#1 -- THE Best Song of 2008

Mansard Roof by Vampire Weekend


In the words of the immortal Hawk Harrelson, "sit back, relax, strap it down" 'cus this one is gonna be long.

Hope: I see a Mansard Roof through the trees
When historians finally get around to writing about 2008, there will be a bunch of things to focus on... and who knows what event will end up being the most important. It might be Obama. It might be the events on Wall Street. It could be something else that slipped through the cracks and the awareness of most journalists. We won't know for a while.

But as I sit here on the last day of 2008, it is hope that shall forever be my memory of this year. Sure Obama and his peeps capitalized on this shit from the very beginning. But the hope went beyond Obama, and then came back to him. See for some of us, 2008 meant one thing... Bush and Cheney were gonna be gone. And there are few sentences that have ever been uttered and reached my ears that have sounded more beautiful. If you want to know why... go here.

Hope... as Andy wrote to Red, "Hope is a good thing—maybe the bet thing, and no good thing ever dies." I know there is 25% of the country that disagrees with me, but this country, this world, we had lost hope. And say what you will about Obama, and no matter what happens over the next four to eight years, the fact is he gave so many of us hope.

At the same time, what annoyed me about the entire Obama 'movement'—it's about us, but it's not.

Obama gives hope to the black man, the African-American professional female. To the Cuban and the Cambodian. To the Kenyan and the slumdog. To the hipster and the square, the mechanic and the millionaire. It's hope. To the 99% of the world that's never made it and never will make it, one of them really has. To the poorest of the poor, the tired, the poor, the huddled masses who yearn to breath free... for them? There is Obama. Barack Obama. Hope.

This song gives you hope from the very start, the organ, the drums, seeing that mansard roof trough the trees, the tops of buildings... these are all good things... all hopeful things. And when you hear this song? It sounds wonderful.

Change: I see a salty message written in the eves
So if Obama was all about hope for the world's poor and minorities... then why did so many white people get behind him?

We live in an ironic age. I don't know what this means, in fact, no one really no one knows what this means, but it just seems to be a fact of life that everyone under the age of 30 accepts. So while the rise of Obama is a shocker (a black man as President, wtf?), how he got to where he is should not.

What everyone overlooked and forgot about the past 12 months is that it was whites who put Obama in the race, it was whites that delivered Iowa, and it was whites who funded his campaign from the beginning. Everyone forgets this, but blacks weren't sold on Obama at first. It wasn't until Bill Clinton opened his mouth on January 24 that the entire Presidential race changed. It was at this point that the black community finally fully supported Obama and in the end that ended up being the race.

But it was the white supporters that were there form the begining. Sure not every white person was or is behind Obama, but they were on board before many blacks. This is of course, ironic (though John Roberts would not be able to tell me why because race doesn't exist in America).

So why did white support Obama? It's simple: CHANGE. He wasn't Bush, he wasn't Clinton, he wasn't an old white dude. He was different. He looked different, he said things in a way that sounded different, the words were fresh and brand new. Obama admitted things that no politician in America would ever say—Omar from The Wire was his favorite character for crying out loud! Not someone on CSI or Friends, OMAR!!! the greatest TV character ever—and to those of us in this ironic age this was refreshing. It wasn't forced and it was hard to turn what Obama said into cynical fodder. He was real. He was different, and he was gonna replace George W. Bush.

'Okay, Fair Blog Writer,' you say, 'what does this have to do with Vampire Weekend?' Simple, the band and this album was like nothing most of us had ever heard. 'What about Graceland and all those other Afro-rock bands?' Ahhh, sure Vampire Weekend isn't reinventing rock'n'roll; but rock'n'roll doesn't need to be reinvented. Just as democracy and the United States don't need to be reinvented, rock'n'roll just needed something different, something fresh—and it got it in Vampire Weekend. They sounded clean and fresh, they dropped lyrics that upper middle class white college kids were familiar with (Lil' Jon, the Oxford comma, Washington Heights, Louis Vutton, Benetton, Cape Cod...). They were real, yet different, and it's hard to be cynical about them... unless your a hipster, but of course then that's just irony being ironic. Got it? Good.

