Critics Week: A List for Listmakers

Debashish Bhattacharya

So remember on Tuesday when we were asking whether critics were irrelevant or irreplaceable? And I said that there were a few old-fashioned print critics, like Jon Pareles of the Times, that I still found important and useful? Well I’ve seen Jon’s list of the best World Music of 2008, and it turns out I don’t need him.

I’m kidding, of course, but just barely. Jon’s list features a number of my favorite world music artists (Debashish Bhattacharya, the great Indian slide guitarist; Toumani Diabate, the Malian kora virtuoso; and Franco, one of the founders of the global phenomenon we now call Afropop). When I see that, I think, “hey, I could’ve put this list together myself.” Except I couldn’t have, really… Jon’s list also includes Huong Thanh and Nguyen Le’s “Fragile Beauty,” a recording I have not heard – or even heard of. Since so much of his Best Of list includes things I like too, this suggests I better start practicing how to say Huong Thanh and Nguyen Le. Guess I know what I’ll be downloading after today’s show…

And Jon’s list conspicuously leaves out the three great Touareg guitar bands who released albums in 2008 – Tinariwen, Toumast, and Terakaft. One of them will definitely be on my top-10 list, as soon as I figure out how to tell them apart. (Actually, Tinariwen’s 2008 release is a gatefold 2-LP version of 2007’s “Aman Iman,” so I guess that leaves just two of these desert-fighters-turned-electric-guitarist bands eligible for this year’s lists.)

Tell us: What world music recordings caught your ear in 2008? Leave a comment.