Monthly Mixtape

10 Songs from 2008

1. Family Tree - TV on the Radio

One of the fresher things you can listen to, Tv on the Radio was featured last month, so for more detail refer to last month's mixtape.

2. White Winter Hymnal - Fleet Foxes

The word lush comes to mind. Best debut of 2008 by far. Who would have thought a band that named the soundtracks for Final Fantasy games as an influence could rejuvenate folk music?

3. One Day Like This - Elbow

My favorite song of 2008, and one I'm in danger of getting burned out on. If you don't listen to/haven't heard of these guys, rectify that please, they're a thousand times better than Coldplay, the only band running neck-and-pasty-British-neck with Radiohead.

4. Cath - Death Cab

I'm always really hard on Death Cab when I first listen to one of their new albums, so much so that I don't get into it until a couple months after it's release. Narrow Stairs holds up, and is a worthy addition to their canon. This song in particular is the only one that manages to scratch the surface depth of Transatlanticism.

5. Lost? - Coldplay

I don't know what the question mark is for, Coldplay knew they weren't in Kansas long before they started working on Viva la Vida, which may be their best album. If not, it's definitely one of Brian Eno's most accessible works. Chris Martin managed to be more than insufferable (he is the Achilles and the heel of the band, kind of like Bono is with U2) and wrote some lyrics (with Eno's help). All in all a great album, and if you studiously avoided Coldplay before now, go out and buy this and Kanye's newest, they just may melt your elitist heart.

6. A Trip Out - British Sea Power

I am not really a fan of stuff that is so post anything it gets labeled post-whatever. For their first two albums, the joy of listening to British Sea Power was somewhat dampened by the fact that they really sounded like post-punk. Although I never really thought to cross-reference the Jackson 5 with British Sea Power, they manage to sound youthful and optimistic on Do You Like Rock Music? the title's genius only being made obvious after you listen to the album through a couple times.

7. Orphans - Beck

I really, really, like Beck. I'm not one of those people that says "everything since Odelay is ho-hum" I will defend every single one of his albums...except last years The Information which was such a depressing failure for me, I threw the cd away, not even wanting to collect the couple bucks it would have brought at half-price. All I can say is, thank God for Danger Mouse. Although he didn't have such a hot follow up with his own gig (Gnarls Barkley), he managed to completely erase the bad taste of The Information. Modern Guilt is another really good Beck album.

8. Love Lockdown - Kanye West

As I said earlier, this album 808's and Heartbreak, atones for a lot of the ridiculous posturing Kanye has been up to. I don't think the Beatles could have made half the noise he's made prior to the release of Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band and been taken seriously. And 808's and Heartbreak aint no Beatles album. Still, if you miss the Electric Light Orchestra, or wish they would have been fronted by a rapper with an auto-tuner, your in for a treat.

9. Manhattan - Kings of Leon

I may be the only person willing to say this, but I think of all those new indie bands that emerged in the early part of the decade (Interpol, The Strokes, The Stills, Of Montreal, Mates of State to name a few) the Kings of Leon have emerged as being ahead of the pack. Only by the Night is not a perfect album, nor is it as instantly infectious as some of their past work, but it is packed with good songs, which is more than I can say for any of those other guys fourth full length release.

10. Good Night, Bad Morning - The Kills

This seemed the perfect song with which to turn down the lights on 2008. Midnight Boom, despite having an awesome name, was a complete failure for The Kills, it was the epitome of "sound and fury signifying nothing" the signature swagger and attitude were there, but it didn't having anything backing it up. This simple song outranks and outclasses everything else on the album.

Aught-Eight En Retrospekt...Musik

It's been another up and down year for Musik, he's a nice guy just trying to bring a little something to the ears of the people. Unfortunately, being upper management, he really just takes credit for the success of his workforce, and it seems like some of the usually reliable team members dropped the ball. If that was an excessive use of metaphor let me know.

Keane, Razorlight, The Stills, The Black Keys, Gnarls Barkley, Brian Jonestown Massacre, Spiritualized, The Killers, Ladytron and Weezer all crapped the money bed.

Several new artists suffered from something that's gotten rarer lately (the sophomore slump). While others dodged what I believe has replaced it (the third album implosion, remember The Strokes? I don't either). There were a few unexpected suprises (the pairing of Robert Plant and Alisson Krausse, Fleet Foxes). If I had to weigh the good and the bad, the dissapointments against the satisfaction, I'd have to say it was a good year.

The Mainstream/Top 40/Hip-Hop/Grammy crowd even managed to provide a decent song or two, I have officially become a fan of Lil' Wayne (the song Shooter on The Carter II) and Kanye has, not become the "voice of his generation", but at least released an album good enough to atone for ever uttering something so hopelessly egotistical and jouvenily absurd. I've surrendered to the infectious nature of Apologize and Whatever You Like, sometimes, though you already know you can't beat 'em and have sworn to never join 'em, you join 'em anyway.

It wasn't a good year for divas, I don't think anybody was fooled by Beyonce's reinvention. Brittany refuses to fade into nonexistence, and her success is proof that the American consumer has no soul, memory, brain, or even a pair of functioning ears. No new Christina Aguilera/Amy Winehouse album, no reason for me to have anything positive to say. Oh, and Katy Perry's hit single is a sign of the apocolypse. So says the Evangelical Christian "community".

There were some close calls. Death Cab, Kings of Leon, and Coldplay's new albums teetered on the brink of total failure, but I've warmed to all of them, which means it is now okay for you to like them as well (I laugh as I write this of course).

So, since it's the middle of December and you're still listening (theoretically listening anyway) to November's tunes, I've compiled a summary of what I listened to this year, limited to what was released this year. I know, you were itching to hear some classic tunes from Public Enemy, Bob Dylan, and some song from some Wes Anderson soundtrack, but for the purpose of remembering 2008 I've limited it to songs released this year. So without further ado (or explanation), the ten songs that represent 2008's music.

Whirlwind...

The last few weeks have been dizzyingly busy:

1. Lining up my job transfer with UPS
2. Testing the troubled waters of packing (meaning Lacey's done a lot of work, and I've helped a little bit)
3. Prepping for the Holidays
4. Stressing about the Christmas Party (Talent Show performance)

This is all overwhelming.
So, how do you deal with feeling overwhelmed?

I ignore it.

Denial is a potent sedative,
and I have to say,
I wanna be sedated.

The stress is really straining things at home (stress causes strain? profound isn't it?), there's just a lot of stuff bearing down on us.
And as I've said before, I don't so much rise to the occasion as ignore it until the last possible moment, when I roll out of the way like Indy dodging the giant stone ball (except instead of running away, I've been staring at it, more or less, the whole time it's been getting closer and closer).

But it's not all bad news, we've gotten a lot of stuff done, and it seems like all that's left to do is...well a lot of crap actually, but nothing with a deadline that is nearer than the first of January.

I'm sure it will all work out, but right now things are moving at a maddeningly slow pace. Which worries me, because everyone keeps saying how fast everything is going to be happening. I'm ready for that part to happen, because I really just want to be past all this awkward transition crap and settled in Austin, going to school.