Top 100 Songs of 2008

So, the lists begin...
I followed a few rules in making my top songs lists. First of all, no repeat artists - this way I can steer away from just posting every track from my ten favorite albums of the year. Also, I generally stayed away from remixes. There are too many, most of which are absolute crap, and they are not worth my time trying to keep up with when I could be finding another great album instead. Lastly, I ignored my album of the year list when making this to ensure that I did not just post a song for each album I ranked. Download of all 100 songs is available at the bottom of the post. Let me know what you think!

I'll have descriptions, album art, and mp3's available for the rest of the songs at a later date (I only have the first 20 up now), but the list is still here, as well as the link to a download of all the songs.

100) "Nothing, Then"
Punch Brothers
Punch

99) "California Bird Dudes"
No Age & Zach Hill
Flannel Graduate

98) "Move"
Q-Tip
The Renaissance

97) "Eyes Lose Their Fire"
Kyte
Two Sparks, Two Stars

96) "In Ear Park"
Department of Eagles
In Ear Park

95) "Son the Father"
Fucked Up
The Chemistry of Common Life

94) "Don't Wait for the Needle to Drop"
Dosh
Wolves and Wishes

93) "Untrust Us"
Crystal Castles
Self Titled

92) "Smile For Me"
Quinn Walker
Laughter's An Asshole

91) "The Magnificent Jinn"
Trey Gunn
Music For Pictures

90) "Mercy"
Plants and Animals
Parc Avenue

89) "Nieve Sacra"
Natural Snow Buildings
The Snowbringer Cult

88) "Peel Some Off"
These Are Powers
Tarot Tarot

87) "Geraldine"
Glasvegas
Self Titled

86) "Aly, Walk With Me"
The Raveonettes
Lust Lust Lust

85) "Quarantined"
Atlas Sound
Let The Blind Lead Those Who Can See But Cannot Feel

84) "Ergot (Relief)"
Genghis Tron
Board Up the House

83) "The Clockwise Witness"
Devotchka
A Mad & Faithful Telling

82) "Millie Rode to Heaven on the Back of an Orca"
The Photographic
Pictures of a Changing World

81) "Skip Town"
Nico Muhly
Mothertongue

80) "Nothing Ever Happened"
Deerhunter
Microcastle

79) "You Were Too Old For Me"
PAS/CAL
I Was Raised On Matthew, Mark, Luke & Laura

78) "Iamundernodisguise"
School of Seven Bells
Alpinisms

77) "Gin Divide Us"
Sybris
Into the Trees

76) "Don't Look That Way At It"
White Denim
Workout Holiday

75) "Dodovoodoo"
Elephant9
Dodovoodoo

74) "Batcat"
Mogwai
The Hawk is Howling

73) "Blind and Faithless"
Jesu
Why Are We Not Perfect?

72) "All the Best Wooden Toys Come From Germany"
Broken Social Scene Presents: Brendan Canning
Something For All Of Us...

71) "In Search of the Youth Crew"
Cadence Weapon
Afterparty Babies

70) "Jog On"
Dub Trio
Another Sound is Dying

69) "Collapsing At Your Doorstep"
Air France
No Way Down

68) "In My Room"
The Last Shadow Puppets"
The Age of the Understatement

67) "The Area Play"
Eliot Lipp
The Outside

66) "Some Nettles"
Stars Like Fleas
The Ken Burns Effect

65) "Doubt/Hope"
Wildbirds & Peacedrums
Heartcore

64) "Okay, Let's Talk About Magic"
Fuck Buttons
Street Horrrsing

63) "Tired Eyes"
+/-
Xs on Your Eyes

62) "Fear and Loathing in Mahwah, NJ"
Titus Andronicus
The Airing of Grievances

61) "Transmigration (Stranger)"
PSY/OPSogist
Suffused With Static

60) "Bloodhail"
Have a Nice Life
Deathconsciousness

59) "Empty Legs"
Thank You
Terrible Two

58) "Un Dia"
Juana Molina
Un Dia

57) "Dear Broken Friend"
{{{Sunset}}}
Bright Blue Dream

56) "Red Line Season"
These Arms are Snakes
Tail Swallower and Dove

55) "Transformer"
Marnie Stern
This Is it and I Am it and You Are it and so Is That and He Is it and She Is it and it Is it and That is That (seriously what kind of a fucking album title is this)