Bailout: The Argentines collapse in defeat
My favorite line in the song. Why? Because the Argentines are good at two things and bad at two things.
The Two Things Argentines are good at:
1) Beef
2) Soccer

The Two Things Argentines are bad at:
1) Military victories
2) Capitalism

So naturally the Argentines collapse in defeat... along with much of the capitalistic world. This mess didn't start in 2008 (you could argue that this started in the early 1970s), but it came to ahead this year. The world as we knew it almost ceased to exist. And who knows, maybe by 2010 it will cease to exist. But today? The world of capitalism that we live in is still here no matter what they're saying in Lower Manhattan. We came close to collapse but between bailouts and—maybe—luck it looks like the world will survive for another few decades.

'Okay fine, my fair blogger, you've made a ton of connections from the lyrics of this song to the most important events of 2008, but why is this the #1 song?'

That's easy. It's awesome. It's got a great beat. The hook is killer. The rift, the strings, the crisp Afro-pop guitar, the keyboard, the drums... it is all so wonderful. So pleasant. So hopeful. Different from everything else out there today even if it isn't brand new. It's just good. The first song of the first major album of 2008, it set the tone—knowingly or not—of bailouts, change, and hope.

And hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things and no good thing ever dies.

#2 -- Best Songs of 2008

American Boy by Estelle (featuring Kanye West)

American Boy (Feat. Kanye West...

Ahh, we finally reach the point where I think we have the songs that will go down as the best of the decade...

This starts with some of the best production you'll ever hear drawing you with these just cool and smooth—and I'm not even sure what it is... but you're hooked before the song even really gets started. Then Kanye starts up and whatever beat is being laid down is pretty slick. Enter Estelle singing the chorus in that flirty voice she's got... and it is OV-AR.

This might be the best constructed song of the year and Estelle never let's you forget that she's the star of this—not the great production, not the addictive beat, not Kanye amazing performance just over half in, and not those interesting 'what instrument is that' parts that kick in between every verse and chorus. Estelle steals the show during every chorus (and the bridge) where her voice is so gosh darn flirty, you can hear the smile every time she sings "American Boy". Every time she sings it, you want to take her to Brooklyn, L.A. Chicago, and San Fran.

I don't want to over shadow Kanye's performance and Will.i.am's work, but somehow, someway, Estelle steals the show. But Kanye is great and the sounds and music going on behind her voice are great. But it's Estelle's easy, playful vocals that put this song over the top. In a year where nearly everything that happened had a hint of playfulness, no matter how bad the news was, this song sums up that fun, flirty side of 2008.

#3 -- Best Songs of 2008

Viva La Vida by Coldplay

I could write about Coldplay for a long, long time... and I have like when I attempted to figure out if Coldplay was the most obviously unobvious band of all time. I'm never sure what to do with them. Take this song. The string arrangement is sweet. The vocals are nice, the song is well constructed and builds to something. It sounds good. You want to hear it again. The lyrics are oddly charming and give great imagery. The song sort of pumps you up. It's a great song right?

But it is so obvious. I feel lame for even putting it on the list... because it's so obvious. Everyone knows this song is good, but it's by Coldplay so intellectually there is some problem with the song. But I can't downgrade the song just because Coldplay does it. It's like this song should be better almost...

And then there is the issue that they stole the rift from Joe Satriani. But here's the thing—Coldplay does it so much better. And even though musically they don't take any chances, they make better music because they're really good musicians. Think about how great a Coldplay best of album is after only four records? Who wouldn't buy that CD?

#3a -- Life in Technicolor ii by Coldplay

Going back to the obviously unobvious idea... the frustrating thing about Coldplay is that Viva La Vida is a really good, but unadventurous song when compared to the opener off of their underwhelming album, "Life in Technicolor". But LiT doesn't do enough to warrant a place in the top 25...

And then came the release of the Prospekt's March EP. And even though the lyrics don't add anything imo, it puts "Life in Technicolor" over the top. THIS is an adventurous and beautiful song. And this is what Coldplay should be doing (along with, arguably, Lovers in Japan).

These two songs sum up the frustrating thing about Coldplay: they are better musicians and can do things better than most other musicans (ala Viva La Vida) but it isn't all that adventitious even though it sounds really good. BUT then they do something adventurous and different and it's better than nearly everything else out there.

Coldplay is stuck in some weird spiral... I won't say they're as talent as say, Radiohead, or even U2, but it's not like they're all that far behind at the same time. But unlike both bands Coldplay ALWAYS plays it safe. They could write an album of "Shiver" and "Life in Technicolor"... but they play it safe... it's like they're scared to try and fulfill their potential. They're like the anti-indie band in many ways. Which is a bummer... I'd love to see Coldplay go though a strech like U2 did in the 90s.

