My Favorite Albums of 2008

Cut Copy
In Ghost Colours
I had been listening to tracks of this album since mid-2007, but boy was the album worth the wait. Glistening, shimmery keys and great pop hooks, In Ghost Colours channeled 80's synthpop in all the right ways. If you were lucky enough to catch them live, you could tell the band were humbled by their own success.




Hercules & Love Affair
Self-Titled
It took me a few listens to warm up to this album, but it paid off. Yes, it does sort of trail off in the middle, but there is something heartfelt, unique and complicated about each track that commands repeat listens. "Blind" and "You Belong" are being anointed as dance classics and it's amazing how Antony doesn't always steal the show from the brilliant cast of characters.



Vampire Weekend
Self-Titled
I started listening to Graceland a few weeks ago, and didn't give a flying fuck about its influence on Vampire Weekend's debut. People said the same thing about first Strokes album and Television, but I didn't hear it. All I know is this album has the jangly college pop I yearn for. So fresh, clean and approachable that even my Dad was curious about it on our drive from Lafayette to San Francisco.


Kanye West
808s & Heartbreak
Yes, it's been out for less than a month, but it has also revived my interest in the "album" more so than any other recent release. The excessive auto-tune and lo-fi production does little to hide the aching in Kanye's songs. More importantly, you don't need to be on a downer to listen or appreciate this album's great music and Kanye's creative merits.


Santogold
Self-Titled
"Shove It" was pretty much my theme song this year, as was "L.E.S. Artistes." Moving from San Francisco to New York, "I can say I hope it will be worth what I give up" was pretty much the story of my life. The rest of the album has some hot tracks on it, but I prefer the mash-ups of "Anne" and "Lights Out" found on Top Ranking.


A few more albums I liked:
Hot Chip, Made In The Dark ("Ready For The Floor," "Hold On")
Britney Spears, Circus ("Circus," "Mannequin", "Unusual You")
Kylie Minogue, X ("In My Arms," "Like A Drug," "Heart Beat Rock")

My list feels pretty mainstream, but what can I say, Most of the "new" albums I bought this year were archives (i.e., I fell in love with Numero Group's Eccentric Soul series, old italo disco and newish italo disco from Italians Do It Better). But more importantly, I really liked the albums I listed above.

I spent most of my this year listening to remixes and singles from artists that could bring me up up up: Designer Drugs, Little Boots, Kid Sister, Treasure Fingers, Danity Kane, Cyndi Lauper, Kleerup, Miami Horror and more. Who said the single was dead?

The biggest disappointment was the new Beyonce album. Out of the sixteen songs on my deluxe version, I would master the tracks in this order:

1. Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)
2. Sweet Dreams
3. Halo
4. Ave Maria
5. Diva
6. Video Phone
7. Radio
8. Smash Into You
9. If I Were A Boy

Done!

Run, Run, Hide, Hide

From Morrissey and M.I.A. to dance mixes from Fabric and DJ Kicks, I’ve often found myself forgetting the entire mix and focusing on just one or two songs that quickly grab my attention.

Santogold’s collaboration with Diplo on Top Ranking has a few of these moments, but the stand-out track for me has to be Trouble Andrew’s “Run - Hide.”

When this came on after the laugh-inducing skit with Mark Ronson, I literally stopped everything I was doing and wondered what artist I was listening to. “Run - Hide” is a drowsy, lo-fi electro hit.

It immediately reminded me of the more pop leanings of the hyped Berlin labels of the early 00’s, yet with a more fresh, hip-hop edge.

It starts off with creepy organs, then Diplo’s beats kicks in and we get the smooth chorus and the crisp, vintage synths. Everything about it is outstanding.

After listening to Trouble Andrew’s less interesting songs on his MySpace, I truly believe Diplo must have worked wonders to produce this track. Complete kudos to him, but also to Trouble Andrew for his great vocal delivery and overall sex appeal.

This track is available as a free download on Trouble Andrew’s MySpace, so please go there and have a listen.

London We Go Hard

Listening to "Shove It" on Santogold's new album, I am taken back to 2005 when a lot of music fans had an investment in grime and British hip-hop, thinking it would breakthrough to American audiences in no time. I was definitely a believer, completely fascinated by everything I heard from Dizzee Rascal, Kano, Wiley, Lady Sovereign and all the young MC's on Run The Road.

Santogold is from New York, but Switch, a remixer and producer of the track, is British although I don't think he has any ties to the grime scene (M.I.A. is not considered a grime artist). "Shove It" has an East London dub sound that makes you smell the doner kebabs and see the track suits and trainers. I know she's really singing about the pride of poor creatives in NYC, but it drives my imagination. The song overall reminds me of Riko and Target's "Chosen One" from Run The Road.

Spank Rock makes an appearance on the track and for once, he keeps his rhymes relatively clean. He changes his flow on here as well, and I had to check the liner notes to make sure it was him.

Listening to Madonna's Hard Candy where she finally delivers on the promise of a completely disco, dance pop album that Confessions On a Dance Floor was supposed to be, I wonder what the queen of pop could have done by filtering the East London sound.

Hard Candy 's got the beep-beep's and whistles from Donna Summer's "Bad Girl", sweeping strings and lots of funky bass. I'm a fan of "Heartbeat," "Miles Away," and "Beat Goes On," especially when Kanye sings the pre-chorus after doing his rap. "Incredible" brings back her debut album singing voice.

After over a week of listening, I realize Hard Candy doesn't have the return listens of Confessions, the album with "Get Together," one of my favorite Madonna songs of all time. I understand her motives for making the album, but I'm not satisfied.