54) "Where in this World"
The Notwist
The Devil You and Me

53) "Take Refuge"
Grails
Take Refuge in Clean Living

52) "California Dreamer"
Wolf Parade
At Mount Zoomer

51) "Arms Like Boulders"
The War On Drugs
Wagonwheel Blues

50) "Ghosts Under Rocks"
Ra Ra Riot
The Rhumb Line

49) "Gold, Tan, Peach, and Grey"
Bodies of Water
A Certain Feeling

48) "On the Death of the Waters"
Shearwater
Rook

47) "Learn to Learn"
The Week That Was
Self Titled

46) "Chains"
Pocahaunted
Chains

45) "Eaguru Guru"
Deerhoof
Offend Maggie

44) "Emergence"
Trifonic
Emergence

43) "Sax Rohmer #1"
The Mountain Goats
Heretic Pride

42) "Lawncare"
Women
Self Titled

41) "A Sky For Shoeing Horses Under"
Why?
Alopecia

40) "Plötsligt händer det inte"
Vapnet
Döda Fallet

39) "Dead Destination"
Boris
Smile (Japanese Version)

38) "Real Emotional Trash"
Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks
Real Emotional Trash

37) "Skeleton Man"
Evangelicals
The Evening Descends

36) "Love Dog"
TV on the Radio
Dear Science,

35) "Wanga Doll"
Red Snapper
Pale Blue Dot

34) "20k Money Making Brothers"
Re-Up Gang
We Got It 4 Cheap Volume 3

33) "Buriedfed"
Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson
Self Titled

32) "Mollie"
Leila
Blood Looms And Blooms

31) "Old Skin"
Young Widows
Old Wounds

30) "Parisian Goldfish"
Flying Lotus
Los Angeles

29) "In Lust You Can Hear The Axe Fall"
Xiu Xiu
Women As Lovers

28) "Dark Leaves Form a Thread"
Destroyer
Trouble in Dreams

27) "Dead City/Waste Wilderness"
Abe Vigoda
Skeleton

26) "Heart Failure (Featuring Sage Francis)"
B. Dolan
The Failure

25) "Hands Tied To The Roots Of A Hemorrhage"
Omar Rodriguez-Lopez
Absence Makes The Heart Grow Fungus

24) "Triumph of Venus"
Torche
Meanderthal

23) "Folk I Farta"
DiskJokke
Staying In

22) "The Modern Leper"
Frightened Rabbit
The Midnight Organ

21) "Jodi"
The Dodos
Visiter

20) "Long Story Short"
Black Milk
Tronic



Nothing revolutionary about this song, but it is just done so damn well. I have already extolled the virtues of Black Milk on this blog, so I won't belabor the point. Great song, great album.



19) "Tane Mahuta"
The Ruby Suns
Sea Lion



Is it possible to be in a bad mood after listening to this song? I love the upbeat, world music infused sound - also, the wide range of instrumentation makes the song even more interesting.



18) "Untitled - Track 1"
Raccoo-oo-oon
Self Titled



Cowbell? I think that is what starts off this song, before the tangled mess of howls, swirling guitars, and torrents of drumming dominate. Propulsive, relatively straight forward as far as Raccoo-oo-oon goes, and just a plain good noise rock song. Love how much this song evolves over 8 plus minutes.



17) "Molten Light"
Chad VanGaalen
Soft Airplane



Great lo-fi sound to this artist, with impeccable lyrical abilities. VanGaalen, also the producer on the Women release of this year, has crafted in "Molten Light" a song that lodges itself in the back of your head and just will not get out. "I'll find you and I'll kill you" - what a strange phrase to have keep popping up in your mind.



16) "New Year Storm"
Clark
Turning Dragon



This song certainly signaled a change of direction from Chris Clark's previous material. Dark industrial beats pummel the listener from the beginning, but before the 2 minute mark the dynamics of the song really open up. A great song to kick of yet another great release for Clark.



