AP Readers Poll 2008: Editors' Lists

>

Still hyperventilating over newcomer (and uber-hunk) Robert Pattinson from his turn as vamp-gone-good in Twilight? Don't worry-we're listing the next group of fresh, young talent to watch out for on a screen near you.

ARI GRAYNOR
New Jersey mob-aholics will recognize Ari Graynor as Caitlin, Meadow Soprano's freshman roommate at NYU. If not, she stole every scene she was in as Norah's pretty (drunk) best friend Caroline, in 2008's Nick And Norah's Infinite Playlist. This year sees her in two sure-to-be-huge hits: First in next month's Youth In Revolt, opposite Michael Cera, and later as roller derby goddess Eva Destruction in the Drew Barrymore-directed Whip It!.

JUNO TEMPLE
Juno Temple (daughter of Joe Strummer: The Future Is Unwritten director Julien Temple) had a small (but pivotal) role as Lola Quincey in 2007's Oscar-nominated Atonement. This year, you might see her in the much-delayed Wild Child alongside Emma Roberts, as well as Mr. Nobody, Cracks and The Year One.

JESSE PLEMONS
AP introduced you to this Friday Night Lights star in our Made For TV special in 2006. In 2009, though, Jesse Plemons will bust out on the big screen with no less than three films: Shrink, Happiness Runs and Observe And Report.

JAMIE CAMPBELL-BOWER
With roles in Sweeney Todd and RocknRolla, Jamie Campbell-Bower is clearly in touch with his dark side. Catch him next year opposite Ian McKellen in the highly anticipated remake of The Prisoner-AMC's next addition to their drama series lineup.

FELICITY JONES
They say every great actor has to do Shakespeare at least once: Felicity Jones will get her chance this year in Julie Taymor's (Across The Universe) adaptation of The Tempest, which also stars fellow Brit and notorious funnyman, Russell Brand. -Rachel Lux

BEST VOCALIST

JOHN GOURLEY of PORTUGAL.THE MAN
It would take a supercomputer the size of Iowa to differentiate one screamo or pop-punk vocalist from the next, but it takes less than a second of John Gourley's fragile, high-pitched, near falsetto to instantly recognize Portugal. The Man. Although the Alaskan is only in his early 20s, his voice resonates with a soulfulness that flutters between the androgyny of Robert Plant and the retro smoothness of a Motown crooner. It's Gourley's layers of delicate vocals that lend P.TM songs their unique, neuvo-vintage sound. [TJK]
GO DOWNLOAD: “Created” off Censored Colors

RUNNERS-UP
DAN YEMIN of PAINT IT BLACK
Few figures in hardcore are as influential as Lifetime/Kid Dynamite guitarist Dan Yemin. But with Paint It Black, his gruff, powerful bark embodies the anger, intelligence and bite of an entire scene.
GO DOWNLOAD: “Past Tense, Future Perfect” off New Lexicon

JULIE CHRISTMAS of MADE OUT OF BABIES
There aren't that many female voices in post-metal, but Julie Christmas' alternately melodic and abrasive vocals transcend both genre and gender categories.
GO DOWNLOAD: “Stranger” off The Ruiner

BEST GUITARISTS

OMAR RODRIGUEZ-LOPEZ of THE MARS VOLTA
Genius guitar-playing has become synonymous with Omar Rodriguez-Lopez (see: Rolling Stone slapping him on the “Guitar Heroes” cover next to Eddie Van Halen, Jimmy Page and B.B. King). But any mainstream accolades the Mars Volta shredder has gotten, he has certainly earned. Not only is he a furiously talented player, he is never satisfied with the status quo: He constantly experiments with techniques, coaxing bar-raising sounds out of his six-string with every new release. [RL]
GO DOWNLOAD: “Metatron” from The Bedlam In Goliath

RUNNERS-UP
JON DEVOTO of THE MATCHES
Jon Devoto brings a chameleon-like quality to the lead guitar slot in the Matches, as he's equally adept at sunny pop-punk and lo-fi fuzz as he is on theater-punk and loud rockers.
GO DOWNLOAD: “Yankee In A Chip Shop” from A Band In Hope

RACHEL RUBINO of BRIDGE AND TUNNEL
Rachel Rubino's eloquent and inventive guitar skills prove you don't have to rock an actual beard to rock out the beard-punk.
GO DOWNLOAD: “Wartime Souvenirs” from East/West

