Here is the Pigeons and Planes end of the year mixtape for music outside of the hip hop genre. Again, this isn’t a best of. Just some of the music that comes to mind when I think of 2008.
For me, the year was full of skepticism. After giving up on some of the over hyped bands of the past (e.g. Clap Your Hands Say Yeah) I found it hard to trust the hype behind some of this year’s newcomers. 2008 is almost over and after months of having it shoved in my face, I still don’t find any value in No Age. I really wanted to like these guys. Oh well, there’s always 2009.
Instead, I’ve focused more on easy-to-digest music that incorporates elements of music such as melody and rhythm. I’ve become much more open to straight up pop music this year thanks to acts like Lykke Li who have penned pop hits that still maintain a certain weirdness to which I’ve always been attracted. Santogold and TV on the Radio both kept things interesting by drawing from all spectrums of musical styles and maintaining a distinctive sound.
Then there were bands that blew me away with great songwriting. Bon Iver, Vampire Weekend, and Fleet Foxes all put together albums that are full of timeless songs that burrowed into my head and became a part of my every day life. If you were to listen to any of my mixes from 2008 it would probably be all over the place like this one. More than ever, I really have no preference in style. A great song is a great song, whether it’s done with an acoustic, electric, or some synths and a computer. As long as it sounds good.
1. Lykke Li -Dance Dance Dance
2. Santogold – L.E.S. Artistes
3. MGMT – Time To Pretend
4. The Killers – Spaceman
5. Does It Offend You, Yeah? – With A Heavy Heart
6. Kings Of Leon – Sex On Fire (Taken down by request)
7. John Legend – Floating Away
8. Chester French – She Loves Everybody
9. Beck – Gamma Ray
10. Wavves – So Bored
11. Vivian Girls – Where Do You Run To
12. The Kills – Tape Song
13. The Crystal Castles – Crimewave
14. Hot Chip – Ready For The Floor
15. Erykah Badu – The Healer
16. The Notwist – Boneless
17. The Mountain Goats – Sax Rohmer #1
18. Fleet Foxes – Your Protector
19. Bon Iver – Skinny Love
