The Eye-Opener at BCHQ – August 2, 2008

A few of BCHQ’s board members work on a project to promote transgender awareness across the globe, specifically focusing on the Hijra communities in India. To help the cause locally, they put together a day-long festival in a sticky August day that included a bevvy of local artists (Mount Moriah, Des Ark, Megafaun, Embarrassing Fruits, etc.) and a vegan brunch. But the best moment of the day came at the end when the Mountain Goats’ John Darnielle gave the best endorsement ever of his current hometown. His numbers might be a little bit off, but someone in Durham needs to hire him to promote the city.


NC Rocks for Change – November 1, 2008

After the Arcade Fire/Superchunk show, president-elect Barack Obama treated Triangle residents to another feast of music. This one began at 8 a.m. and continued into the afternoon and celebrated lots of local music. In addition to classic favorites like I Was Totally Destroying, Bowerbirds and Megafaun, the Mac McCaughan-curated event included appearances by the dB’s, a solo set from the Rosebuds’ Ivan Howard, two sets from the Merge owner himself (one as Portastatic, the other an acoustic set from Superchunk) and an appearance by Mr. Love and Justice, Billy Bragg. All definitive proof that musicians still care about the state of the world, and it’s also like an endorsement of the local music scene straight from the president himself.

Troika Music Festival – November 6-8, 2008

The ultimate celebration of local music, Troika made up for a messy 2007 with an incredible festival in 2008. Tons of talented local bands (and Kimya Dawson) filled up some of Durham’s best venues. Plus, the festival marked…

The Opening of Pinhook

Nothing like a new bar/venue to prove the scene is alive and kicking.

Butterflies & the Physics of Meaning at Duke Coffeehouse – November 21, 2008

After a weaker spring semester, the Duke Coffeehouse closed for renovations in the fall semester. When it reopened in Novemeber, it had a stellar lineup, with one its first shows billing Jonathan Meiburg, Aimee from Des Ark and Cary’s the Tourist. But it was a release party from this pair of Trekky Records bands that packed the Coffeehouse. Major points to the Physics of Meaning who had a string section and chorus to augment their already lush sound.

Two-thirds of Megafaun and all of Bowerbids sing with the Rosebuds' Kelly Crisp at NC Rocks for Change. Photo by Andrew Hibbard

The Triangle played host to plenty of great music events in 2008, drawing names like the Silver Jews, Wilco, Bon Iver, Fleet Foxes and Spoon. But there was also a rich local music scene. Unranked but in chronological order, here are some of 2008’s best moments in the Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill area.

The Dodos & Megafaun at BCHQ – March 28, 2008

This San Francisco duo on Frenchkiss had a huge year in 2008, topping several year-end lists. But the fact that they stopped at BCHQ instead of 506 or the Cradle was a power move for the small venue. To boot, the Dodos followed Silje Nes and Megafaun was the last to play. The Durham trio might not have been headlining, but playing last makes it seem like they were. Regardless, it was still a great show.

Arcade Fire and Superchunk Rock for Obama – May 2, 2008

It’s no secret that Mac McCaughan is an Obama fan. So when 90s Chapel Hill rockers Superchunk joined up with the Arcade Fire to put on a free show right before the North Carolina primary, it was a huge deal. In part, because Arcade Fire only played a handful of shows in 2008. But also because Superchunk shows are a special treat whenever they come–and Superchunk’s awesome kids stole the show.

TRKFest – May 31, 2008

Chapel Hill-based Trekky Records used Pittsboro’s Piedmont Biofuels plant to host to a day-long concert and fundraise for the label. It was a true grassroots effort with a merch booth selling spray-painted jorts, a no-pants dance-off, lots of watermelon, potato sack races and all sorts of other folksy shenanigans. The lineup included Barghest, Bowerbirds, Midtown Dickens and a slew of Trekky bands, but it was one of the best ways to spend 10 bucks all summer.

Les Savy Fav at the Nasher/HNMTF, Yardwork and Des Ark at BCHQ – July 12, 2008

The Nasher Museum of Art’s foray into the outdoor concert series was a glowing success thanks to post-punk art rockers Les Savy Fav and its Durham-based drummer Harrison Haynes who was key to organizing the performance. But the local spirit really shined through when BCHQ hosted an after party of sorts with Hammer No More the Fingers, Charlotte-based Yardwork and Des Ark to rock the summer night well past midnight.