15) "Rise Rice"
Mahjongg
Kontpab



This is the epic track of the album. Clanging drums and repeating, fuzzed out synths devolve into polyrhythms and muttered vocals, before breaking out into a strange dance song with "rise rice" repeated over and over again. Chaotic, entirely originally, but catchy for reasons I can't even begin to explain.



14) "Blackmail Blues"
Extra Life
Secular Works



Gothic aura, gregorian chanting styled vocals, crashing, dense rhythm section - what a great song. Charlie Looker's Extra Life is my favorite of all of his projects, and "Blackmail Blues" puts on full display the extent of his talents.



13) "The Gods of the Upper House"
Snowman
The Horse, The Rat and the Swan



What the hell is this stuff? Modern no-wave? Swans meets Liars? Whatever you would categorize this as, I am completely enamored with this highly intense Australian band. "WE ARE MACHINES!" Wow!



12) "The Era When We Sang"
Blue Sky Black Death
Late Night Cinema



The strings, the sampled vocals, the horn accents, and infectious beat had this song on repeat for me for quite a while. The entire album is great, but as soon as I heard the first track (this song) I knew this was going to be the highlight. One of many impressive efforts in the world of instrumental hip hop this year.



11) "The Rip"
Portishead
Third



Beth Gibbons is a fucking god. Her performance on "Third" is probably my highlight of the year as far as vocals go. Absolutely haunting. This track is emblematic of the album, dark, yet beautiful, simple, yet never predictable. Talk about a shocker - who would have predicted that Portishead's first album in over a decade would be this amazing?



10) "Princes (Featuring Tinchy Stryder)"
Gang Gang Dance
Saint Dymphna



I could have put up any track off of the album, but the shear ridiculousness of this song compelled this choice. Tinchy Stryder is both awful and amazing, while Gang Gang Dance provided an oddly fitting match.



9) "Until the Sun Dies (Part 2)"
Crystal Antlers
EP



Noisy, psychedelic, punk rock perfection. The shear propulsive energy of this release, makes their first full length one of my most anticipated albums of 2009.



8) "Dirt (Featuring Aesop Rock)"
Tobacco
Fucked Up Friends



Combine the tripped out analog synths of Black Moth Super Rainbow with the spitfire delivery of Aesop Rock and you have a recipe for success. Tobacco, a BMSR side project, should really do some more collaborations, as this one (the lone one on the album) easily stands above the other tracks on the record.



7) "Gobbledigook"
Sigur Ros
Me...Fuck it, I'm not even going to try it. Some Icelandic gibberish.



It appears Sigur Ros has discovered freak-folk...and the results are nothing if not spectacular. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for the rest of the album. If you enjoy this song and naked people I recommend checking out the video.



6) "Heaven Can Wait"
Metaform
Standing on the Shoulders of Giants



The repeating, sampled piano line fits so well with the beat being employed on "Heaven Can Wait" that it is almost scary. So many great things on this song - the impeccable drum fills, the way the song explodes out of transitions, etc. Instrumental hip-hop perfection.



5) "End Resolve"
Pyramids
Self Titled



Pyramids issues some pretty non-standard metal. This fuzzed out, metal-gaze track comes complete with haunting chanted vocals and pummeling double bass. This is the most overlooked album of the year, and "End Resolve" is possibly the best track of the year.



4) "Pwnd"
The Mae Shi
HLLLYH



The Mae Shi's spaz-rock epic, "Pwnd", is a fist-pumper of the first degree. I can't even describe how obsessed I was with this song when this album first came out. Everyone talks about "Run to your grave", when they speak of songs off of HLLLYH, but it pales in comparison to the intensity of "Pwnd".



3) "Raise"
Son Lux
At War With Walls & Mazes



Composer turned hip hop producer/indie musician, Ryan Lott has all of his divergent musical interests cumulate perfectly in this track. While I can't say the same for the rest of the album, this climax near the end of the song sent chills down my spine upon first listen.



2) "White Winter Hymnal"
Fleet Foxes
Self Titled



Angelically beautiful harmonies soar over perfectly played acoustic instrumentation. Is it possible to not feel at least a little bit better about the world after listening to this?