BEST BASSIST

JASON BLACK of SENSES FAIL
Jason Black knows no bounds: After laying one hell of a foundation for Hot Water Music and the Draft, Black brought his low-end talents to Life Is Not A Waiting Room, the latest from New Jersey screamers Senses Fail, released last fall on Vagrant. Black brings a level of intricacy to the bassline the band haven't seen before, and Fail-ophiles are hoping to hear a lot more of it. [JG]
GO DOWNLOAD: “Wolves At The Door” off Life Is Not A Waiting Room

RUNNERS-UP
JAMES RUSHENT of DOES IT OFFEND YOU, YEAH?
So you've got a prescription for steady beats that can balance any electro-pop head-trip? Now paging Dr. Rushent…
GO DOWNLOAD: “Being Bad Feels Pretty Good” off You Have No Idea What You're Getting Yourself Into

ARIF MIRABDOLBAGHI of PROTEST THE HERO
Each Protest The Hero song is like six different songs, and Mirabdolbaghi is the rhythm master of them all.
GO DOWNLOAD: “Bone Marrow” off Fortress

BEST DRUMMER

AARON GILLESPIE of UNDEROATH
Kudos go out to this firebrand for taking a backseat vocally on Underoath’s latest album to focus more on his absolutely furious drumming. Aaron Gillespie’s style is manic and frenetic, yet it retains a level of delicacy typically ignored by most metalcore bands. Sure, Gillespie can find the pocket and ram his way through it, but he’s also just as content to pull back if the song calls for it. [SH]
GO DOWNLOAD: “The Only Survivor Was Miraculously Unharmed†off Lost In The Sound Of Separation

RUNNERS-UP
JORMA VIK of THE BRONX
Jorma Vik misses a beat as infrequently as George W. Bush correctly pronounces “nuclear.†That is to say, never-dude is a skin-pounding machine.
GO DOWNLOAD: “Enemy Mind†off The Bronx (III)

DEREK GRANT of ALKALINE TRIO Originally from Detroit, Derek Grant is the true Motor City Madman. On any given night, expect to see his limbs flailing between off-time cymbal-bell hits and clever tom fills, all while delivering pitch-perfect backing vocals. What can't this guy do?
GO DOWNLOAD: “I Found Away†off Agony & Irony

We're pretty sure the title of this list says it all. Read on to find out who we're blackballing this year…

FRAMING HANLEY
More proof that you can dress up the most faceless, trite, radio-rock fodder in sub-cultural signifiers and pimp it like free Proactiv outside an MTV studio. Two years from now, there won't be enough used CD stores for their fans to recycle this pap. Forget Gibson and Fender: If Framing Hanley were any more formulaic they'd be endorsed by Similac.

RED
For a band who have used the modifier “ambient” to describe their tepid Clear Channel murk, these simps probably spent their “formative” years playing Tool covers during Ladies Night at their local dive instead of listening to Brian Eno discs. I can smell your thoughts now: “Go die, prick. They sold half a million records, and were nominated for a Grammy.” Really? May I remind you approximately 57 million people thought someone as smart as Sarah Palin should be close to America's nuclear defense system.

THE WHITE TIE AFFAIR
There's a thin line between what I'll call “scene pop” and boy bands, and these guys have licked it clean off the map, along with the boots of their idol-making handlers. I bet these future grocery-baggers automatically suck in their cheeks when they see a camera phone. You tell me: Do men suffer from yeast infections?

HOLLYWOOD UNDEAD
It's alleged that these rap-rock monkey-asses were given prominence only after their record label paid self-aggrandizing elf Jeffree Starr to do his patented MySpace friend magic for them. More proof that it's perfectly rational for some parents to let their toddlers play with dry-cleaning bags. This is music for people who wear JNCO pants in 2009.

MILLIONAIRES
Forget the faceless emo hordes: The scene that needs real “social cleansing” is the electro-pop munchkins who somehow curried favor with Warped Tour nation-namely Millionaires and all of their friends. If you really feel three teen girls yelling posh 'n' bored whore-babble on top of some looping software are “da bomb,” go download Aqua's 1997 hit “Barbie Girl” and play it 60 times in a row, stabbing yourself in the face with a Pilot Precise V5 pen with each listen. Are you cured yet? -Jason Pettigrew

Editors by day, professional bookies by night, we handicap the odds of seeing your favorite rockers onstage again.

