Best Of 2008 - Music

It's time for Best Of lists, and while I'm not quite as on top of these kinds of things as I usually am, I was reading the picks by Alex Robinson and I was surprised to see that he had a few of my picks on there, and it reminded me that I've gotten a fair amount of music that I liked this year.

I don't listen to the radio ever, I don't watch MTV, so most of my music comes from a sort of weird osmosis of stuff I see on TV shows, picks by friends, folks I read online, freebies from iTunes or Amazon or occasionally Rock Band or similar games. I don't tend to pick up full albums, and I've always been more of a singles guy than an album guy, so I'm picking by song rather than by album or band. So here are my favorite new songs of the year, in no particular order:

Borneo - Firewater (I believe this was an Amazon free download. Nice little poppy, big band-ish song with a bit of political commentary on the Iraq War thrown in)

Loose Lips - Kimya Dawson (and the entire Juno soundtrack, actually. I'm not sure if this actually came out in 2008 or 2007, but I was really pleased with this music. Recommendation courtesy of my friend Jamie... thanks, Jamie!)

Handlebars - Flobots (Loved this whole album as well. I know Handlebars is the single that most will know, and it's probably cooler to pick a more obscure track, but this one is still my favorite track off the whole album. Anne Braiden is a close second. Recommendation from my friend and customer at the store Ray Brister. Thanks, Ray!)

Lake Pontchartrain - Ludo (Great little horror story in song form, has a Cthulhu type vibe to it. Got this one from a mix CD by my friend Jason Murphy. Thanks, Jason! This album also has Go Getter Greg, a funny little stalker song. These guys do great lyrics.)

Your California - Parker Brothers (Another Amazon free download, this is an upbeat song that reminds me a bit of the Presidents of the United States)

More Bad Times - Presidents of the United States (Speaking of... I've always liked these guys, but aside from "Cleveland Rocks" from Drew Carey, never had any of their stuff. Rock Band 2 spurred an interest in them, so I picked up a few singles and the new album, and this was my favorite song off the new album, which I generally liked)

Shut Up And Let Me Go - Ting Tings (This one was a recommendation by Cameron Stewart on his blog... thanks, Cameron! I like the whole album, but this one is a favorite, and my daughter loves it too... she sings along, which is adorable)

The Greatest Man That Ever Lived - Weezer (I know a lot of folks were down on this album, just like they were on the last one, but I liked about half of it quite a bit, and find most of the rest listenable, at least. This is my favorite of the bunch. This was also the only album I found with no help from anyone. New Weezer or Foo Fighters will always be on my radar.)

I also bought the new Fratellis album, and while it was OK, it was a disappointment compared to the consistent greatness of their debut. And I bought a bunch of stuff spurred on by Rock Band 2 that has been out forever, including Joan Jett, Journey, Rage Against the Machine and The Clash.