Finally... why is this Life in Technicolor and not Life in Technicolour?

#4 -- Best Songs of 2008

Queen of Everything by Haley Bonar

Queen of Everything - Haley Bo...

It's the voice. The guitar, the drums... they're nice. But it's the voice and how she sings this song. You can hear the sorrow in her voice. "Rock'n'roll... will tear you from the inside fuck with your spine, take you to the same place I lost my mind" she sings. Why? "Then they hear what I want, and I'm the Queen of Everything." And I love that part... it sounds so good.

Culture and art never explore the REAL heartbreak of females. Movies are usually about the tortured male who will go to the end of the Earth to get back to Penny. Or if it's told from the female point of view, it's something along the lines of, "It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife" and the women that line up for Prince Charming... see the female always NEEDS the man. Even in the 'ground breaking' "Sex in the City" the moral of the show is that those four women CANNOT LIVE WITHOUT A MAN (even though we're supposed to believe that they can). Movies are simplistic and chauvinist—women needs man and cannot live without him. Women are there for the men. It's tired and boring and totally false. But Hollywood has somehow convinced us that this is real... even though it isn't. It isn't for guys and it isn't for girls.

But Haley is doing something else with this heartbreak... she broke up with her man (a good man no less), and instead of sitting there feeding into this chauvinist world, she goes somewhere else: I'm the Queen of Everything. She's basically saying, "I'm not demanding, but everyone wants to make me out to be that demanding. But the reality? You, my man, want everything." She blows up this Hollywood/fairy tale world we want to believe in—but not in the 'fuck Hollywood' kind of way. Rather in the 'this is how I feel and the way I see it' kind of way.

This song is refreshing for two reasons:
1) The backlash against feminism is in full force only no one really will say that... but think about it for a minute or two. In an election between a black man and a woman, we heard little to no racial talk... but it was totally acceptable to call Clinton or Palin pretty much any name you wanted without any consequences. Young white males (children of the Boomers) have somehow made it cool and politically correct to reject and suppress feminism. And misogyny is still prevalent in black art.

2) The irony pours out of this song yet irony was seemingly forgotten by those who champion it as a lifestyle this year (hipsters supporting Obama was NOT ironic and frankly I'm disappointed in them). There was nothing IRONIC about 2008. This might not be a bad thing since we went a tad over board with the whole irony movement/era thanks mainly to George W. Bush. But this song gets back to what irony really is, it's unfortunate and not that funny when it happens to you.

#5 -- Best Songs of 2008

Don't Forget Sister by Low vs. Diamond

I downloaded a bunch of classical music the other day and while I was listening to it, I was amazed at how similar each song was. Not in the notes being played or the instruments being used but rather how each and every song builds to something. How the different movements usually lead to some big blow out that sounds really cool.

And if it wasn't for rock'n'roll and the indie explosion of the last few years, this would never have clicked for me. For years I've heard all about different movements in classical music, but I never knew what this meant. But thanks to crappy indie bands and songs it all came together for me.

It's quite simple really, these crappy songs don't go anywhere, nothing happens. There is no build up, just a lame dude singing crappy lyrics. And after four minutes the song ends. On the flip side, your classical pop song is the same: verse, chorus, verse, chorus, bridge, chorus, maybe a coda [end] (or something like that).

Now the real great rock songs build up into something. They may follow this simple formula, but they go somewhere... and then at the end there is so much going on that the hooks and rifts all cascade into one beautiful sound. Classical music doesn't follow that verse, chorus structure... but the great classical songs build up and up and up and then explode (maybe most famously in the 1812 Overture). But so many rock/indie songs today don't do that. They don't build and they don't go anywhere.

But this song? It builds and it goes somewhere and by the end of the song it sounds wonderful. The passion in the singers voice combined with all the rifts, hooks, and background vocals exploding create just some wonderful music that is hard to turn off. A great song.

So sister... take me away with youuuuuuu!

#6 -- Best Songs of 2008

Whatever You Like by T.I.


