A.V. Club's 2008 Madison music mixtape

This week, Decider picked its top Madison records of 2008, but local musicians gave us a lot more worth listening to this year. So we went back through a bunch more music, asked readers what they liked this year, and compiled a big batch of MP3s that you can download as a .zip file here (it's a big sucker, about 123 MB). It’s a lot of music, so our “liner notes” break them up into a few handy groupings. (Also, this is by no means a ranking, just an admittedly random track sequence.) Decider thanks all these artists for their kind permission.

BESET ON ALL SIDES
This year, Madison show-goers encountered a surprisingly rich battery of feedback, damaged-throat vocals, and sick mischief.

The Hussy, “Social Critique”
"Social Critique" by The Hussy
Slapped around by the drummer, head-butted by the guitarist, yelled at by both.

Colony Of Watts, “Little Kiska”
"Little Kiska" by Colony Of Watts
Before Colony Of Watts called it quits this year, the post-punk band gave Madison one last EP, Thunder Rock. The thudding bass and ominous rhythm are just what you'd expect, but listen to those guitar breaks.

The United Sons Of Toil, “White King, Red Rubber, Black Death”
"White King, Red Rubber, Black Death" by The United Sons Of Toil
Again, a harsh post-punk song done well, but with a little something extra. Namely that weird sliding bass part on the bridges, which bassist Bill Borowski overdubbed an octave up (and an octave down) to creepy effect.

Zebras, “The Sun”
"The Sun" by Zebras
A band like Zebras faces an uphill battle in this town, but that didn’t stop them from squirming and screeching for anyone who’d hear it. Abrasive, yet infectious.

Cribshitter, “War Torn Vaginer”
"War Torn Vaginer" by Cribshitter
Like a lot of songs on Cribshitter’s Cry A Little Rainbow, this track’s got the studio polish of a good genre exercise, and a totally juvenile set of lyrics. Still, Toby Keith himself would pause to put his hand on his heart for Christine Christenson’s straight-faced, Auto-Tuned tribute to a stretched-out lady.

Kitty Rhombus, “Parasitic Emergence”
"Parastic Emergence" by Kitty Rhombus
Speaking of squirming and screeching, Kitty Rhombus was also persistent about keeping deranged noisy stuff alive in Madison.

The Takebacks, “X-Ray Vision”
X-ray Vision
From our Ballot Blasters series: “The dub-inspired instrumental breakdown in the middle of The Takebacks’ ‘X-Ray Vision’ echoes the kind of headache that might result from, say, watching campaign ads and CNN segments for 12 hours straight…”

FUN WITH SILENCE
On the other hand, a few local artists this year showed off a good ear for the power of quiet and sparse arrangements.

Time Since Western, “All This Before Tonight”
"All This Before Tonight" by Time Since Western
Andy Brawner’s work as Time Since Western certainly figures a lot of layers of guitars, keys, and harmonies into the arrangements. But the real accomplishment is how he always makes it sound tense and minimal, giving these pleasantly sad songs lots of breathing room.

Jentri Colello, “Cannonballs”
"Cannonballs" by Jentri Colello
Here’s why Jentri Colello stirred up all that talk among local writers, record-store clerks, and show-regulars this year: Her tunes are as openly moody and personal as any other singer-songwriter’s, but Colello and band actually know how to create a mood—with grace and starkness.

The Cowboy And The Frenchman, “Beneath The Char”
"Beneath The Chart" by The Cowboy And The Frenchman
A little bit western-swing and a little bit slowcore, The Cowboy And The Frenchman also benefits from a touch of shyness.

Josh Harty, “Time”
"Time" by Josh Harty
Some consider Josh Harty one of the best guitar players in town, and he comes off rather humble about it. The acoustic figure he plays here obviously takes a graceful pair of hands, yet it flickers quietly until it’s time to crank up the tension a bit.

Dietrich Gosser, “Ocean”
"Ocean" by Dietrich Gosser
“I love the same things I always have,” former Madisonian Dietrich Gosser sings, as he plucks his acoustic guitar and drummer Dan Kuemmel stirs up a pleasant junk-percussion racket. Even when it’s noisy, its quiet in spirit: In an interview this year, Gosser explained that he developed his gentle guitar style so as not to disturb his neighbors.

ABSTRACT INTERLUDES
Because sometimes, you’ve got to get poetic, smart-assed, obtuse, or noisy. Or all those things at once.