She & Him at the Cat’s Cradle – July 28, 2008

So this technically wasn’t a local show, but it stands as a testament to the power of the area’s music scene (and locally-owned Merge Records) that a band this big that did minimal amount of touring would come to the Cradle. Zooey Deschanel dazzled a sold-out Cat’s Cradle in perhaps the cutest performance of the year, and earned a lot of points from the local crowd by voicing her appreciation of Carrboro’s friendly audience and its cuisine (she cited Lantern). Not to mention it was a damn good show.

Check back tomorrow for the second part of this list that will take us into the end of the year. For our other top 10 lists, check here.

Top Five Band Names That Consist Primarily of Gender References
5. Man Man
4. She and Him
3. Me and Women
2. Women
1. Girls

There are also three different lists pertaining exclusively to Lil Wayne. Among them:

Top Ten Things Lil Wayne Doesn’t Do, According to Lil Wayne On Tha Carter III
10. Owe you, like two vowels
9. Rap, he films movies
8. Fantasize
7. Have to get his tooth fixed
6. Write sh-t, cuz he ain’t got time
5. Have the answer
4. Wanna finish
3. Know what you are on
2. Give a f-ck if you see him
1. Care

They also remind us of Vampire Weekend frontman Ezra Koenig’s college blog and their favorite tertiary characters from The Wire. For the rest of the post, check here.

UPDATE: Check out part two here.

Justin Vernon. Courtesy rcrdlbl.

A whole 17 days before the year ends, we did it. We summarized the best our favorite music of 2008 on our humble blog, and its name was Justin Vernon. The Jagjaguwar re-release of Bon Iver’s For Emma, Forever Ago, our favorite album of the year, made it into six of our nine lists, all in the top five (that was a lot of single-digit numbers, more coming). The lists had three mentions of “re:stacks,” two of “Skinny Love” and one of “Lump Sum.” Some other numbers after the jump.

• Kanye was the second most acknowledged artist, with five appearances-two for “Street Lights” and three for his guest spot with Estelle.
• Vampire Weekend had four nods, each for a different song: “Walcott” and singles “A-Punk,” “Oxford Comma” and “Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa.”
• Dan Rossen had four mentions as well, two for Department of Eagles and one for each of the Grizzly Bear singles from the band’s upcoming release
• Mash-up artists the Hood Internet and “Laptop Artist” Girl Talk each grabbed a spot on a list
• Three mentions: Fleet Foxes, TV on the Radio, Bradford Cox (one as Atlas Sound, two as Deerhunter) and MGMT’s “Time to Pretend” (which had a hard release in 2008)
• Two mentions: the Dodos, Sigur Ros, Okkervil River, Lil Wayne, Beach House and Black Kids
• A total of 62 artists made appearances on our lists (this counts Atlas Sound and Deerhunter as different, Kanye as different from his track with Estelle, Grizzly Bear as different from Department of Eagles, etc.)
• This also means that each list had an average of 6.89 original artists
• “Single Ladies” did not appear on any of the lists.

Justin Vernon. Courtesy New York Press.

10. Lil Wayne. Tha Carter III.

Tha Carter III makes a case for itself from virulent opener “3Peat” all the way to the amusing political piece “Don’t Get It.” The concept is simple: fill an entire album with songs that sound like singles, paired with worthwhile guest-appearances and Lil Wayne’s singular, codeine-laced style. The voice of hip-hop in 2008 was Weezy, not Ye. -Brian Contratto

9. Sun Kil Moon. April.

By now, Mark Kozelek fans know what to expect from his music. The Ohio-born musician makes the case for classic songwriting. April is stripped down, instrumentally sparse–just as, if not more, honest and powerful than anything else in 2008 and as good as anything from his past two decades of music-making. -Andrew Hibbard

8. Vampire Weekend. Vampire Weekend.

Had Jack Kennedy skipped out on politics and moved to Africa, this could be the soundtrack to his life. Vampire Weekend is marked by its catchy vocals, catchy guitar, catchy drums—hell, even the album cover is catchy. Don’t believe the hype and don’t listen to the backlash; these four gentlemen deserve an honest listen. -Kevin Lincoln

