Best Songs of 2008 - #10 - #1

10. "The Kelly Affair" by Be Your Own Pet - The fact that this song is inspired by the film Beyond the Valley of the Dolls is pretty goofy, but BYOP still deliver a fun little rock number. If I was a teenage boy, I would probably build a shrine to singer Jemina Pearl. I love her snotty, sexy growl.


9. "Love Dog" by TV on the Radio - I think the TVOTR is the most important band in America today. They are the U.S. answer to Radiohead. "Love Dog" builds and builds over the course of five and half minutes. Serene and beautiful. Tunde Adebempe's voice is gorgeous and that Rhodes piano and the horns simply kills me.


8. "The Perfect Boy" by The Cure - This is the best song Robert Smith has written in a long, long time. His vocals are great and he delivers a nice little story. I love Simon Gallup's bass slides on the second chorus.


7. "Ready for the Floor" by Hot Chip - In theory, Hot Chip shouldn't work. They make some of the grooviest dance music today and the band is fronted by a little dude in glasses and a big, burly, bearded guy. Like "Playboy" a few years ago, "Ready for the Floor" is further proof that these guys know what the hell they're doing.


6. "Mouthwash" by Kate Nash - What a voice! Kate Nash gets lumped in with the recent British Girl Wave (see Adele, Duffy, Lilly Allen, etc.), but she's a pretty decent songwriter. Kudos to the drummer for taking the ending to the next level. He pounds the crap out of the skins on this number.


5. "My Only Offer" by Mates of State - I had the fortune of seeing Mates of State in concert this past year. They can do so much with just keyboards, drums, and two voices. For some reason I had a habit of singing this song while cooking during the fall. Must be the cute, married couple vibe of the band.


4. "Electric Feel" by MGMT - There's something I just like about MGMT. On the surface, their songs sound pretty irreverence, but there's an undercurrent of sincerity. I had a hard time deciding which of the three MGMT songs ("Kids", "Time to Pretend", "Electric Feel") that rocked my world to put on this list, but "Electric Feel" won out.

MGMT - New Music - More Music Videos

3. "Little Bit" by Lykke Li - Simple, sparse, and stripped down. Excellent use steel drums and mandolin. Of course I can't leave out that sweet, pouty, cute voice. The lyrics are kind of goofy at times, but the intent is pure.

Lykke Li - New Music - More Music Videos

2. "I'm Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How To Dance With You" by Black Kids - There's been a bit of a Black Kids backlash after their full length album failed to deliver on the promise of their four track EP "Wizard of Ahhhs", but there's no denying this song. Pure pop gold. The sheer repetition of the verse and chorus will cause this song to worm its way into your brain. I prefer the EP version over the LP mix.


1. "My Year in Lists" by Los Campesinos! - (How ironic!) Young angst has never sounded so amazing! I raved about this song earlier in the year and it has yet to lose its luster. Where were you when I needed you Los Campesinos! You would have been the soundtrack of my college days! Amazing boy/girl vocals and a second verse that makes me want to laugh and cry simultaneously. Brilliant.

Best Songs of 2008 - #15 - #11

15. "The Step and the Walk" by The Duke Spirit - It may sound strange, but I would have been very disappointed if the lead singer of The Duke Spirit wasn't rockin' some long hair. Her voice just oozes with Grace Slick cool, Stevie Nicks power, and a dash of Nico. This kind of voice has a visual archetype and thankfully Liela Moss fits it. The tinny production also adds to the song's old rock feel.


14. "Cath..." by Death Cab for Cutie - After the downer that was Plans, DCFC delivered a much better record with Narrow Stairs. Not that Ben Gibbard hasn't stopped writing angsty, moody lyrics, but at least the tempo is a little quicker for some of the tracks. "Cath..." is one of the best on the record. Smart lyrics, a good character study, and some solid guitar work.


13. "Supernatural Superserious" by R.E.M. - I hated that I had written off one of my favorite bands of all time. Reveal and Around the Sun were so... dull. It felt like the band had stopped trying. Thank God for Accelerate. R.E.M. returned with a thirty-five minute rock album and it was grand. The lead off single was one of the best of the bunch and I love, love, love those Mike Mills harmonies.


