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

Words: Michael • Posted pre-2010

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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

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