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

Words: Michael • Posted pre-2010

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Aversionline.com (Andrew)

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

  1. Celestine - At the Borders of Arcadia
  2. Cynic - Traced in Air
  3. J. Bannon - The Blood of Thine Enemies
  4. Make Do and Mend - We're All Just Living
  5. Reign Supreme - American Violence

What band did you discover in 2008 that had an impact on your life? What made them significant?

Definitely Make Do and Mend. At first I felt like they needed a little work, but over time I absolutely fell in love with their debut EP, and "Imsomniac Jams" is one of the greatest songs in the fucking world. I've listened to that track more than any other song this year. Amazing, and highly recommended.

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

Not a great year, ha. A lot of weak albums were highly overrated, which I guess is somewhat commonplace every year, but? I don't know? I wasn't psyched about a ton of high-profile releases this year at all. Most of the truly great material was coming from more obscure bands, in my opinion.

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.

I don't really know. Maybe collector types are having a bit of a resurgence or something, but I'm really not a vinyl fan anymore. I didn't start buying vinyl again until a week or two ago when I finally got a USB turntable, but? I'd still rather buy CD's or downloads. Vinyl's a pain in the ass.

What was the most memorable moment for you in 2008?

Hmmm, I guess the new Cynic album, even though it can't touch the mastery of "Focus." I'm just an enormous Cynic worshipper, so for them to finally release a new record was a really big deal for me, I guess.

What can we look forward to from you in 2009?

The same ol' same ol', ha! I hope that's good enough!

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

The only two I can think of off the top of my head are the new Cannibal Corpse and, of course, the new Katatonia. There's gotta be at least a couple of others that I'm anxious to hear, but those are the two that are freshest in my mind.

Homepage: http://www.aversionline.com

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