Thanks, everyone, for the kind words about the
podcast. In just hours, it already set a record for the most listeners to an altcast program, which admittedly wasn't very hard to do. Now that the secret's out, it's time to explain why I chose all the songs. This is it, folks! We've come a long way and it's time to wrap it up for good. Here are my top 10 songs of 2008...
Ironic that the best song off of Cat Power's
Jukebox, an album of covers, isn't really a cover at all; it's just a new version of one of her own old songs. "Metal Heart" originally appeared on her 1998 album,
Moon Pix, and it was a decent song back then, but holy crap, this new version blows it out of the water. It has been completely reimagined from top to bottom and it's one of the most aurally interesting tracks I've ever heard from Cat Power. As a whole, Jukebox may be a bit lackluster compared to some of her other works, but this song singlehandedly saves it and makes it all worth it. Here's hoping Cat Power taps some of the inspiration behind this one in the future. "Metal Heart" is my #10 song of 2008.
I love my sisters, I really do. The Watson Twins first entered the scene by teaming up with Jenny Lewis for
Rabbit Fur Coat back in 2006. Now, they've released their own solo album (or duo album, I guess),
Fire Songs. It's a highly enjoyable, charming, and relaxing album from beginning to end. The standout track in my opinion is "Just Like Heaven," a cover of the classic song by The Cure. They take the song and completely reinterpret it, adding an unparalleled level of sincerity and depth to it. You make me proud to be a Watson, sisters! "Just Like Heaven" is my #9 song of 2008.
Lights made a name for herself by crafting great music using all her own skill and talent in her own home, using the power of the Internet to get discovered and enter the mainstream. That's what it's all about, folks. Nobody put her here. She did this all herself. Her self-titled EP is surprisingly polished; you can tell every detail was thought out with great care. "White" is the best song of them all, in my opinion, due to its overwhelming charm and the namesake lyric,
Do you see lights, turn your shadows white? This girl is pure grace and talent, making "White" my #8 song of 2008.
From the pipe-banging introduction to the powerful verses to the out-of-this-world chorus, "Gilt Complex" is a wonder to behold. I've known of Sons and Daughters for some time ("Dance Me In" was a great song of 2006) but their new album,
This Gift, propelled them to a new level. It's rare that I'm so consistently happy with an album, but this one did it (great companion songs like "Iodine" are reasons for that). Being the type of listener I am, I tend to gravitate toward the first single or first track when choosing the best one, because it's always the one I remember the most. This case is absolutely no different. "Gilt Complex" gets
This Gift off to a roaring start and is my #7 song of 2008.
The very beginning of the year brought my first exposure to Adele, through the great "Painting Pictures" that I featured earlier in my list. I knew she would be an artist to watch in 2008. When I heard "Chasing Pavements," it was over, son; her spot in the top 10 might as well have been secured right away. This rollercoaster of a song ends up packing a punch so powerful in the final chorus, there's no way you can forget it. It's just breathtaking. I'm glad Adele has seen the success she so greatly deserved. "Chasing Pavements" is easily my #6 song of 2008.
It was four years ago that I found myself addicted to Jem's debut album,
Finally Woken. I really liked what I heard, and I got the impromptu opportunity to meet her one day that year while stopping by the studios of a local radio station after she made an appearance there. By the time I arrived, she was already out in the parking lot. She could have just walked away, but she knew I came to see her, so she stuck around for about 10-15 minutes to talk, and she was one of the nicest people I've ever met. That sealed the deal, folks. Jem would be on my good list forever. Her music was great and so was she. This year, upon hearing her new album,
Down To Earth, I was immediately impressed at the wide range of topics and styles she covered, all with the same kind of direct honesty and sincerity that I experienced when talking to her face-to-face. Jem is mature and introspective ("You Will Make It"), she is fun and frivolous ("Aciiid!"), and she ties it all together with dignity and grace. Jem is simply a great person who makes great music; that's all you need to know. Among the many outstanding songs on her new album, the title track is best at summing it all up. "Down To Earth" is my #5 song of 2008.
Girl Talk, otherwise known by his real name, Gregg Gillis, is a genius. He has mixed together some of the best songs from the '80s and '90s with modern-day pop and hip-hop hits in a way that's all at once groundbreaking, hilarious, innovative, and addictive. This massive remix goes on for almost 54 minutes. "But, TC," you say, "Feed The Animals is almost an hour long? That doesn't sound like an individual song to me." So what! It's impossible to break this thing down into segments. You have to listen to the whole thing as once. It's really one super long song. It's wrapped on both ends with a few lines from "International Players Anthem," which is really just perfect. The next-to-final segment of the remix features "Faithfully" by Journey interlaced with "Pop, Lock & Drop It," of all things; it somehow makes you feel like you've been through not just a song, not just an album, but an
experience, which makes "Feed The Animals" my #4 song of 2008.
It's the song with the longest shelf life I've probably ever seen. Originally appearing as the final track on M.I.A.'s
Kala last year, it was fantastic enough then. But it got an unexpected second go-around when it showed up as the brilliant music behind the trailer for
Pineapple Express (which, by the way, was the best movie of the year). Suddenly, "Paper Planes" was everywhere. There were like a dozen remixes. Elements of the song were mashed up, in, and out of just about everything you could dream of. Every club played it every week, without fail. People around the world had the chorus endlessly stuck in their head,
all I wanna do is [BANG BANG BANG BANG] and [KA-CHING!] and take your money. The obscure became the ubiquitous. My friends knew what I was talking about when I sang,
M.I.A., third world democracy, yeah I got more records than the KGB, so uh, no funny business? It was just damn great; you get the point. "Paper Planes" was the most infectious and resilient song of the year, hands down, and it's my #3 song of 2008.
