120 for 2008

After reviewing my various lists (you know, those half-made lists mostly circling around in my head) I came up with my favorite songs of 2008. I had originally only had 108 when I first posted but forgot a few good ones, so this is the revised list (as of 1/18/09). It was a good year for music in my opinion; this is reinforced by the fact that I can't seem to stick with just 108. (And I meant it when I said every song on "Furr" is good. I think I included 12 songs here including some EP stuff of theirs.)

001. "Furr" Blitzen Trapper
002. "As Tall As Cliffs" Margot & the Nuclear So & So's
003. "The One I Love" Greg Laswell
004. "Lost Coastlines" Okkervil River
005. "Hometime" One eskimO
006. "Orphans" Beck
007. "Acid Tongue" Jenny Lewis
008. "I'm Not Over" Carolina Liar
009. "Right Hand On My Heart" the Whigs
010. "Love And Doubt" Slow Runner
011. "Supernatural Superserious" R.E.M.
012. "Gift Of Screws" Lindsey Buckingham
013. "All I Need" Radiohead
014. "Oxford Comma" Vampire Weekend
015. "Raise The Dead" Phantom Planet
016. "Two Ways Out" Darker My Love
017. "Five Years Time" Noah and the Whale
018. "Hard To Tell You" Dirty on Purpose
019. "New Years Eve" Wild Light
020. "God + Suicide" Blitzen Trapper

021. "Simon Courage Flees the Coop" Kay Kay & His Weathered Underground
022. "Magick" Ryan Adams & the Cardinals
023. "Rocky Took A Lover" Bell X1
024. "Gamma Ray" Beck
025. "He Doesn't Know Why" Fleet Foxes
026. "Sour Milk" Wild Sweet Orange
027. "Broadripple Is Burning" Margot & the Nuclear So & So's
028. "Stolen Shoes + A Rifle" Blitzen Trapper
029. "Bruises" Chairlift
030. "Around The Bend" The Asteroids Galaxy Tour
031. "Great DJ" the Ting Tings
032. "You, Me & The Bourgeoisie" the Submarines
033. "Eighties Movies" the Billionaires
034. "You Don't Know Me" Ben Folds with Regina Spektor
035. "The Beginning Of The Twist" the Futureheads
036. "Good Old Days" Lodger
037. "Pop Lie" Okkervil River
038. "Land Of No Return" Wild Sweet Orange
039. "Biko" Bloc Party
040. "Big Black Bird" Blitzen Trapper

041. "How The Day Sounds" Greg Laswell
042. "Time To Pretend" MGMT
043. "Man-Sized Wreath" R.E.M.
044. "Giving Tree" the Epochs
045. "House Of Cards" Radiohead
046. "Freeway" Aimee Mann
047. "Don't Do Anything" Sam Phillips
048. "Gumdrops" the Smittens
049. "The Wake Up Song" the Submarines
050. "Lost!" Coldplay
051. "Not Your Lover" Blitzen Trapper
052. "Carry The Weight" Denison Witmer
053. "Fashionable People" the Joel Plaskett Emergency
054. "The Right Place To Fade" Lindsey Buckingham
055. "Good Days Bad Days" Kaiser Chiefs
056. "Gather To The Chapel" Liam Finn
057. "I Am A Lightning Rod" Margot & the Nuclear So & So's
058. "Starry Stairs" Okkervil River
059. "Call It A Ritual" Wolf Parade
060. "Heath" Arizona

061. "Do The Panic" Phantom Planet
062. "Shut Up And Let Me Go" the Ting Tings
063. "Crimewave" Crystal Castles (vs. Health)
064. "Bad News" Dear and the Headlights
065. "That It Moves" Greg Laswell
066. "My Baby (Shoots Her Mouth Off)" Margot & the Nuclear So & So's
067. "Paper Float" Cassettes Won't Listen
068. "Keep Your Eyes Ahead" the Helio Sequence
069. "Signs" Bloc Party
070. "Naked And Red" Colour Revolt
071. "Bodysnatchers" Radiohead
072. "Dancing Choose" TV on the Radio
073. "I've Underestimated My Charm (Again)" Black Kids
074. "Angels And Weathermen" the Mommyheads
075. "Cape Fear" the Rosebuds
076. "Saturday Nite" Blitzen Trapper
077. "Last Words" Travis
078. "Black Fur" Fredrik
079. "White Winter Hymnal" Fleet Foxes
080. "On Our Way Home" the Silent Years