MIDTOWN
ODDS:2:1
WHERE IT SHOULD HAPPEN: The Bamboozle
When did Midtown become this mythic being among the scene? It's not like they were obscure (dudes were on two major labels in their career), nor were they short-lived (we're guessing they easily played over 1,000 shows in their six-year existence). Still, even though the world doesn't really need this emo-punk also-ran to get back together, they probably will, just to relive the “glory days” (read: Gabe Saporta will be banned from wearing neon onstage) one more time.

BLINK-182
ODDS:5:1
WHERE IT SHOULD HAPPEN: Warped Tour
These odds were significantly steeper before bassist/vocalist Mark Hoppus took to his blog mid-November and casually dropped the bombshell that he, drummer Travis Barker and estranged guitarist/ vocalist Tom DeLonge were in the process of “reconnecting as friends” after being less-than-cordial for the past four years. Kevin Lyman, open up your wallet already!

JAWBREAKER
ODDS:15:1
WHERE IT SHOULD HAPPEN: My basement
This one's tricky, as drummer Adam Pfalher has been hinting toward some sort of reunion via MySpace bulletins for a while. But at the same time, frontman Blake Schwarzenbach just debuted his new band, the Thorns Of Life, through a series of Brooklyn house shows, and they sound pretty much like Jawbreaker. Would a rehash be disingenuous?

THE SMITHS
ODDS:25:1
WHERE IT SHOULD HAPPEN:Coachella
Morrissey and Johnny Marr can shoot down the reunion rumors all they want, but this one seems inevitable (just maybe not this year). The real question is, once the Smiths reunite, what's left for pale-skinned, well-coiffed, 30-something former college radio music directors to wish for? -Scott Heisel

IN '09, EDITOR IN CHIEF JASON PETTIGREW IS TOTALLY STOKED FOR…
LIVE AT THE BBC, a series of previously unreleased radio sessions recorded by my favorite band in life, THE SCREAMING BLUE MESSIAHS. You could cut the tension at their shows with a Husqvarna chainsaw. I've never seen a band throw it down like that since they broke up, and if you ask Channels' J. Robbins or Fugazi's Guy Picciotto, they will tell you the same thing.

IN '09, MANAGING EDITOR RACHEL LUX IS TOTALLY STOKED FOR…
INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS, the new Quentin Tarantino film starring Brad Pitt. Please. It's a period piece about a bunch of Jewish-American soldiers scalping Nazis during WWII. And it's directed by Tarantino (who is reportedly completely off his rocker these days, which can only mean good things for the film).

IN '09, MUSIC EDITOR SCOTT HEISEL IS TOTALLY STOKED FOR…
TERMINATOR SALVATION, the next in the sorta-classic Terminator series. Sure, the franchise has made a few missteps (Terminator 3: Rise Of The Machines and that lame FOX TV show are both super-weak), but if seeing Christian “Do you like Huey Lewis?” Bale taking on an army of indestructible machines doesn't get your mojo risin', then you might want to consult your physician.

IN '09, ASSOCIATE EDITOR TIM KARAN IS TOTALLY STOKED FOR…
LOST. Locke is in the casket, Kate cleans up real nice off the island, Ben is sort of awesome, and bearded Jack equals crazy Jack. Finally, the fifth season of Lost is upon us. Nothing can drag me out of my apartment ever.

IN '09, COPY EDITOR JENNIFER GRATHWOL IS TOTALLY STOKED FOR…
CHANGE. I've seen the South Park episode too, but I promise, I'm not one of those “change zombies.” I am righteously stoked, though, for a new president and new direction for this country. I still have a healthy amount of skepticism, so even if Washington doesn't help us, maybe now we have the hope and vision to change things ourselves. But if you do have any spare change… Change.

List culture is where it's at, and we've got it coming out of our ears. Here are some lists we think we have a strong possibility of throwing together at the last minute heavily researching and carefully writing throughout the year.

1. Top 5 Abuses Of Neon Clothing
2. Top 5 Felonies Committed By Escape The Fate
3. Top 5 Rockers Proud To Be Republicans
4. Top 5 Profanities You Won't Hear At A Rocket Summer Show
5. Top 5 Lists We're Probably Gonna Have To Write In 2010