12. "L.E.S. Artistes" by Santogold - While most people were ready to lump Santogold with M.I.A. after the third world throwdown that was "Creator", it was "L.E.S. Artistes" and "Lights Out" that made people really stand up and pay attention. This song has one of the best opening hooks of the year.


11. "Kim & Jessie" by M83 - I fell in love with this tune at first listen. It sounds like every John Hughes movie soundtrack rolled into one song. Lush and gorgeous.

Best Songs of 2008 - #20 - #16

20. "GfC" by Albert Hammond Jr. - What little I've heard of this Strokes guitarist's solo work, I've liked. He actually has a more emotive voice than the sleepy sound of the lead singer of his regular band. There are some really good guitar lines and it all builds to a rockin' solo.


19. "Balloons" by Foals - This song sounds like the mashing of math rock with '80s aesthetics: group shouts, saxophone, Power Station drumming, etc. The result is a really catchy song.


18. "2080" by Yeasayer - Very moody and lingering. The singer's voice sort of reminds me of Maynard James Keenan (Tool, A Perfect Circle). Really great harmonies overall. The spiralling guitar line adds to the dreamlike feel of the song.


17. "Ghost Under Rocks" by Ra Ra Riot - This song has a great driving beat and the cello and violin are wonderfully utilized. Great vocal performance, too. The chorus sticks in my head after a listen.


16. "Tessellate" by Tokyo Police Club - Another song where the snare is beaten to death. Great piano hook. And, hey, how often do you get to hear the work 'tessellate' used in a song?

Best Songs of 2008 - #25 - #21

25. "Second Chance" by Liam Finn - The son of the legendary Neil Finn offers up a sweet number with a wonderful falsetto (I'm sensing a trend in this countdown). This song breezes along until the tempo ramps up and the keyboards swell. Great intro, too.


24. "Falling Down" by Oasis - I haven't given two spits about Oasis since Be Here Now. Everything since that 1997 album has been a weak attempt at trying to recapture the gold that was Definitely Maybe and What's the Story, Morning Glory. On "Falling Down" Noel takes the lead vocals and he's seems to have integrated some to the driving beats he may have picked while collaborating with the Chemical Brothers.


23. "White Winter Hymnal" by Fleet Foxes - This is like a song out of time. Its style and production almost convinces me that "White Winter Hymnal" is actually a lost recording from forty years ago. Short, sweet, and one of the best vocal performances of the year.


22. "California Girls" by The Magnetic Fields - Shoe-gaze meets '60s girl pop. The Beach Boys may of loved the ladies from the left coast, but our singer sure has a bone to pick... or is that a battle axe? There's lots of great imagery on this track.


21. "Discipline" by Nine Inch Nails - Oasis, the Magnetic Fields, and Nine Inch Nails all in one post? It's like the '90s never ended! To tell you the truth, I probably wouldn't have heard this song if it wasn't for Trent Reznor giving The Slip away for free online. It's a surprisingly solid record and "Discipline" is the standout track. It's got a few of Reznor's signature sounds. Haunted house piano line? Check. White noise machine? Check. Tortured, nasally singing? Check. But it's all wrapped around an infectious disco beat and some great "doot-doot-doots". Also, since the song is called "Discipline", I can't help but like how Reznor starts to sing too early and catches himself. It maybe a bit obvious, but it works. (The Saturday Night Fever mash up video is perfect.)

Best Songs of 2008 - #30 - #26

Back to our regularly scheduled program:

30. "The Rat" by Dead Confederate - Nothing screams angst like a slow, brooding burner of a song that occasionally explodes with loud guitars. The self-deeming lyrics and spooky organ are just icing on a tortured cake. This song reminds me a little of a band from earlier in the decade called Ours, except without the Jeff Buckley-esque vocals.


29. "Sleepyhead" by Passion Pit - Soul, funk, disco, and electro all smash up together in this groovy little number. Love the falsetto singing on this song. It's the type of tune that if you play it loud enough on your computer at work, you'll get strange looks.


