2008 was a solid (but not great) year in music. The biggest theme for me was the arrival of several fantastic new bands. The first albums by Fleet Foxes, Frightened Rabbit, and Bon Iver were some of my favorites of the year. Noteworthy discoveries of bands that I did not know prior to this year (and who produced solid albums in 2008) included Thievery Corporation, MGMT, DeVotchKa, The Black Keys, The Walkmen, and Blitzen Trapper. The depth of new material, however, was not as good as last year or most years from the past decade.I firmly believe that we are currently in a musical era that compares favorably with the late 1960's and early 1970's, i.e. perhaps the best era of music of all time. To be clear, there are certainly no bands today as good as The Beatles, Pink Floyd, The Rolling Stones, or Bob Dylan (well, except of course for Bob himself, who is still putting out good music), but the quantity of high-quality music in the current era is quite impressive and rivals that of any era. My favorite bands from the past ten years - Radiohead, Wilco, Arcade Fire, My Morning Jacket, etc. - are loudly building résumés that will probably one day rival the greats of the past.
Musical preferences are certainly as subjective as tastes in movies, books, or romantic partners. I love to debate the value of this movie or that book, but ultimately, you like what you like, and your own views will (more often than not) make more sense to you than the opinions of others. That being said, just because you might not agree with my tastes in music in general (what a tragedy!), my hope is that you will still enjoy many of these songs and bands.
Without further adieu, here are my favorite songs of2008:
VOLUME ONE
Song
1 Black River Killer ----------------Blitzen Trapper
2 The Bones Of You ---------------Elbow
3 Calling And Not Calling My Ex ---Okkervil River
4 Change Is Hard
5 El Pueblo Unido
6 Electric Feel
7 Gobbledigook --------------------Sigur Ros
8 Golden Age ---------------------
9 Hot Night Hounds---------------
10 Jesus Of The Moon------------- Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds
11 Librarian-----------------------
12 M79---------------------------- Vampire Weekend
13 On the Water-------------------
14 Ragged Wood-------------------
15 Skinny Love--------------------
16 So He Won't Break-------------- The Black Keys
17 The Twist-----------------------
18 Undone-------------------------
19 Walls----------------------------
20 White Winter Hymnal------------Fleet Foxes
VOLUME TWO
Song ----------------------------------------Band
1 I Will Possess Your Heart------------------ Deathcab For Cutie
2 Old Old Fashioned
3 Tiger Mountain Peasant Song------------- Fleet Foxes
4 Good Arms Vs. Bad Arms -----------------Frightened Rabbit
5 Time To Pretend
6 Weekend Wars
7 Psychotic Girl
8 Furr
9 Flume
10 Danny Callahan--------------------------
11 Along The Way --------------------------
12 Head Honcho
13 Hymn #101
14 Highly Suspicious
15 Lie Down Here (And Be My Girl) ---------Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds
16 Inni Mer Syngur Vitleysingur ------------Sigur Ros
17 Hare Krsna
18 Many Shades of Black --------------------The Raconteurs
If you would like a copy of these two CDs, please email me, and if I don't go to school with you, let me know your home or work address, and I will mail you a copy.
Thanks for all the recommendations throughout the past year that have helped me discovery many of these bands. Keep 'em coming!