7. The Streets. Everything is Borrowed.

The Streets’ performance on his fourth album, Everything is Borrowed is the equivalent of winning gold in rap’s decathlon. Mike Skinner beautifully mixes both genres and subjects, using jazz and rock influences to discuss everything from his female obsessions to the future of the human race. With Everything is Borrowed, Skinner leaves little doubt that he is one of music’s most versatile (and intelligent) figures. -Jordan Axt

6. Lykke Li. Youth Novels.

Breathy vocals. A spoken monologue. Quirky instrumentation and coos. You’ve heard it before. But Lykke Li has range and can manipulate her airy voice to make it sound electronic, separating her from other artists. Bjorn Yttling injects his chipper sounds (think “Young Folks’” whistling) with eclectic percussion, distorted woodwinds and electronica beats, capturing the minimalistic essence of indie pop. -Baishi Wu

5. The Walkmen. You & Me.

The Walkmen have crafted a masterpiece, a soaring paean to intimacy that builds until the final ride cymbal fades away. The album’s soggy guitars and ancient organs hum under grainy howls about long-lost friends and far-off islands, showcasing booming waltzes, haunting ballads, maraca-and-woodblock stomps, and the furious “In The New Year.” -Nate Freeman

4. The Dodos. Visiter.

The guitar-drum duo of Meric Long and Logan Kroeber combine breakneck strumming and violent drumming to produce Visiter, one of the most beautiful compositions of the year. Aside from spirited singles “Fools” and “Jodi,” Visiter includes folk-y arrangements in “Walking” and “Undeclared,” displaying the subtle harmonies present underneath cacophonous melodies. -Baishi Wu

3. Why? Alopecia.

Genres bend and blur on this release from avant-garde hip-hop collective Anticon. Yoni Wolf sings, raps and waxes philosophical over clanking beats and organic instrumentation, and his lyrics—think a little death, a little yearning and a whole mess of twisted imagery—are in turns wrenching and impenetrable. Like many great albums, Alopecia rewards repeated listens, as every spin reveals a new verse to decipher or a different sound that asserts itself. This is a group that cannot be labeled. -Kevin Lincoln

2. TV on the Radio. Dear Science,.

The Brooklyn band strikes gold on its follow up to the eccentric (read: confusing) Return to Cookie Mountain. Dear Science, is a product of the perfect balance between experimentation and experience: catchy, more accessible and—as Tunde acknowledges—more regular. Their signature syncopation is fully realized in energetic opener “Halfway Home” and “Crying,” but slower songs including ballad “Family Tree” and “Love Dog” are also noteworthy. Simply put, TV on the Radio’s ode to modernity is far from regular and one of the year’s best. -Jessie Tang

1. Bon Iver. For Emma, Forever Ago.

For Emma, Forever Ago is, at its core, a break-up album. But if all break-ups resulted in such beauty, I would want to have my heart ripped out every day. Justin Vernon’s debut charts the course of his catharsis. From the harsher “Wolves” to the inward turn that comes on “Blindsided,” Vernon draws us into his personal life, guiding us as he comes to terms with whoever Emma is, ending not with “realization” but a “lift-away.”

It is not about simply love, but different kinds of love. Musically stunning, the album is more about the feelings it evokes. It transcends music. For Emma, Forever Ago is an experience. And one of the best any of us could have had in 2008. -Andrew Hibbard

Kanye West. Courtesy morethings.com

For more of the Top 10 Tracks of 2008, click here.

10. Bloc Party. “One Month Off.” So Intimacy wasn’t exactly A Weekend In the City, which wasn’t exactly Silent Alarm. But on “One Month Off,” Bloc Party reminds us all that they’ve still got it. Put simply, any song I play so loud on my computer that my speakers break deserves some recognition.

9. TV on the Radio. “Love Dog.” Making a Top 10 songs list without some Dear Science, track is a lot like making it through middle school without having a really awkward encounter at a school dance: it’s possible but not actually believable. There were at least five different Science, songs that could have made it on this list, but I went with the album’s most abstract track and elusive. I would call it “haunting,” but I hate that word. Let’s go with “gripping” instead.