Spires That In The Sunset Rise, "Pouring Mind"
"Pouring Mind" by Spires That In The Sunset Rise
This isn’t the wildest brain-bender on former Chicagoans Spires That In The Sunset Rise’s latest album, Curse The Traced Bird. But it’s a good introduction to what these women can make from exotic stringed instruments, ghostly vocals, and all manner of disorienting drones.

Vid Libert, “Oh, Osho”
"Oh, Osho" by Vid Libert
While he styles himself as a folksinger in his solo outings, Vid Libert (who’s also in The Takebacks) also gets much of his charm from lo-fi sonic tinkering, with a healthy drizzle of white noise and reverb. “Oh, Osho,” one of his spacier tracks, takes the folk out of the equation and leaves the dub-inspired waves of electric guitar, glockenspiel, and disembodies vocals.

Dick The Bruiser, “Vampire State”
Vampire State
Dick The Bruiser may be grounded in a visceral rhythmic grind, but bassist-vocalist-Theremin squeaker Kevin Wade also wrote the weirdest, funniest, tongue-twistingest set of lyrics in Madison music this year. As Decider said in our Ballot Blasters series: “Wade might actually be getting at something in his lyrics, but he seems more preoccupied with forming coarse word-patterns that grind on the shards of an idea.”

Pale Young Gentlemen, “Goldenface, Morninglight”
"Goldenface, Morninglight" by Pale Young Gentlemen
Pale Young Gentlemen ventured into lots of new ground with this year’s Black Forest (tra la la). Fortunately, they also kept building on their tipsy air of romance, and this song captures it as well as anything they’ve done yet.

HALL OF HOOKS
The year’s local-music output proves there’s a lot of different ways to be catchy.

Sleeping In The Aviary, “Calm Me Down”
"Calm Me Down" by Sleeping In The Aviary
As Sleeping In The Aviary played live audiences the songs that would end up on Expensive Vomit In A Cheap Hotel, this one always stuck out. The acoustic-guitar-and-accordion setup is nice, but more importantly, the song itself is a sweet, mid-tempo surprise.

The German Art Students, “Pompeii”
"Pompeii" by The German Art Students Songs that bulldoze through this many hooks are damn near uncalled-for, but that’s what makes it fun.

National Beekeepers Society, “Lazy”
"Lazy" by National Beekeepers Society
National Beekeepers Society went from slightly odd to all-over-the-place nuts on this year’s Pawn Shop Etiquette. It’s only appropriate that the song with the most horn breaks, screechy guitar fills, and mood swings turned out to be the best.

Stink Tank, “Something Positive”
"Something Positive" by Stink Tank
This tune starts with a parody of a bad freestyle, then shows us what a good verse is all about.

Whatfor, “Home”
"Home" by Whatfor
Finally, a pop song about staying the hell inside to “avoid all of those creeps.” That doesn’t make it any less fun, though.

Patchwork, “Spaceships”
"Spaceships" by Patchwork
Here’s the slow side of catchy. Jeremiah Nelson’s (aka Patchwork) vocal melody just seems to be quietly drifting through this song, until you realize that it actually carries the song, sneaking its way into memory.

COMPLAINT DEPARTMENT
Is it really a good mixtape if it doesn’t help you wallow in anger, disappointments, and the general bittersweetness of life? Decider thought not.

Awesome Car Funmaker, “An Ode To Escape Or Explode”
"An Ode To Escape Or Explode" by Awesome Car Funmaker
Leave it to the wacked-out party band to make an album about being miserable.

Blueheels, “Lion And The Lamb”
"Lion And The Lamb" by Blueheels
As we’ve said before, Blueheels set out to sound like more of a rock band than an alt-country band on this year’s Lessons In Sunday Driving. Wisely, they made sure to include an angry song.

Blake Thomas, “Up In Flames”
"Up In Flames" by Blake Thomas
This song compares an ex-lover to a burning car, and includes lines like “I’m just hoping that your daughter’s pretty and dumb/ There’s no place in this world for the thoughtful ones.” On paper it sounds bitter, but Blake Thomas takes the slow and restrained route here, as if he’s almost ready to let go of the memory.

This Bright Apocalypse, “ Slogans For A Savannah”
"Slogans For A Savannah" by This Bright Apocalypse
Again, going back to Ballot Blasters: “Starting with Adam Cargin’s post-punkish guitar riff, it gradually spreads into a weird purgatory where voices and percussion blend warmly as Luke Bassuener sings, ‘Let’s watch the vultures, let’s let it all burn.’”