Monday, January 05, 2009

Everyone is doing a top 10 of 2008 so yeah I will too.  
I'm not too much of a movie buff (ok lies I am) so here are my top 10 albums of 2008 (in no order - that would take WAY too long).

The Killers - Day and Age
Ok I love this album.  It's not Hot Fuss and it surely is NOT Sam's Town - but I definitely think it has promise.  Mr. Flowers and his friends are trying out lots of new instruments which I can totally respect but as Pat mentioned it does, at times sound like a Savage Garden album [EDIT: Per Pat's request he asks that I mention he thinks the whole album sounds like Savage Garden at all times.]  Which is no big shakes to me because I liked SG but it does come off a bit fluffy at times.  Best tracks are Spaceman, Neon Tiger, I Can't Stay, Joyride (totally Savage Garden like).  But hey I'm into fluff.

The Raconteurs - Consolers of the Lonely
This may be my favorite album of the year.  EVERY song is good.  Especially the title track Consolers of the Lonely.  Before I saw them in June there were a few questionable tracks - Old Enough and You Don't Understand Me - but when I heard them live they both became my favorite songs.  This would also be in my top 5 concerts of the year (I may have only gone to five oops).  I didn't get to hear Carolina Drama which is the last track and my favorite song on the album.  It's a creepy and haunting song and I love it.  Best tracks are Consolers of the Lonely, Old Enough, You don't understand me, Attention, Top Yourself, Carolina Drama - yeah they're all good.

Miley Cyrus - Breakout
Say what you want about this annoying tween - this album is fun and oddly relatable.  The title track Breakout makes me want to dance so bad and Ms. Cyrus' take of Girls Just Want to Have Fun is - well fun.  The album gets a little old after Fly On the Wall but until then it's all killer no filler.  Funny. My favorite summer jam See You Again was also added to the end of the album to make it even better.  Ask anyone who I've made listen to it in my car - it's a fun fluff piece.  Best tracks are Fly on the Wall, This Driveway, Come Around, 7 Things, These Four Walls and Breakout.  Oh and my favorite lady Kay Hanley sings backup for her.  

New Kids on the Block - The Block
Yeah I laughed with everyone else when I heard NKOTB would be releasing a new album.  I laughed when I saw the videos for Summertime and Single and I even moaned and groaned through them when Robyn and I saw them in Sept.  But something compelled me to buy the album  - still.  It is SO good actually and Single is totally a good song after 10 listens.  Summertime reminds me of Nantasket Beach (because BOTH times I saw new kids they shouted out Nantasket Beach while performing this but on the album the shout out Jones Beach - which hello is a beach I frequented during my time in Long Island - NEW YORK.) which by the way is still a yucky beach but makes me laugh.  This kind of falls into the Miley category and EVERY song is about how they want to sex you up but it's just good.  Best tracks are Dirty Dancing, Big Girl, Grown Man, Single, Close to You (my favorite!).

Kings of Leon - Only by the Night
This album is another one where all the songs are quality.  I used to skip the first two but since hearing them on Gossip Girl (yeah yeah) I've actually started to like them a lot.  Aha Shake Heartbreak had it moments but I definitely like OBTN more.  Best tracks are Closer, Use Somebody, Sex on Fire, Be Somebody, Cold Desert, Frontier City, Manhattan, Revelry - pretty much all of them.  Did I mention the lead singer has the sexiest voice ever?

Mamma Mia Soundtrack
Favorite movie and favorite soundtrack of the year.  One of those where I go straight to Best Buy after the movie to buy the soundtrack.  So good.  I've never been an Abba fan nor did I really know what Mamma Mia was about but I knew the songs were totally sing loud in the car worthy when I saw the movie. Best tracks are Lay on your love on me, Gimme Gimme, SOS, Voulez Vous, Does Your Mother Know That Your Out and obvs Take a Chance on Me.

Weezer - The Red Album
I actually did quite a bit of Weezer listening in the year 2008 (thanks LAST FM).  Much thanks to the Red Album which came out in June.  Such a whacky CD.  The first time I ever hear "Greatest Man that Ever Lived" I was like WTF for 3 minutes.  It takes on all these different genres of song in ONE song - 80's monster ballad, hip-hop, emo, indie - it's the most bizarre song ever but it only took me one listen to realize I loved it.  I think Perez Hilton called it the EMO Bohemian Rhapsody.  I think I agree.  Best tracks are Pork and Beans, Greatest Man..., Troublemaker, Automatic, Dreamin, I Can Love, and It's Easy.

Panic at the Disco - Pretty. Odd.
The PATD boys dropped the ! this time around.  Any non believers who didn't like their first album I would suggest this one.  Almost has a bit of a Beatles thing.  I feel like it's also a bit more grown up.  Song titles are a little shorter but still oddly named.  Best tracks are I Have Friends in Holy Spaces, Pas De Cheval, Mad as Rabbits, That Green Gentleman, and Nine in the Afternoon.

Coldplay - Viva La Vida 
Never a huge Coldplay fan, I downloaded this album for my good friend P Dunn in June.  I liked Viva La Vida so I put the whole thing on my iPod also.  I usually get a good chance to listen to music while I'm at work so I told my co worker I was going to put on the new Coldplay - we were both super impressed.  Every song was better than the one before and they all have such feeling.  I still think Chris Martin is a super douche but this album is kind of genius.  Best tracks are Viva La Vida, Lost! (with and without the !), Lovers in Japan, Strawberry Swing, and Cemetaries in London.

Drug Rug  - Drug Rug 
LOVE this band.  Pat, Gary and I saw them open for the Cribs in March and we were hooked.  I talked about them in another post a while back but I think they deserve all the attention they can get.  They're Boston based (bonus points) and totally funky.  They have a chic singer who is not prissy at all.  I'm not even sure if this album came out this year but it's HIGH on my fav list.  Best tracks are, For the rest of your life, Day I Die, Winter Time, Walden, and the Sound Alone.  Not sure if this album is widely available but if anyone is interested I will burn it.

Other honorable mentions:
She and Him - Volume One
The Academy Is.. - Fast Times at Barrington High
Katy Perry - One of the Boys
Fall Out Boy - Folie a Deux
Jack's Mannequin - The Glass Passenger

Kind of a letdown:
Alkaline Trio - Agony and Irony 
I almost feel bad for even putting this down because they've been my favorite band for so long but - I just can't stomach it.  Then seeing them live made me even sadder about the album not being good because they weren't good at all.

Albums that I listened to A LOT that did not come out in 0h-eight:
The Cribs - Men's Needs, Women's Needs, Whatever
Paramore - RIOT!
Letters to Cleo - Wholesale Meats and Fish
Weezer - Pinkerton
Darjeeling Limited Soundtrack


7 comments:

Unknown said...

wow thanks! i have a lot of albums to check out now :D

CIP said...

I love the song "Thank you for the Music" from the Mamma Mia album!

patrick said...

I was misquoted, at ALL times it sounds like Savage Garden.

Kristen said...

I am sorry you were misrepresented :) I have issued a retraction. Blerg.

patrick said...

Thank you, kindly.

Maxie said...

I like to pretend like I hate Miley, but I do jam out to her music every once and a while.

Kristen said...

LOL Maxie! I used to do that. Now I've just embraced her cheesy-ness.