I need to rate and sort and organize and, apparently, report back. I can’t help it. after the jump, I’ve listed my favorite albums of 2008 along with some other musical tidbits:
favorite albums of 2008
top five albums of 2008
favorite songs of 2008
favorite live shows of 2008
favorite 2008 discoveries of old music
30… Neon Neon Stainless Style
29… The Week That Was The Week That Was
28… Lindstrom Where you Go I Go Too
27… Jenny Lewis Acid Tongue
26… The Raveonettes Lust Lust Lust
25… Vampire Weekend Vampire Weekend
24… The Walkmen You & Me
23… TV on the Radio Dear Science,
22… Santogold Santogold
21… M83 Saturdays=Youth
20… Of Montreal Skeletal Lamping
I don’t care what you say.
19… Abe Vigoda Skeleton
jungle punk
18… Portishead Third
like a fine port . . .
17… British Sea Power Do You Like Rock Music?
yes, indeed, I do!
16… No Age Nouns
Video for Eraser is all I have to say.
15… Department of Eagles In Ear Park
New pop for the old planet.
14… Man Man Rabbit Habits
Old music for the new planet.
13… Destroyer Trouble In Dreams
Oh Dan. You!
12… Wolf Parade At Mount Zoomer
I even liked the cover art.
11… Hercules & Love Affair Hercules & Love Affair
decadently beautiful.
10… Deerhunter Microcastle
for most acheivement in an album to listen to while in an airport or on an airplane and reading Cormac McCarthy’s The Road.
09… Marnie Stern This Is It And I Am It . . .
whoa!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!……********///////
08… Cut Copy In Ghost Colors
you will dance to this, even if you’re sitting down.
07… MGMT Oracular Spectacular
delicious savoy truffle proggy cosmic fun.
06… Fleet Foxes Fleet Foxes
about as close to beauty as one gets.
05… Jay Reatard Matador Singles ’08
I’d listened to this album many times. but the first time I heard it was with headphones, riding my bike past historic farmhouses just before sunset. a very fun ride. this album is a fruitbasket full of the mostest funnest punk.
04… Beach House Devotion
I swoon over this album. I’m over the moon with this album. ghost songs sung from the nose of a speeding freight train. subersive late night easy listening.
03… Love Is All A Hundred Things Keep Me Up At Night
saxophone + glockenspiel. boy + girl. cruise + taxi. cyndi + roxy. surf + fusion. fuzzball + broken glass. I can’t get enough of any of it.
02… Evangelicals The Evening Descends
I love this band and I adore this album. serene horror. blissful paranoia. this is the sound of a drunken, half-asleep nightmare in a down comforter.
01… The Dodos Visiter
this album still thrills me. perfect music made simple. or simple music made perfect. they channel the sound of music in pure energy form. spectacular live.
20… Black Mountain Wucan a long, dark, mystical journey
19… Kanye West Heartless sadly gorgeous pop art
18… Of Montreal An Eluardian Distance this song alone makes the album more than worth it
17… Santogold L.E.S. Artistes what can I say? just an awesome song
16… Vampire Weekend Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa mmm mmm good
15… The Walkmen In The New Year a fine example of their incredible music
14… TV on the Radio Golden Age Peter Gabriel in George Clinton’s spaceship
13… Killers Joy Ride do you think they like Duran Duran? I do (think that; and like Duran Duran.)
12… Destroyer My Favorite Year Dan Bejar doesn’t get much more Dan Bejar-ish than this song
11… The Black Kids I’m Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How To Dance With You definitely the most played song–Elliot LOVED it
10… Department of Eagles No One Does It Like You original, beautiful and poppy . . . what’s not to like?
09… M83 Graveyard Girl if Donnie Darko and Pretty In Pink had a baby, this song would be on the soundtrack
08… Fleet Foxes White Winter Hymnal I chalk my love for this song up to my Mom playing Crosby, Stills & Nash for me as a kid
07… Cut Copy Out There On The Ice I just wanna dance!
06… Hercules & Love Affair Blind a Roxy Music for the new millenium
05… Beach House Gila geee-lah-ah-ah-ah-ahhhhh . . . heaven . . .
04… Evangelicals Stoned Again the sound of snowflakes falling over skateboarders on Halloween
03… The Dodos Jodi I want to shout my love for this song from the rooftops
02… Love Is All Seasick everything I love about this band is contained in this one song
01… MGMT Time To Pretend from the first listen to the delirious synth noodlings of this song, I knew this would be my favorite song of 2008
05… My Bloody Valentine SF Design Concourse, 09.30.08
not necessarily the most enjoyable, but definitely the most exciting–once-in-a-lifetime experience
04… Black Francis live score to Der Golem SF Castro Theater, 04.25.08
so much fun–he’s a true artist.
03… Cut Copy SF Mezzanine, 05.10.08
non-stop dance party . . . “lights and music are on my mind . . . ”
02… Evangelicals SF Hemlock Tavern, 03.21.08
there we were, in the very front of a tiny room, surrounded by smoke, neon, the band and blissful music. and then, Josh Jones ate our Thai food leftovers . . .
01… The Dodos SF Independent, 06.19.08
seeing them live will convert anyone who was on the fence. for someone who already loved them, it just plunged my heart deeper into it.
Dexy’s Midnight Runners
Nancy & Lee
Genesis / Phil Collins
Felt
Dennis Wilson
Hawkwind
Talk Talk
Lords of the New Church
Simple Minds
[…] adore this San Francisco band, The Dodos, with all our hearts. One of the best live shows we’ve ever seen and this is, without a doubt, a superb example of their intense presence. […]