Best of 2008 (Listful Edition)

Presenting a list that has been months in the making. It's been edited on no less than 5 different computers and has been painstakingly researched by team of 1. Enjoy, and when you're done reading, I'd love to know what song, artist, or album you have or will check out because of Stoplight Sleep.

Albums

1. Why? Alopecia

2. The Dodos Visiter

3. M83 Saturday = Youth

4. Los Campesinos! Hold On Now, Youngster

5. The Kills Midnight Boom

6. Hot Chip Made in the Dark

7. MGMT Oracular Spectacular

8. Crystal Castles Crystal Castles

9. Ra Ra Riot The Rhumb Line

10. Adele 19

11. Bon Iver For Emma, Forever Ago

12. TV on the Radio Dear Science

13. Fleet Foxes Fleet Foxes

14. Cold War Kids Loyalty to Loyalty

15. Frightened Rabbit The Midnight Organ Fight

16. Portishead Third

17. Amanda Palmer Who Killed Amanda Palmer?

18. Sons and Daughters This Gift

19. Sigur Ros Með Suð Í Eyrum Við Spilum Endalaust

20. Saul Williams The Inevitable Rise and Liberation of Niggy Tardust

21. Mates of State Re-arrange Us

22. Gang Gang Dance Saint Dympha

23. Single Frame S F E P

24. Justin Townes Earle The Good Life

25. Love is All A Hundred Things Keep Me Up At Night

26. Ladyhawk Ladyhawk

27. The Black Keys Attack & Release

28. Beck Modern Guilt

29. Wolf Parade At Mount Zoomer

30. Lil Wayne The Carter III

31. She Keeps Bees Nest

32. Nine Inch Nails Ghosts I-IV

33. The Gutter Twins Saturnalia

34. School of Seven Bells Alpinisms

35. Kanye West 808s and Heartbreak

36. Blitzen Trapper Furr

37. She & Him Volume One

38. The Black Ghosts The Black Ghosts

39. The Walkmen You & Me

40. Islands Arm’s Way

41. Mogwai The Hawk is Howling

42. The Rosebuds Like Like

43. Dr. Dog Fate

44. Bloc Party Intimacy

45. Atmosphere When Life Gives You Lemonade, Paint That Shit Gold

46. Man Man Rabbit Habits

47. The Faint Fasciinatiion

48. Alias Resurgam

49. Xiu Xiu Women as Lovers

50. Scarlett Johansson Anywhere I Lay My Head

Songs

1. "Fatalist Palmastry” by Why? from Alopecia
2. “Kim & Jessie” by M83 from Saturdays = Youth
3. “Get Better” by Mates of State from Re-arrange Us
4. “White Winter Hymnal” by Fleet Foxes from Fleet Foxes
5. “Vanished” by Crystal Castles from Crystal Castles
6. “Fast Blood” by Frightened Rabbit from The Midnight Organ Fight
7. “Cold Mining” by Single Frame from S F E P
8. “U.R.A. Fever” by The Kills from Midnight Boom
9. “My Year In Lists” by Los Campesinos! from Hold On Now, Youngster
10. “God” by The Dodos from Visiter
11. “Hometown Glory” by Adele from 19
12. “Skinny Love” by Bon Iver from For Emma, Forever Ago
13. “Inní Mér Syngur Vitleysingur” by Sigur Rós from Með Suð Í Eyrum Við Spilum Endalaust
14. “Machine Gun” by Portishead from Third
15. “Shake a Fist” by Hot Chip from Made in the Dark
16. “Let The Beat Build” by Lil Wayne from Tha Carter III
17. “Dancing Choose” by TV on the Radio from Dear Science
18. “Time to Pretend” by MGMT from Oracular Spectacular
19. “Connjur” by School of Seven Bells from Alpinisms
20. “Furr” by Blitzen Trapper from Furr
21. “Hands In The Air” by Girl Talk from Feed The Animals
22. “Oxford Comma” by Vampire Weekend from Vampire Weekend
23. “House Jam” by Gang Gang Dance from Saint Dymnphna
24. “Robocop” by Kanye West from 808s and Heartbreak
25. "Some Way Through This" by The Black Ghosts from The Black Ghosts
    
