Feature / Music
Pass The Mic: Record Labels and Artists on 2008

Words: Michael • Posted pre-2010

LINKS TO ALL THE PAGES

Lemuria (Jason Draper)

What are your top five albums that were released in 2008?

  1. Cheap Girls - Find Me a Drink Home
  2. The Gaslight Anthem - The '59 Sound
  3. R.E.M. - Accelerate
  4. Cat Power - Jukebox
  5. The Gutter Twins - Saturnalia

Honorable Mention: The Cure - 4:13 Dream (I haven't had enough time with it.)

What band did you discover in 2008 (can be a brand new band or an older band) that had an impact on your life? What made them significant?

Cheap Girls. Alex had been talking about them for a couple of months and they contacted me to do a show for them in Buffalo. I set up the show and then when The Failures' Union was on tour, we played two shows with them, and I fell in love with their band. It also helps that they are awesome dudes. They are exactly what I feel has been missing in new music for a long time. Both my bands are planning on touring with them in the upcoming year.

How will you remember 2008? (In terms of music)

I will remember it as the year of not being disappointed by new albums of bands I love.

Vinyl record sales saw a significant increase this year while hard copy sales continued to dwindle. Is this a return to the glory days for vinyl or just a phase? Explain.

It's hard to say. With the way music has become so disposable, younger kids don't seem to care about actually having hard copies of music. As more time passes the passive music fans will "grow up" and probably not purchase as much music. Those two things coupled point to the demise of the hard copy. Eventually I think that will affect vinyl sales as well.

What was the most memorable moment for you in 2008? (Can be in terms of anything)

The weekend of The Ergs! last show. We played a New Brunswick basement show with them, that was insane, and then we played an incredible show at Death By Audio in NYC (I snuck away from the show to see The Thorns of Life play), and then seeing/playing with The Ergs! for one last time. Being surrounded by friends during that insanity was magical. It also helps that someone who is very special to me flew out to the East Coast for all of this.

What can we look forward to from you in 2009?

Lemuria has a split 7" with Off With Their Heads coming out as part of the Suburban Home "Under The Influence" series. We also have a 7" coming out on Hex Records. Other than that, hopefully a lot of touring. The Failures' Union has a new full-length coming out, as well as a split 7" with Cheap Girls.

What three records are you looking forward to most in 2009?

Cheap Girls, Morrissey, and Tegan & Sara

Homepage: http://www.lemuriapop.com

Related features

Time Thieves

One Question Interviews • February 4, 2026

Time Thieves SPB: While you’ve all played in punk bands Time Thieves is in the power-pop realm. What is a personal favorite album you feel is overlooked in the genre? Annie: Teenage Heartbreak (1980) by Sorrows. Heard it with a friend for the first time just a few months ago … Read more

Dauber

One Question Interviews • February 3, 2026

Mike (Dauber) SPB: What was the first album you ever bought? Mike: I'm not quite certain what the first album I ever bought was, probably Dookie or Smash. What I can remember is the first time I ever went to the legendary Vintage Vinyl in Fords, NJ (RIP). I had … Read more

Ian Glasper

One Question Interviews • February 2, 2026

Ian Glasper (A Country Fit For Heroes : DIY Punk in Eighties Britain) SPB: What was the first punk show you saw and do you remember how it inspired you at the time? Glasper: I'm not sure which was the very, very first punk gig I went to, because it's … Read more

Commerce or Amusement?

Regular Columns / Commerce or Amusement? • January 26, 2026

Howdy out there! Welcome to the introduction for a new interview series I’ll be helming. Thanks to SPB for having me. My interviews are going to revolve around “music biz” kinds of things. Before I keep going, I need to tell you something…I am not actually in the music business. … Read more

The Rousers

Interviews • January 26, 2026

A dripping handful of Brylcreem and a well-used black comb situated in the pack pocket of the rolled up Levis, the clicking rhythm of bubble gum and fast cars, fast girls and twangy guitars while engines from a Ford Thunderbird rev in the sunset. Enter The Rousers blasting out energy … Read more

More from this section

Demos You Want To Check #2

Music / New Kids On The Block • January 12, 2026

The musical landscape is ever changing. New genres are popping up, new hypes burst out of nowhere and then die out, and new bands present themselves to the world. How on earth are you expected to keep up, right? Well, a little help never hurts! So here we are, your … Read more

Scene Point Blank's Favorites: Year End (2025)

Music / Year End 2025 • December 23, 2025

Every year we diligently assemble a list of our favorite albums of the year. Each SPB staff member enters the large arena we nickname THE DOJO, and yells out the name of their top album of the year. Rival staffers quickly assemble and shout out their own highly-favored record, and … Read more

Pass The Mic: Artists and labels on 2025

Music / Year End 2025 • December 23, 2025

For many years now, Scene Point Blank has taken the opportunity as the year ends to formally "pass the mic" to our friends on the other side of the mostly-imaginary divide between listeners and artists. This year is no exception as we ask a bunch of bands, artists and labels … Read more