• On CBS MoneyWatch: 12 Tough Questions to Ask Your Parents
December 19, 2008 4:17 PM PST

Was 2008 a crummy year in music?

by Matt Rosoff
  • Font size
  • Print
  • 3 comments

It's year-end time, and the critics are weighing in with their year-end lists, from the maddening mix of obscure and popular at Pitchfork to the back-and-forth over at Slate.

I'm not a music critic, so I don't get to listen to hundreds of new CDs for free. That means I've missed plenty of the music on these critics' list, though I know I hate No Age and am indifferent to Girl Talk.

Even so, without checking the data, this year seemed pretty good: TV on the Radio, Beach House, and Portishead all made strong impressions, and I like Fleet Foxes quite a bit, though not as much as Pitchfork. But looking back at my master list, I've only got 9 recordings that were released in 2008.

That's my lowest total-by-year since 1995, which is probably my least favorite music year ever. I know the year's not out yet--I have hope for some LPs under the tree--but I'm curious what everybody else thinks. Was 2008 a dud year? Or am I missing some great entries?

Matt Rosoff is an analyst with Directions on Microsoft, where he covers Microsoft's consumer products and corporate news. He's written about the technology industry since 1995, and reviewed the first Rio MP3 player for CNET.com in 1998. He is a member of the CNET Blog Network. Disclosure. You can follow Matt on Twitter @mattrosoff.
Recent posts from Digital Noise: Music and Tech
Must-have live recordings at Grooveshark
FanSnap--another way to find cheap concert tickets
Will Craigslist drive scalpers out of business?
Create audio messages from song samples
EMI to offer instant concert recordings
Beatles copyright case down a legal rabbit hole
Study: Radio still has broadest reach
Lala co-founder discusses Google deal, iPhone app
Add a Comment (Log in or register) (3 Comments)
  • prev
  • 1
  • next
by soundman45 December 19, 2008 7:06 PM PST
Boy, don't get me started !!! Unfortunately the music industry has been in decline for a few years now. Lack of artist development by record labels, the rise of mp3 music sharing, decline in record sales all have contributed to a poor product being released. The popularity of games like Guitar Hero are also not a good sign. Instead of kids going out and actually learning an instrument and learning to read music they are throwing their money down to play electronic air guitar. it's just depressing all around.
Reply to this comment
by daveturnley December 22, 2008 10:47 AM PST
Having grown up in the 80s I'm probably biased, but I think rock music is as good as its ever been. Inexpensive recording and easy distribution lets artists that would normally be confined to local coffee shops on Saturday afternoon reach wider audiences. Most of the 'small' acts would be summarily ignored by the majors if they were still in control.

I've been out of the loop for a few years and I wasn't blow away by the spate of releases, but I really liked what I heard in 2008:

- TV on the Radio--best album I've heard in years
- David Byrne/Brian Eno--best solo DB
- The Fireman--best McCartney since Ram
- Musée Mécanique--really good stuff, if a bit repetitive
- Bon Iver (have only heard a bit, but really liked)
- Fleet Foxes
- MGMT (good pop psych)
- Sigur Ros
- She & Him

How about song of the year?:
http://www.npr.org/templates/player/mediaPlayer.html?action=1&t=1&islist=false&id=97939029&m=97940685
Reply to this comment
by blbaum December 30, 2008 8:48 AM PST
Matt -

I know you ended up writing about Rhapsody a couple posts after this one, but you really have to subscribe to that service if you want to hear great new music. I pay something like $10/month for unlimited access and they have probably 95% of what I go looking for - and believe me, I give it a workout. Anyway, no need to be out of the loop or blow money on albums you don't like. Read lists like the ones from Pitchfork and check the albums out in Rhapsody!
Reply to this comment
(3 Comments)
  • prev
  • 1
  • next
advertisement

A CNET Conversation with Eric Schmidt

CNET's Tom Krazit and Molly Wood sit down with Google CEO Eric Schmidt to discuss the future of Android, the Chrome OS, the problem of real-time search indexing, and more.

Verizon tests sending RIAA copyright notices

The No. 2 phone company, known for its reluctance to intervene in antipiracy cases, strikes an agreement to forward copyright notices on behalf of the music industry.

advertisement

About Digital Noise: Music and Tech

Matt Rosoff is an analyst with Directions on Microsoft, where he covers Microsoft's consumer products and corporate news. He's written about the technology industry since 1995 and reviewed the first Rio MP3 player for CNET.com in 1998. He's also a bass guitarist and an avid collector (and digitizer) of LP records. DISCLAIMER: This blog contains the personal opinions of the author and does not necessarily represent the opinions of his employers or of CNET Networks. As an IT industry analyst, the author occasionally agrees to nondisclosure agreements from Microsoft or other companies, and he will not violate the terms of such agreements on this blog.

He is a member of the CNET Blog Network and is not an employee of CNET.

Disclosure.

Add this feed to your online news reader

Digital Noise: Music and Tech topics

advertisement
advertisement

Inside CNET News

Scroll Left Scroll Right