As usual with every year-end list i’ve done since we’ve started, compiling a list of songs is usually last on my agenda. This time around, as of late last night, I decided to put this together before actually posting our favorite albums. It was so spur-of-the-moment in fact, that I made no mention of even doing this to our other contributors, in turn making mine the sole list here, unfortunately.
You’ll notice a lot of these songs made the mid-year list, as I never really listened to a lot of new music towards the latter portion of the year. There’s also a healthy variety of songs on display, which indicates how sporatic my taste had been. You’ve got some subdued, mellow songs from the likes of Grouper, Sigur Rós, and Grizzly Bear; to some very poptastic goodness on the other spectrum including POPBAH, Summer Cats, Mates of State, etc. along with everything else in the middle. What it always boils down to for me is a good hook, a catchy melody, or just something that completely grabs my attention.
We’d love to hear your favorite songs as well, so feel free to voice your own in the comments! Our albums list will be up sometime this week or whenever I happen to finish.
The Pains of Being Pure at Heart
Everything With You 7″ (Slumberland)
MP3: “Everything With You”
Video: “Everything With You”
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Crystal Castles
Crystal Castles (Last Gang)
MP3: “Vanished”
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Beach House
Used To Be 7″ (Carpark)
Stream: “Used To Be”
Video: “Used To Be”
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Je Suis Animal
Painted In My Face 7″ (Cloudberry)
MP3: “Painted In My Face”
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Summer Cats
Lonely Planet 7″ (Cloudberry)
MP3: “Lonely Planet”
Video: “Lonely Planet”
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Moscow Olympics
Cut The World (Lavender)
MP3: “Second Trace”
Video: “Second Trace”
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Sigur Rós
Med Sud I Eyrum Vid Spilum Endalaust (XL)
MP3: “Festival”
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Lykke Li
Youth Novels (LL)
MP3: “Little Bit”
Video: “Little Bit”
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Grizzly Bear
Live on Letterman
MP3: “Two Weeks”
Video: “Two Weeks”
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The Rosebuds
Life Like (Merge)
MP3: “Border Guards”
Video: “Border Guards”
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Air France
No Way Down (Sincerely Yours)
MP3: “Collapsing at Your Doorstep”
Video: “Collapsing at Your Doorstep”
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M83
Saturdays=Youth (Mute)
MP3: “Kim & Jessie”
Video: “Kim & Jessie”
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Mates of State
Re-Arrange Us (Barsuk)
MP3: “The Re-Arranger”
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The Submarines
Honeysuckle Weeks (Nettwerk)
MP3: “You, Me and the Bourgeoisie”
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Starfucker
Starfucker (Badman)
MP3: “German Love”
Video: “German Love”
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Fleet Foxes
Fleet Foxes (Sub Pop)
MP3: “White Winter Hymnal”
Video: “White Winter Hymnal”
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Jukebox the Ghost
Let Live & Let Ghosts (Rebel Group)
MP3: “Hold It In”
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Grouper
Dragging a Dead Deer Up a Hill (Type)
MP3: “Heavy Water/I’d Rather Be Sleeping”
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Friendly Fires
Friendly Fires (XL)
MP3: “Paris (Aeroplane Remix feat. Au Revoir Simone)”
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Cut Copy
In Ghost Colours (Modular)
MP3: “Strangers in the Wind”
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Sweet list… maybe later today I’ll add a little list of my own! We’ll see though- I can be pretty lazy over Christmas break!
Crystal Castles and M83 rule my life.
Yes! i’ve been looking forward to this, pj. are you making an album list as well?
Yeah, albums list is currently in progress. Think I just need Val’s list now.
“too late” or “highway of endless dreams” would have been my m83 pick, though “kim and jessie” is hard to argue with.
and where’s the born ruffians?
Air France –> Wonderful choice, it was my summer’s soundtrack
I’d include The Sea and Cake – Car Alarm, and also The Radio Dept. – Freddie and the Trojan Horse.
Just my idea
First comment here, so let me just say thank you for a wonderful year of good music and LOADS of new artists I didn’t know about (Air France!!!)
@Tiago: You guys are making me feel bad for leaving stuff off! I love the hell out of The Radio Dept., but that single off the EP didn’t have nearly enough staying power for me to include it. I’m hoping for a big 2009 for those guys though with the new album.
@Joy: “Too Late” is a great track too, but “Kim & Jessie” just has epic 80’s prom song written all over it. Too good to say no to.
yaaa! I love “Hold it In”… great tune. How could you leave off “Time to Pretend”by MGMT… so so good. Regardless of how mainstream its gotten… it is an incredible song.
those two MGMT singles were good, but as it goes with a popular song – I just got tired of hearing it very quickly.