Sometimes the best songs are the tunes that lack any sort of intellectualism and are so literal that it can't be taken seriously. What are Stacks on deck? Who drinks Patron on ice? And we live in a world where lyrics like "Late night sex so wet you're so tight" are followed up with lines like "I'll gas up the jet for you tonight". Yet we don't have some politician's wife attempting to ban hip-hop. So if T.I. actually means anything it's that we are progressing culturally and socially even as we regressed politically. (And if we wanted to ban T.I. it would be because he followed up a line about having sex with taking a jet... I mean really T.I.? That's the best you could do?)

Look the song is catchy as hell, it's more fun than Fleet Foxes, and it proves that U.S. culture is more liberal than our politics.

(Editors note: I hope I'm not forcing that last point.)

But then again, we can vote however we'd like:

#7 -- Best Songs of 2008

GfC by Albert Hammond, Jr.

This song is all about the great rift that opens the song and never really goes away. The rift is melancholy and tired—something someone started picking out at 4 in the morning after a long night of drinks and maybe even heartbreak. It's beautiful.

But at the same time, this song sounds like an old rock song with those bruising attacking guitars. But we're always taken back to that late night 'what happened tonight?' rift.

How does this fit into 2008? I'm not sure. And maybe that's okay, maybe I should just let this song be. Close my eyes and let that rift take me away. It's been a long few years, and this song captures that better than most songs. Not in what it is saying, but rather in how it sounds. And that's why it sounds so good. There is no political statement, no anti-Bush message; it's how Hammond plays his guitar. The notes he plays sum up the last few years better than almost everyone else.

#8 -- Best Songs of 2008

Love Dog by TV on the Radio

Is this song sad? Or is it just tired? Or is it some how hopeful? Or maybe it's all of this in one.

With what happened in October and then finally in early November, this albums got a lot of press from music critics saying that it was "hopeful" and some how represented the end of the Bush Era. But this song doesn't have that feel. This song, while full of wonderful sounds that mix and swirl, reaching out and attempting to touch the clouds in the sky, isn't what I'd call hopeful.

The album is filled with sort of hopeful sounding songs that sound great (check out "Shout Me Out" or "Golden Age"). But every time I listen to this album, I'm brought back to "Love Dog". Lonely, lost, and crying out—also howling "Hallelujah". And as the song nears its end, things seem to open up, to clear up, and the fog that had been preventing our lonely little love dog from finding itself lifts as the strings seem to announce a new day. But it's a cautionary tale and sound. And I think we all need to be mindful of that as we head into 2009. Sure things are looking up for the first time since 2000... but let's be cautious and look before we leap.

#9 -- Best Songs of 2008

Dance, Dance, Dance by Lykke Li

Every time I make a year end list like this, there is one song that starts at about #22 and ends up in the top ten... this year's winner is... Dance, Dance, Dance

This song has it all. That methodical, hard working beat which doesn't allow us to dance to this song on our own—rather you have to find a partner and it becomes a slow dance in the process. Hands on hips, flirty looks in each others eyes... dance, dance, dance...

Li's voice is shy, like the lyrics in the song which features one of those great lines that are easy to over look:
My hips they lie 'cause in reality I'm shy, shy, shy
In other words—Suck it, Shakira.

You never hear great dance songs that are so shy, so unsure of oneself... but when you think about it, most of us can't dance. Most of use don't dance unless we're at a wedding, where our self-consciousness is thrown out the window. Why we don't think like this at the club, I don't know, but it be what it be. Anyway, what's amazing in all this is that most of the time it's easier to dance than it is to talk... cus most of us are better dancers than talkers (and yes, this is an indictment on society). Dance, dance, dance...

And I liked what Pitchfork had to say about this song, so I leave with that:

Suggesting something can be so much more effective than coming right out and saying it. On this Youth Novels single Lykke Li uses movement to overcome her shyness and compensate for inability to explain herself. "Having trouble telling how I feel," she sings, "But I can dance, dance, dance." The song's music is equally understated and demure: a sliding bassline on an acoustic guitar, some mumbling sax, eventually a few backing voices to fill in the spaces. It builds, but only a little, and even at its peak it's a long way from abandon. For a while this year I kept hoping that "Dance, Dance, Dance" would get a massive remix, something that gave the hypnotic repetition and Li's purring coo the surging beat they deserved. But eventually I realized that the low-key production is a virtue. Your mind fills in everything that's not there, which further reinforces the song's focus on subtle communication: "When I'm shaking my hips, look for the swing/ The words are written in the air." --Mark Richardson

#10 -- Best Songs of 2008

Bassment Party by The Cool Kids

What a great name for a band/group.

