Easily top 3 for me at present. What do you think?

I will go for top 3 - to be honest, its one of only two records i've purchased this year that I can be sure is from 2008.

The problem I have is the amount of stuff I need to get from the last 50, 60 or even 70 years...

Top 5. Sterling effort, but more good stuff out there.

Top 3. There have been some exceptional records released this year though - notably SEVN FNGRS by Black Francis, MOUNTAIN BATTLES by the Breeders. I was disappointed by Malkmus' Real Emotional Trash (don't know everyone's feelings on Pavement/Malkmus stuff, but I'm a fan of most of it) but am looking forward to the new Roky Erickson effort if/when it ever shows up...yeah, I mainly stick to the veterans...
I think IWS is a great record, but am unclear where it fits in the Fall corpus overall - tonight I decided this must mean it's a new chapter in the saga: shall we call this one Von Fall?

hard to say. at the moment it's in top-3 but by the end of the year i guess it won't be in top-5. but who knows...

Forgot I had it already. Haven't played it for about 3 weeks.

Definitely top 5, but we're only half way through the year.

You, guys, are hard fellows, not true beleivers... There are not that much recent records I'm putting on at the moment!

I'm spinning the new Sparks album at the moment. It's another great one from them.

IWS will surely be in my top 5, probably top 3.

Edit: But I notice now that you wrote "2008 1st half", so then it's definitely in top 3.

short pause inbetween - but returning to it is a pleasure here!
so first option for me.

I've gone for "other". It's hard enough comparing Fall albums to other Fall albums, let alone comparing them to everyone else's. It's certainly not the most listened to of the new albums I've bought this year - even though in theory I do agree with much that has been written on here about it being the best since The Unutterable and all that, when it comes to pulling a CD off the shelf and sticking it in the machine, I almost always go for something else.

favourite so far i think?

I don't really put records from The Fall in context with other "artists" because the band is in a field of one.

Nobody outside this forum would have this record in their Top 50 LP's of the year. I don't care to be honest.

It's like, last year, the Italian football journalist Gabriele Marcotti did the top 50 players in World Football for year 2006-2007. He had Beckham and Malouda both in the Top 30. Ryan Giggs didn't even make the list. I'm telling you, even in his wildest hallucinations and wet dreams, Beckham was never better than Giggs. And as for Malouda, I'm still pissing myself. :rolleyes:

Is that a good enough explanation?

The best.

The rateyourmusic.com community currently has it as number 47 album of 2008.

Thank you! Thank you!

This is what I'm on about forever.

There's lots of great bands and lots of great music out there. I did like the new Malkmus. If we can throw reissues in there, the Mission of Burma rereleases were awesome.

IWS. Love IWS can't compare it against any music from anybody else. If I was forced to buy only ONE CD this year it would be this even if it was the worst reviewed CD of the year. If I could be stranded on a deserted island and had to choose Missing Winner or...say...Sticky Fingers. No contest.

The Fall is on a different list.

It's the only 2008 release I've purchased, so I suppose that makes it the best.

yea still up there

Pipped by Thee Oh Sees for the first half methinks. But tomorrow I might think the other way around.

I'm usually a couple of years behind, so it's certainly the best of '08 for me so far.

Blimey Conway, my argument is shot down in flames. :o

Anyway, I think you know where I'm coming from.

Definitely the album I've listened to most this year. I can't think of a better one.

yeah but the site has some viking metal in the top 5. hmmmm.

and some 'comedy rock' features high too, spare me.

one ov the best for ages