well, here it is. playlist.com seemed to be the best option for presenting my song picks in an easy-to-listen-to fashion. however, two songs are missing, because i wasn't able to locate them in playlist.com's search. bah. nevermind, though—i'll include them below in my point by point list of each song. which is a really long and really superfluous and really annoying writeup. you've been warned.
-okkervil river: "lost coastlines" (the stand ins)
this is the obvious choice off of what i consider one of my top 5 albums of the year, mostly because jonathan meiburg's vocals are just so lovely, and the chorus will get you every time. and it sounds like classic okkervil river. i didn't find the stand ins to quite live up to the beauty of the stage names, or even black sheep boy or down the river of golden dreams (there's something too polished and produced about it) but it's an excellent album—and despite being the catchiest song by far on there, "lost coastlines" might not even be the best. i might give that to "bruce wayne campbell interviewed on the roof of the chelsea hotel, 1979," which you can listen to here.
-fleet foxes: "ragged wood" (fleet foxes)
screw the haters, this album is amazing. seriously? you don't like gorgeous vocals and harmonies, retro-sounding melodies and choruses that build and build? oh, you hate beards? i see. your loss.
-the dodos: "red and purple" (visiter)
i was surprised that this album didn't make more top of 2008 lists, because it's really a beautiful and incredibly catchy effort all the way through—especially considering it's just two guys with a guitar and some percussion instruments. if you had to classify them, the dodos would fall into the sort of "psych folk pop" genre—fuzzy, jangly, sprawling yet minimalistic. a great spring album, which is when i discovered it—and though by winter i'd nearly forgotten about it, it still holds up listen after listen.
-margot & the nuclear so and so's: "skeleton key" (the dust of retreat)
dammit. this song, i just discovered in doing some googling, is actually from 2006. fail. i'm still including it because it's some classically good and poignant pop, and i need to check out this band more.
-kings of leon: "closer" (only by the night)
2008 might have been a lot of things to people, and definitely a lot of things to me, but i will also remember it, in tiny part, as the year i came around to kings of leon. previously for some reason, i'd considered this band to be classified with the likes of, like, maroon 5—top 40 college rock that frat boys loved. that might actually be somewhat accurate, but you know what? i don't care. this band kills, live and on this album. "closer" is this sort of gripping, claustrophobic feeling track, that starts out eerily spare and ends up with wrenching, wailing guitars at the end. "sex on fire" is a great track, too, but this one just does it for me.
-estelle: "american boy" (shine)
you know you love it.
-dead confederate: "wrecking ball" (wrecking ball) NOTE: this is one of the songs i couldn't get on playlist.com, but you can listen to a live version of it here.
considering that this is maybe one of my top 3 songs of the entire year, i was shocked that i couldn't find any mp3s of it online, or other music blogs talking about how fantastic this particular song was. or maybe i just have shitty taste. "the rat" was the track from dead confederate that had everyone abuzz, but i still can't stop listening to "wrecking ball"—kind of a feat, considering it's not at all my usual taste (that usual taste would be melodic, jangly indie pop, oftentimes with an alt-country twist). "wrecking ball" is more along the kings of leon line—crescendoing, southern-influenced guitar rock, that's maybe even a little bit grungy. i've also read a lot of comparisons to nirvana. anyways, listen to this brooding title track, which does one of my favorite musical things—that'd be the classic build, build, build, RELEASE!—and tell me it doesn't get you excited, too. i also highly recommend you check out their woxy.com lounge act.
-frightened rabbit: "the modern leper" (the midnight organ fight)
i'm a sucker for scottish bands; even more so when they sound so miserable and pathetic yet charmingly and urgently catchy (see: twilight sad). gotta be the accent.
-the dears: "berlin heart" (missiles)
this album came out of nowhere for me. i'd never even heard of the dears until recently, despite the fact that they've been putting out albums since 1995. but then woxy.com starting playing "money babies" and "disclaimer" all the time, and i was hooked. this album won't change your world, but it's dark, orchestral and pretty montreal-esque collection of slow-burning melodies. this is also a song i couldn't find on playlist.com, so listen to it here.
