Saturday, January 03, 2009
Some of these I have something to say about; the rest speak for themselves.
As much as you may be loathe to admit it, this song was one of the most original (and o-v-e-r-p-l-a-y-e-d) singles on the radio this year. Lil Wayne is batshit insane and managed to get a song that not only makes no sense, but has no HOOK in today's wasteland of shitty mainstream hip-hop and got it played EVERYWHERE. That in and of itself deserves recognition. However, expect to see this song on another list.
24. Panic at the Disco - Nine In the Afternoon
Let this be a lesson, emo bands: when you try to sound like The Beatles, you become listenable.
22. The Raconteurs - Salute Your Solution
20. Janelle Monae - Many Moons
The single most original artist of 2008; Janelle Monae released the first of 4 EPs highlighting a funk/R&B/rock opera about androids in love and being hunted in the future; think a female James Brown mixed with Blade Runner and A.I. Yeah, it rocks.
17. REM - Supernatural Superserious
This is the coolest dance song, like, ever.
15. Ben Folds featuring Regina Spektor - You Don't Know Me At All
14. The Toadies - No Deliverance
The Toadies returned with a shockingly fantastic album of hard-hitting blues-grunge; this is the only single released from that album.
13. Man Man - Mister Jung Stuffed
This is exactly the type of auditory weirdness that would've gotten two tons of airplay on modern rock radio during the death of grunge years between 1995-1998.
12. The Ting Tings - That's Not My Name
The album was overrated tripe with only two listenable songs. Those two songs, however, are AMAZING. This is the better of the two, an infectious earworm that'll stick in your skull for days.
11. Kings of Leon - Sex On Fire
One of the first pure rock songs to hit modern rock radio in years.
Lupe Fiasco should be the biggest rapper in the world; held up on a pedestal the way Jay-Z and Kanye West are today. This is his most popular single, it's quite awesome.
09. Death Cab For Cutie - I Will Possess Your Heart
The sheer balls to release an 8-minute track as your first single is astounding. I really wish they never edited it for radio and forced stations to play the full version, but whatever, it's a great song.
08. The Cool Kids - Black Mags
The Cool Kids was the most refreshing thing to happen to hip-hop all year; a modern take on classic hip-hop that is infinitely listenable. Watch that video; tell me that doesn't look/sound like it's from 1985.
07. Gnarls Barkley - Who's Gonna Save Your Soul?
Didn't get any play on radio, but it is their most heartfelt, soulful song.
06. T.I., Jay-Z, Kanye West & Lil Wayne - Swagga Like Us
This producer deserves an award, both for the production and for the genius sample of MIA's Paper Planes. The fact that T.I. could get the three biggest rappers in the world on one track and more than hold his own speaks volumes for his skills as an MC; the song is catchy as SHIT.
05. Metallica - All Nightmare Long
A badass song with a badass video. Metallica is BACK!
04. Elbow - Grounds For Divorce
Britain's answer to the White Stripes (with a touch of Radiohead); a loud blues rock song that starts with a chain-gang chorus and switching between soulful singing and blaring guitars; the best single you haven't heard.
Weezer's best single since Hash Pipe. Unfortunately, the rest of the album couldn't live up to this song.
Thank God for Pineapple Express. If the producer of the trailer for the stoner action/comedy hadn't used Paper Planes, MIA would still be a relative unknown in the States. Thankfully, that isn't the case, and this track from last year's Kala got enormous play and propelled her into the spotlight. A song (essentially) about economics and the Third World, this Bhangra pop/hip-hop song has been everpresent on the radio AND has been sampled in the most catchy hip-hop song all year. Now, after considering retiring after the birth of her child, her career is more alive than ever, and she's already planning her follow-up album. So, I guess you could say she owes her career to marijuana.
Oh, you HAD to know this was coming. A track with no semblance of a chorus, and somehow it's just as catchy and sing-alongish as Beastie Boys' "Girls". Full of meaning (and possibly political intonations, depending on your interpretation), Flobots created a song both alarming, urgent, and easy to identify with. There's nothing even left to say about this; definitely the best single of 2008.