28. "Evil Urges" by My Morning Jacket - Louisville represent! Speaking of falsettos, ol' Jim James is working his overtime on "Evil Urges". It's a sweet, funky number and its always great to see MMJ mess around with different genres. I think the song would have been fine without the prerequisite guitar jam in the middle, though. Still, another strong song from the hometown crowd.


27. "The Opposite of Hallelujah" by Jens Lekman - There's something charming about a song sung in English when it's not the singer's national tongue. This cute little number seems to be about a brother that's failing miserably at dispensing advice to his little sister. Very catchy.


26. "Hang Them All" by Tapes 'n' Tapes - This nervous, jittery song continues to build the tension until an explosive release and a repeated declaration of the title.

Best Songs of 2008 - #35 - #31

Here's the latest installment of my annual look back at the songs that wormed their way into my subconscious and dominated my iPod playlists.

35. "Why Do You Let Me Stay Here?" by She & Him - This is the musical collaboration of M. Ward and actress Zooey Deschanel. It's a pleasant little tune and like the way Deschanel says "credit" near the end. The "oooos" and "doot-doots" on the outro almost make me willing to forgive Deschanel for appearing in that god-awful M. Night movie, The Happening, earlier this year.


34. "Valerie Plame" by The Decemberists - This song has Colin Meloy singing about a fictitious love affair with real world outted spy, Valerie Plame Wilson. My favorite part is the reference to a Vespa as a chariot and the Greenzone Marriott. Very clever Mr. Meloy. Musically, this song is very White Album Beatles right down to the "Hey Jude" ending.


33. "Chicago X 12" by Rogue Wave - Admittedly this type of song is usually a little too VH1 for my tastes, but I love some great woodblock work. It reminds me of Remy Zero and some the great songs they had about a decade ago. (Video here)

32. "Keep Your Eyes Ahead" by The Helio Sequence - Good driving beat and I like how the guitars pick up a little edge before the second verse. The spacey breakdown in the middle is pretty cool, too.


31. "Set It Off" by Girl Talk - This is pretty much the kind of song you expect from this mash-up artist. I've got to admit the pairing of "Paranoid Android" with Jay-Z is pretty damn awesome. The Mary J. Blige "Real Love" over top "These Eyes" is almost as brilliant. However, nothing beats the section where Bubba Sparxxx raps over "Come On Eileen".

Best Songs of 2008 - #40 - #36

2008 is quickly coming to a close and it's time for my annual music countdown. Despite the work, I had a lot of fun with this last year, so I thought I'd give it another go. Keep in mind, this is a very loose countdown. The numbering is pretty vague and doesn't really matter until about the top twenty or fifteen. The bottom half could easily bounce around in order given my mood, but I had to establish some kind of order.

Like last year, the songs selected are the ones that dominated my iPod over the course of 2008. Some songs may have been released in 2007, but got significant play via my outlets for new music: Sirius' Left of Center (now called Sirius XMU), Subterranean on MTV2, and the ever polarizing Pitchfork (and Pitchfork.tv). Enjoy!

40. "Paris" by Friendly Fires - We start off with a catchy little dance number. Excellent cow bell and drum work. Nice send up on the chorus and the chill out ending is a cool way to bring it all home for the last quarter of the song.


39. "Eraser" by No Age - It has a long intro, but the guitar/drums duo really kicks it into gear about halfway through the song. Lo-fi, but fun.


38. "A-Punk" by Vampire Weekend - Boy, didn't this band just blow up really quickly this year. I wasn't completely won over like a lot of folks, but I found their songs entertaining enough. A lot of Paul Simon/Peter Gabriel/world music influence here.


37. "Two Doors Down" by Mystery Jets - Talk about being unashamedly in love with '80s New Wave. Still, Mystery Jets take the aesthetics of Wang Chung, the Outfield, Tears for Fears, and other bands of the era and have written a really fun song.


36. "Right Hand On My Heart" by The Whigs - And the '80s gave way to the '90s. The Whigs have got that grunge era rock sound down. This song reminds me of the band Love Battery and the verse sounds like the melody of "Pepper" by Butthole Surfers.