This just in, the award for most adorable person goes to Zooey Deschanel. You know, the whole actress turned singer thing hardly ever works. Sometimes it's just awful; sometimes it's decent. But it's extremely rare for it to click perfectly as if it was her calling all along. Well guess what, Zooey passed that test with flying, beautiful colors. Teaming up with M. Ward to create She & Him and release
Volume One was just a brilliant move. Some of their songs are unbelievably retro; you could believe they were recorded 50+ years ago. Others are just insanely happy, like "Why Do You Let Me Stay Here?", my pick for the best and most memorable of the bunch. This was one of those cases where I listened to the song once and I knew it was a contender for song of the year. In the song, Zooey sounds so damn cute it should be illegal. It's just overflowing with and exuding happiness in a way that, remarkably, never manages to become even the slightest hint of annoying. You listen to this song, you smile. That's it. Done. "Why Do You Let Me Stay Here?" is my #2 song of 2008.
Here it is. The best song from the breakthrough artist of the year. Santogold changed the game. Not content with just one style, the songs on her self-titled album span this giant continuum that's simply unheard of by most artists, and she does it all brilliantly and flawlessly. Sometimes she reminds you of M.I.A., sometimes of Yeah Yeah Yeahs, sometimes of Tegan and Sara, sometimes of a band or artist you can't really place, and sometimes she's just so innovative and different that you don't know what the hell else it sounds like, if anything that ever came before. In the case of "L.E.S. Artistes," it's safe to say Santogold got it exactly right. It's as if she was out specifically to make a song that I would love in all respects. The sound is there, the message is there, the style is there, the instruments are there, the repetition is there, the beat is there, the inflection is there, the attitude is there. Does it get any better than that? Nope. That's what it all comes down to. Make no mistake about it, "L.E.S. Artistes" is, in every possible way, my #1 song of 2008.
Check out
TC's top 120 songs of 2008 archive for an uninterrupted list of all the songs and descriptions. For a highlight reel of many songs you may not have heard, and the entire top 10, check out
TC's top 120 songs of 2008 podcast.
60. Guns N' Roses - "I.R.S."
59. The Gaslight Anthem - "The '59 Sound"
58. Jem - "How Would You Like It"
57. Portishead - "Machine Gun"
56. She & Him - "I Was Made For You"
55. TV On The Radio - "Golden Age"
54. Scarlett Johansson - "Anywhere I Lay My Head"
53. Kate Nash - "Mouthwash"
52. Gnarls Barkley - "Who's Gonna Save My Soul?"
51. Taylor Swift - "Picture To Burn"
50. Santogold vs. Diplo - "Guns of Brooklyn"
49. She & Him - "Sentimental Heart"
48. Cansei de Ser Sexy - "Rat Is Dead (Rage)"
47. Sons and Daughters - "Chains"
46. Fall Out Boy - "I Don't Care"
45. Franz Ferdinand - "Lucid Dreams"
44. Jem f/ Vusi Mahlasela - "You Will Make It"
43. The Watson Twins - "How Am I To Be"
42. The Hold Steady - "Lord, I'm Discouraged"
41. Islands - "Abominable Snow"
40. Death Cab For Cutie - "I Will Possess Your Heart"
39. She & Him - "Black Hole"
38. Weezer - "Pork and Beans"
37. The Watson Twins - "Bar Woman Blues"
36. Jack Johnson - "If I Had Eyes"
35. Coldplay - "Viva La Vida"
34. Guns N' Roses - "Chinese Democracy"
33. Dido - "Look No Further"
32. Moby f/ Shayne Steele - "Disco Lies"
31. Aimee Mann - "31 Today"
30. R.E.M. - "Supernatural Superserious"
29. Lenka - "The Show"
28. Panic At The Disco - "Nine In The Afternoon"
27. Leona Lewis - "Bleeding Love"
26. The Raconteurs - "Many Shades of Black"
25. Hercules and Love Affair - "Blind"
24. Annie - "Two of Hearts"
23. Christina Aguilera - "Keeps Gettin' Better"
22. Santogold - "I'm A Lady"
21. Lights - "Ice"
20. Lily Allen - "Everyone's At It"
19. Coldplay - "Violet Hill"
18. Adele - "Painting Pictures"
17. Ben Folds f/ Regina Spektor - "You Don't Know Me"
16. Juliana Hatfield f/ Richard Butler - "This Lonely Love"
15. Kate Nash - "Foundations"
14. The Raconteurs - "Carolina Drama"
13. Santogold - "Lights Out"
12. Nicole Atkins - "The Way It Is"
11. Rihanna - "Disturbia"
10. Cat Power - "Metal Heart"
9. The Watson Twins - "Just Like Heaven"
8. Lights - "White"
7. Sons and Daughters - "Gilt Complex"
6. Adele - "Chasing Pavements"
5. Jem - "Down To Earth"
4. Girl Talk - "Feed The Animals"
3. M.I.A. - "Paper Planes"
2. She & Him - "Why Do You Let Me Stay Here?"
1. Santogold - "L.E.S. Artistes"
For the third year, superwomen have reigned supreme. I wouldn't be surprised if I were you. It was Lily Allen in 2006, then Tegan and Sara in 2007, and now Santogold in 2008. If you ask me, that sounds pretty much perfect, which I suppose is why they were all #1! Now, let me just say about ATRL's Best of 2008, what an amazing effort. This year, it was bigger than ever, which I thought would never be possible after the last two years, but you guys surpassed all expectations. This is a great community, no matter what anybody says. I always have a wonderful time participating in this year-end event, which is now six years strong! Thank you all for coming along for the ride. I wish you all the best in 2009 and beyond.