts of Fleet Foxes, Women and White Hinterland, among others, have only aged well in recent months. A great year? Nah. (My actual favorite album of 2008: Reckoning by R.E.M.) But worth digging into, after the jump. [Ed. note: Like what you see? It’s Pledge Week — please donate!]

15. She & Him – Volume 1
It should come as no surprise to fans of the movie Elf (which is everybody, right?) that Zooey Deschanel can sing. The real shocker is that she’s a serious pop songwriter, and songs such as “This Is Not A Test” are little slices of vintage joy. Can she make a record with Jon Brion now? (Admission: Her being a stone fox presumably contributes to my enjoyment of this record, yes.)

14. Vampire Weekend – Vampire Weekend
Critics are loath to admit their mistakes, and understandably so — if we can screw up, what’s there to trust? But it became abundantly clear that I was wrong on Vampire Weekend’s “toothless” pop — although I’m sure they’re not dentist-recommended. Boat shoes and Upper West Side smiles aside, Vampire Weekend’s best feature is their contagious optimism, a sunny sensibility more California-bred than made in Manhattan. If songs could laugh, “Oxford Comma” would be giggling all the way through its strutting guitar solo. The whole thing recalls the early films of Paul Simon’s old pal, Chevy Chase — funny, and a little sentimental. While the African influence makes itself felt, the spartan songwriting and collegiate angst is purely American — and while Vampire Weekend’s New York isn’t the leather jacketed backstreets walked by the Strokes, in an era of OMFGs and Louis Vuitton Dons, it’s no less authentic.
>> Vampire Weekend – “Oxford Comma”: mp3

13. White Hinterland – Phylactery Factory
Jazzy, playful and willfully ignored last year, White Hinterland’s debut is a bizarre, beautiful blend of Joanna Newsom and the Fiery Furnaces — a pop record, to be sure, but one living firmly down its own rabbit hole. Casey Dienel has an instantly adorable voice, one that flits about with abandon on songs such as “Lindberghs + Metal Birds” and “Dreaming of the Plum Trees.” With a mere 9 songs here, we can only hope Dienel’s factory stays open for business.
>> White Hinterland – “Dreaming of the Plum Trees”: mp3

12. Okkervil River – The Stand-Ins
Okkervil River lost me with The Stage Names, an album that felt simultaneously less ambitious and more pretentious than 2005′s Black Sheep Boy. But The Stand-Ins made the rock references resonate (“Pop Lie”) while going back to the band’s strengths: sad songs and waltzes. “Calling and Not Calling My Ex” — which inexplicably strikes me as being about Jennifer Love Hewitt — is as good as any a tune about an ex-girlfriend, a mature piece on moving on set to an exuberant backbeat. Laughing through the tears is a classic pop trope; on The Stand-Ins, Okkervil has stopped singing about rock history and started learning from it.

11. Chad VanGaalen – Soft Airplane
Just as a human being, Chad VanGaalen remains one of my favorites — the guy animates his own music videos, writes about Philip K. Dick inspired blood machines and sings like Neil Young. But following 2006′s scattered Skelliconnection, Soft Airplane is a surprisingly consistent effort, the aggressive weirdness of “Bare Feet On Wet Grip Tape” and “TMNT Mask” playing nice with his equally surreal folk ballads. Can we give this guy a medal?
>> Chad VanGaalen – “Willow Tree”: mp3

10. The Mountain Goats – Heretic Pride
After years of being unable to stand John Darnielle’s voice (me of all people, right?), Heretic Pride was the turning point for me and the Mountain Goats. The album finds Darnielle writing high-wire narratives as heartfelt as anything he’s ever done, colored in by John Vanderslice’s signature production. This album might’ve been a hit in 1997 — if nothing else, it would’ve embarrassed the Counting Crows.
The Mountain Goats – “Sax Rohmer #1″: mp3

9. Taylor Swift – Fearless
I put off writing this list in part because I was hoping I’d find a gem or two after the year was over, as I have in years past — well, hipsters, that gem happened to be by the best-selling singer in America. While the ongoing success of the Black Eyed Peas dims this feeling a bit, it warms my heart to know millions of teenage girls are listening to Fearless right now — to Swift’s startlingly mature lyrics, which paint a album-wide portrait of young love and kissing in the rain, small towns and big dreams; and to her faltering, human voice. If there’s Auto-Tune here, I can’t hear it, but there’s enough magic to make me pick up my guitar and sing along.

8. Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin – Pershing
The year’s best pop album. With nods to late ’90s emo and early Built To Spill, Pershing is a collection of sprightly guitar-pop that’ll bury deep into your head — and your heart. If I had to pick a favorite among the Boris children, it’d be “HEERS,” a song about fading dreams as tenderly strummed as the Beatles’ “And I Love Her.” SSLYBY love you.
Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin – “Glue Girls”: mp3

7. Women – Women
I’ve called this record the year’s most vital 30 minutes, and I wasn’t lying — far from the amateur hour “experiments” of the speaker-frying lo-fi scene, Women take a more musical approach to noise-rock. “Black Rice” is as drug-drone heavy as anything emanating from The Smell, but it rises above thanks to vocal earnestness (and ability); elsewhere, “Shaking Hand” is a frantic, cauterizing jam that puts math-rockers to shame. Women sway between song and noise, tempo and ambience, but they’re firmly on the side of greatness.
>> Women – “Black Rice”: mp3

6. Lambchop – OH (Ohio)
Warmer than 2006′s Damaged, the country-inflected OH (Ohio) might quietly be the best record of Kurt Wagner’s long career as Lambchop. Perfect for late nights, early mornings and sunny days in America.

5. Destroyer – Trouble In Dreams
As the end of the decade nears, it’s hard to find an artist who’s been as consistently great as Destroyer — from 2000′s Thief to 2008′s Trouble, perhaps only Ryan Adams (and OK, Animal Collective) has had as good a run, and that’s not counting his stinkers. Destroyer has no stinkers. Trouble In Dreams isn’t the career peak Rubies was, but that album’s newfound grasp of lush production and exuberant songcraft spills out here into some of his most adventurous material, like the stunning eight-minute epic “Shooting Rockets” and proto-shoegazer “My Favorite Year.” With Destroyer, that’s pretty much every year.
>> Destroyer – “Foam Hands”: mp3

4. Leona Naess – Thirteens
Easily the year’s most overlooked record. Leona outdid her ex (and Rawkblog hero) Ryan Adams last year with Thirteens — a moving rumination on life, love and relationships. It is a deeply sensitive record, but a happy one, too, carried by the singer’s vibrant voice and gauzy folk arrangements. This is the record Taylor Swift should dream about making.
>> Leona Naess – “Leave Your Boyfriends”: mp3

3. The Hold Steady – Stay Positive
I became a Hold Steady fan shortly before the release of this album and have since seen the band twice; whether it’s their best work is hard to say, but the band’s fourth album is certainly my favorite. The Hold Steady just get it: Like Springsteen and the Replacements before them, they play rock ‘n’ roll anthems brash enough for the bar and smart enough for bedrooms. “Constructive Summer” is the rallying cry — “We’re gonna build something this summer” — but there’s also despair (“Lord, I’m Discouraged,” a song worthy of 1,000,000 lighters), humor (“Sequestered in Memphis”) and a closing epic (“Slapped Actress”). Guitars forever.

2. Fleet Foxes – Fleet Foxes
In a pretty tremendous year for folk, no other band made quite as big a splash as Fleet Foxes — a group of a singers led by the not-old-enough-to-drink Robin Pecknold, whose glorious tenor carries the wisdom of the ancients. “Blue Ridge Mountains,” an anthem that could make Crosby, Stills & Nash tear up, is the album’s best track on this fully formed debut album, but Fleet Foxes is richer than a gold mine from end to end.
>> Fleet Foxes – “White Winter Hymnal”: mp3

