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

Guest List: Panopticon's definitive crust / hardcore / punk classics

Music / The Set List • April 24, 2024

Panopticon may be more widely known as a "metal" band - I use that term loosely because Panopticon is a lot more than the black metal base genre it derives from - yet founder Austin Lunn finds his inspiration from many different genres, punk and hardcore being one aspect of … Read more

Stephen Hamm

Interviews • April 24, 2024

Stephen Hamm might be best known as Slow's bassist in some circles. Slow’s Against The Glass was voted the 17th best Canadian LP ever. Further, the lead single “Have Not Been The Same” was ranked the 10th greatest song. Stephen has played in many different bands over the years (starting with Chuck … Read more

The Wesleys

One Question Interviews • April 18, 2024

Willy (The Wesleys) SPB: What is the best show you’ve seen so far this year?:  Willy: Got to see a lot of cool shows this year so far, but I think my favorite one was seeing Shadow Show from Detroit playing with Tilden at NYC TVEYES. It was such a rad … Read more

Hook

One Question Interviews • April 16, 2024

Ikka (Hook) SPB: What are your favorite venues to play in Finland right now? Ikka: I like Lepakkomies in Helsinki. That´s a cool little place with very nice atmosphere. Read more

Sneak Dog Records

One Question Interviews • April 15, 2024

Gwendolyn Giles (Vocals/Guitar - Dog Party), Lucy Giles (Vocals, Drums - Dog Party) SPB: What inspired you to start a new record label in 2024? Sneak Dog: When Dog Party finished recording our seventh record, we sat and really thought about different ways we could release it. We were leaning … Read more

More from this section

Guest List: Panopticon's definitive crust / hardcore / punk classics

Music / The Set List • April 24, 2024

Panopticon may be more widely known as a "metal" band - I use that term loosely because Panopticon is a lot more than the black metal base genre it derives from - yet founder Austin Lunn finds his inspiration from many different genres, punk and hardcore being one aspect of … Read more

Guest List: 10 Songs That Are Core To DeeCracks

Music / The Set List • April 8, 2024

Twenty years is a long time – much longer than many relationships last. So it’s an accomplishment when a band can stick together through life and social changes. DeeCracks, a poppy punk band from Austria, threw a two-day festival last year and released a 28-track retrospective to mark their anniversary … Read more

Only Death Is Real #24

Music / Only Death Is Real • April 8, 2024

Acathexis – Immerse (Amor Fati/Extraconscious Records) Acathexis’ self-titled debut from 2018 is one that still bears repeated listens, personally, many years later. With some of the best known and hardest working musicians within black metal behind the band, it was always clear that this is a band to watch. Featuring Jacob Buczarski, … Read more