2008 Recap...British Pop

So I've been doing this recap thing, not really a 'top 10 list' since there's more than ten things and I haven't really ordered them. Well now I'll start the numbering....

3) Yeah, three. There's a bunch more stuff before in my more recent posts that could be called 11 or so through 4. But this is where I rank them. I'm lumping two discovery into one post since it's really the vein of music I'm talking about here, rawky british pop. Sort of.

I first heard the Kooks on XM and was pretty caught by their retro-now sound. Didn't know anything about them, but their hooky guitar pop caught me and I had to remind myself to check them out. This was a year ago, maybe two. I guess they sold a shitload of that first record, which I have yet to hear save for that one radio song I can't remember now. So they put out a record this year called Konk. As in Ray Davies/the Kinks studio. That says a lot, and I picked it up. It is what it is, decpetively simple four guys-with-guitars pop. They don't annoy me like the Strokes, who seem to have no soul. Anyway, this is a killer record, with memorable yet disposable hooks. Love it. Get it on vinyl and like me, 'clean' it on your homemade record vacuum before recording it to digital. That way the super glue residue on the vacuum wand will scuff up the last 1/2 inch of grooves and give the recording that old time scratchy sound.

Locksley, Don't Make Me Wait. These guys aren't British, they're kids from Wisconsin now in uber-hip Brooklyn. They opened on Ray Davies short winter tour last month. Their cd is a bitch to find since they're unsigned, but I guess they have some licemsing deal with MTV and maybe some commercials. They're album is totally fucking derivative and killer. They sound like the Small Faces and the Beatles (pre 1966). They're nice kids. They'll make you dance around the room. Preview the record here, then buy it.