1. Cut Copy – In Ghost Colours
One of the rare albums this year that felt like a start-to-finish album — and the only one that already feels like a classic. With its collision of hipster-ready dance grooves, New Order nostalgia, fuzzed-out guitars and painfully earnest melodies, no other album better represents 2008, but when the songs are this good, In Ghost Colours might just be timeless.
>> Cut Copy – “Unforgettable Season”: mp3

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Other favorites from 2008:
16. Brendan Canning – Something For All Of Us
17. Hayden – In Field And Town
18. Laura Marling – Alas, I Cannot Swim
19. Constantines – Kensington Heights
20. Crushed Stars – Gossamer Days
>> “Spies”: mp3
21. Kanye West – 808s & Heartbreak
22. The Strugglers – The Latest Rights
>> “Morningside Heights”: mp3
23. Mount Eerie – Dawn
24. Calexico – Carried To Dust
>> “Two Silver Trees”: mp3
25. The Explorer’s Club – Freedom Wind
26. Guy Blackman – Adult Baby
27. British Sea Power – Do You Like Rock Music?
28. Al Green – Lay It Down
29. Herman Dune – 1-2-3 Apple Tree
30. Faded Paper Figures – Dynamo
>> “B-Film”: mp3

More: 2008 Rawky Awards | Best of 2008: Songs of the Year | Lists Archive

The closest thing 2008 had to a trend this year was the emergence — and prominence, at least among listeners who still care about new rock music — of a fresh, experimental lo-fi scene, one that ranged from No Age’s Smell-y noise to Vivian Girl’s throwback pop soup. But despite the hype, and the shot of energy the waning indie scene so sorely needs, too many of these bands’ albums are full of underwritten tracks hiding under tape hiss and two-minute runtimes.

By contrast, the music of Women is written so well, they only need two minutes. “Group Transport Hall,” my favorite track on the record, clocks in a 1:10 — enough time for the band to tap into Caribou-like neo-psych and Neutral Milk Hotel’s acoustic crunch and sing “Soon we will be laughing… / now it’s too bright / you made other plans” in sweet harmonies. The song finishes on that line, and leaves one wondering — what were they? Is the song about a vampire — or a girlfriend? Silly, sure, but that’s the kind of rich ambiguity that Women leave us, resonating images left for the listener to color in. Coupled with guitarwork that careens forward like a train running off the rails (or Wolf Parade on coke), the album is a bracing listen that begs for repeats.

Lead guitars duel, Television-style, on “Shaking Hand,” and while other acts would’ve let the rift repeat into oblivion and have distortion levels take care of the rest, Women up the ante, dropping in a countermelody and a second drummer. It’s frantic, furious stuff, but with energy hammered into the firm lines of song — not just sound. Even when the band unleashes the roar on the album-closing “Flashlights,” there’s a method to its madness — and while some credit likely goes to producer and Calgary heavyweight Chad VanGaalen, it’s Women who have found a way to marry bleeding sonics with serious talent.

Women – “Group Transport Hall”: mp3

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Best of 2008: The journey continues.

(Photo by Frank Chromewaves)

I won’t go into the rest of the list, which you can see here, mostly because nit-picking anyone else’s list but your own is a fool’s errand, but, An explanation: Pitchfork gets a lot of play here, much more so than any other music publication. Why? I grew up reading the site; in high school, their ’90s lists and early ’00s picks — back before they grew infatuated with hip-hop, expanded the staff, and started breaking away from the guitar-centric indie rock that initially defined them — helped shape my taste. For a while, they were exceedingly trustworthy for my weekly record store trips (minus Neon Golden, ugh). So it’s been fascinating and occasionally disappointing to watch them expand their range of coverage and adapt to the shifting currents of what’s left of indie over the years. (I think “indie” has about as much meaning left as “alternative” did when we started using it in reference to Nickelback, but that’s another post.)

