23
Dec
2008 Favorites: Songs
Filed Under Music
Because year-end lists seem to be a requirement for maintaining a blog and not because I have any right to compile one, here is my (totally unordered) list of Favorite Songs of 2008…
And what’s more fun than listening to a bunch of songs someone else likes? Why, reading about the reasons someone else likes the songs they like, of course.
01 > Lykke Li, “Dance Dance Dance”
God, Lykke Li… we’ve had quite a year together, haven’t we? From my harboring a totally predictable and a bit-too-real crush, to you singing “I would give anything, anything to have you as my man” right at me, to our ultimate falling out when I was forced to share you with 400 other gross 30-something dudes anxious to abandon the girlfriends that dragged them out to see you the moment they thought you had sung “I would give anything, anything to have you as my man” right at them.
But “Dance Dance Dance” goes beyond all that. It’s fun and cute and totally and exactly right: talking is hard, dancing is not.
02 > Beach House, “Gila”
I’m pretty sure that I’ve listened to “Gila” more than any other new song this entire year. And I’ve found it to be perfect in the following situations: late night train rides, falling asleep, ignoring chatty co-workers, remembering what you love about music.
03 > Kanye West, “Flashing Lights”
I’m just saying, Hey Mona Lisa,
come home you know you can’t Rome without Caesar
Yikes. See, Kanye West makes my life kinda difficult. Almost invariably, I love the music part of his music so much. But he is quite literally the worst rapper alive and the lyrics part of his music make me want to die. But even that Mona Lisa nonsense can’t ruin this absolutely stellar beat.
04 > Empire of the Sun, “Walking on a Dream”
Just as 80s Revival Exhaustion was bound to plague us all, bands such as M83 and Empire of the Sun managed to forgo the hokey-ness of so many bands before them and produce legitimately beautiful music that just so happens to be deeply informed by that much-maligned decade.
05 > Bon Iver, “Lump Sum”
This feels like cheating. For Emma, Forever Ago was actually released in limited fashion in 2007. So, we’ve had these songs for well over a year now. But I think it’s a testament to the record’s stunning and very true beauty that the world still can’t shut up about it following this year’s re-release on Jagjaguwar. Every single track from For Emma… made its way to this list, only to be replaced by another until I forced myself to choose one at random and stick with it for the sake of my own sanity.
06 > Vampire Weekend, “Oxford Comma”
For all the hype, Vampire Weekend managed to release a pretty good record. Certainly, the band never proved to be the second coming of Paul Simon, but after the dust settled it was quite obvious that such a thing was never their intention in the first place.
So what we wound up with was a lot of undeserved backlash and a collection of really enjoyable tracks. “Oxford Comma” will likely become an annoyance (referencing Lil Jon in your chorus doesn’t bode well for longevity), but for the majority of 2008, it was my favorite Vampire Weekend track and one of the most enjoyable songs of the entire year.
07 > Hot Chip, “Ready for the Floor”
I’ve tried so hard to like Hot Chip. For some reason, I feel like I should like them. Their lyrics are good, they’re very talented musicians and producers, and I like their reference points a lot. But something doesn’t click. Is it the stupid clothes? Is it the nightmarish vision of an “indie dance party” conjured the moment I hear that frail voice? Is it that frail voice? Who knows.
So, I can only describe this one as an emotional pick. Before I moved, a couple of my favorite co-workers found joy in torturing me with this track on a near-daily basis. And now that I don’t hear it so often, I find myself wanting to.
08 > Little Joy, “Unattainable”
Little Joy’s self-titled album was one of my most highly-anticipated records of 2008. And though it didn’t quite live up to my expectations, the warmth and adorableness of “Unattainable” took me by surprise and found itself on repeat quite often.
09 > The Sea and Cake, “On a Letter”
I think The Sea and Cake tends to go under-appreciated due to the expected quality of their output. It’s assumed their new records will be great, so no one is taken by surprise when they actually are. Car Alarm, though hardly mentioned this year, was really enjoyable. “On a Letter” was my favorite track from the album and it fits nicely amongst some of The Sea and Cake’s best songs to date.
10 > Headlights, “Market Girl”
Like the terrible blogger I am, I have no problem in admitting that I know very little about Headlights. They’re on Polyvinyl and hail from Champaign, IL, which goes a long way in explaining the instant sense of nostalgia that I get when listening to them.