The easy thing to do would be to compare the Cool Kids to Obama, seeing that both are products of the South Side. Both have huge white, upper-middle class followings, the kids love them, especially the cool kids, and even blacks have started to get down with them. But their careers are totally different... I find it hard to believe that right now some 12 year old, black male is thinking about becoming the Cool Kids one day. Sure maybe by the time they're 19 or 22 and they've been north of Madison Ave, you might even find them doing something in some club in Wicker Park on a Friday night... but at 12? Nah, no way.

See, the Cool Kids are hipster rap. I don't care what Pitchfork says... they are. They appeal to white audiences for a bunch of reasons: The beat isn't too fast or too intense (something that seems to scare off white people after college), their lyrics are accessible, they sound and look retro.

Now does this take away from the fact that they sound pretty awesome? No. They lay down a nice little beat, rap with the speed of Ma$e and are completely and totally accessible to anyone over the age of 24. These guys are rapping about a party. And everyone loves parties. Even white males over the age of 40. And if you flipped this on, those Squares might even attempt to bob their head a bit... provided their boss isn't there.

#11 -- Best Songs of 2008

Sequestered In Memphis by the Hold Steady

Yeah sure I'll tell my story again.
In bar light. She looked alright.
In daylight? She looked desperate.

And it was over. I mean, as if Craig Finn ever need a little prodding to start telling a story. But hey, that's what he's here for, so...

What the Hell, I'll tell my story again.
In bar light. She looked alright.
In daylight? She looked desperate.

Jeff Tweedy writes lines that I'd kill to write, but Craig Finn is coming in a closer and closer second.

We all know this girl... and we all know the two guys in this situation: one of the guys will smile, and say, 'hey that's your problem darling'. The other will take full advantage of that desperation. The Hold Steady let our imagination run wild in these situations -- what does one do? Who does one end up with?

Personally, I miss Holly and the happenings at Penetration Park... but hey I'll take a rock anthem any day of the week. If life was a movie, we would all chant this song when it came on at a bar. "Subpoenaed in Texas, sequestered in Memphis!"

And I'd pay about a thousand bucks to listen to Bruce cover Hold Steady songs. That my friends, would be awesome.

Finally, in a year where indie band continued to suck, why can't they be more like the Hold Steady and other bands that don't try to reinvent the wheel? The Hold Steady know they're going to write amazing lyrics and tell great stories in their songs, so who cares what the music sounds like as long as it matches the mood of the words? The Hold Steady don't do anything Earth-shattering musicially, just nice riffs and a decent hook once in a while. And they sound great...

So what's wrong with music as the '00s end? Why have the bands moved away from the early decade simplicity of the Strokes, White Stripes, Hives, Hold Steady, even Belle & Sebastian and the Shins and so on and so on?

#12 -- Best Songs of 2008

Bruises by Chairlift

The iPod has changed music more than anyone will give it credit... I think you have to go back to the turn table or radio to find a device that has revolutionized music as much. The iPod allows us to create our own sound track to life, to completely detach ourselves from society, and live in our own world playing whatever song we want, where ever we want and whenever we want. I'm not sure this is a good thing, but it's changed how we listen to music. The iPod has further killed the album and made the playlist the 21st century mixtape... but only to one's own life.

And Apple has really good commercials featuring really attractive songs.

This song is no different. A nice beat, kick ass hook, the lead vocalist voice is pretty, the song sounds big and airy, expanding beyond Earth and space and everything...

It's funny, but what sort of ruins this song is the male vocalist towards the end. Why change up a good thing about a silly love song? Who doesn't love the "For yooouuuuuuuuooooo... so black and bluuuuuuueeee... for yooouuuuuuuuoooooo"?

After seeing a commercials like this, who doesn't want an iPod?

#13 -- Best Songs of 2008

See Fernando by Jenny Lewis

See Fernando - Jenny Lewis

or

There's is nothing quite like a song that comes out throwing haymakers. Usually only metal and punk bands (and Radiohead more that you'd think) use a technique like this because it's so hard to do... where do you go from there when you come out blasting, nearly out of control, attempting to knock out the listener? If you don't bring them in, the song will fail.

But Jenny Lewis and company does just that here... sure it takes a few measures before that guitar really starts going nuts with help from the drums, but she comes out punching. And it is wonderful.