Anyway, folks, chime in — as indie’s biggest arbiters, where did Pitchfork go right and wrong? I’m not happy about the absence of Okkervil River and Lambchop, especially given how boring that Bonnie “Prince” Billy album that made the cut is, and I was crossing my fingers for Gentleman Jesse. (Another thought: As good as Fleet Foxes are — and I love ‘em — does their album even come close to Yankee Hotel Foxtrot or You Forgot It In People or Alligator or any of the decade’s best? Nah. Bum year.)

And since I know you’re wondering: The Rawking Refuses To Stop!‘s top 50 songs list will be posted on Tuesday. The best non-2008 discoveries of the year goes up Wednesday, and in a Christmas miracle, albums of the year will be posted on Thursday. I’ll see you then.

You voted, and the results are in: the first-ever Rawky Awards are an unprecedented success, with you fine readers making great picks (read: picks that I agree with) and voting in droves. Thanks for playing — the results are after the jump.

Album of the Year: Fleet Foxes – Fleet Foxes
They didn’t quite beat the write-ins but as your consensus pick, Fleet Foxes topped the list. In a year where I’ve been confounded by so many of the chart-toppers, I’m glad to see the Foxes rise to the top of just about every year-end list — especially this one. TV on the Radio dropped in at No. 2; I like that record, but guess I should’ve written a Critical Backlash before it was too late, huh? (Related: Fleet Foxes – Live at Spaceland)

Worst Trend: Hipster Blogs Unironically Hating On Hipsters
Ouch! This was a joke, folks — especially given how often American Apparel-wearing me drops the h-word. I hope people were voting for Pitchfork or something. That said, a lot of you hate hipsters, too — “All of the Above, or ‘Brooklyn’” was a close second. And people talk about self-hating Jews…

Worthiest Buzz Band: Fleet Foxes
The year’s best new band ran away with this one, scoring an Obama-like 53% of the vote. (More on that guy later.) In last place were the Vivian Girls, with a teensy 5% of the vote — guess I was right about them, huh?

Best Band That Blogs Forgot: Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin
The Boris guys have been Rawkblog faves for years (full disclosure: they’ve slept on my floor) so I’m sure they appreciate the love. They dominated this category with 37% of the vote. The Henry Clay People and their straight-shooting anthems weren’t among the options, but they cruised through the write-in votes.

Best Post-Guilty Pleasure Pop Hit: Vampire Weekend – “Oxford Comma”
This was another joke! But a jam nonetheless, and one that won 54% of the vote. I voted for Miley.

Best Live Band: The Hold Steady
Considering your only options were the Hold Steady, the Hold Steady and Girl Talk, it was obvious how this was going to end, but even with a write-in option, America’s best bar band notched an impressive victory. I saw them twice this year, and believe me, they deserve it.

Best Indie Rock-Laden Teen Soap Opera: Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist
Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist beat the decidedly less indie Gossip Girl by a single vote. It certainly had mine with its surprisingly not-disappointing tour de Brooklyn — or maybe it’s just that Rawkblog crushes Michael Cera and Kat Dennings like the same bands and frequent the same New York hangs that I did last summer. Ah, memories. Sadly, poor 90210 couldn’t compete, even though they name-dropped motherfucking Division Day in the pilot.

Best Movie of 2008: The Dark Knight
Anyone who didn’t like The Dark Knight is a crazy person (holla at you later, Golden Globes voters), but I’m impressed that Synecdoche, New York (my personal favorite, and certainly not everybody’s cup of meta) finished second — and shocked that Nick & Norah finished last given that 46% of you liked it enough to vote on it in the other film category. (Related: Deeper Into Movies)

2008′s Awesomest Thing: Barack Obama
Our new president-elect won the most votes, the highest percentage and the largest margin of victory thanks to you Rawkblog liberals — and uncoincidentally, Sarah Palin finished second. Bummed that you guys aren’t keeping up with the Jonases, though.

Most Anticipated CD/LP of 2009: Wilco
Despite the easy-(dad) rockin’, not-so-lauded Sky Blue Sky, you guys are more excited for Wilco than Animal Collective and Ryan Adams (tied for No. 2). And yes, Ryan Adams is tied for No. 2 with blogosphere/IRL favorites Animal Collective, a statistic that brings my Ryan-lovin’ heart nothing but joy. Let’s hug it out, pals.

