Xoxobra's 22 Best Songs of 2008

Xoxobra's 22 Best Songs of 2008
It's that time of year again, when music fiends worldwide start sharing opinions on the best stuff they've heard all year. I'm no different. For the next few days I'll post my picks for the best music that I've heard in 2008; emphasis on the words "I've heard". Like most music fans, a lot of good music I hear in a given year could range from 4 weeks to 40 years old, give or take. So I pile them all together regardless of release date. Today, I'll discuss the songs.

As I was working on this list, I listened again and again to the songs that made the greatest impact on me this year. The ones that blew me away, and demanded repeated listens. When it was all said and done, I had twenty-two songs, and was left with somewhat of a dilemma: I could add on a few more songs and post my twenty-five favorites of the year, or I could subtract a couple and post my twenty favorites. After giving it some thought, I felt adding songs that were merely good but not memorable would compromise the integrity of the list (I like to think that my opinions have integrity), so I chose to subtract. But then I had another problem: I just couldn't find it in myself to rid of any two of the tracks below. They all deserve to be there. So fuck it. Here's my top 22 Songs of 2008:



22) "Goliath" by The Mars Volta [from The Bedlam In Goliath]

The Mars Volta haven't sounded this good and made a song this tight since 2003. It plays like a homage to those fans who got fed up waiting for another De-loused In The Comatorium. Makes me feel like I'm in college again (but in a good way).

21) "Who You Think I Am?" by MF Doom (featuring King Ceasar, Rodan, Megalon, Kamakiras & Kong) [from Operation: Doomsday]

Okay, yeah, so it's pretty much a "Protect Ya Neck" for 1999, but doesn't it deserve credit for even reaching those heights? I say so. It shows how great a group rap track can be when done well.

20) "Ema Kowa Iasa Ile Wa" by Mono Mono [from Nigeria Special: Modern Highlife, Afro Sounds & Nigerian Blues 1970-6]

Cruising music. Through Nigeria, I imagine. It's quite a smooth ride despite the fact that it's interrupted by distant chanting and a guitar solo midway through. But no matter, when all that ends, it just picks up right where it left off, as if nothing happened. I feel cooler when listening to this.

19) "Crying" by TV On The Radio [from Dear Science]

TVOTR summons the ghosts of 1980's R&B, as performed by the Commodores, and make a song that's as modern sounding as it is a throwback.

18) "Thirty One Today" by Aimee Mann [from @#%&*! Smilers]

A theme song for every unhappy, direction-less woman in their 30's. I'm not in that demographic, but this song almost makes me wish I was so I could declare this the soundtrack to my life.

17) "The Wrong Coat for You Mt. Heart Attack" by Liars [from Drum's Not Dead]

This song sounds so transparent and ghost-like. I guess "haunting" is the word. Cliche but appropriate, as this song doesn't seem of this world, existing only on a subconscious level.

16) "Deshominisation (I)" by Alain Goraguer [from La Planète Sauvage]

It's like funk music as played in your dreams, in outer space, while high on something. You could almost call this sexy if it weren't so damn weird instead.

15) "My Melody" by Eric B. & Rakim [from Paid In Full]

On the first track of Paid In Full ("I Ain't No Joke"), Rakim told me how great he was. On the second track ("Eric B. Is On The Cut"), Eric B. demonstrated the same. After "My Melody", the third track, they had me convinced.

14) "The Natural Man" by Grails [from Doomsdayer's Holiday]

It seems to tell a story not with words, but with acoustic guitars, airy layered flutes, and spacious atmospherics. The story varies depending on the listener, but the soundtrack is pretty badass.

13) "Fredag" by Dungen [from 4]

They've already proven their ability to write pop songs and demonstrated their mad jam session skills. Now they're just about the groove. Look beyond the hypnotic guitar and piano in the foreground, when that bass shows itself it shouldn't be ignored.

12) "Roses" by Harvey Milk [from Life...The Best Game In Town]

A deceptive title, a deceptively tender opening piano melody, followed by an onslaught of sludge so dirty and thick that even Mike Rowe wouldn't want anything to do with it.

11) "Reality Check" by Binary Star [from Masters of the Universe]

Takes it's time getting started. A simple beat plays over the piano intro, the piano drops out, and then, very calmly, One Be Lo drops one of the best verses I've heard in the relatively short history of rap music. "You ain't never heard an MC speak like this." You probably have, yet you still believe him somehow.

10) "DLZ" by TV On The Radio [from Dear Science]

The dark side of "Staring At The Sun". Ominous and brooding atmospheres replace hope, but hot shit the soul, emotion, and immediacy are still present.

9) "My Body Is Made Of Sunlight" by Circulus [from The Lick On The Tip Of An Envelope Yet To Be Sent]

Renaissance era-inspired folk made by a group of English hippie LARPer's who have yet to realize that it's 2008? Sure, why not. The tempo changes are masterfully handled, it's like three songs in one.

8) "Fried Chicken" by Nas (featuring Busta Rhymes) [from Untitled]

It would be foolish to let yourself be thrown off by the inherently ridiculous concept of this song: the personification of a delicious fried chicken meal as a lover. But even once you stop laughing, you'll still want to keep listening.

7) "I'm Gone" by Dead Meadow [from Old Growth]

Damn, Dead Meadow have come a long way since the meandering (though infectious) stoner epics of their past. Now they're writing acoustic folk-rock tracks so incredibly tight it threatens to cut off circulation to their weed crumb-infested fingers.

6) "Waddlin' Around" by The King Khan & BBQ Show [from The King Khan & BBQ Show]

Garage rock with soul. Really, how many songs recorded in the past few years sound like they could've come out of any decade since 1950?

5) "The First Broken Promise" by Capricorns (featuring Eugene Robinson) [from Ruder Forms Survive]

Previous attempts to remove myself from Eugene Robinson's balls were made much more difficult after hearing his guest spot in this song. A masterpiece of abstract sludge metal.

4) "Dambala" by Exuma [from Exuma]

If Exuma had put any more soul into this song it might've seeped out of your speakers and swallowed you whole. This, right here, is power.

3) "Bug/Golem" (excerpt) by Nadja [from Truth Becomes Death]

To call this heavy is an understatement. An insult almost. This is crushing; suffocating. Like the earth is in the palm of the hands of a god and he's ever so slowly forming a fist...or something of that nature.

2) "メッセージ" by Boris [from Smile]

Like a drum-driven, Japanese version of a song off the Twin Peaks soundtrack, stripped to its elements, played at a slightly higher BPM, added flourishes of wailing electric guitar, fed through badly broken speakers, and at least three minutes longer than it needs to be. Q: How does a song with failure written all over it succeed so hard? A: Duh, it's Boris.

1) "Prospectors Arrive" by Jonny Greenwood [from There Will Be Blood]

It's a rather unemotional part of the film (ya know, just prospectors...arriving), but this song gives it such a beautiful, emotional punch; foreshadowing this overwhelming sadness and tragedy. That violin part at one minute, thirty-six seconds into the song? Putting it pretentiously, I could die to that.


Stay tuned for more best of stuff in the coming days!