In this some-how-underrated album Lewis might be at her best (how anything can be underrated in 2008 is beyond me, then again Jermaine Dye is still underrated). It's tough picking out just one song, but this song which sounds like a borderline country-punk anthem, puts Jenny and her friends at their best. They seem to be having fun, not trying to hard, just hanging out and playing some music. "Hey guys, let's turn up the amps on this one..." and this is what we got.

And the song brings energy, and who doesn't love energy? (besides hipsters when they're hanging out around unhipsters of course). If 2008 differed from previous years in any way, it was that there was more energy this year. Things might not be looking up, but people were a little more excited about life, because when things do turn... it's gonna be great. Wanna have a good time? Wanna bottle up that energy and let it all out... well go see Fernando.

And who doesn't want to see Fernando? He buying the fucking beer.

#14 -- Best Songs of 2008

Fools by The Dodo's


According to everything I read about the Dodo's I wouldn't like them. But I heard this song on the Tripwire's podcast a few months ago and fell for it in the "I don't really like her but man she knows how to move her hips" kind of way.

The song doesn't come at you, rather it's there, but the drum beat is so damn intriguing that you're pulled in by it all. A cross between a fast moving locomotive and a horse, the beat never lets up even when the song is peppered with random guitar bursts and weird background vocals that seem to be more shouting than anything else.

But I come back to those drums every time I hear this song. "Fools" sounds much bigger than it actually is. And in 2008, this is a good thing. We believe that things are going to change, it won't be a 'meet the new boss, same as the old boss' situation. Rather, this is a year where we collectively decided as a country, as a society, that we wanted to be naive and to check or cynicism at the door. We wanted choose to believe, we decided that things were going to be different, even if they barely will be.

Does this song sum up 2008? Far from it, but it's the little song that could. It keeps chugging along with that enchanting beat, and solid guitar sounding like something that is much more complex than it really is. And let's face it, politically at least, 2008 was sort of like that.

#15 -- Best Songs of 2008

Nowheres Nigh by Parts & Labor

This song just sounds cool. I don't care what the band is singing about, I just like hearing them sound so friggin' awesome.

This was a year where image was more important that what was actually being said. There was a lot of hot air. This happens every time the U.S. holds an election for President, but this year seemed filled with more hot air than usual.

So what was the 'point' of 2008?

Why to be cool of course. To sound cool. To do the same thing but do it a little differently and call it change. And what's great about this song is that it starts off sounding like something you've heard before, only a little different. It brings energy and the amazing thing is that it manages to build on itself, to become even bigger than the listener ever thought possible.

By the end of the song, these guys are blowing you away because they took the song to a level that you didn't think was possible (it's like the anti-Dr. Dog song).

And in a year where society and the economy was taken to a level never thought possible (good or bad) this song oddly fits. It's bigger and brasher that anyone ever thought.

#16 -- Best Songs of 2008

Why Do You Let Me Stay Here? by She & Him

Playful like a Saturday afternoon in early June, flirting like a Friday night at 9:08p.m. at a friend of a friend's party, three drinks in, and finally having caught her eye...

That's what this song is. It's fun. It's unpretentious. And it flirts with you from beginning to end.

The rift is simple, the words straight forward, there are some extra things going on in the background, even backup vocals just to make you think, for a half second, that you are in one of those films where the main characters are the center of the universe in the "even the supporting characters stop what they're doing and break into song at the exact perfect moment" kind of way. [NOTE: Is there a 99% or a 100% chance that Zack Braff loves this song? And the narrator of this song is a Manic Pixie Dream Girl correct?]

But this song doesn't age well. Back during the summer this was a sure top 10, even top five song. But now, as the white of winter has laid down for a rest across the Midwest, I don't nearly get the same excitement out of this song. Instead when I hear this song I long for an afternoon reading a book at the Point.

Which isn't a bad thing, but at the same time, if I'm going to give Fleet Foxes shit, then I have to be consistent.

#17 -- Best Songs of the Year

The Rabbit, the Bat, & the Reindeer by Dr. Dog

I love the opening bars of this song... so much so that this song ultimately disappoints me. Every time that I think this song will blow me away, it gets a little boring. When the bridge kicks in and I get excited... only for the song to switch back to the main hook and it loses me again. The song drags on—it's thirty seconds too long.

This song has potential, but it wastes it. There is something missing, there is a direction that the song should go but it does not for some reason or other. Thus this song sounds more incomplete than anything else.

