New Yorker music critic Sasha Frere-Jones takes on one of the biggest indie sensations of 2008 and one of recess’ favorite artists, Bon Iver. It drips of that typical Frere-Jones prose and is just great. 

Sometimes I am surprised by the fragmentary lyrics on “For Emma”; more often, I am moved by the beauty of Vernon’s massed voice, and held in place by the force of each careful, dogged song. You don’t need to know about breakups or solitary stretches in the woods to feel a line dragging these songs forward. As pretty as Vernon’s musical tendencies may be, the line pulling “For Emma” along is not light and could not have been easily found.

Note the reference to Raleigh-based Bowerbirds’ Mark Paulson on the second page. For the full story, click here.

Also, Bon Iver’s new EP, Blood Bank, comes out Jan. 21 on Jagjaguwar. Check back to this blog in the coming days for a review of that EP.

That’s the new thing for ’09: go find a cabin

and on auto tune:

T-Pain actually can sing. It’s not used for pitch correction. It’s an aesthetic thing for T-Pain, whereas many people–say half of Nashville–use it to get the notes right, and Kanye West uses it to pretend he’s getting the notes right.

For the rest, click here.

The sounds of the carnival at night: hazy, gauzy, just over the ridge. Who knew Mazzy Star was going to be this influential?

It’s the making of a great music critic and further insight into why America’s youth love Bill Clinton.

(Hat tip: Ben Smith/Politico)

Two-thirds of Megafaun and all of Bowerbids sing with the Rosebuds' Kelly Crisp at NC Rocks for Change. Photo by Andrew Hibbard

The Triangle played host to plenty of great music events in 2008, drawing names like the Silver Jews, Wilco, Bon Iver, Fleet Foxes and Spoon. But there was also a rich local music scene. Unranked but in chronological order, here are some of 2008′s best moments in the Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill area.

The Dodos & Megafaun at BCHQ – March 28, 2008

This San Francisco duo on Frenchkiss had a huge year in 2008, topping several year-end lists. But the fact that they stopped at BCHQ instead of 506 or the Cradle was a power move for the small venue. To boot, the Dodos followed Silje Nes and Megafaun was the last to play. The Durham trio might not have been headlining, but playing last makes it seem like they were. Regardless, it was still a great show.

Arcade Fire and Superchunk Rock for Obama – May 2, 2008

It’s no secret that Mac McCaughan is an Obama fan. So when 90s Chapel Hill rockers Superchunk joined up with the Arcade Fire to put on a free show right before the North Carolina primary, it was a huge deal. In part, because Arcade Fire only played a handful of shows in 2008. But also because Superchunk shows are a special treat whenever they come–and Superchunk’s awesome kids stole the show.

TRKFest – May 31, 2008

Chapel Hill-based Trekky Records used Pittsboro’s Piedmont Biofuels plant to host to a day-long concert and fundraise for the label. It was a true grassroots effort with a merch booth selling spray-painted jorts, a no-pants dance-off, lots of watermelon, potato sack races and all sorts of other folksy shenanigans. The lineup included Barghest, Bowerbirds, Midtown Dickens and a slew of Trekky bands, but it was one of the best ways to spend 10 bucks all summer.

Les Savy Fav at the Nasher/HNMTF, Yardwork and Des Ark at BCHQ – July 12, 2008

The Nasher Museum of Art’s foray into the outdoor concert series was a glowing success thanks to post-punk art rockers Les Savy Fav and its Durham-based drummer Harrison Haynes who was key to organizing the performance. But the local spirit really shined through when BCHQ hosted an after party of sorts with Hammer No More the Fingers, Charlotte-based Yardwork and Des Ark to rock the summer night well past midnight.

She & Him at the Cat’s Cradle – July 28, 2008

So this technically wasn’t a local show, but it stands as a testament to the power of the area’s music scene (and locally-owned Merge Records) that a band this big that did minimal amount of touring would come to the Cradle. Zooey Deschanel dazzled a sold-out Cat’s Cradle in perhaps the cutest performance of the year, and earned a lot of points from the local crowd by voicing her appreciation of Carrboro’s friendly audience and its cuisine (she cited Lantern). Not to mention it was a damn good show.

Check back tomorrow for the second part of this list that will take us into the end of the year. For our other top 10 lists, check here.

Justin Vernon. Courtesy rcrdlbl.

A whole 17 days before the year ends, we did it. We summarized the best our favorite music of 2008 on our humble blog, and its name was Justin Vernon. The Jagjaguwar re-release of Bon Iver’s For Emma, Forever Ago, our favorite album of the year, made it into six of our nine lists, all in the top five (that was a lot of single-digit numbers, more coming). The lists had three mentions of “re:stacks,” two of “Skinny Love” and one of “Lump Sum.” Some other numbers after the jump.

• Kanye was the second most acknowledged artist, with five appearances-two for “Street Lights” and three for his guest spot with Estelle.
• Vampire Weekend had four nods, each for a different song: “Walcott” and singles “A-Punk,” “Oxford Comma” and “Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa.”
• Dan Rossen had four mentions as well, two for Department of Eagles and one for each of the Grizzly Bear singles from the band’s upcoming release
• Mash-up artists the Hood Internet and “Laptop Artist” Girl Talk each grabbed a spot on a list
• Three mentions: Fleet Foxes, TV on the Radio, Bradford Cox (one as Atlas Sound, two as Deerhunter) and MGMT’s “Time to Pretend” (which had a hard release in 2008)
• Two mentions: the Dodos, Sigur Ros, Okkervil River, Lil Wayne, Beach House and Black Kids
• A total of 62 artists made appearances on our lists (this counts Atlas Sound and Deerhunter as different, Kanye as different from his track with Estelle, Grizzly Bear as different from Department of Eagles, etc.)
• This also means that each list had an average of 6.89 original artists
• “Single Ladies” did not appear on any of the lists.