11 > M83, “Kim & Jessie”
I actually think this track is perfect. Everything about it is right. There are no missteps, no wrong turns, no bad decisions. Every note is purposeful, the quiet/loud dynamic is flawlessly executed, and the vocal harmonies are so so so great. Not my favorite song of the year, but definitely the most lovingly crafted, “Kim & Jessie” is a true accomplishment for M83.
12 > Q-Tip, “Gettin’ Up”
It probably took me 15 trips through The Renaissance to realize that Q-Tip is back in a big way. The record is not immediately comforting… the beats are unfamiliar and “Won’t Trade” is straight up awkward. But then “Gettin’ Up” settles in and, after awhile, the whole thing starts to make total sense. This is the Q-Tip record we want and “Gettin’ Up” was the perfect choice for its first single.
13 > Amanaz, “Khala My Friend”
Cheating, Part 2: this is another reissued track. And it gets stuck in my head for days.
14 > White Denim, “Don’t Look That Way At It”
This song is probably why the pretty girls on the bus avoid eye-contact with me. For as shy and reserved as I am on my morning commute, this track illicits an uncontrollable head nod, particularly when those drums hit right before the end. Sickest 10 second groove of 2008, for sure. And that this is made by just three dudes is a pretty impressive feat.
15 > Flying Lotus, “Camel”
Los Angeles, like last year’s Untrue (by Burial), was a revelation for me. It was a reminder of all the things I used to love about a very small subset of electronic music. It’s intelligent, truly relatable, and distinctly human. Like Burial, Flying Lotus has proven himself a master in conveying true emotion through these very cold, distant sounds. That “Camel” manages to incorporate a fair amount of head nodding is just icing on the cake.
16 > Grouper, “Heavy Water/I’d Rather Be Sleeping”
I feel very lucky to have stumbled upon Grouper this year. Like Beach House, Elizabeth Harris’ music seems perfectly suited for the isolation experienced in a near-spontaneous move across the country. “Heavy Water/I’d Rather Be Sleeping” was my entry point for this haunting and beautiful album and it remains my favorite.
17 > Land of Talk, “Some Are Lakes”
When Land of Talk’s second album, Some are Lakes finally found its way into my life, I spent a few days coping with a fair bit of disappointment. It’s been a very long time since I’ve anticipated record as much as I did this one, and upon first listen, the ridiculously high hopes proved to be unmet.
But it quickly became apparent that what I was hoping for was a record that was exactly the same as Applause Cheer Boo Hiss. I soon learned that what I actually needed was Some Are Lakes and a deep love for the album began to set in. More mature and daring than the first record, this album has now surpassed my lofty expectations and the title track is absolutely my favorite song of the entire year.
18 > MGMT, “Electric Feel”
MGMT released a really solid EP this year. Unfortunately, they chose to release it as an LP instead and wrapped the interesting tracks around some total snoozers. “Electric Feel” has MGMT doing what it does best, though… making good dance records.
19 > Friendly Fires, “Paris (Aeroplane Remix ft. Au Revoir Simone)”
I thought Friend Fires would have a huge year in 2008. I caught them opening for Lykke Li and unexpectedly danced my brains out. They were charismatic, fun, and did an amazing job in turning a packed house of Lykke Li fans into Friendly Fires fans, if at least for the duration of their set.
But subsequent listens to their debut album gave light as to why no one was talking about this band. The energy of a Friendly Fires live show is nowhere to be found in the songs’ recorded forms, which is a real shame. Over-produced and boringly slick, the magic is totally missing… which is why this remix is so interesting to me. It takes the basis of what is already a good song and does away with any attempt to recreate the madness of a Friendly Fires live show (the very thing the band itself failed to do). Instead, the song is stripped and laid bare and infinitely more enjoyable. Oh, and it sounds like another 80s song.
20 > Land of Talk, “It’s Okay”
Land of Talk recorded two ballads for Some Are Lakes, which were two more things I didn’t think I needed from them. It turns out that I did need these things because they’re really really great songs, especially “It’s Okay.” And, if I had to, I’d probably say it’s my second favorite song of the entire year. But I don’t. So I won’t. (But I just did.)
21 > Lykke Li, “Tonight”
I just can’t help it.
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that beach house record is damn near perfect