Unfair? Maybe. But most songs don't have potential, or at least they don't waste their potential. What's frustrating is that you love a certain point or part of a song with potential, so you can't fully 'break up' with the song since you want to hear that one part. You keep coming back for more even though it leaves you disappointed.

But I'm being harsh. This is a good song, it goes a lot of places and does a lot of interesting things. Many songs can't say this. And again, those opening notes of the song are killer.

#18 -- Best Songs of 2008

Hands in the Air by Girl Talk

I love mash ups. I'm sure most mash ups suck big time, but I don't follow the mash up scene outside of what is popular in that indie sort of way AND whatever is being sampled by hip-hop artists these days. The idea of mash ups is perfect... instead of having to listen to some band TRY to sound like Wilco or Pavement or Jay-Z (I'm looking at you Pitchfork Band of the Week (PBW)), mash up artists (and hip-hop producers) say "Fuck it, let's just use what's actually good."

Is taking what's good and copying it/steal it supposed to be a bad thing? No. People are so obsessed with being "original" and "keeping it real" (welcome to White Suburbia!) that this miss a simple point: EVERYTHING IS STOLEN FROM SOMEONE ELSE. I think I realized this at like 20 years of age when my buddy who was an English major informed me that there are only seven stories/plot have ever been written, the only thing that changes are the names, location and time.

So note to D.J's and indie musicians everywhere in the world: don't bother being original because you'll be original by not being original AND people will like you.

(This is when you ask, Mr. Blogger Otter, do you like techno? I say no. You say 'why? It's sort of like mash ups', and I say, no it's not because the point of all techno music is to copy that same sound you heard in your freshman dorm where the room on your left two people were having sex and the room to your right was some rich white kid blasting 50 Cent).

So the song... okay we start with "Whoop! (There it is)", eventually we get some "Love Fool" remix, some Velvet Underground... but this song goes to the next level when he throws down the end of "Wanna Be Starting Something" into "Dance to the Music".

It's hard to pick just one song off this album because it's so much fun to listen to (and get five people and a few beers/gin and tonics and this album goes to a whole other level). But I can't get over the "Sunday Morning" sampling to go along with the Michael Jackson and Sly and the Family work he does near the end.

I think the video above broke every copyright law ever. Congrats!

Finally, I just have to say this but I got suckered into buying body lotion for men today at Target because it's winter in Chicago and I need something to keep my skin from flaking off... but damn this stuff makes me smell like a man. Women do not buy this.

#19 -- Best Songs of 2008

I Love You and Buddha Too by Mason Jennings

Simple, almost stupid (is that too harsh), this song is. But you know what, there is something so cute, so happy, so pleasant, so nice... that I can't help but enjoy it. Nothing about this song is all that insightful or intellectual, in fact Mason's struggle with faith at this point is sort of annoying since it's the same question, "Jesus, I love you, but where are you and what about all these other characters?"

You can also listen here.

But the beat, the back ground vocals, the Lennon/McCartney like ditty rises above all else in this song; and because it sounds like it was fun preforming this song makes it fun to listen to. And in an age where music isn't nearly as much fun as it used to be, I appreciate what Mason is doing here. I like how he seems to be having fun, the straight forward lyrics, and the attempt to make us all think about religion and love.

#20 -- Best Songs of 2008

The '59 Sound by the Gaslight Anthem

This was a good, but weird year in music. Like a sports draft of any sort, this year in music was very tier based. And right now we're still in a weaker tier... but by the end of this we're going to get to some kick ass songs.

This isn't to slam the Gaslight Anthem. These guys aren't bad. Since they're form Jersey I have to mention that they sort of sound like Bruce and they have a rougher edge to them. But is there anything about this song that makes anyone shout out and go, "hell yeah!"? It's got a nice intro and the hook isn't bad. But shouldn't I have just put another Vampire Weekend or even a Coldplay song on this list twice over these guys? But rules are rules (I only do one song per band), and sadly I think this is another song that will be forgotten in two or three years time, like The Cold War Kids or Band of Horses.

#21 -- Best Songs of 2008

A Few Words in Defense of Our Country by Randy Newman

The write up here is easy, I'll copy and paste the best parts in a second... but quickly—this song is genius. As the Bush Era comes to a close, Newman's fantastic attempt to defend us Americans by comparing U.S. to the worst leaders the world has ever seen. Newman and the song hits its fever pitch when he correct points out that under Bush we were supposed to be fearful of being afraid. And it doesn't get more unAmerican than that does it?

