The Current Music Blog: December 31, 2009 Archive

Your Favorite Songs Of The Decade: 2008

Posted at 2:59 PM on December 31, 2009 by Melanie Walker
Filed under: Favorite Songs of the Decade

Hi there! This is Melanie Walker, the Music Director here at The Current. As we're wrapping up 2009 here at The Current I'm finding myself reminiscing not only about my favorite songs of the last year, but my favorite songs of the last decade! Every week day till New Year's Eve I'll be counting down my favorite 10 tracks of each year of the '00's and I invite you to do the same! We've got 10 days to count down our 100 personal favorites of the last decade. This is simply just for fun. I'm no authority on what was the defining music of an era. You can check out the blog yesterday about the year 2007. Let's continue the countdown with the year 2008!

2008 was the year Michael Jackson celebrates his 50th birthday. New Kids On The Block release their album The Block, their first studio album in 15 years. Oasis release their final studio album entitled Dig Out Your Soul. Guns N' Roses release their first single in 9 years, the title track from their Chinese Democracy album. David Byrne & Brian Eno reunited to create their first album together since 1981. And Amy Winehouse blew everyone out of the water at the 2008 Grammy Awards receiving five awards from six nominations including Best Pop Vocal Album, Best Pop Female Performance, Best New Artist, Song Of The Year and Record Of The Year.

These are my personal favorite songs of the year 2008.

10. Friendly Fires "Paris"
Friendly Fires hail from St. Albans in Hertfordshire, England and made a huge splash on the music scene in the early part of 2008 with their self titled debut release. Mixing a slick blend of synth pop, dance and shoegaze with beautiful melodies and hooks I fell quickly for this band. They are a bit of a guilty UK pop pleasure of mine. I don't think they're doing much different than most bands at the time across the pond, but whatever it is they are doing is working well on me! I first discovered them from hearing their song "Paris" on NME magazine's website. It's still my favorite track with its shimmering electronic atmospherics, flickering keyboards and the occasional tapping on the good ol' cowbell.

9. The Black Keys "Strange Times"
Who'd have thought that four albums in and 6 years after the release of their debut album, The Big Come Up, The Black Keys could still surprise and rock our universes with their raw and nasty blend of minimalist blues rock. Their 2008 release Attack and Release slightly strayed away from their traditional sound with the help of producer Danger Mouse. But, not everything has such a heavy signature from Danger Mouse. The majority of the record sounds more like The Black Keys just amplified. My favorite track does have Danger Mouse's signature sound a bit more than the rest of the record with the song "Strange Times". I love the jangly piano chords along side the signature rumbling guitars of Dan Auerbach' and Patrick Carney's clattering drums.

8. Portishead "Machine Gun"
Portishead came out with their first album in 11 years in 2008 titled Third. The record was a huge success with both fans and critics. I wouldn't necessarily consider most of the tracks on the record to be an enjoyable listen. They actually make me feel quite uncomfortable most of the time and leave me in an odd headspace. But, I partly think that's the point of Third. Music is for enjoyment yes, but it's also supposed to inspire and evoke emotion. I can't think of any other song in this past decade that materialized its theme more apparently to me sonically than the warring drum machines and jarring juxtapositions and transitions of Portishead's "Machine Gun". The production is utterly riveting and Beth's vocals are incredibly melancholy and endlessly absorbing.

7. Foals "Balloons"
2008 was a huge year from brand new bands for me with Foals being one of many new favorites. Hailing from Oxford, England, Foals has actually made quite the name for themselves across the pond with their inventive mix of post-wave esthetics, occasional horn bursts, electronic bloops and bleeps and the signature yelping vocals of lead singer Yannis Philippakis. Dave Sitek of TV On The Radio actually produced their debut album titled Antidotes. Funny thing is they were not very happy with his final mix. They seem to be quite picky with producers in general considering their sophomore release has been rehashed by a number of important producers just recently causing a delay in its release. My favorite on the album is a track called "Balloons" with it's quick pace and cascading notes playfully working against one another.

