#2885: The 2008 Listener Poll Show

Here's the rebuttal to last night’s program where the listeners weigh in on the best new music releases of 2008. First off, a big thank you to all of the listeners who voted! We found that there were some hard-fought battles this year between a young composer who blogs, a bit of Afro-pop, and a string quartet. BUT, find out who emerged victorious from this year's contest on the 23rd annual New Sounds Listener Poll show.

Also, there were a few "Honorable Mentions" included in the poll, because they seemed like fun at the time and we are curious about you: Best Reissue, Best New Music Venue, a write-in option for the Best Live Event of 2008, and the Best Portal for New Music (websites, subscription services, blogs)

And those winners are:
Best Reissue: Overwhelmingly, the listeners chose Philip Glass' Glass Box: A Nonesuch Retrospective 10 CD set

Best New Music Venue: Le Poisson Rouge, by quite a few votes. But BAM (Brooklyn Academy of Music) was a strong second.

Best Concert Event of 2008: the all-night long Bang on a Can Marathon 2008 beat out GlobalFEST 2008 by just one vote.

Best Website/Blog/Online Portal for Discovering New Music: Interestingly, the listeners chose NPR Music.

Thanks again to everyone who responded to our survey.

NEW SOUNDS with John Schaefer, a Production of WNYC-FM PROGRAM # 2885, the Listener Poll Results 2008 (First aired on Thurs, Jan 8, 2009)

Songs and Poems for Solo Cello

ARTIST(S)	RECORDING	CUT(S)	SOURCE
10. Kakande	Dudunya	Paya Paya [5:00]	Jumbie #0008 www.jumbierecords.com*
9. itsnotyouitsme	walled gardens	great day [6:00]	New Amsterdam #36311 www.itsnotyouitsme.net*
8. Bill Frisell	History, Mystery	Probability Cloud, Part II [1 :00] Probability Cloud, reprise [1:30]	Nonesuch #400039 www.nonesuch.com*
7. Cheb I Sabbah	Devotion	Koi Bole Ram Ram (feat. Rana Singh) [5:30]	Six Degrees #1142 www.sixdegreesrecords.com*
6. Steve Reich	The Daniel Variations	Mvmt. 3: Let the Dream Fall Back on the Dreaded, excerpt [5:00]	Nonesuch #406780** www.nonesuch.com
5. Nico Muhly	Mothertongue	Mothertongue, conclusion: Monster [3:30]	Brassland #018** www.brassland.org*
4. Meredith Monk	Impermanence	Particular Dance [4:00]	ECM #2026 ** www.ecmrecords.com
3. Toumani Diabate	The Mande Variations	Elyne Road [5:00]	Nonesuch #433724** www.nonesuch.com
2. Kronos Quartet & Wu Man	The Cusp of Magic	Terry Riley: The Cusp of Magic, excerpt [5:00]	Nonesuch #95985 ** www.nonesuch.com
1. Philip Glass		Poem No. 4 [3:00]	Orange Mountain #0037 ** www.orangemountain music.com** www.philipglass.com*