8. The Kooks. “See the Sun.” I am not winning a lot of cool points with this track from what many have described as a formulaic album from a mediocre band. Nonetheless, “See the Sun” is an excellent track that blends together a variety of tempos and conflicting sentiments. Somehow, “See the Sun” shows us that even break-ups have the potential to be pretty good times.

7. Cocoon. “On My Way.” Despite what my esteemed colleagues have claimed, Matt and Kim is not the cutest band making music today. Instead, that honor belongs to the Parisian duo of Cocoon. Although I am not entirely sure what this phrase means, I can only describe “On My Way” as a “pleasant romp.” Listening to this song is like the first three weeks of a relationship: worry-free and full of snuggling. In what has to be the line of the year, lead singer Mark Daumil sings in an impeccable French accent, “I am such a coward/ I should win an award.” Well done.

6. We Are Scientists. “That’s What Counts.” Brain Thrust Mastery was an underrated album. And “That’s What Counts” was an underrated song off this underrated album. From one of America’s most hilarious bands comes a track dedicated to the eventual pitfalls and disappointments of our modern lifestyles. Throw in a little saxophone and you have got one of the year’s best.

5. The Streets. “On the Edge of a Cliff.” People who do not know how to swim should be careful when listening to Britain’s The Streets (aka Mike Skinner). The man is so deep, you might drown. In “On the Edge of a Cliff” Skinner, who devotes much of Everything is Borrowed to reminding us that God does not exist, struggles with finding meaning in this Darwinian world. His answer comes in the simple fact that “For billions of years since the outset of time/ Every single one of your ancestors survived. / Every single person on your mom and dad’s side successfully looked after and passed onto you life. / What are the chances of that like?” Mike Skinner is part rapper, part philosopher and always entertaining.

4. Kate Nash. “Pumpkin Soup.” This list’s British Invasion continues with Kate Nash, whose “Pumpkin Soup” is one of the most hypnotizing tracks of the year. I don’t care if the chorus is “I just want your kiss, boy,” listening to this song always gets me really excited and energized. I could only listen to one track this summer right before taking my GRE’s. “Pumpkin Soup” was an easy choice.

3. Akon. “Right Now (Na Na Na).” If there were ever proof that Akon was a robot sent back in time to make impeccable dance music, this would be it. “Right Now (Na Na Na)”.is so high on my list because not only can I not get the track out of my head, I honestly don’t want to. At this point, I expect Akon to perform this one at my funeral.

2. The Virgins. “Love is Colder than Death.” On their self-titled album, The Virgins have obviously saved the best for last. In a release filled with nonsensical pop musings, (She’s expensive/ I can’t stop myself from chasing”) comes some much-welcomed honesty. The models-turn-rockers sing, “It’s easy when it hurts/ So say goodbye/ We’ll fall in love again/ Just give it time.” For anyone going through a semester like the one our current recess editor just had, this one is an absolute necessity.

1. Kanye West. “Street Lights.” Go ahead and roll your eyes. On “Street Lights,” Kanye West illustrates how less can indeed be more. In a work with a simple beat, no verses and only five repetitions of the chorus, West creates a track that dually reflects his own struggle as an artist while also serving as a soundtrack for anyone in a reflective mood. West reveals, “I know my destination, but I’m just not there. Life’s just not fair.” According to my iTunes, I have listened to this song more than 40 times in the past three weeks and I still feel like I am missing something. Others might call “Street Lights” a collection of platitudes. I call it the song of the year.

MGMT. Courtesy gangsounds.com

For more of the Top 10 Tracks of 2008, click here.

10. T.I. ft. Rihanna. “Live Your Life.” Admittedly I’m not crazy about T.I.’s verses, but if you didn’t sing along with Rihanna’s angelic chorus at some point this year, you missed out.

9. Yael Naim. “New Soul.” Sure, it makes for a catchy Mac ad. But Naim’s girl-in-the-Big-City/Garden-of-Eden story of a new soul entering this strange world and her slightly choked confession of “making every possible mistake” (specifically the one following the bridge) are as real as it gets.

