Ty's Top Twenty-Five Tunes of 2008

For me, 2008 has been way more about discoveries than hype or hot singles. There have been moments where I'm hit over the head, but for the most part, I've had to work to find the good stuff. There's almost nothing more gratifying than "getting" a song or realizing an artists intent. It can sometimes feel like work, but if it wasn't work it wouldn't be worth it. There's something about the "good stuff" that makes you try again and again until you DO get it.

This year has also brought a lot of change for me - spiritually, romantically, and professionally - and music was often less than a priority, but I never stopped listening. Although I know I missed tons of great records.

I didn't want to duplicate artists on the list, but of the records I loved this year, I really really loved. It was unavoidable. So the only rule I made for myself was a limit of 3 songs by any particular artist (and 4 of them hit it).

These are the songs of 2008 that rewarded me the most (or hit me over the head):


25. "Bye Bye Bye" - Plants and Animals
If you're gonna rip off the Beatles, you might as well do it all the way.

24. "Something is Not Right With Me" - Cold War Kids
The record kind of under-whelmed, but this is as good as anything from Robbers and Cowards. Erratic and funky, it proves that CWK are not a one-off.

23. "Lump Sum" - Bon Iver
Gorgeously dissonant, Justin's vocals reverberating throughout made this the most haunting track from For Emma.

22. "With Handclaps" - Y'all is Fantasy Island
A last-minute addition, but totally warranted. If you can get that riff out of your head, you might as well purge your childhood memories with it.

21. "Mr Understanding" - Pete & the Pirates
Taps your toes the same way your lungs breathe for you.

20. "The Goodman of the House" - Deastro
Who needs a real studio anyway? DIY can lose it's charm when the strength of the songwriting is not there, but Deastro charmed our pants off AND wrote some sweet-ass tunes. This is one of them.

19. "The Rip" - Portishead
I had a hard time with the record, but I immediately fell for this song. There's something strangely comforting about a death ballad.

18. "Skinny Love" - Bon Iver
You kinda just want to hold the guy, no?

17. "L.E.S. Artistes" - Santogold
I hate cliches, but this is THE anthem for starving artists everywhere.

16. "Black Balloon" - The Kills
A farewell to drug addiction? I'm not sure, but to me it's a heartbroken goodbye to someone who won't get it until they've lost everything. Oh and there's handclaps :)

15. "My Manic and I" - Laura Marling
Nevermind that she's too young to remember teenage mutant ninja turtles, Ms. Marling has no issues proving her brilliance.

14. "She Doesn't Belong to Me" - Pete & the Pirates
A cold and lonely Monday morning packed into a whopping 2 minutes.

13. "Strangers in the Wind" - Cut Copy
The soundtrack to that crazy dream you have where finally realize that you've always had the ability to fly.

12. "White Winter Hymnal" - Fleet Foxes
I'm going to be completely annoying and say I loved this song way before FF's got huge-ish and showed up on tons of year-end lists. I read back in January that they'd be at this year's Sasquatch Fest, so I checked their myspace and found this tune. It's sweet and simple, and difficult not to love. Especially the super-cute (disturbing?) lyrics. It's a shame how boring their live show was.

11. "Last Day of Magic" - The Kills
The Kills create an entirely new genre of music: sleaze-pop.

10. "Highly Suspicious" - My Morning Jacket
Srsly guys, this is completely ridiculous. Peanut butter pudding surprise? You've GOT to be kidding me Jim! I can't get enough of it.

9. "Cassius" - Foals

Impossibly catchy
- Filler
+ Psycho trumpets
x Perfect drumming
÷ Pop
= Cassius

8. "Leah's Daughter the Giraffe" - Deastro

Bizarrely beautiful, "Leah's" rides the rail between anxiety and bliss, only to leave us utterly unsettled. The banjo, menacing and comforting, is key. Keeper's is 2008's little record that could.

7. "That's Not My Name" - The Ting-Tings

My guilty pleasure of the year. 'Nuff said.

6. "Hearts On Fire" - Cut Copy

A shoulder-popping mix of 80's synth and 90's pop tricks, Cut Copy almost manage to sound like they're from the present. But I know better. They're from the future.

5. "Come On Feet" - Pete & the Pirates

Handclaps, 1-2-3's, and oh-oh-oh's inspire the most violent dance around my living room since "Sing Me Spanish Techno".

4. "Tape Song" - The Kills
"U.R.A. Fever" drew me in, but the chorus of "Tape Song" fueled my love affair with Midnight Boom. I have yet to figure out what it's about, but it's definitely scandalous.

3. "Flume" - Bon Iver

This was the winter record, for obvious reasons, and this song is curled up in a warm blanket reading sad stories by an oil lamp. Just hearing those opening chords settles my heart into sweet sadness. And the Take Away Show is incredible.

2. "Under the Pines" - Bodies Of Water

I can't find anything I don't love about this song. The faux butt-rock intro threw me for a loop at first, but quickly turned to love. Flawlessly constructed, dark and powerful, this pretty much ruled my stereo for weeks. I can't believe it wasn't huge. The unofficial air-drum song of the year.

1."Feel the Love" - Cut Copy

A bruising blend of happy/sad, it was only after the first several listens that I realized it's not at all tongue in cheek - these guys are absolutely serious. Nothing threatened to blow my car speakers out like this song; the bass sequence at 1:17 pretty much sends me to the stratosphere. This whole record was summer to me, and just about every song could be in my top ten. But how boring would that be?