I was going to write an elaborate introduction about the conundrum of making a songs list and about how it doesn’t really represent the best songs, and that it’s just a general survey of a year’s worth of music and good songwriting. But that was a cop-out. Great songs from albums filled with great songs might get shuffled to the back in favour of poorer songs that were stand-outs on the record whence they came. I’m becoming less and less thrilled with the notion of precise music ranking, but since my entire flesh requires it I will continue to force it upon myself. It’s a problem I have. That isn’t to say that I don’t enjoy spending my year listening to music critically and making these lists; I certainly do. It’s just frustrating that the same problem that forces me to make these lists is the one that nags at me about the fact that at any given time any song on this list could be in a completely different position. I spent a lot of time fine-tuning, but no music list can ever be perfect all the time. This list of my 50 favourite songs of the year will probably look different tomorrow. Enjoy it while it lasts.

Was it a weak year for music? I’ve held this view for most of the year and while it’s true that 2008 didn’t give us an abundance of earth-shattering albums like 2007 did (any album from my 2007 top-20 would almost certainly make my 2008 top-10), it’s hard to call it weak when listening through this list of 50 songs, and there’s another truckload that wouldn’t have sounded out of place. As I have become more familiar with some of the bands making the world’s best music today, I have begun to gradually move from discovery to expectation. Many established indie artists wrote and performed their ways onto this list, but 2008 was a great year for new groups, a few in particular who know how to craft near-perfect melodies and brilliant pop songs. Anyway, all of this reading of paragraphs is a waste of time, so get listening.

50

“Hope Mountain”
Antony and the Johnsons

49

“Fear and Loathing in Mahwah, NJ”
Titus Andronicus

48

“Shout Me Out”
TV on the Radio

47

“Teen Creeps”
No Age

46

“Gila”
Beach House

45

“M79”
Vampire Weekend

44

“Paperback Suicide”
Evangelicals

43

“Vox Humana”
Deerhunter

42

"Machine Gun”
Portishead

42

“Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa”
Vampire Weekend

40

“Keep Yourself Warm”
Frightened Rabbit

39

“Iris”
Hercules and Love Affair

38

“Oxford Comma”
Vampire Weekend

37

“I Feel Better”
Frightened Rabbit

36

“Run to Your Grave”
The Mae Shi

35

“House Jam”
Gang Gang Dance

34

“Dr. Carter”
Lil Wayne

33

“River Card”
Atlas Sound

32

“In the New Year”
The Walkmen

31

“Re: Stacks”
Bon Iver

30

“A Milli”
Lil Wayne

29

“The Hunter's Star”
Shearwater

28

“California Girls”
The Magnetic Fields

27

“Jodi”
The Dodos

26

“Constructive Summer”
The Hold Steady

25

“Golden Age”
TV on the Radio

24

“Lost Verses”
Sun Kil Moon

23

“Them Kids”
Sam Roberts

22

“An Eluardian Instance”
Of Montreal

21

“Mykonos”
Fleet Foxes

20

“Hearts on Fire”
Cut Copy

Cut Copy - "Hearts on Fire" Music Video

19

“Lump Sum”
Bon Iver

18

“White Winter Hymnal”
Fleet Foxes

17

“Fools”
The Dodos

The Dodos - "Fools" Music Video

16

“Paranoid”
Kanye West

15

“Feel the Love”
Cut Copy

14

“Blind”
Hercules and Love Affair

13

“Ragged Wood”
Fleet Foxes

12

“Kim & Jessie”
M83

M83 - "Kim & Jessie" Live Performance

11

“Cobwebs”
Animal Collective

10

“The Modern Leper”
Frightened Rabbit

9

“Lover's Day”
TV on the Radio

8

“The Rip”
Portishead

7

“Inní mér syngur vitleysingur”
Sigur Rós

6

“Vox Celeste”
Deerhunter

5

“Water Curses”
Animal Collective

4

“Which Song”
Max Tundra

3

“Time to Pretend”
MGMT

2

“Nothing Ever Happened”
Deerhunter

1

“Skeleton Man”
Evangelicals

Labels: Music

Posted by Farewell, Free Will on Wednesday, December 17, 2008 at 9:28 p.m. | Permalink