1) "Water Curses"
Animal Collective
Water Curses EP



While Animal Collective did not release an album this year, this EP yielded plenty of satisfaction. Perhaps the poppiest of all Animal Collective songs, "Water Curses" achieves perfection, without diluting the odd ball AC delivery too much.



Downloads:
Songs 1-20 http://rapidshare.com/files/178676599/1-20.zip.html
21-40 http://rapidshare.com/files/178683088/21-40.zip.html
41-60 http://rapidshare.com/files/178804861/41-60.zip.html
61-80 http://rapidshare.com/files/178816188/61-80.zip.html
81-100 http://rapidshare.com/files/178826489/81-100.zip.html

Coming Soon!

The year is winding down, and that means "best of" lists. Over this holiday weekend I will be putting up my own lists. Each will come with an mp3 sample of the album or song referenced, many will have videos as well. Additionally, downloads of all albums and songs will be made available.

First: Top 100 Songs of 2008.
Second: Honorable mentions - albums just outside of my top 100 that are still worth checking out.
Third: Top Albums of 2008, #100-51.
Fourth: Top Albums of 2008, #50-1

I've got good and bad news

Bad news: Psychedelic, noise rockers Raccoo-oo-oon have broken up. While the members of the band will continue to produce music, it will now be as a series of solo projects with equally ridiculous band names ranging from Pukers to Trash Dog.

Good news: A terrific, self-titled, last release. I'm not even sure when the release date was for this album (news about them is hard to come by), but their fifth full length does not disappoint. While the four piece from Iowa may not match the highs reached on "Behold Secret Kingdom", this sprawling 76 minute epic still can be considered one of the most challenging, original, and impressive releases of the year. The formula hasn't changed much from previous releases - rapid, often disjointed, drumming, a manic haze of tortured moans and chants, and jagged blasts of guitar play form the crux of their sound. This release manages to be even less accessible than the previous one, with song structures broken down, then stretched to their limits. Their is a sinister quality to this music that I can't quite describe, but it is well worth checking out. Fans of noise rock, experimental music, and heavier psychedelic genres owe it to themselves to explore this release, as well as the band's back catalog.

Live clip (looks terrifying, but in an enjoyable kind of way):

download: http://rapidshare.com/files/176517173/Raccoo-oo-oon_-_Raccoo-oo-oon__Release_The_Bats__2008__IT.zip.html

If you only listen to one rap album this year...

2008 has seen a slew of great instrumental hip hop releases (Flying Lotus, Metaform, Blue Sky Black Death, PSY/OPSogist, Clutchy Hopkins), however there really has been a dearth of good albums put out by emcee's this year.

Curtis Cross, the 25 year old rapper/producer who goes by Black Milk, has been the excpetion. With 6 releases this year, Cross has not let his prolific rate of production effect the quality of his releases.

Contributing as a producer to Slum Village's second album, Cross has since gone on to work with everyone from Lloyd Banks, to Pharoahe Monch. His brightest moments have come with his work with fellow Detroit underground hip hop artists though. His production on Elzhi's "The Preface", Fat Ray's "The Set Up", and Sean Price and Guilty Simpson's "Random Axe" builds upon the soul based, cut and paste sample, production style of his greatest influence, the late J Dilla. In these albums we see Cross trying to get back to where one producer creates a unique aesthetic for an album, rather than having a different producer on each track. The crashing drums, and "raw" east coast like production style (in the same vein as rza for example) are great on their own, but that coupled with a more focused approach to making a hip hop album really sets him apart from the rest of the hip hop scene in 2008.