What Was Your Favorite Discovery on Rawkblog This Year?
No real winner for this one, but people seemed to like the bootlegs. I was hoping to see folks like Dylan Mondegreen and assorted indie-poppers, but there’s always next year.

What Do You Want To See On Rawkblog In 2009?
Responses were mixed here — some of you hate Ryan Adams and some of you want more. You will so obviously be getting more. And I hereby promise more jamz in 2009 — a return to weekly-ish bootlegs, a song every single morning and more lost gems from music’s endless Canon to Examine. On the news end, we’re going to hone in on bands we love — Wilco, Ryan Adams, the National and the like. If they so much as move a muscle, you’ll hear about it here.

Thanks folks — on to 2009. Come back later this week for my picks for the year’s best, including the top 50 songs and the top 30 albums, but for now, leave your thoughts in the comments.

Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin – “Rainy Day French Elevator” (Rawkblog exclusive!): mp3
Fleet Foxes – “White Winter Hymnal”: mp3
The Hold Steady – “Constructive Summer” (live): mp3
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Best of 2008: We’re gonna blog something this winter. Click below for more.

]]> http://www.rawkblog.net/2008/12/2008-rawky-awards-winners-losers/feed/ 0 http://www.rawkblog.net/2008/12/best-of-2008-someone-still-loves-you-boris-yeltsins-top-9-underrated-albums-2/ http://www.rawkblog.net/2008/12/best-of-2008-someone-still-loves-you-boris-yeltsins-top-9-underrated-albums-2/#comments Fri, 12 Dec 2008 18:07:00 +0000 http://www.rawkblog.net/2008/12/best-of-2008-someone-still-loves-you-boris-yeltsins-top-9-underrated-albums-2/ The men of Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin know a thing or two about being underrated — they’re (spoiler!!11one!1!) the resounding winners of The Rawky Award for Best Band Blogs Forgot. The full Rawkys list will be up later today, but first I thought it’d be fun to see the Boris bros’ picks first — they were nice enough to send over their top 9 underrated albums of the year, which you can see after the jump. [Continue reading...]

1. Apart Of Someone – Our Cat Philip
2. You’re Not A Dream – The Mommyheads
3. Windows – Michael Holt [Ed. -- Of the Mommyheads, natch]
4. All We Could Do Was Sing – Port O’Brien
5. You Don’t Speak For The Club – Drew Danburry
6. Devastator – Catfish Haven
7. Before Daylight- Cindy Woolf
8. Howard Zinn Arcade – Washington Irving
9. Pershing - Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin

We’ll be hearing from some of our favorite artists all month about their year-end favorites — don’t miss the first one, Grizzly Bear crooner Ed Droste’s Top 5 Recipes I Learned This Year.

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Best of 2008: Weezy F. Listy. Click below for more.

]]> http://www.rawkblog.net/2008/12/best-of-2008-someone-still-loves-you-boris-yeltsins-top-9-underrated-albums-2/feed/ 0 http://www.rawkblog.net/2008/12/listwatch-08-new-york-magazine/ http://www.rawkblog.net/2008/12/listwatch-08-new-york-magazine/#comments Thu, 11 Dec 2008 16:30:00 +0000 http://www.rawkblog.net/?p=1689
Fleet Foxes / photo by David Greenwald

[Editor's Note: Rawkblog contributor Alfred Lee will be making a big comeback in the coming weeks. This post marks his return. Welcome back, bro.]

For all I know, Dave may have never even opened a single issue of New York, but I still imagine it to be his newsstand glossy of choice. (Maybe it’s the fact that of all mainstream pubs, New York comes closest to the high-low approach adopted by most arts/culture-related blogs.) [Ed. -- Vulture is my pop culture blog of choice!]

Anyway, the magazine’s released its year-end culture issue, which is exactly what it sounds like — a bunch of lists, sprinkled with a few going-through-the-motions thinkpieces. But for what it’s worth: Mad Men is TV show of the year, Rachel Getting Married the film of the year and Aleksander Hemon’s The Lazarus Project the book of the year.