6. M83 "Kim and Jesse"
With his luscious blend of shoegaze aesthetics, progressive structures and ambient pop; Anthony Gonzalez, who is the mastermind behind M83, made a masterpiece with his 2008 album Saturdays = Youth. He sought the help of acclaimed British tech-house producer/DJ, Ewan Pearson (who happens to be a personal favorite of mine) to rifle through the fake, tacky nostalgia of the sounds of the 80's and transform them into fresh, fantasy pop music. You'll hear touches of The Cocteau Twins, Mr. Mister and Kate Bush along side themes from soundtracks to John Hughes films. My favorite from the album is the heart-racing young love story "Kim and Jesse".

5. Midnight Juggernauts "Shadows"
My favorite album of 2008 was Midnight Juggernauts Dystopia. I have so much love for this electro-pop synth rock group from Melbourne, Australia that it's fairly sickening. Their debut record is considered by the dance community to be one of the best to come out in the last few years and is a noted favorite of people like Justice. The production is uninhibited and slightly retro with glittery disco and slinky basslines. Surprisingly, the lyrics are actually quite good, playing off dark themes surrounding sci-fi and future noir. My favorite track is "Shadows". It's an easy record to loose yourself in.

4. Vampire Weekend "A-Punk"
Vampire Weekend is one of those bands that benefited from the buzz of the blogosphere. I first got word of them after their performances at the CMJ Music Conference in New York City in the fall of 2007. Everyone was talking about this Brooklyn quartet with a sound they uniquely described as "Upper West Side Soweto" which was a mix of preppy, well-read indie rock with up beat, Afro-pop-inspired melodies and rhythms. There really wasn't anyone out their meshing together sounds like this. It was incredibly refreshing and exciting. Unfortunately, the buzz for Vampire Weekend was so heightened that it had a bit of a whip lash effect. Regardless, I still remember how excited I was to play this music for our listeners here at The Current. My favorite track from their self titled 2008 release has got to be the first song we played called "A-Punk".

3. The Heavy "That Kind Of Man"
The Heavy hails from the outskirts of Bath, England and draw most of their influence from funk, soul, blaxploitation film soundtracks, and gritty garage rock. I was tipped off to them from a friend who works for Ninja Tune Records in 2008 right before we were all set to broadcast from the SXSW Music Conference in Austin Texas. It was love at first listen after hearing their track "That Kind Of Man". Combining the urban soul of Curtis Mayfield, the gritty mix of samples and beats of Gnarls Barkley and Prince's sexy and smooth falsetto vocals, "That Kind Of Man" is a sure fire hit that sounds authentic enough to come straight off the Shaft soundtrack. They were my hands down favorite band to discover at the SXSW conference that year.

2. TV On The Radio "Halfway Home"
TV On The Radio's 2006 release Return To Cookie Mountain had so much success that we were all wondering what they were going to come up with on their 2008 release Dear Science. Well, TV On The Radio did not disappoint us with an album that was equally as strong and elaborate as their second but with its own uniqueness to truly set it apart from their previous works. Dear Science proved itself to be more structured and polished and intentionally focused more on Tunde Adepimbe's and Kyp Malone's vocals. "Halfway Home" is my absolute favorite from the album with its sleek production, looping drums and grand guitars sprinting towards its end in an all out epic ending.

1. Hercules and Love Affair "Blind"
I think most people consider disco to only be a moment in musical history, that the music was created and existed only during the 70's. Well, Hercules and Love Affair changed that whole preconception with the creation of their 2008 self titled debut and the hit track "Blind". Disco was back with a vengeance and a freshness that surprised us all. Led by Andrew Butler, a songwriter, producer, keyboardist, and vocalist, Hercules and Love Affair is assisted by the production and programming from DFA's Tim Goldsworthy, a trio of vocalists (Antony, Nomi, and Kim Ann Foxman), and several instrumentalists. I've always been a fan of Antony from Antony and The Johnsons. Yet, it wasn't until I heard his guest vocal work with Hercules and Love Affair that I truly fell head over heels for his androgynous sonic style. Antony's voice is absolutely perfect for disco making "Blind" my absolute favorite song of 2008!

Blind Video

Now it's your turn! What are some of your favorite songs of 2008?