8. Vampire Weekend. “Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa.” Any song from this groundbreaking album could be on here; however, “Cape Cod’s” minimalist lyrics paint an iconic picture of sweaters, linens and Louis Vuitton that makes this album worthy of its hype.

7. Black Kids. “I’m Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How to Dance With You.” Is there anything cooler than the image of a smooth-dancing hipster hopelessly in love with “the girl she’s been dreaming of ever since she was a little girl” while she’s with some clumsy bro?

6. Noah and the Whale. “Mary.” The warm strings and gentle melodies would make this song the perfect lullaby if it wasn’t about two people painfully realizing they’re not in love.

5. Kanye West. “Street Lights.” The tender climax of a stunningly emotional album. Kanye’s auto-tuning creates a fog that fills our chests and weighs us down as we aimlessly jog down a cold and deserted city street in our full-length black wool coat and leather gloves.

4. The Hood Internet. “Frozen Age.” A mash-up that surpasses it’s original material is something. When the original material is TV on the Radio and T-Pain, it’s incredible. One day I will have the balls to ask a girl to a semi and remind her to “bring your dancing shoes and something to tie your hair.”

3. TV on the Radio. “Lover’s Day.” On the last track of this incredibly modern, yet danceable album, Kyp Malone succeeds in creating a “sex-positive, gender neutral love song that [expresses] the potentialities of joy inherent in erotic experience.” Giggle giggle. But seriously, go break the bed/futon/loft.

2. Bon Iver. “re: stacks.” Remember that day in middle school when you woke up after a good dream to a foot of snow that canceled school and you went ice skating with the girl you’ve had a crush on all year? Listening to this song is like holding her knit glove.

1. MGMT. “Time to Pretend.” My grandpa is an awesome guy, and so is every WWII vet I’ve met. But in this Post-Brokaw world, my competitive nature yearns to make our generation the greatest ever. True, we have no Great Depression to overcome (fingers crossed) and no world war to fight. With basic needs fulfilled, how will we assert our greatness?
Two arrogant Wesleyan grads have proudly given us the answer: escaping reality by driving elegant cars, marrying beautiful models and choking on vomit. “Yeah it’s overwhelming but what else can we do? Get jobs in offices and wake up for the morning commute?!” Hell no, we are fated to a hedonism of living fast and dying young, burning cash and hunting zebras in our new world order. I’d be OK being remembered for that.

These guys are *definitely* funky soul brothers...

… in which Your Critic realizes to his horror how little new music he listened to this year. This is perhaps a double-edged sword; on the one hand, I’m sure I’ve missed some great stuff, and some mediocre stuff (Actually, I know I have missed some of both: I have shamefully not yet all of the assuredly mediocre 808s, undoubtedly brilliant Tha Carter III, allegedly interesting Bon Iver, great for sure TVOTR, etc. etc.). On the other hand, it means some respite from the standard hipster-trash picks of the rest of my staff (he says pompously). For those of you not swilling PBR, or even for those who are, here we go:

10. Ratatat. “Shempi.” LP3 is a tad bit weaker for my money than Ratatat or Classics, but there’s still some great toe-tapping (or raving) stuff. This is probably the hookiest track on the record, and since I just listened to it, it will be in my head for the next three weeks now.

9. Whiskeytown, “The Rain Won’t Help You (When It’s Over). The first of three cheats on this list; this track is old, but it was just released on the must-have expanded edition of Strangers Almanac–one of the best records of the ’90s. Despite Ryan Adams‘ prolificacy, this one’s a cover of an Alejandro Escovedo tune. No worries; it’s got all the hallmarks of classic Whiskeytown: Great Ryan vocals, depressing lyrics and tasty Phil Wandscher licks.

8. Nas. “Black President.” “They said this day would never come, They said our sights were set too high, They said this country was too divided.” My roommate declared this track the official Song of November in our apartment, and rightly so. Right on, Nas. Also, I’d much rather hear about a Black President than Black Republicans.

7. Bill Frisell. “A Change Is Gonna Come.” If Bill Frisell releases something, it will be on my year-end list. Like Nas, he’s in on the political act. When I got this record, I was a bit worried that he’d suck all the life out of this Sam Cooke tune, one that had special resonance in this election year. Just like his versions of “Heard It Through the Grapevine” and “What’s Going On,” he manages to balance a little soul, a little reflection and a little spookiness. It ain’t Sam, but it’s sublime anyway.

