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The Michigan Daily michigandaily.com ( Thursday, January 8, 2009
THE BEST ALBUMS
OF 2008

From TV on the Radio to Lil' Wayne, from Deer-
hunter to Portishead, 2008 saw a wide range of art-
ists score big with some of their best-ever efforts. At
the dawn of 2009, the Daily Music Staff takes a look
back with its picks for the best albums of the year.

weekend
essentials
Jan 8. to Jan. 11
MOVIES
The Michigan The-
ater's "Great Directors
Series: Alfred Hitch-
cock" continues this
weekend with three
of The Master's fin-
est films. On Friday, at
midnight, Janet Leigh
has the misfortune
of winding up at the
sinister Bates Motel
in "Psycho"; on Satur-
day, at 1:40 p.m., Cary
Grant finds himself
on the run after being
mistaken for a spy in
"North by Northwest";
and on Sunday, at 1:40
p.m., James Stewart
becomes obsessed
with the woman he
saw die in "Vertigo."
CONCERT
For 45 years, the
Guarneri String Quar-
tet has remained one
of the most respected
groups in the field of
classical music. With
plans to retire, they
are coming to Ann
Arbor this weekend
for one last farewell.
4 p.m. Sunday at
Rackham Auditorium.
Tickets are $24-$50.

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TV on the Radio, buzz band no more. With the release of Dear Science, TVOTR has
entered into a rare and hard to define realm within the music world - partof a breed of
bands that are respected by all, challenged by few and enviedby their less-talented peers.
Radiohead is in this category; so was Pavement.
Dear Science, is an album with no unnecessary flourishes, no out-of-place instrumenta-
tion and no moments that sound even remotely close to contrived. Every single note on
the album is essential, like each individual brushstroke in a masterpiece painting. From
the claps on "Dancing Choose" to the breezy synth swells on "DLZ" to Tunde Adebimpe's
sweet falsetto "cry-i-i-i-lng," TVOTR has crafted 2008's best album, a brilliant work com-
ing from a band in the infancy of its career. It's staggering to even think of what's next.
JEFF SANFORD
2 FLEET FOXES - Fleet Foxes
The Fleet Foxes things-to-do list for 2008 might look something like this: release Sin
Giant EP in January; tour relentlessly ina run-down van through the spring, garnering
much hype for the June release of the self-titled debut album along the way; win over
audiences and critics nationwide with pastoral harmonies and deceptively simple folk-
pop arrangements; get tapped by Wilco to open for a leg of the summer tour, circulating
a'spirited live collaboration of Bob Dylan's "I Shall Be Released" around the Web to show
for it; appear on every late night program on network television; wind up near the top of
nearly everyyear-end list known to humanity; and somehow manage to do all this in less
than 12 months.

TELEVISION
Jack Bauer finally gets
back to doing what
he does best - killing
and torturing people
- after nearly a year
and a half of delay. In
what's sure to be a glo-
riously bloody return,
Fox's "24" begins its
seventh season with a
two-night, four-hour
premiere starting this
Sunday at 8 p.m.
ON STAGE
RubberBanDa nce
Group is a dance com-
pany that freely mixes
the genres of hip hop
and contemporary
dance. The elasticity
of movement is high-
lighted with innova-
tive dance routines.
This weekend's event
provides two differ-
ent works presented
at the Power Center
on Friday at 8 p.m.
and Sunday at 2 p.m.,
with a one-hour family
friendly performance
on Saturday at 1 p.m.

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