I’d like to say a few words
In defense of our country
Whose people aren’t bad nor are they mean
Now the leaders we have
While they’re the worst that we’ve had
Are hardly the worst this poor world has seen...

A President once said,
"The only thing we have to fear is fear itself"
Now it seems like we’re supposed to be afraid
It’s patriotic in fact and color coded
And what are we supposed to be afraid of?
Why, of being afraid
That’s what terror means, doesn’t it?
That’s what it used to mean...

The end of an empire is messy at best
And this empire is ending
Like all the rest
Like the Spanish Armada adrift on the sea
We’re adrift in the land of the brave
And the home of the free

Goodbye. Goodbye. Goodbye.

#22 -- Best Songs of 2008

RoboCop by Kanye West

First things first, I don't care if Kanye used AutoTune or whatever.

Now that's out of the way, why RoboCop over nearly everything else on this album? For me? The stings. I'm a sucker for strings and this song has 'em. And I love how the song wraps up with Kanye singing "L.A. girl... you need to stop it now... you're first good one in a while" as only the strings play.

Yeah, yeah, this is a heartfelt album and Kanye pours out his heart and all that good (or sad) stuff... and I know Kanye went though a lot breaking up with his girl and his mother passing away... but it's interesting that as the U.S. attempts to move past Bush and onto the more optimistic Obama, things are looking up (even if they're looking down). And here is Kanye feeling down.

The genius of Kanye is that he puts songs together so damn well—some may even say perfectly. This song is a fantastic example of how he can construct a song better than nearly anyone else out there. All the sounds, the lyrics, the strings, the beat... it all works. And it sounds so good.

#23 -- Best Songs of 2008

White Winter Hymnal by Fleet Foxes

For some reason when ever I hear this song, I think of Michigan. Not the eastern, down on its luck, out of options half; rather the western, lake effect snow, and dune lined beaches half. Western Michigan is beautiful, a forgotten part of America known only to a few in the Midwest.

This song is beautiful. There's no other way to describe it. It sounds rustic, older than it really is; yet the song isn't dated like so many bands that attempt to sound retro (see the Darkness or Wolfmother). But I guess I'm missing the point because Fleet Foxes aren't trying to be retro. They're just writing really pretty songs.

And oh yeah, Sufjan Stevens would kill to write a song this simple and beautiful.

So you're reading this saying, "Hey you like Sufjan and you think this song is pretty and good, so why is it coming in at #23?"

Well here in lines the problem with most indie music of the last five to ten years. It has no back bone. There isn't enough "eff you". There isn't enough of a beat, a let's forget life and dance our hearts out. And so sure, you get a ton of pretty songs like this... but they all end up being forgettable a year or two later.

And I fully expect to never listen to Fleet Foxes by the time Twenty-Ten comes around.

#24 -- Best Songs of 2008

Breakadawn by Rhymefest

Ugh. I sort of hate having any of Rhymefest's album/free download of Michael Jackson remixes on this list. It's a solid effort and the album is interesting at times. But upon listening it to again over the last few weeks nothing jumps out and moves me.

The idea behind the album/mix tape is pretty good: take Michael Jackson, a great song writer/performer in his own right, and give him a 21st century twist. But it's a better idea than it is actual music, most of the songs leave you wanting to hear Michael himself and few give the songs a new identity or complexity—like what Danger Mouse pulled off with Jay-Z and the Beatles.

For what it's worth, this might be the most interesting and unique song on the mix tape. And thus, it clocks in at #24.

#25 -- Best Songs of 2008

Dónde está la Playa by The Walkmen

Daunting, almost haunting, is the best way to describe this song. But then the song will swing, giving us a hint of optimism, only to shift back to the dauntlessness of it all. It's a powerful song, with cagey guitars and a rolling drum beat.

In a way, it's weird to kick off a best of list with a song like this, but it also makes sense. 2008 was an odd year—the pessimist and the optimist were both right and had a lot to live for—and this song is that balance. The pessimistic opening changes over the course of the song revealing a closing that is strangely optimistic—if only because what we know at the end sounds a lot better than what we heard at the beginning.

Best Songs of 2008

Coming soon (like in the new day or two) a run down of the best songs of 2008. Stay tuned!