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The Ergs! (Joe Keller)
What are your top five albums that were released in 2008?
- Lemuria - Get Better
- Hunchback - Pray for Scars
- Dillinger 4 - Civil War
- Jetty Boys ? Jetty Boys
- Off With Their Heads - From the Bottom
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?
Steely Dan - Laugh all you want, but my good friend and former rhythm section partner Mike Yannich got me into Steely Dan after a lengthy tour drive wherein we listened to the boxset. Hopefully I don't turn into one of those annoying idiots who refers to them as "The ?Dan". If I start doing that, I want you to smack me very hard.
The La's - Unfortunately, up until last year, I thought the song "There She Goes" was written by that band Six Pence None the Richer. Of course it was actually written and originally performed by a severely underrated Brit-pop band from the early 90's - The La's. Their one self-titled full length is a bonafide masterpiece in my view - crisp, stellar songs, playfully inventive guitar-work and arrangements, and damn is that some good bass playing!
How will you remember 2008? (In terms of music)
I think this is the first year I can remember where I liked absolutely zero mainstream pop songs. Oh wait a minute; "American Boy" was pretty good. Okay, so I guess 2008 was just business as usual.
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.
No, I think it's a fad like trucker hats and sweater vests. If you think about it, can you see most of mainstream America going back to buying LPs and 45s in, say, Target and Walmart? Of course not. That won't happen. It's really only hipsters who are buying more vinyl. Digital music is generally not audiophile quality and the general public is willing to accept that degradation in quality for the convenience, pervasiveness, and in most cases complete lack of a price tag this new medium affords. The number of permanent vinyl lovers will increase a bit, but a couple years from now, eight-tracks will be the new-old flavor of the month and there will be a ton of awesome records for me to pillage from the local vinyl store.
I think at some point CDs will rebound at least a little bit. Everyone is jazzed on downloading both legally and illegally right now, but in a few years when the hard drives that those files are stored on stop working, the masses will maybe realize that owning a more permanent digital copy of an album is more worthwhile. Record company marketing departments will also find new ways to get people to want to buy these fucking things again, I'm sure.
What was the most memorable moment for you in 2008? (Can be in terms of anything)
Obama winning the big one.
What can we look forward to from you in 2009?
Hopefully, I will be in another band. Hopefully that band will not suck.
What three records are you looking forward to most in 2009?
Jetty Boys, Marked Men, and Reigning Sound
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