And since this is, after all, a music blog, here’s their full, Pitchfork-approved year-end music list, after the jump. [Continue reading...]

1. Lil Wayne, Tha Carter III
2. TV on the Radio, Dear Science, (which just picked up Rolling Stone AND Spin top spots)
3. Bon Iver, For Emma, Forever Ago
4. Portishead, Third
5. Hercules and Love Affair
6. Santogold
7. Fleet Foxes
8. Erykah Badu, New Amerykah, Pt. 1: 4th World War
9. Beck, Modern Guilt
10. Vampire Weekend

Not too controversial. And finally, because I know deep down you all miss him, here’s some vintage Ja Rule for ya.
-Alfred Lee

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Best of 2008: Only the strong survive. Click below for more.

]]> http://www.rawkblog.net/2008/12/listwatch-08-new-york-magazine/feed/ 0 http://www.rawkblog.net/2008/12/best-of-2008-ed-drostes-top-5-recipes-i-learned-to-cook-this-year/ http://www.rawkblog.net/2008/12/best-of-2008-ed-drostes-top-5-recipes-i-learned-to-cook-this-year/#comments Mon, 08 Dec 2008 16:25:00 +0000 http://www.rawkblog.net/?p=1680
Photo by David Greenwald

All in all, 2008 was another great year of music, but as we look back at the year that was, we’re reminded that it was good for more than just new tunes. Over the next few weeks, some of our indie rock pals will tell us about their year-end favorites in the form of, of course, top 5 lists — and who better to start with than Ed Droste of Grizzly Bear, who chose to share his culinary adventures. See his list after the jump. 

Top 5 Recipes I Learned To Cook This Year
By Ed Droste

1. Barefoot Contessa’s Roast Chicken Salad with Celery, Green Grapes (my little addition) and tons of Tarragon.

We made this all summer long while recording. The most time consuming part, but crucial, is to roast the chicken breasts with skin on, then take skin off and dice them and they are super moist and juicy. You need BONE IN chicken too… I forgot that part.

2. Martha Stewart’s Lobster Newburg

I had only had this once in my life. My aunt made it for me in Scotland once when I was a teenager visiting with my family and it really soothed me. Since I was on a cooking kick this year and people kept giving me cookbooks for my birthday, I decided to try it again. Making the lobster stock almost took a full day — it was a fun journey but a bit messy. Then the next day you cook all that stock with the meat and sherry and vegetables. The real recipe called for it to be baked in a ramekin but we did it in a big pot and served with rice (too rich to eat alone!).

It was SOOOO GOOD.

3. My friend Sarah Brown’s Lamb Tajine

She’s made this for me a few times on Cape Cod weekend trips and it’s always been a hit. I recently had her over for dinner/a lamb tutorial. What I didn’t know was to brown the lamb in the spices ahead of time and not just throw the meat in the stew. This is key. Plus, the more prunes, dates and apricots you throw in, the more delicious in my opinion. I love sweet and savory.

4. My Friend Piera’s Spicy Yogurt Cous Cous

I never realized how easy cous cous is. I’m really happy I now know. She puts lots of spicy jalapenos in it and roasts ALL her vegetables ahead of time in nice olive oil. It’s a great staple. Mint is sometimes added as well. So so good.

5. My bandmate Chris Bear’s homemade Spicy orichietti with Broccoli Rabe and Roasted Cauliflower

I like to added spiced sausage to this, but with Chris Bear who is
vegetarian, we do it veggie style. Not only did I learn the recipe for
this dish but he taught me how to make homemade pasta this year which
was a real revelation. Orichietti is the kind you can make without the
pasta machine. Just a little FYI.

***

Ed and his band are working on their sophomore album, due in 2009. Judging by the jam below, it’ll be very high on everyone’s best of next year.

Grizzly Bear – “While You Wait For The Others” (live): mp3

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Best of 2008: Click below for more of the year’s greatest hits.

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