After a Christmas break, I'm back to continue counting down my 10 favorite songs of 2008. Here's four through two.
4. "White Winter Hymnal" by Fleet Foxes from Fleet Foxes
Other than the torrent of vocal harmonies, there's almost no song here. Two or three guitar parts and one drum complete the melody. But that's enough. The two-and-half-minute playtime complements the theory at work here. Fleet Foxes remind us, conversely to most Brian Wilson disciples, that less is more.
3. "Get Better" by Mates of State from Re-arrange Us
"Get Better" is the anthem of 2008, a year when the elections, an economic entanglement, and political scandals trumped all other stories. The married duo's most ambitious song ever proclaims, "Everything's gonna get lighter, even if it never gets better," which is precisely what's happened in the last couple months. Post-election, our problems haven't really improved, but that buzz word "hope" has made out future prospects build like a cathartic drumbeat.
2. "Kim & Jessie" by M83 from Saturday = Youth
Just when it seemed like that whole 80s revival was on it's down curve, Anthony Gonzalez digs up his roots on his 2008 effort. Stephanie Meyer references aside, "Kim & Jessie" is a firmly contemporary track in spite of its retroness. There's a dark optimism here, a reminder of the bliss of teenagedom tinted with the e[c]lect[r]ic struggles of a post-911 world. It's the pop song by J.G. Ballard.
Be sure to comment on your favorite tracks of 2008. Later this week, I'll post #1, as well as the rest of my song and album lists.
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1 comment:
STILL NO #1??? Well I am going to be in NY during the los campisdos show :( But for number 1...right now for me it is Passion Pit - Sleepyhead
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