top albums of 2008

Posted by anya on December 12th, 2008 filed in random things I like, Uncategorized

Here are my 5 picks, in no particular order:

MGMT – Oracular Spectacular

I know that some will probably disagree and call these guys over-hyped, but I am totally smitten. They had me at “Time to Pretend.” And then at “Kids.” And then at “Electric Feel” (one of the sexiest songs of the year, imo). And then I listened to the whole album, and it’s really quite good. I love the lead singer’s Mick Jagger-like vocals on “Weekend Wars.” I love everything about “Of Moons, Birds, and Monsters.” Whatever they’re doing with their psychedelic influences is really working for me. Below is “Pieces of What”, which I included because it’s the only one that fits under the 7MB upload limit. I don’t think it’s that representative of the album, so I suggest you go and check out more of MGMT:

[audio:https://structuredmoments.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/12/07-pieces-of-what-oracular-spectacular-mgmt.mp3]

Santogold – Santogold

Anyone who spent the summer with me knows that I was obsessed with this album. It’s super well-done, and I think she’s one hell of an innovative lady. I find her to be more interesting than MIA, to whom she gets compared to constantly (which is to be expected, I guess, since Diplo and Switch are closely tied to both.) I don’t think that there are any tracks on here that I don’t find something to like about. Below is “My Superman”:

[audio:https://structuredmoments.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/12/06-my-superman.mp3]

Cat Power – Jukebox

Cat Power consistently appears on my MP3 player. She’s the most raw singer I’ve come across in a long time, and I’m kind of regretting not having gone to see her perform at the Queen E when Jenya suggested it in the summer. Especially after putting out such an incredible album. Jukebox kept me company many a-days. From this album, I first heard and fell in love with “Song to Bobby” (Bobby referring to Dylan, bien sur). I remember driving back from Seattle with Zach and him noticing her excellent cover of “New York”. Here it is for you:

[audio:https://structuredmoments.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/12/01-new-york.mp3]

M83 – Saturdays=Youth

First kind of came across these guys through word of mouth, and then briefly on Last.fm, and then thanks to Jamie including one of their tracks on a CD he made for me. And even though I just recently started listening to them, they’ve become fast favorites. Great music to put on at work or when getting ready for bed. Simply beautiful vocals and melodies. This is the first track from “Saturdays=Youth”:

[audio:https://structuredmoments.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/12/01-you-appearing.mp3]

Beach House – Devotion

Beach House are a duo from Baltimore, and they make really beautiful music. This album is good on so many levels. When I first heard that they’d be playing at The Media Club in Vancouver, I tried to get tickets right away. But alas, the more hardcore fans out there had gotten to them before me, and everything was sold out. They were also at POP Montreal this year, which I was in town for, but ended up missing their performance. Now they’re playing shows all over Europe, so it’ll probably be a while until I get a chance to see them live. I first randomly heard “Gila” on some playlist and was hooked. Enjoy:

[audio:https://structuredmoments.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/12/03-beach_house-gila.mp3]

Also, one more from late 2007 that I only started listening to in 2008 (it’s too good not to be included):

Burial – Untrue

I am very far from a connoisseur of dub, but this album is the best I’ve heard in its genre. I stumbled across this album though Mixwit (another great site that’s closing it’s doors), and then Alex and I both got addicted to it. It’s minimal but complex, and is closer to the kind of electronica I enjoy listening to these days. This one’s called “In McDonalds”:

[audio:https://structuredmoments.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/12/burial-in-mcdonalds1.mp3]

I discovered a great deal of other interesting music this year, but the above is probably a fair representation of the albums I really enjoyed and consistently went back to.