Even though production is where Cross started, and has been acclaimed, his emcee abilites are far from lackluster. "Tronic", his second full fledged solo album, sees himself capably carrying the vast majority of the emcee duties. With influences ranging from sly and the family stone, to a tribe called quest "Tronic" is far and away the best rap album of the year. Cross has established himself as not only the leader of the burgeoning underground rap scene in Detroit, but as one of the preeminent hip hop artists today.
Download: http://rapidshare.com/files/175396119/Black_Milk-Tronic-2008-.zip.html

Great video from 2006 of Black Milk creating a great beat on the spot in about 15 minutes:

I WANT ME SOME ANIMAL COLLECTIVE! - and other '09 goodies

If you are not already aware, anticipation for the new Animal Collective release, "Merriweather Post Pavillion", has reached a fever pitch. Web sheriff's (what the fuck does that even mean?) have cracked down on leaks - even throwing Grizzly Bear into the controversy when they upped a song to their blog. All of this for an album that comes out on in just 2 weeks (January 6th)!

The new album is supposed to further build on Animal Collective's trend towards more electronic beat making and utilize more of Noah Lennox's techniques he used so adeptly on his last Panda Bear album. Apparently, while touring Europe they became obsessed with the house and trance scene, and subsequently that is supposed to be evident in their new recordings.

I'm about as excited for this release as I have been for any release in recent memory. If this isn't the best album of 2009 it will likely be a let down for me. Animal Collective is known for playing all new material live first, letting it evolve over a tour, before commiting it to recording and due to this most of the tracks on the new album are available as live recordings (though they could sound significantly different). I have secured a live recording of every song on the new album, and from what I have heard it sounds pretty fucking mind blowing.
For your downloading pleasure:

http://rapidshare.com/files/175339269/Merriweather_Post_Pavilion_-_Live_Preview.zip.html

As for other exciting releases coming out:

Andrew Bird Noble Beast:
This has actually already leaked. Nothing that has knocked my socks off, but solid as usual.

... And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead The Century of Self:
Hopefully they can put an end to their terrible downward spiral. As great as Source Tags & Codes was, their past couple of releases were unforgivably awful.

Antony And The Johnsons The Crying Light:
Even though I'm not one who is into the whole house/disco-revival scene, I thought Antony's work with Hercules and the Love Affair was solid. I have enjoyed his past releases, and based off how the single sounds, this album should be a bright spot as well. Said single:


The Appleseed Cast Sagarmatha:
Hopefully this album can repeat the achievement's of their Low Level Owl releases.

Bad Plus For All I Care
As much as I enjoy this band, you have to wonder how good a band can be considered when their covers are their best songs.

Crippled Black Phoenix 200 Tons of Bad Luck
Features members of Mogwai. I'm pretty psyched about this one. Track from the album:


Missy Elliott Block Party
Do I even need to say why this is highly anticipated?
IT'S YOUR FREMME NEPPA VENETTE!

Mos Def The Ecstatic
Probably will just be him going through the motions again, like on his last release. We can all hope for a return to form though.

Jazzzzzzzz

While laboring through the last couple of albums that I have from 2008 before I make my year end list I found myself coming back to one genre in particular: jazz. Three artists have stood out among these last few albums - Scorch Trio (album: Brolt), Supersilent side project Elephant9 (album: Dodovoodoo), and Valerio Cosi (album: Heavy Electronic Pacific Loop). The first two represent the flourishing Scandinavian free jazz/fusion scene, while the latter hails from Italy and is a bit more droney and avant-garde. These three releases, coupled with two earlier Bar Kokhba related albums (one by Bar Kokhba itself called Lucifer, the other written by Bar Kokhba, but performed by Mr. Bungle offshoot Secret Chiefs 3 titled Xaphan: Book of Angels Volume 9) and the second Original Silence record, make clear the strong showing jazz, as a genre, has made in 2008. Then again, I generally prefer more fusion, and free jazz styled jazz, and these albums, for the most part are just that. Though not '08 releases, I have also been really digging stuff by Isotope 217 and Art Ensemble of Chicago recently, as far as jazz goes. Check out the live videos - pretty crazy stuff (I should have links to downloads up soon).

Scorch Trio:

download: http://rapidshare.com/files/175333391/Brolt.zip.html

Elephant9:

download: http://rapidshare.com/files/175339272/Elephant9__Supersilent__Shining__-_Dodovoodoo__Rune-Grammofon__v2_.zip.html

Valerio Cosi (track is not on the album):

download: http://rapidshare.com/files/175333394/Valerio_Cosi.zip.html