-stephen malkmus: "cold son" (real emotional trash)
i'd gone off of stephen malkmus for so long (well, the past one or two albums, anyways) that i was unconvinced he was putting out good material any longer. so i was pleasantly surprised to find that his last album, well, is pleasantly pleasant. as a whole it won't blow your mind, but i'm pretty much in love with "cold son," which sounds like pavement mixed with his debut solo material. laidback, a bit shuffly and lazy, but hummable and poignant; a lightweight ditty turned into something more meaningful.
-bound stems: "happens all to us otherwise" (the family afloat)
not much to say about this song except it's incredibly pretty and poppy, and sometimes, that's enough for me. actually, most of the time.
-everest: "trees" (ghost notes)
same much as the bound stems song above—a lovely little song with a twangy vibe, which is usually always enough for me as well.
-sunfold: "sara the american winter" (toy tugboats)
guys, this might be my most-listened to song of the year. the rest of the material that sunfold (as far as i can tell, a rearrangement of the band annuals) has put out has certainly been right up my alley—soaring pop, harmonies, etc—but this one like, hits every single one of the catherine trigger buttons. i have a feeling that other people might find it to be merely above-average indie pop, but it gets me every time.
-portishead: "the rip" (third)
though radiohead's cover of this song might get me more, it's a great return for portishead. who i listened to incessantly in high school. god, i was a depressed little teenager. anyways, they certainly didn't get any lighter with 10+ years, did they?
-mates of state: "the re-arranger" (re-arrange us)
despite friends recommending them for years, i was never able to get into mates of state for some reason. even though they seem to be a made-for-catherine sorta band. but when woxy started playing them incessantly this year, i changed my mind, and quickly became an uber-fan. "the re-arranger" was one of our office's songs of the summer. we couldn't stop playing it and singing along. at least, i couldn't. i hope my officemates felt the same way and didn't secretly want to kill me.
-elbow: "one day like this" (the seldom seen kid)
how had i never heard of elbow before? they're the exact sort of classic brit pop that i've long been in love with, and "one day like this" is a perfect representation of the genre. dynamic, lush, er...britishy. you know, all that good stuff. also, virgin airlines uses this song while you're boarding, so i have fond memories of it from when i went off to london.
-bon iver: "skinny love" (for emma, forever ago)
you know this one for sure. heartbreaking.
-someone still loves you boris yeltsin: "modern mystery" (pershing)
yet another ditty that won't change your world, but is perfectly-crafted pop and got repeated lots and lots of times on my itunes.
-mother mother: "body of years" (o my heart)
another band, much like the dodos, whose lack of presence on year end lists puzzles me. they caught my ear back in 2007 when they released this fantastic single, "touch up," and seems like their current work stayed just as solid. great, really tight vocals and harmonies, and they remind me a bit of their fellow canadians, the new pornographers—but less poppy and more...glam rock, i guess.
-the ting tings: "that's not my name" (we started nothing)
ayup. guilty pleasure, and another favorite summer song in the WOL offices.
-these united states: "get yourself home" (crimes)
i had to put this on here, or tom would have my head. really, he told me so. plus, it's a great song. also of note from crimes: study the moon.
-nada surf: "see these bones" (lucky)
nada surf is one of those bands that i always feel marginally guilty for really, really liking. i'm not sure why. they've put out several albums of above-average, often-delightful pop rock, and while lucky wouldn't ever make a year-end list of best albums for me, this song is a stunner.
phew! that's it! i'm sure i forgot tons. what were your favorite songs, albums, concerts, or whatever from 2008? i'd love to hear.
Snap on the Elbow, Frightened Rabbit, Bon Iver, Fleet Foxes and Dodos love. I got to see all but the last two live this year, which was great.
Miracle Fortress, French Kicks, Jamie Lidell, Laura Marling, Santogold and Vampire Weekend are also winners for me. I started the year liking KoL but they've since become the most overexposed band in all of Ireland and I've gone off 'em. Shame.
Posted by: another Catherine | December 24, 2008 at 05:00 AM