26. "Soviet Connection,” The Theme from Grand Theft Auto IV by Michael Hunter
27. “Oh, La” by Ra Ra Riot from The Rhumb Line
28. “Tiger Phone Card” by Dengue Fever from Venus on Earth
29. “This Gift” by Sons and Daughters
30. “Shoulda Known” by Atmosphere from When Life Gives you Lemonade . . .
31. “Leeds United” by Amanda Palmer from Who Killed Amanda Palmer?
32. “Nothing Ever Happens” by Deerhunter from Microcastle
33. “Creeper” by Islands from Arm's Way
34. “The Crippled Jazzer” by Marnie Stern from This Is It and I am It . . .
35. “Geraldine” by Glasvegas
36. “Raincoat Song” by The Decemberists from Always a Bridesmaid Vol. 3
37. “Hard Livin'” by Justin Townes Earle from The Good Life
38. “Every Valley is Not a Lake” by Cold War Kids from Loyalty to Loyalty
39. “Guessing Game” by Elzhi from The Preface
40. “Release” by She Keeps Bees from Nest
41. “Batcat” by Mogwai from The Hawk is Howling and Batcat EP
42. “Angels” by Black Mountain from In The Future
43. “DNA” by Saul Williams from The Inevitable Rise and Liberation of Niggy Tardust
44. “Kevatrumpu” by Paavoharju from Laulu Laakson Kukista
45. “Same Old Thing” by The Black Keys from Attack & Release
46. “Better Than Heaven” by Bloc Party from Intimacy
47. “I Know I See I Love” by Rainbow Arabia from The Basta
48. “I’m Amazed” by My Morning Jacket
49. “Pork and Beans” by Weezer from The Red Album
50. “Love in this Club” (MSTRKRFT Remix) by Usher

Best Songs of 2008 (Part 4 - Finally)

After illness, a busy work schedule, and anything else you can imagine, I'm finally back to conclude my countdown of my favorite songs of 2008. So here it is, finally . . .


1. "Fatalist Palmistry" by Why? from Alopecia

Was it worth the wait? Oh, yeah. "Fatalist Palmisty" barely nudges out "The Hollows" and a handful of tracks from Stoplight Sleep's best album of the year, Alopecia. "Yoni" Wolf's lyrical acrobatics are the steel-encased spine of every Why? song. On "Fatalist Palmistry," Wolf layers similes and metaphors that use surrealism to express themes and images most artists couldn't even comprehend. If the opening stanza about "a psychic who reads her own palms" doesn't grab you, just wait till the second stanza's eye "sockets sit like empty catcher's mitts waiting."

Wolf's nasally staccato and dense alliteration punctuate a simple but fleshed-out track. The music is layered enough to compliment Why?'s strengths (Wolf's lyrics) without being so demanding they distract from them.



Later, I'll post my complete lists of songs and albums. They're ready now, I just didn't want to crowd this post. See you soon. Remember to weigh in on your favorites!

Update

I will be returning to Stoplight Sleep when time allows. Thanks for reading!

Best Songs of 2008 (Part 3)

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

White Winter Hymnal - Fleet Fo...

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

Kim & Jessie - M83

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.

Best Songs of 2008 (Part 2)

Today, we're continuing on Stoplight Sleep's countdown of the best song of 2008. Here's 7 through 5.

7. Single Frame  "Cold Mining" from S F E P

Coming in under 10 minutes, Single Frame's S F E P from January of this year could almost qualify as a song itself. The release is a power punch of post-punk energy for those still interested in that whole dance revival thing. "Cold Mining," riddled with Joy Division, barely sneaks ahead as the stand-out track. The hangover anthem poses the Myspace-survey worthy refrain of the year: "If you don't dream, does that mean / that you have not got one? / Or if you don't dream, does that mean / that you are living it?"

6. Frightened Rabbit  "Fast Blood" from The Midnight Organ Fight

On the surface, "Fast Blood" is standard post-millennial mope rock in the vein of Interpol, The Twilight Sad, and Arcade Fire. It could also be a pedestrian retelling of one sexual encounter. However, Scott Hutchinson's emotional conviction and extended metaphors about hurricanes and resurrection make the track the rock equivalent of impressionist poetry.

5. Crystal Castles  "Vanished" from Crystal Castles

I have a soft spot in my heart for the soundtracks of the Nintendo games of my youth. I've enjoyed covers of NES themes from The Advantage, Minibosses, and Motherbrain!, but those acts could only dictate the actual experience. On their debut album, Crystal Castles capture my remembered impression of playing games like Metroid and Astanyx  by combining an 8-bit aesthetic with a 21st-century worldview. "Vanished" is the moodiest song of the album.