Top 25 Songs of 2008

25. The Rural Alberta Advantage - Drain The Blood (2:48)
It's the second coming of Jeff Mangum! But really, I just like the passion the band deliver on this track.

24. TV On The Radio - Dancing Choose (2:56)
He's a what he's a what he's a newspaper man. It's almost nonstop talking, but the backing music is really cool.

23. The Narrative - Castling (4:19)
I know I'm a sucker for duo male/female bands, but the swirling keyboard just hit the nail for me.

22. Laura Marling - Ghosts (3:01)
This song is unlike her other stuff so it was hard to get into the rest of the album. I guess it has the most pop feel while the rest were more folk.

21. Laura Marling - Failure (3:21)
Oh Laura, how I've fallen in love with your simple melodies. Her music isn't really complex, but they somehow found their way into my heart. I love how you can hear the buzz in her strums. The extra 'la la' sound so pretty.

20. Priscilla Ahn - Dream (3:31)
One month after I discovered her, her video for Dream was a feature on youtube and that totally annoyed me. Anyways, after coming back to it, I still love her gentle movements and the chorus is love.

19. Why? - The Hollows (3:54)
In Berlin I saw two men fuck in the dark corner of a basketball court. This song is awesome even thought I don't know the meaning.

18. Stars - A Thread Cut With A Carving Knife (5:51)
One of the best songs Stars has ever created. On the first listen, I was thinking, "okay, this is some mellow stuff." But once Amy comes in, it just becomes a whole new level of awesome. And every time I would repeat it, her voice just kills me. Every time.

17. Okkervil River - Lost Coastlines (5:31)
So it looks like the consensus are that this song is everyone's favorite. It's a duet with Jonathan Meiburg so hearing them take turns with really heavy lyrics is crazy. Not a lot of room to reflect except the ending.

16. A Weather - Spiders, Snakes (5:17)
A very slow song, but the harmonies between the two vocalist keeps calling back to me. If you have the patience, it's a nice reward. I like the line, "Are you pissed that when things got bad, there was one set of footprints in the sand?" and yes, I want cinnamon buns.

15. Sigur Rós - Inní mér syngur vitleysingur (4:03)
It begins around 2:15 and doesn't erupt until about 3:30. That massive buildup is really ridiculous.

14. Sun Kil Moon - Lost Verses (9:43)
So damn haunting. So damn beautiful. It's mainly isolated, but the melodies will eventually attack you and the lyrics paint this really ghost-like person.

13. The Gaslight Anthem - Here's Looking At You, Kid (3:36)
So after the first 10, we get the slowest song on the album, yet it's the one most people remember. Why? It's so sincere.

12. Frightened Rabbit - The Modern Leper (3:48)
This track is probably the most accessible and the most pure in terms of a rocker. The Scottish flavor gave the band it's identity early.

11. Bonnie "Prince" Billy - Missing One (2:47)
Not sure how this would fair by itself, but it's Track 7. To me, this is the heart of the album.

10. The Middle East - Blood (5:26)
I don't know what instruments they are using, I'm guessing it's a glockenspiel or any variation of the bell-type sound. Anyways, it just makes the song so child-like mixed with the nervous vocals and by the time it's over, I'm just amazed this unknown band from Australia made something so good.

09. Lost In The Trees - Song for the Painter (3:28)
A simple song really, but the strings give it a nice Christmas morning feel and the lyrics are pretty nice.

08. Cut Copy - Lights and Music (4:37)
The beat to this track is insanely catchy.

07. Fleet Foxes - Your Protector (4:09)
This song totally draws elements of the 60s. The chorus is a monster.

06. Maybeshewill - He Films The Clouds Pt. 2 (6:42)
So the first 3 minutes is just great old school post-rock and the second half is pushing the song into overdrive. "Now we're apart, but not through choice. Do we stay mute or raise our voice?"

05. Los Campesinos! - Knee Deep At ATP (2:46)
Another song I feel is the heart of the album. No verse-chorus exchange, he just tells a story about a girl. And it's so exciting once he burst. "And when our eyes meet, all that I can read, is "you're the b-side."

04. Frightened Rabbit - Fast Blood (3:48)
I didn't want to pick a favorite at first, but with more listens, this song kept reaching to the top. It's a song about sex and the imagery he made is so vivid. Towards the end of the song, the vocals faint and the music just takes over.

03. The Cast Before The Break - Understanding The Universe (7:00)
In their other songs, they might have had more display in their talents, but once you have your first play of the album, this song is the one that made you go "damn!" I like their usage of the line "And I remember what it's like to be in love" and then repeating it, except replaced "in love" with "alone."

02. The Gaslight Anthem - Blue Jeans & White T-Shirts (3:28)
The chorus of this song makes it so special. I might not be able to relate, but I really believe in how honest he made it to be that I found the song to be real. "And we're never going home til the sun said we're finished."

01. Laura Marling - Blackberry Stone (2:40)
What is this song about, who knows. But her simple music mixed with her self-depicting lyrics are always captured magically. I always find myself coming back to those words, "And you never did learn to let the little things go/And you never did learn to let me be." It echos loud and clear."And you did always say that one day I would suffer."