Best Music of 2008

Just Missed...
Cool Kids - Bake Sale EP
Flobots - Fight with Tools
Hercules & Love Affair - Hercules & Love Affair
The Killers - Day & Age
Q-Tip - The Renaissance
Ra Ra Riot - The Rhumb Line
Republic Tigers - Keep Color
Santogold - Santogold
Throw Me the Statue - Moonbeams
Weezer - Weezer (The Red Album)
Kanye West - 808's & Heartbreak

And on to the top 15:

15. Heiruspecs - 10 Years Strong: A bit of a retrospective and not really a "new" album per se, but what a selection of tracks from one of my favorite hip-hop groups. They still put on a terrific show, with live instruments and beatboxing, and a couple tracks on this disc were actually recorded in the Rath at the Memorial Union on the UW campus. Plus, they're kinda local (Twin Cities), and the MC's name is Felix Da Housecat. Awesome.

14. Emmanuel Jal - Warchild: A strong international album from a Somalian refugee who moved to Canada, Jal's Warchild overflows with emotion and resonance from his time spent in war-torn Africa. The beats are funky, the lyrics are poignant, and it all fits together nicely into a visceral music experience.

13. Vampire Weekend - Vampire Weekend: I should probably have this one higher, but simply haven't listened to it for awhile. VW lived up the their enormous hype and then some, crafting light, Afrobeat-influenced songs that require very little attention to enjoy, yet remain in the back of your mind forever. The uber-catchy "A-Punk," "Oxford Comma," and my favorite, "M79," with its string accompaniment, are the perfect soundtrack to kickin' back by the pool over the summer with a few boat drinks.

12. Janelle Monae - Metropolis: The Chase Suite: The little 7-song EP from the former Outkast backup singer/dancer is a fresh slice of funk/soul/R&B that I luckily happened upon this year. Oddly enough, this sounds more like Prince than anything but the master himself has put out in the past 5 years, making it a regular in my CD rotation. It's funky and enjoyable and short enough to keep your attention.

11. Delta Spirit - Ode to Sunshine: And what a ray of sunshine it is! You would be hard-pressed to find a more relaxed, happy-go-lucky album than this one. Fun numbers like "Trashcan" and "People C'Mon" exemplify the band's vibe and help make this album eminently listenable.

10. Girl Talk - Feed the Animals: Obviously, at this point fans know what they're getting from a Girl Talk album. Crazy mashups and a nice party game of 'Guess all the samples'. Greg Gilles' latest sounds more coherent than Night Ripper, due in part to longer samples blended flawlessly together in a never-ending tapestry of party mayhem. He blends seemingly disparate elements together so well that it's actually difficult to stop listening, let alone hit 'repeat' on the player.

9. Los Campesinos! - Hold on Now, Youngster...: Wow, do these guys (and girls) have a lot of energy! Not only did the follow this acclaimed debut with another whole album in the same year, they never seem to get tired! Every song is bursting with exuberance and bells and whistles repeatedly show up out of nowhere. Rather than distract the ear, everything just adds to the cacaphonous bliss.

8. Dr Dog - Fate: Fate is like a warm blanket for your ears. It's like the prodigal son going home for the holidays and being greeted with open arms and a big bowl of soup. This is warm, lovely music and while some people have dismissed it as a bit old-timey and formulaic, it certainly has enough gusto to soother the indie soul.

7. Last Shadow Puppets - The Age of the Understatement: And out of left field, Alex Turner (of the Arctic Monkeys) and Miles Kane (of the Rascals) came together to create a wonderful album full of classic 60's pop tunes. The sweep of these songs are magnificent and the pacing and song structure are flawless. Any of the songs could have been a theme song for a Sean Connery-era James Bond movie. Who knew the snide, literate voice of the Monkeys could come up with such emotional, fully-realized chamber pop?

6. MGMT - Time to Pretend: Another album that's now been around for what seems like forever (it came out in January 2008), MGMT have quickly risen to the top of their own little universe. The opening notes of "Time to Pretend" are enough to hook just about anyone, but stick around for the wavering horns and lyrics, and the psyched-out disco vibe of "Kids" and "The Electric Feel," as well as the musical mayhem beyond. It's both fun and refreshing to hear music this polished that it still sounds unfinished and scrappy. Just plain fun.

5. Okkervil River - The Stand Ins: I'm convinced that Will Sheff will end up being looked back upon as this generation's indie Bob Dylan, spewing storyboard lyrics about love and fame that carry double and triple meanings to the masses who sit fully ready to absorb them. At some point, there has to be some sort of letdown, as he and his bandmates simply can't keep making better and better albums. It's not logically possible, right? "Lost Coastlines" is one of the best songs of the year (especially live) and the acid lyrics of "Singer Songwriter" make you want to leave our consumer culture entirely. Beautiful, as always.

4. Born Ruffians - Red Yellow & Blue: Somehow, this is still flying under the radar. Maybe because it's their debut album. Maybe because they're from Canada. The Born Ruffians are certainly well-versed in their indie forefathers, creating music that wouldn't sound out of place in the 80's or 90's, but it's the combination of these influences with their bouncy, danceable start/stop rhythms that really pushed this album over the top. Tracks like "I Need a Life" and "Badonkadonkey" (best song title of the year) up the ante and hit you in the gut as well as the brain and ears.

3. David Byrne & Brian Eno - Everything That Happens Will Happen Today: A late release could not stop this reunion album from securing a high ranking. As Ron, the owner of Strictly Discs described it to me: "Imagine leaving Wisconsin in February for somewhere tropical. Now imagine the feeling you have stepping off the plane in that tropical locale after leaving 15 degrees, snowing, and dark. That's this album." And you know what? He's exactly right. It's so warm and inviting, I can even believe Byrne's description of the album as some sort of "techno/gospel/funk" music. Hopefully, it doesn't take another 27 years before Eno and Byrne get together again.

2. Frightened Rabbit - Midnight Organ Fight: while everyone and their mother fell in love with the Fleet Foxes (can't do it--it's the beards, I think), I found Frightened Rabbit's major-label debut a much more satisfying affair. Hailing from Scotland, they sound kind of like a cross between the Dave Matthews Band and Coldplay, but far better than either of those acts have ever been. Their lead singer has the most emotionally descriptive voice I've heard in a long time, conveying misery, longing, desire, despair, and joy with ease, and when the rest of the band gets going, as on "Old Old Fashioned" and "The Twist," the only words that come to mind 'rollicking good time'. Plus, they got a song on the TV show, "Chuck," which I suppose gives them some mainstream cred as well.

1. Late of the Pier - Fantasy Black Channel: A crazy debut album from across the pond, Fantasy Black Channel lived up to all the chatter I read beforehand and then some. The wholesale kitchen-sink mentality of making music is applied liberally here, crafting not so much songs as musical experiences. It seems like every song attacks the eardrums from multiple angles and seismic shifts in tempo and melody show up at unexpected and intriguing intervals. Essentially, it sounds like some guys got together and tried to re-create a Girl Talk or Avalanches album in the studio with live instruments. It's crushing. It's weird and funky. Most of all, it's awesome.