081. "Willow Tree" Chad Van Gaalen
082. "Silver Moon" Blitzen Trapper
083. "Violet Hill" Coldplay
084. "Mr. Richards" R.E.M.
085. "Lolita" Throw Me the Statue
086. "I'm Amazed" My Morning Jacket
087. "Gold For Bread" Blitzen Trapper
088. "Coast Of Carolina" Telekinesis!
089. "Crushing The Wheat" Blitzen Trapper
090. "Take Back The City" Snow Patrol
091. "Moody Motorcycle" Human Highway
092. "Go On, Say It" Blind Pilot
093. "On The Chin" the Gray Race
094. "Outside" the Secret Life of Sofia
095. "Could Be Worse" Eef Barzelay
096. "Singer Songwriter" Okkervil River
097. "Big Mistake" Tim Fite
098. "Inside A Boy" My Brightest Diamond
099. "Golden Age" TV on the Radio
100. "Color Of A Lonely Heart Is Blue" the Old 97's

101. "Going Down" Blitzen Trapper
102. "Troublemaker" Weezer
103. "The Usual Chords" Slow Runner
104. "Hollow Man" R.E.M.
105. "Paint Or Pollen" Blind Pilot
106. "Second Chance" Liam Finn
107. "I Will Possess Your Heart" Death Cab for Cutie
108. "Relief" Cold War Kids
109. "Cheap And Cheerful" the Kills
110. "Sleepytime In The Western World" Blitzen Trapper
111. "It's A Lot" the 88
112. "Quarantine" Phantom Planet
113. "A-Punk" Vampire Weekend
114. "Enemy Within" Frida Hyvonen
115. "Seeing And Believeing" Wild Sweet Orange
116. "War On Machines" Blitzen Trapper
117. "Heaven" the Swimmers
118. "Tiger Mountain Peasant Song" Fleet Foxes
119. "Love Dog" TV on the Radio
120. "I'm Not Crying, You're Not Crying, Are You?" Dear and the Headlights

Beards-a-plenty!

So I revisited, reviewed, revised (slightly) my list of favorite albums of 2008. I also expanded it to 21; we'll refer to this as "list bloat." Here's the definitive list. Congratulations, Blitzen Trapper! EVERY song on "Furr" is approved.:

1. "Furr" by Blitzen Trapper
2. "The Stand Ins" by Okkervil River
3. "Fleet Foxes" by Fleet Foxes
4. "Accelerate" by R.E.M.
5. "We Have Cause to Be Uneasy" by Wild Sweet Orange
6. "Three Flights from Alto Nido" by Greg Laswell
7. "Gift of Screws" by Lindsey Buckingham
8. "Kay Kay and His Weathered Underground" by Kay Kay and His Weathered Underground*
9. "Animal/Not Animal" by Margo and the Nuclear So and So's
10. "The Quantum Explorers" by Hello Dragon*
11. "I'll Be Lightning" by Liam Finn
12. "Oracular Spectacular" by MGMT*
13. "Dear Science" by TV on the Radio
14. "We Started Nothing" by the Ting Tings
15. "Glowing Bird" by Arizona
16. "In Rainbows" by Radiohead*
17. "Vampire Weekend" by Vampire Weekend
18. "Modern Guilt" by Beck
19. "Mermaids" by Slow Runner
20. "The Seldom Seen Kid" by Elbow
21. "Only By the Night" by Kings of Leon
*tracks released digitally in 2007, CD and/or vinyl released in 2008

A few things I noticed...

Lots and lots of beards:
Blitzen Trapper - 4 beards, 1 goatee out of 6 members
Okkervil River - 3 beards out of 6 members
Fleet Foxes - 4 beards out of 5 members
Wild Sweet Orange - 1 beard out of 4 members
Greg Laswell - 1 beard
Margot and the Nuclear So and So's - difficult to get a definitive, but looks like 3 beards, 1 goatee out of 8 members
Liam Finn - 1 beard
MGMT - 1 beard out of 2 members
TV on the Radio - 1 beard, 1 goatee, 1 moustache out of 5 members
Kings of Leon - at least 1 beardish thing out of 4 members

Lots of men. It's not that I'm not found of female singers or musicians (see the Ting Tings, the Rosebuds). If/when I get to a posting of favorite single tracks, we'll see some.

Mostly melodic, lyrical, pop-rocky, folkie stuff. Mostly. What can I say? It's what I'm drawn to...

You can never get a true consensus of what's the best, because everyone has his or her own tastes, but that's kind of the fun of these lists. Ah listy goodness!