6. Ryan Adams. “Born Into A Light.” A beautiful song. Typically strong lyrics from Ryan, great vocals and tight-playing from the Cardinals (dig Jon Graboff’s molten steel guitar licks, dripping all over the track). Cardinology is a great record, and this is a great track to open it.

5. House Popes. “The Way You Looked At Me.” I have mixed feelings about putting this on my list. On the one hand, it’s my father’s band. On the other hand, it’s a fantastic pop song. The lyrics tell a good story, but what makes it work is the way everything seems to build back up to the harmonic guitar riff. Impressive work for a bunch of old men.

4. Vampire Weekend. “Oxford Comma.” A concession to the hipsters. I actually heard about this band just before they got big (or rather, before they got big in the remote, barren lands of North Carolina) from a New York Times article; I thought the name of the band was dumb, but this song’s title caught my eye and I listened to it. Really refreshingly peppy music; many of the songs on their eponymous debut are very much alike, but this one has the perfect mix of African riffs, overeducated references, melody and snark. Nate Freeman is right that it still sounds fresh, but I worry about how it will age. I suspect I will look back on it as a bit of a guilty at about the time my children discover it–the same way my mother felt when I dug out her Weather Report LP–but for now, I’m digging it.

3. Black Keys. “Same Old Thing.” The Keys’ latest, Attack & Release, hasn’t gotten nearly the praise it deserves. There’s a handful of standout tracks–”Oceans and Streams,” “Strange Times,” “Things Ain’t Like They Used to Be”–but this one is probably my favorite. Brawny guitar riff + dirty, Tull-like flute + Pat Carney beating the s– out of the drums = the third best song of the year. Akron represent!

2. Bob Dylan. “Red River Shore.” A truly beautiful song; why it wasn’t released on a regular record, instead of Tell Tale Signs, I can’t imagine (this is my second cheat; the track was recorded in 2006). In classic form, Bob borrows a story from the folk music tradition (and a title from the Kingston Trio), then spins it into a heartbreaking, profound work of art. Plus no voice could sell this song better than Bob’s late career growl. The best song of the year in almost any year but this one, which brings us to…

1. The Soul Drifters. “Funky Soul Brother.” This track was recorded in the ’60s or ’70s but re-released on the compilation Carolina Funk: First in Funk, 1968-1977 this year (this disc is curated by Chapel Hill resident Jason Perlmutter). The story behind it is almost too weird to believe: It’s the only extant track by the Soul Drifters, a band from a town of 700 in South Carolina, and floated around in an edited version with just the instrumental breaks as a collector’s holy grail for years. Carolina Funk restores the original in unabridged form, and what an original it is. Deep, deep bass right in the pocket, equally deep and funky drumming, a screeching horn section, choppy funk guitar and a primal undertow that in my experience makes the squarest of squares move. This song makes James Brown sound like James Taylor and George Clinton sound like George Michael. It’s almost too funky for words–but don’t say they didn’t warn you: “Fee, fie, foe, fum/Look out sister, ’cause here we come/Everybody is/A funky soul brother.” You’ll be one, too, when you finish listening to it.

For more of the Top 10 Tracks of 2008, click here. The next installment is on Tuesday.

Grizzly Bear's Ed Droste at 2008's Lollapalooza. Courtesy brooklyn vegan

10. Girl Talk. “Play Your Part (Part 1).” Any track off Feed the Animals—the unquestionable album of the summer—could have made this list. Dr. Gillis gets by with a little help from his friends Lil’ Wayne and Sinead O’Connor, a combination that makes for one of the best Girl Talk moments since Biggie rapped about the Twin Towers over “Tiny Dancer.”

9. Grizzly Bear. “Two Weeks.” It’s hard to judge a track solely on a live recording, but I have evidence beyond recording of a performance on Letterman that leaked in July: When Grizzly Bear broke out “Two Weeks” (sure to be a highlight of their upcoming ‘09 release) during their show at a synagogue in D.C.’s Chinatown, the infectious piano stomp and soaring harmonies stood up against the rest of their remarkable set. The studio version has a lot to live up to.

