[I have been unofficially picking my top albums each year for several years now, but last January I made it official for the first time by posting my 2007 picks in our blog and even though it’s probably cliche and self-aggrandizing to think anyone gives two rips about my music critiques I’m going to do it again this year.]
I’ve been struggling with my picks for top albums (I’ll get into why in part 2) so this year I’m going to start with my top songs. When I started thinking about my favorite songs for 2008 there was one that immediately stuck out as #1, followed by another dozen or so that were clearly worth a top 10 list. My final list (a little over 10 songs) makes for a stellar musical feast if I do say so myself: an ass kicking rocker to start it off, some hauntingly beautiful pieces, a couple of up-beat poppy tunes, a gut bustingly funny Barry White parody, a sing-along drinking song, and a little Afro-beat.
Top 13 Songs of 2008:
1. “S.T.H.D.” – Ladyhawk – Shots. If I listened to this song before I went out on every mountain bike ride I would most likely end up in the hospital within a week. This song makes me want to go fast; it makes me feel 19 again; it makes me want to pump my fists in the air and grin a shit-eating grin from ear to ear. The only thing that sucks about it… it’s over in 1:58.
2. “Furr” – Blitzen Trapper – Furr. I hear people talk about bands having a particular “Northwest sound,” but I’m not sure I really buy into that. However, this song by Portland’s Blitzen Trapper vibrates with a feeling that immediately transports me to some ridge top in the Cascades – the feeling of open spaces, a roaring fire holding off the damp air, wind in the trees, and a safe distance from the chaos of modern life.
3. “Skinny Love” – Bon Iver – For Emma, Forever Ago. There are several great tracks on this album but this is the one that stood out for me from the very beginning. I’ll talk more about Bon Iver in part 2.
4. “Time to Pretend” – MGMT – Oracular Spectacular. To me, MGMT seems like a band that was swinging for the fences with each song on their album. Like your typical hitter, they’re going to strike out or maybe just get a base hit most of the time. But then, every once in a while they connect just right and it flies. This song is a grand slam – a catchy lick and beautiful, bitter-sweet lyrics. The rest of the album: base hits and strike outs.
5. “Whiskey in my Whiskey” – The Felice Brothers – The Felice Brothers. My two favorite sub-genres: murder ballads and drinking anthems. Combine them into one song and you can’t go wrong.
6. “Business Time” – Flight of the Conchords – Flight of the Conchords. I had to have at least one song from this album in my top 10 but picking it was hard. I bust a gut listening to almost every track. In the end, I picked this one because I feel it has the widest appeal. I mean what married person isn’t going to see the hilarious reality behind this parody. And how can you not pick a song with a line like, “Then you sort out the recycling; that isn’t part of the foreplay process, but it’s still very important.”
7. “Lost Coastlines” – Okkervil River – The Stand Ins. Yes, Okkervil River makes my list two years in a row. On most of their albums they’ve done a great job creating some songs that have a driving groove – songs that mix intelligent lyrics, intricate structure and a catchy beat. What more do you want?
8. “Your Control” – Crooked Fingers – Forfeit/Fortune. So this song has an unfair advantage – namely a vocal cameo by Neko Case. But hey, who can blame Eric Bachmann for bringing in a ringer like that when you get the chance.
9. “Two Towns from Me” – Blind Pilot – 3 Rounds and a Sound. Yeah, this sounds like it could come off of an old Whiskey Town record – but that’s not a bad thing – and I think Nebeker and Dobrowski put together an even sweater vocal sound. The entire album is enchanting and I think this song highlights everything they bring together.
10. “5 Years Time” – Noah and the Whale – Peaceful, the World Lays One Down. So this song could be a little too sugary for some moods (in fact sometimes I’m embarrassed that I like it as much as I do) but I think it’s tongue-in-cheek enough to work. I’ve also seen a number of people disparage it (and the band) because it was used in a commerical and therefore must be far too… well, “commercial.” Now of course this is idiotic logic for critiquing the merits of a song (although I have to admit that I might have been guilty of similar reasoning when I neglected to mention Feist’s album The Reminder last year) but fortunately for me I haven’t seen the commercial – I don’t even know what product it’s used to advertise – so I get to enjoy it without suffering any consumerism related guilt.
Honorable Mention:
“Don’t Give That S**t to Me” – Seun Kuti & Egypt 80 – Many Things. Sometimes it can be hard to compare songs of such different genres and I’m a novice with Afrobeat music, but when you hear this track it doesn’t take an expert to know it kicks ass no matter what genre you come from. Clear out some space, turn it up, and get ready to stomp out a groove.
“Fools” – The Dodos – Visiter. The trombone makes this song. (How often do you hear that?) Unfortunately, I wouldn’t recommend going out and buying the entire album, but this is a song that could end up on a lot of mixed tapes.
“Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa” – Vampire Weekend – Vampire Weekend. This song was first released on an EP in 2007 so it ended up on my top ten list last year. As a result, I didn’t feel it was fair to put in the top 10 list 2 years in a row – but it’s just too good not to at least mention again.
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