75 Favorite Songs of 2008

Whew, at long last, the first of the hat's year-end lists is done. More to come.

1. The Dears - "Disclaimer" (on Missiles. Live performance of part of the song...surely it's a single-in-waiting and a video is forthcoming...)
2. Smashing Pumpkins - "Sunkissed" (on American Gothic. Audio-only video. The Smashing Pumpkins in "Zeitgeist"/interview mode: so annoying. Yet The Smashing Pumpkins in "Sunkissed"/"Again, Again, Again"-mode: enchanting. Come hear Billy Corgan's softer side.)
3. Jeremy Warmsley - "Lose My Cool" - on How We Became. This bloke knows what he's doing when it comes to music, and if there's any musical justice, a lot more people will soon know-and appreciate-what he's doing. Also in contention: his New Order cover "Temptation" and "If He Breaks Your Heart", from the same album. The "Lose My Cool" video:

4. Coldplay - "Glass of Water" (on Prospekt's March. An audio-only video. Also a contender: Viva La Vida's title cut.)
5. Cut Copy - "Feel the Love" (on In Ghost Colours. An audio-only video)
6. The Killers - "Losing Touch" (on Day & Age. A live performance.)
7. Keane - "Perfect Symmetry" (on Perfect Symmetry. The video.) Also in contention: "You Don't See Me", "Again & Again".)
8. Stars - "A Thread Cut with a Carving Knife" (on Sad Robots. File under "Sad, Yet Uplifting." If you don't have a category like that in your files, make one for this song; it's a stunner. A live performance.)
9. R.E.M. - "Hollow Man" (on Accelerate. The video has been removed from YouTube by some Warner Brothers Records weasels, but at least as of this writing, an alternate video remains on REM's official YouTube channel.)
10. Adem - "Bedside Table" (Bedhead cover, on Takes. I listened to this song a ridiculous amount of times in good old 2008. Adem's songs (and albums) stand up beautifully to repeated listenings. I'm all for his making more cover albums. Also a contender: his dEUS cover "Hotel Lounge (Be The Death Of Me)", also from Takes.)
11. Jamie Lidell - "Another Day" (on Jim. The video.)
12. Marit Larsen - "Is It Love?" (on The Chase. The video. A musical question: game and song in one, saving you time and money!)
13. Martha Wainwright - "Bleeding All Over You" (on I Know You're Married But I've Got Feelings Too. Radio interview and performance.)
14. Her Space Holiday - "Four Tapping Shoes and a Kiss" (on XOXO Panda And The New Kid Revival)
15. Chris Walla - "Geometry &C" (on Field Manual. This song is much more fun than geometry. You can hear it playing perfectly well enough to tell that in this video clip in which a fellow adds a bit more drums to the song.)
16. Envy & Other Sins - "Don't Start Fires" (on We Leave at Dawn. Streaming audio of a radio edit version of the song, and others by the band. It's the best song on the album, and should have been the first single. Just sayin'.)
17. Anya Marina - "Move You" (on Slow and Steady Seduction: Phase II. The video.)
18. The Republic Tigers - "Buildings and Mountains" (on Keep Color. A live performance.)
19. Curt Smith - "Greatest Divide" (on Halfway, pleased. A different version of the album, which does include "Greatest Divide", was first released in 2007 only in France, so admittedly there is a sort of "France doesn't count" rulw in effect when it comes to release dates. I am hoping to not be quoted out of context when it comes to that "France doesn't count" bit. France counts for plenty! For instance, they gave the world the beret and the croissant. The video and MP3 for "Greatest Divide"; it's much better than a croissant. Also a contender: "Seven of Sundays", from the same album.)
20. Delays - "Hooray!" (on Everything's the Rush. The video.)
21. Those Dancing Days - "Home Sweet Home" (on Our Space Hero Suits. Check out the voice on frontwoman Linnea Jönsson; check out how good her bandmates are. Sunny, swirling Swedish pop. Also contenders: "Shuffle", "Run Run". The "Home Sweet Home" video:
22. Alessi's Ark - "The Horse" (on The Horse. The video.)
23. Vampire Weekend - "Campus" (on Vampire Weekend. Why, they rocked so hard at while playing this song at Amoeba Hollywood, the "Amoeba" sign fainted like a teenager at a Beatles concert.)
24. Ladytron - "Ghosts" (on Velocifero. The video.)
25. Cinephile - "Somewhere Nowhere" (on Cinephile - etheral vocals float through the synthesized bars of a honeycomb maze. Hopefully that description is helpful, especially because this streaming audio site might require a plug-in, boo.)
26. Like Honey - "Like A Song" (on Leaves. Sweet, fizzy alt-pop.)
27. Cartonnage - "Brand New Day" (on Curiously Connected. The video. Lovely, soaring, triumphant-feeling tune.)
28. Aqualung - "7 Keys" (on Words and Music. This live performance video seems to be the only clip of the song on YouTube. It's not top-notch, but is certainly good enough to reveal the song's considerable charms. Also in contention: "On My Knees", "Everything Changed".)
29. The Verve - "Love is Noise" (on Forth. The video. Also a contender: "Rather Be", from the same album.)
30. Black Affair - "Japanese Happening" (on Pleasure Pressure Point. The video. Also in contention: "Reel to Reel", "It's Real".)
31. Thom Hell - "My Heart is Longing for a Soul" (on God If I Saw Her Now. The video. Also in contention: "Don't Let Go".)
32. Tokyo Police Club - "Tesellate" (on Elephant Shell. The video.)
33. Adele - "Chasing Pavements" (on 19. The video.)
34. Elbow - "One Day Like This" (on The Seldom Seen Kid. The video.)
35. The Cure - "This Here and Now" (on 4:13 Dream. Audio-only video. Also contenders: "The Only One (30 Seconds to Mars Remix)" and "Sleep When I'm Dead (Gerard Way and Julien K Remix)", on Hypnagogic States)
36. The Helio Sequence - "Can't Say No" (on Keep Your Eyes Ahead. MP3.)
37. Glasvegas - "Geraldine" (on Glasvegas. The video.)
38. Lovers Electric - "Start Again" (on Whatever You Want. A live performance.)
39. Mates of State - "Now" (on Re-Arrange Us. Also a contender: "Get Better")
40. The Ting Tings - "Be the One" (on We Started Nothing. Not one of the flashiest songs on the album, but it, too, is bouncy, just not as rapid, and it's exceedingly charming. An audio-only video.)
41. Miaou - "Tetote" (on All Around Us. Beautiful instrumental rock. Also contenders: "Morning Sun", "Hopefulness")
42. The Script - "BreakEven" (on The Script. The title "BreakEven" bugs me a bit, although I understand the choice in the context of the song. Their writing is good, though, as you might expect from a group called The Script. The video.)
43. Uh Huh Her - "Not A Love Song" (on Common Reaction. The video.)
44. Leona Naess - "Heavy Like Sunday" (on Thirteens. The video. Also a contender: "Learning As We Go".)
45. Longwave - "No Direction" (on Secrets are Sinister Live performance.)
46. Billy Bragg - "I Keep Faith" (on Mr. Love and Justice. Live performance.)
47. Annie - "I Know UR Girlfriend Hates Me" (on Don't Stop. The video.)
48. 8mm - "Quicksand" (on Songs to Live & Die By. The song is playing pretty quietly in the background as a guy strums along on the guitar in this video clip, which might as well be considered the definitive video for the song unless and until 8mm provides a better one.) Edit: OK, this one snuck by me: the song is from 2006, and therefore doesn't belong on the list. Sorry about that. There are a lot of songs I'd like to put in its place. New one will be added here very shortly.
49. Snow Patrol - "If There’s A Rocket Tie Me To It " (on A Hundred Million Suns. Live performance.)
50. Langhorne Slim - "Restless" (on Langhorne Slim. The video.)
51. Ludo - "Love Me Dead" - on You're Awful, I Love You. Infectious. The video:

52. Dr. Dog - "The Old Days" (on Fate. The video.)
53. Los Campesinos! - "My Year in Lists" (on Hold on Now, Youngster.... "I cherish with fondness the day before I met you" is irresistably catchy and funny unless it's about you. The video.)
54. Moby - "Alice" (on Last Night. The video. Also a contender: "Ooh Yeah", from the same album.)
55. Joker's Daughter - "Kyoto Song" (Cure cover, on Perfect as Cats: A Tribute to the Cure. Streaming audio.)
56. Crystal Castles - "Crimewave" (on Crystal Castles. A live performance.)
57. Daedelus - "Hrs Mins Secs (Etan's Greenwich Mean Report)" - MP3.
58. Goldfrapp - "A&E" (on Seventh Tree. The video. Also a contender: "Caravan Girl", from the same album.)
59. A Silent Film - "You Will Leave A Mark" (on A City That Sleeps. Evocative and grand. The video.)
60. Takka Takka - "Silence" (on Migration. The video and MP3.)
61. The Decemberists - "A Record Year for Rainfall" (on Always The Bridesmaid Vol. 3. The video.)
62. The Long Blondes - "Guilt" (on Couples. The video.)
63. Télépathique - "I'm Not the Man You Think I Am" (on Last Time on Earth. Streaming audio, not working at the moment but perhaps it's a temporary glitch in the system.)
64. The Strugglers - "Morningside Heights" - Atmospheric and moody yet pretty, "Morningside Heights" makes me want to pensively, yet winsomely gaze off into a picturesque distance. - on The Latest Rights. The video:

65. Death Cab for Cutie - "No Sunlight" (on Narrow Stairs. Live performance.)
66. MGMT - "Of Moons, Birds & Monsters (Holy Ghost! Remix)" (B-side to the "Kids" CD single. Audio-only video.)
67. The Courteeners - "That Kiss" (A non-album single. The video.)
68. She Wants Revenge - "Save Your Soul" (on Save Your Soul. Granted, She Wants Revenge has a bunch of songs that are kind of like this...they're likely either your sort of thing or not. I like 'em. The audio-only video. Also a contender: "Sleep", from the same EP.)
69. Dr. Horrible (Neil Patrick Harris) - "My Freeze Ray" (on Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog. Wannabe supervillain/daydream believer answers reader mail with songs. It's not quite a karaoke blog--a karog? karlog?--but dangerously close. This response gives us an adorable ditty about conquering the world. The video, more or less.)
70. Young Knives - "Turn Tail" (on Superabundance. The video.)
71. Bubblegum Lemonade - "I'll Never Be Yours" (on Doubleplusgood)
72. Ra Ra Riot - "Run My Mouth" (on The Rhumb Line. The video.)
73. Safeashome - "Kxvlar" (on Not What Happens. Sounds like you've accidentally left another song playing in the background of the one you meant to listen to, causing extra layers of fuzzy noise that occasionally detract but mostly work rather well.)
74. Kaiser Chiefs - "Remember You're a Girl" (on Off With Their Heads. Also a contender: "Never Miss a Beat".)
75. Attic Lights - "Bring You Down" (on Friday Night Lights. I really dislike the video, but the song is fun and proved itself an earworm, sticking in my head every time I heard it.)