8. Little Joy. “Keep Me In Mind.” The Strokes seem in limbo after dropping a resoundingly mediocre album nearly three years ago, but no matter: It just so happens the band’s drummer has new side project—and his singing voice sounds exactly like Julian Casablancas’. Little Joy—fronted by Fabrizio Moretti, erstwhile drummer for the all-but-dead Strokes—surprised many with a self-titled debut chock full of delicate gems and addictive jams. “Keep Me In Mind” sounds the most like classic, Is This It?-era Strokes, and is therefore the strongest track.

7. MGMT. “Time to Pretend.” Yes, the drums and synths do absolutely kill. But, more importantly, never has a song condemned the boring monotony of a 9-to-5 job with such convincing damnation. Moving to Paris, shooting some heroin and fucking with the stars is clearly the more logical career move.

6. Vampire Weekend. “A-Punk.” Forget the hype and forget the backlash: “A-Punk” still sounds as fresh as it did on its first listen. It may contain some of the band’s most silly and surrealistic lyrics, but few songs this year had anything as consistently winning as the chants of “Ay! Ay! Ay! Ay!”

5. Atlas Sound. “River Card.” The most awkward-looking pop star since Joey Ramone, Bradford Cox—taking time off from his gig fronting Deerhunter to record as Atlas Sound—included the hypnotizing “River Card” on his debut album Let The Blind Lead Those Who Can See But Cannot Feel. It sounds like bedroom pop at it’s dreamiest, as if it were actually recorded inside a giant pillow. But Cox’s voice pierces the digital fog of reverb-y vocals; suddenly, it makes perfect sense why he would stay up until 6 in the morning listening to “Where Did Our Love Go?” on repeat.

4. Department of Eagles. “No One Does It Like You.” With a track as immediate and bouncy as this, it would be a sin to write off Department of Eagles as an appetizer just tiding over the populace until the next Grizzly Bear release. The first few seconds explode with a fuzzed-out guitar line and a crunchy tambourine, but when Daniel Rossen adds the cascading harmonies of his day-job band to the coda, the song is elevated to the level of the best works in the Grizzly Bear canon.

3. Bon Iver. “re: stacks.” The heart-stopping whirl of a few simple guitar strums gets you immediately, but that ethereal voice hits you like a ton of bricks. The song sounds as cold as the Wisconsin cabin it was recorded in, but at the same time, it makes you feel so warm.

2. Lil’ Wayne. “A Milli.” A hook-less wonder. Weezy sneers through brilliant verse after brilliant verse, spitting stream-of-consciousness musings straight off that inscrutable tablet in his mind. It’s invigorating, it’s weird—and it’s a hit. Does anything define 2008 better than that unending torrent of a-milli-a-milli-a-milli-a-milli-a-mil-a-mil-a-milli-a-milli…?

1. The Walkmen. “In The New Year.” Like all the classics, “In The New Year” is a song so happy it makes you sad and so sad it makes you happy. The explosive core of The Walkmen’s God-affirming fourth album You & Me, “In The New Year” opens like a Depression-era novel: A burst of far-off strings, wistfully metallic guitar strums, raspy up-front vocals, all wrapped up in foggy same-room production—it’s the band finally finding a perfect equilibrium of the sounds they’ve tested in the past. And the optimism, albeit hard-won, couldn’t be more appropriate: As 2009 looms bright in the near future, the scrappy, howling yell of “It’s gonna be a good year!” is so beautifully believable. But it’s delivered with an air of an unforgiving sadness, cloaking the hope in the aftertaste of broken promises: pipe dreams, old addresses, stormy weather, long-lost friends. And that’s what makes the song a classic—like all the best poets, frontman Hamilton Leithauser finds catharsis in the tragedy, wonder in the melancholy, and a good year to finally arrive after enduring this mess we’ve sludged through. 2009—It’s gonna be a good year!

Check back Sunday, Dec. 7 for the next list.For the other lists, click here.

