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Emeritus
Reviews 255
Approval 93%
Soundoffs 107
News Articles 15
Band Edits + Tags 26
Album Edits 124
Album Ratings 2182
Objectivity 82%
Last Active 11-02-22 4:56 am
Joined 12-31-08
Review Comments 12,409
| Top 10 Most Overrated/disappointing Of 2008
Yes, 2008 had its share of duds as well as highlights. The below ten are, whether for personal or
critical reasons, records that I felt underachieved or didn?t live up to the (often incredible) hype.
Agree to disagree! Last in my top-of-08 series. | | 1 |  | Of Montreal
Skeletal Lamping
Kevin Barnes has been cruel to me. After the one-two punch Satanic Panic in the Attic and Sunlandic
Twins turned Of Montreal into one of my favorite bands, the experimental squall of Hissing Fauna, Are You
The Destroyer? was interesting, to be sure, but turned me off more than a little after the perfect
electronica-meets-power-pop of the aforementioned records. Skeletal Lamping is perhaps even more
disjointed and uneven than Hissing Fauna, a record that bounces from random idea to opaque lyric to out-
of-the-blue musical flourish with the attention span of a ADHD-afflicted schizophrenic six-year-old with a
sugar rush. Barnes is no doubt a kind of musical visionary; just not the kind I expected or really even
wanted. | | 2 |  | Kanye West
808s and Heartbreak
808s & Heartbreak proved that Kanye really didn?t give a damn what people thought; it?s fresh, bold, and
inventive, remaking Kanye again in the image of a fearless pioneer of pop music, one unbound by the
typical constraints and courts of public opinion that chain other stars. Unfortunately, 808s & Heartbreak is
an album that is limited by its very own originality; Kanye?s insistent use of Auto-Tune, the doggedly
depressing subject matter, and lack of, well, truly good songs turned the album into a double-edged sword.
Okay, Kanye, we know you can do something different than what everyone expects of you; now do
something exceptional with it. | | 3 |  | Black Kids
Partie Traumatic
Black Kids are the reason I try not to overreact to hipster/blogosphere hype. After setting online music
tastemakers and forums ablaze with their ?07 EP Wizard of Ahhhs, the Jacksonville, FL group released their
debut, Partie Traumatic, a record that expanded on, well, absolutely nothing from their EP. The best songs
were those everyone had already heard, and I didn?t know how repetitive and annoying singer Reggie
Youngblood?s vocals could get until I?d heard thirty-eight minutes of it. | | 4 |  | Wolf Parade
At Mount Zoomer
A shining example of where experimental urges overtook smart pop sensibilities. Apologies To The Queen
Mary was a brilliant work of sharp guitar-rock and jangly chamber-pop from a few wild-eyed Canadians.
Unfortunately, their unbridled creativity got the better of them here, where pop turns to prog and 3-4
minute songs turn into nine minutes of bullshit. An inspired record, but not one with the kind of staying
power or the unrelenting hooks of Apologies. | | 5 |  | My Morning Jacket
Evil Urges
This album could?ve been a lot worse than it was, if the band had gone more with the faux-funk style of
songs like the title track and the god-awful ?Highly Suspicious? than the sort of country-fried rock they
have mastered and made their own. Luckily, songs like ?I?m Amazed? and ?Librarian? prove that My
Morning Jacket haven?t lost their way, but Evil Urges is just a little too close for comfort. | | 6 |  | Lil Wayne
Tha Carter III
An overblown, bloated, scattered collection of egoism that had just as many misfires as it had genuine hits.
2008 was without doubt the year of Weezy, but there is such a thing as too much Weezy; the over-
saturation of Lil Wayne on the airwaves led to Tha Carter III as not having much more than that which
you haven?t already heard. It was ambitious and defiantly creative, but not the modern rap masterpiece
many critics made it out to be. | | 7 | | Weezer
Weezer (The Red Album)
At this point, it?s hard to say that Weezer?s latest was a real disappointment, as I?ve expected nothing but
that from this once-proud band since 2005 (yes, I hung on even after Maladroit). The Red Album was
trumpeted as the band?s comeback, and while it showed a few fading signs of the old Weezer, the band?s
delusions of grandeur and Cuomo?s declining lyrical abilities made it instead a last gasp, ?Pork and Beans?
reminding me only of what could have been. | | 8 |  | Gnarls Barkley
The Odd Couple
St. Elsewhere was a debut worthy of the heaps of praise it accumulated from the press, a eclectic, diverse
arrangement of alternative hip-hop mixed with Danger Mouse?s extraordinarily experimental production
and Cee-Lo?s oddball lyrics and fluid phrasing. The Odd Couple was pretty much St. Elsewhere redux, and
considering the potential within these two guys, it?s unerring sameness was frustrating. | | 9 |  | The Stills
Oceans Will Rise
A purely personal choice for me, Oceans Will Rise was a huge letdown from one of my favorite bands after
2006?s critically lambasted Without Feathers, a record that holds a special place in my heart. Maybe the
critics were right after all, but I still feel like the Stills had something better than this in them. | | 10 |  | Guns N Roses
Chinese Democracy
Yeah, I gave this album a fairly positive review when it came out, but considering it took Axl sixteen years
to finally clear the creative constipation, the end result is more than a little underwhelming. | |
foreverendeared
01.03.09 | i pretty much agree with it all. i havent even heard 1 or 4 though | FriendofTheDevil70
01.03.09 | Great list. I agree with everything except 8. | jrowa001
01.03.09 | 1,2,6,8,10 def sucked but i wasnt expecting them to be good. i do like some early Of Montreal material though. 9 is good. | Electric City
01.03.09 | 3 is pretty much the worst thing I've heard this year | AmnesiacR
01.03.09 | Great list. I've got to agree with everything. I hate that the average listener doesn't give "Chinese Democracy" a chance just because it doesn't sound like normal Guns N' Roses--it's still a very solid album. | klap
01.03.09 | Yeah I thought this was a pretty good piece of work; just not, you know, sixteen-years worth of pretty good work | DaveyBoy
01.04.09 | Very good list. Well put together. | Douchebag
01.04.09 | I loved 10
I can't stand kanye west, his too full of himself.
the red album would of been fantastic if they ditched the other band member vocal songs. those 3 songs are foul, rubbish american cheesy pop. (sorry, i do like weezer, i really do :D ) | Cvrst_Drums
02.15.09 | Rudy you fail. Stop takin my pie outta the refrigerator | Underachiever
03.17.09 | I enjoyed the new Kanye album greatly,but I was disappointed with 6 and 7. 5 has its good moments and is passable. Chinese Democracy was a decent album with some strong songs. | zrosschristian
06.11.09 | Nice list, especially 2, 6, and 10. | cirq
06.11.09 | I like 2 | MassiveAttack
06.11.09 | I like your blog klap. Any chance of me contributing to this or is it just for you? =) | natey
06.11.09 | this list is excellent, although these all have some nice songs i listen to. all of these albums are meh though | klap
06.11.09 | hit me up with some of your reviews massive, i'd be down to feature some other writing. blog's only been up a year but i'm working on pimping it out this summer | MassiveAttack
06.11.09 | You got anything I can contact you with? Like an email, skype, etc.? I'd be down with sending you a few reviews. About to write one today most likely. | klap
06.11.09 | rudy@klap4music.com
if i'm ever on AIM which is occasionally, my s/n is walrus898. e-mail is the best way to contact though. thanks! | ECRbubs
06.15.09 | 1, 2, 4 and 6 are awesome |
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