Dynammy Awards: 2008 Winners

Album Of The Year
New Wave - Against Me!

Song Of The Year
Thrash Unreal - Against Me!

Breakthrough Artist
Santogold

Best Sound Quality
Andorra - Caribou

Worst Sound Quality
Vampire Weekend - Vampire Weekend




So the big winner this past year according to yours truly was Against Me!, a band I'd never even heard of until I saw them on the cover of Spin Magazine in January of 2008. I don't usually pay much attention to critics or music magazines, but for some reason that article caught my eye, I browsed through it on the newsstand, then made a mental note to check out the band online when I got home. The album wound up in heavy rotation soon after, and I'm equally passionate about it a full twelve months later.

It packs a real wallop, both musically and emotionally, which is a rare combination, and when you throw in the intelligence and introspection of the lyrics, the end result is a very special album that stood out from the pack, at least for me. It's energetic and heavy in a way that reminds me of Soundgarden in their Badmotorfinger days, yet the lyrics are not what you'd expect. For example:

The Ocean
by Against Me!

If I could have chosen where god would hide his heaven
I would wish for it to be in the salt and swell of the ocean
Carried by the currents to all continents and shores
Reaching into the depths where the sun's light has never shown
Mixed with algae and coral, breathed in by sharks and dolphins
Sailed by tanker ships, private yachts, swam in by tourists
Working its way up through inlets, lakes, and rivers,
Swamps, and estuaries, down through limestone into the aquifer
Purified by the county, pumped through pipes and out faucets
Filled into a glass to meet the thirst of our children

And if I could have chosen, I would have been born a woman
My mother once told me she would have named me Laura
I'd grow up to be strong and beautiful like her
One day I'd find an honest man to make my husband
We would have two children, build our home on the Gulf of Mexico
Our family would spend hot summer days at the beach together
The sun would kiss our skin as we played in the sand and water
We would know we loved each other without having to say it
At night we would sleep with the windows of our house left open
Letting the cool ocean air soothe the sunburned shoulders of our children

There is an ocean in my soul
where the waters do not curve

For the Song Of The Year I easily could have gone with The Ocean, but instead I went with Thrash Unreal, another song off New Wave that typifies what I love about the album. The lyrics are about an aging rocker chick still going to clubs and drinking all night even though she's far too old to be carrying on that way, but where most youthful rock bands would simply mock that behaviour, Thrash Unreal shows empathy even while acknowledging that her behaviour is somewhat pathetic to behold. And Thrash Unreal's chorus is the only lyric of the past year that sent chills down my spine.

No mother ever dreams that her daughter's going to grow up to be a junkie
No mother ever dreams that her daughter's going to grow up to sleep alone

So simple, and when you hear it, so powerful. Awesome stuff.

I probably could have given the Breakthrough Artist to Against Me! as well, but they've been around for a while now, even if I wasn't aware of them, so I decided to give the best debut kudos to Santogold, whose eponymous album was one of my favourites from last year. Danceable, fun, eclectic, and clever, it was one of the most purely entertaining albums of the year, and her distinctive voice is one that I suspect I'll be hearing a lot from in the future.

When it comes to sound quality, I have to say that neither of the two albums mentioned above deserve top marks. Both are mastered too loud, which is inexcusable and easily avoidable, but great music can sometimes overcome the sheer idiocy of the everything-louder-than-everything-else mentality. However, great sound quality also deserves to be rewarded, which is why I'm singling out Andorra by Caribou.

This is the second year in a row that I've given this award to an electronic artist -- last year it went to LCD Soundsystem -- so even though rock is my first love it seems like the people who truly care about sound quality need to look beyond that genre. The album features some amazing soundscapes and unusual quirks, and was definitely in the running for album of the year, but New Wave had the edge because of the emotions it triggered, so that left Caribou's no-less outstanding album settling for the Sound Quality award.

And in a final parting shot, I have to single out Vampire Weekend for having the worst sound quality of any album I've heard this year. What makes me really angry about this album is the fact that their songs are so good, and they sounded brilliant when they played on Saturday Night Live, but the sound quality of their album is so dreadful that I don't feel right putting it in heavy rotation. Vampire Weekend's songs deserve better, and so do their fans.

And finally, here's a full list of the nominees who made the short list. I recommend you check out every single one of these nominees immediately, assuming you haven't already, since they're all must-haves as far as I'm concerned.

And if you've bought any of the albums on the Worst Sound Quality list, you have my condolences. Maybe someday we'll all be issued refunds for the defective products record companies have been dealing us.

Song Of The Year

Detlef Schrempf - Band Of Horses
Geraldine - Glasvegas
Go To Sea - Ocean Colour Scene
I Like You So Much Better When You're Naked - Ida Maria
Rockist Part 4 - School Of Language
Run To Your Grave - The Mae Shi
Shout Me Out - TV On The Radio
Thrash Unreal - Against Me!
Time To Pretend - MGMT
Waving Flags - British Sea Power

Album Of The Year

Andorra - Caribou
Dear Science - TV On The Radio
Do You Like Rock Music? - British Sea Power
New Wave - Against Me!
Santogold - Santogold

Breakthrough Artist

Glasvegas
Fleet Foxes
MGMT
Santogold
Vampire Weekend

Best Sound Quality

Andorra - Caribou
Dear Science - TV On The Radio
Fleet Foxes - Fleet Foxes

Worst Sound Quality

Rockferry - Duffy
Stay Positive - The Hold Steady
Vampire Weekend - Vampire Weekend