Courtesy prettymuchamazing.com

Chris Barth of Pretty Much Amazing does a… well, pretty much amazing job of summarizing the Year-End List phenomenon in music blogs. Specifically, he muses about how something he loves about music can turn out so wrong, making some astute observations along the way:

How can Paste Magazine’s top two albums – the best two records produced in the last year – not even merit mention in Blender’s top thirty-three? (Sidenote: the explanation for this is that Paste is crazy)

He even includes a list he calls “The Thinking Man’s Commandments for Making Best-Of Music Lists” where he states how Year-End Music lists should work. Here is number three:

Your list isn’t comprehensive, I promise. There will always be someone asking “where is ____?” Cut to the chase and admit that you didn’t listen to the whole Bon Iver album because you were too busy spinning “Skinny Love”. That you couldn’t get to the Brian Eno/David Byrne collaboration because it was your girlfriend’s birthday and you were slaving over a romantic mixtape. That you don’t like Beck, so you have no idea how his new album is. All Year-End lists should be titled “My/Our/Readers’ Year-End Favorites” or something of that nature.

After reading this post, I thought it was a good time, since we are halfway through our series, to see how our own lists stack up thus far to the rules he proposed (including the ones in the picture at the top).

Year-End List Manager

1. Bon Iver = Street Cred. Four out of our five writers have listed a Bon Iver track. They have ranked 1st, 1st, 5th and 2nd on our lists. CHECK
2. TV On the Radio MUST be in your Top 5. Only one mention of TV On the Radio so far at 7th with “Crying.” Just wait for our favorite albums of the year. IN PROGRESS
3. Include a minimum of 3 hip-hop records to seem “well-rounded” (Kanye West, Lil Wayne’s 2134126th Mixtape, etc). Not only have we done this, we have listed “American Boy” three times by itself. We also have Lil Wayne’s “Phone Home” and the Cool Kids’ “Black Mags.” CHECK
4. She & Him SHOULDN’T be anywhere near the #1 spot. Not a single mention of Zooey so far. CHECK
5. Avoid Katy Perry at all costs. This one is a little unfair. “Hot ‘N Cold,” along with Britney Spears’s “Womanizer” and Miley Cyrus’s “See You Again,” have to be the most well-produced pop songs of the year. Although I am a little too embarrassed to have “Hot ‘N Cold” on my iTunes, I must have visited YouTube 100 times listening to the song by now. That’s over six hours of my life I’ll never get back cherish forever. CHECK
6. Post your Year-End List on November. Three of our Top 10 posts debuted in November. Britney Spears’s Circus hadn’t even come out! CHECK

Pretty “impressive” how “well” we do. I’m a little embarrassed. Then again, following this list so closely means that we have street cred and are well-rounded. Who can argue with that? Let’s look at the other list:

The Thinking Man’s Commandments for Making Best-Of Music Lists

1. Thou shalt not write thy Year-End list until the Year-End. Sorry Chris, unfortunately we have finals and Hanukkah to worry about.
2. Thou shalt not publish a list of the 100 best albums. Believe us, we couldn’t spend that much time listening to that many albums, especially considering how many times we listened to Metro Station’s “Shake It.”
3. Thou shalt not pretend to have listened to everything. Stay tuned for our “10 Albums of 2008 I Didn’t Listen to that Suck” post.
4. Thou shalt pick one release type and stick with it. We have tried our best by to be consistent and sticking to major label US releases in 2008, ensuring the appearance of Bon Iver. We also have a no “Paper Planes” rule.
5. Thou shalt not steal. Who are we going to steal from? Paste? She & Him’s Volume One was the best album of the year. Meanwhile, TV On the Radio’s Dear Science, is at 50. Maybe they got it backwards.
6. Thou shalt not confuse a great track with a great album. Also, a great album does not make a great track.
7. Thou shalt explain thy choices. The dissonant essence of these songs sting like a haunting truth.
8. Thou shalt treat mixtapes like albums. Tracks on our list include Grizzly Bear’s “While You Wait for the Others” and Brendan Canning’s “Churches Under the Stairs.”
9. Thou shalt not number your list. Sorry, it was the only way you would read our entire posts scroll to the bottom.
10. Thou shalt…umm…have fun? We’ll make up our own tenth rule too: “Thou shalt not use the word ‘haunting’ when talking about dance music.”

Stay tuned for more of our Top 10 Tracks of the year.