The U.K. gives birth to another elctro rock band, Late Of The Pier. The four piece from Castle Donington formed in 2001 releasing singles sporadically. They signed with Parlophone Records, whose artists include bands such as Radiohead, Hot Chip, and Bat For Lashes. August of this year marked the release of their debut album Fantasy Black Channel.
The up and coming indie rock band has been compared to MGMT with their prominent usage of synthesizers and innovative fringes.
My 2008 Itunes playlist can keep me occupied for ceaseless hours. It is an eclectic mix ranging from straight up dirty folk to electronic dance rage to some fine indie rock tunes and everything in or around. As the year comes to an end lets stop and take a gander at some of the ridiculously awesome albums of 2008.
January: MGMT-Oracular Spectacular, Electric Dance Rock music at its finest. Andrew Vanwyngarden and Ben Goldwasser started out rockin in school together and have basically exploded into an indie sensation.
Feburary: Hot Chip - Made in The Dark, 13 tracks of electro dance goodness, these guys could get even the scroogiest of scrooges to bust a move on the dance floor.
March: The Dodos - Visiter, Not only are the lyrics poetically powerful but 
Meric Long, the lead singer, has an enchanting voice. The guitar and drums are some of the best I have heard in a long time.
April: The Presets - Apacolypso, The best track off the new album is “Talk Like That.” This group is blessed with the sexy skill of incorporating the organ into a sick dance floor track.
May: Elbow - The Seldom Seen Kid 18 years in the bizz, this might be their best album yet. 
July: Black Kids - Partie Traumatic, keep an eye on these kids, their indie rock tunes are going to be around for a while.
August: Lykki Li - 
Youth Novels, The Swede’s first album is a smash. 17 tracks full of amazing lyrics, beats, and rock. We love her.
September: TV On The Radio - Dear Science, The 16 track album (including remixes, and some bonus tracks) follows the feel of previous TV On The Radio albums but sounds more refined and refreshing.
October: Of Montreal - Skeletal Lamping, They are not from Montreal, but rather from Athens, Georgia. Either way they know how to entertain. ”Of Montreal will never get ya down”
November: The Sound of The Smiths, 2 Discs of The Smiths,
what more could you want? Oh wait, theres a 12 minute video on there too. Formed in 1982 this collection of tunes is the best of the best, making it the 5th compilation album of The Smiths to date.
December: Cat Power - Dark End Of The Street, The Queen of smokey blues numbers, Cat Power, brings us an EP of six tracks recorded during her Jukebox sessions, four of which are previously unpublished.
Kevin Barnes, the lead singer and and song writer for Of Montreal, and Andrew Van Wyngarden, one of the masterminds behind MGMT have joined creative forces. The duo hopes to release an LP under the name Blikk Fang in early 2009. The LP should be a wonder of grand, theatrical proportions. Keep an eye out for Blikk Fang in the new year.
Walk through the gates, grab a free bright colored towel, and run for your life. If this sounds familiar then you have been to a concert at McCarren park pool. Sadly, this past year is supposedly the last year they are going to use the pool as a venue for live music, out door theatre, and movie spot and they are going to turn it back into a community pool. McCarren Park Pool is known for putting on some of the best concerts in the NYC metro area. Not only are a lot of the concerts rockin but (another perk of living in the city) tons of these shows are free.
Its sad to think about the pool actually being filled up with water instead of indie hipsters. This past summer had a ridiculous line up. Unfortunately I only made it to one of the Sunday Pool Party shows but, in my opinion, it was the best one.
The Ting Tings opened up and kicked some major tunes my way. At one point there were 3 young men jump roping on stage while Kate White, lead singer, played a large drum with a malet. It was impossible not to jump around and I was not the only one feelin it. After waiting about an hour for a storm to pass the Ting Tings were well worth the delay.
The Black Moth Super Rainbow hit the stage next with a super sleepy, extra short mix. By the time I came back from visiting the most disgusting port-a-potties in the world, black moth was playing their last song and I could not have been more excited about it. I do enjoy me some Black Moth but I prefer a bath tub and a glass of wine while they are playing rather than a rainy unruly crowd and a plastic cup of beer.
MGMT
To close out the show MGMT rocked my mind, body and soul. The band members all had on 70′s style outfits which helped get everybody into the groove before they even played. The show surpassed my expectations and my expectations were pretty high. As if it could get any better MGMT played Kids for their encore song. There is a small line between amazingness and so good I want to take my clothes off and jump around like a mad person, and I was ready to cross it.
