AWmusic

Numbers 1 through 25:
#1 Ready For The Floor by Hot Chip (myspace/video)
Best dance song of the year? Best song too.
#2 Crimewave – Crystal Castles vs Health (Crystal Castles’ myspace/Health’s Myspace/video)
This version is miles better then the original.
#3 Little Bit by Lykke Li (myspace/live)
I’m not only a little bit in love with this.
#4 L.E.S. Artists by Santogold (myspace/video)
Santogold’s least creative but most accessible track.
#5 Hearts On Fire by Cut Copy (myspace/video)
Cut Copy has a ton of great tracks.
#6 Head Rolls Off by Frightened Rabbit (myspace/video)
“Jesus is just a Spanish boy’s name”
#7 White Winter Hymnal by The Fleet Foxes (myspace/video)
#26 on my top songs of 2007 list.
#8 M79 by Vampire Weekend(myspace/live)
The better of the two new songs.
#9 Graveyard Girl by M83 (myspace/video)
Without the poem, this could very well be #1.
#10 Unforgettable Season by Cut Copy (live)
Not the most danceable but my favorite.
#11 You Me Dancing by Los Campesinos! (myspace/video -ep version)
It takes long to get started but worth the wait.
#12 Magic Spells by Crystal Castles
This song is their most artistic/creative venture.
#13 Kim & Jessie by M83 (video)
Another great track off Saturdays=Youth.
#14 Skeng by The Bug ft. Killa P and Flowdan(myspace/video)
Best track off the amazing London Zoo.
#15 Machine Gun by Portishead (homepage/video)
Even if the song is simple, Beth Gibbons does wonders.
#16 Oxford Comma by Vampire Weekend (video)
Number 4 of my 2007 list.
#17 These Few Presidents by Why? (myspace/live)
“Even if I haven’t seen you in years, yours is a funeral I’d fly to from anywhere” – had to break my rule for that line.
#18 Time To Pretend by MGMT (myspace/video)
It’ll be ironic if they have a coke habit.
#19 Kids by MGMT (video)
They do know how to make a decent pop song.
#20 The Twist by Frightened Rabbit (live)
Emotions of a simple dance, captured perfectly.
#21 Everyone I Know Is Listening To Crunk by Lightspeed Champion (myspace/live)
Everybody I know IS listening to crunk.
#22 Teenagers by Department of Eagles (myspace)
My favorite song off In Ear Park.
#23 Furr by Blitzen Trapper (myspace/live)
One of the better folk songs of the year.
#24 Lost Coastlines by Okkervil River (myspace/video)
Jonathan Meiburg vocals puts on the perfect touch.
#25 Street Flash by Animal Collective (myspace)
Anyone excited for Merriweather Post Pavilion? (We’ve heard the leaks)

Here is my overrated of 2008 list. I tried to be objective and included artists I like as artists you like can be overrated too.
#5 Vampire Weekend
Why are they so successful?
Early on when they passed around their Blue CD-R (I’ve got a copy), the production values were not of a band that was self-releasing their stuff –as it was a great album from an unknown band. They became blogger darlings for almost a full year while releasing EPs and mercifully releasing their self titled disc with just two new tracks. Pitchfork gave them an 8.8, played on SNL and had their popularity EXPLODE.
What makes them overrated?
They are really just a pop rock band. Granted a pretty good one, they just aren’t going to wow everyone with their brand of pop.
What are their chances of proving their worth?
75%. I think they proved with “Ottoman”, the Fleetwood Mac and Radiohead cover that they can achieve greatness beyond what they showed on their self titled release. I’m really high on Vampire Weekend and they personally haven’t really given any reason to doubt it. However, they do need to bigger and better things to have those naysayers silenced.
Ottoman by Vampire Weekend
#4 Fleet Foxes
Why are they so successful?
The Fleet Foxes had the best year in terms of critics praising their band. They had Pitchfork’s #1 album of the year and that website is huge…
What makes them overrated?
The album is good don’t get me wrong, but best band and album of 2008? It’s arguable but I think there’s just a bit too much hype. They’re all great singers but they didn’t amaze me or change my life like “Midnight Organ Fight” or “Random Spirit Lover”. There are definitely better choices for album of the year.
What are their chance of proving their worth?
I’d say 70%. They have big shoes to fill on whatever they release. There are countless examples of the “one album wonder” and the pedestal that the Foxes have been placed on make it unlikely their next album will come close.
Meadowlark by Fleet Foxes

#3 Lindstrom
Why is he so successful?
Critics love his album Wherever You Go I go Too. I don’t (I tried an experimental review HAH, betcha it wasn’t that good ). It is different and experimental which has critics getting their pants wet. Containing just 3 tracks on an hour long record, one song clocks in at close to a half hour..
What makes him so overrated?
Think about, 3 songs, one song is 30 minutes long the other two are 15 minutes long. I’m all for long songs that are really good and make you feel like it’s just 4 minutes but this 30 minute track made me feel like it’s really 2 and a half hours. I was urged to press the skip button but I realized that it did me no good. The music itself isn’t great, lots of looped sections, duplicates and ultimately it doesn’t end anywhere. I understand it’s different but it still doesn’t make it any good.
What are his chances proving his worth?
Incomplete. He may satisfy critics again but it’ll take some actual innovative music (e.g. not just slapping on a 30 minute track and multiple repeats that has more pretentiousness then most albums (who honestly believes they can pull off a 30 minute track?)
-No mp3 (files are too big)
#2 MGMT
Why are they so successful?
They have had an ability to stay relevant even after lukewarm reviews from critics. Some great marketing, some pretty good remixes and some great singles propelled them to internet Superstardom.
What makes them overrated?
While the psychedelic label is thrown on them quite a bit, they are merely dressed up pop with some simple but effective keyboard arrangements. They are hardly a band to change the landscape of music. While some songs are enjoyable, they really had an half of an album. The first album contained those popular singles, the second half kind of sucked though did show some promise. They haven’t released that much material to stay relevant, they just had other artists remix their work.
What are their chances of proving their worth?
50%. I think it can go either way. The masses ditch the popular as fast as they get into them and MGMT could very well go the way of the Killers and suck from here on out.
Time To Pretend by MGMT
#1 Girl Talk
Why is he so successful?
Good reviews and Feed The Animals took a lot of songs that was brilliantly mixed. It’s also using popular music, creating the perfect party mix for both casual fans and hardcore fans of music (I really like the album).
Why makes him overrated?
Over glorified DJ. Other then mixing, which a DJ can do, he’s really just taking 30 second samples and songs and putting it together (no other DJ likely has actually put this on record since it’s potentially illegal). In the big scale of things, he’s not really doing much. He also likes really shitty music. He mixes the music well but I’d rather drop dead then listen to some of the music he uses.
What are his chances of proving his worth?
10%. Girl Talk can’t do the same exact thing that he’s done in his past two albums. He’s ultimately reached the peak of popularity and will have to create rather then mix. It’s likely that he will have a lot of trouble whatever he does which is why the odds are so stacked against him.
Hands In The Air by Girl Talk

#9 Ra Ra Riot – The Rhumb Line
Original Rating: 5 out of 5
This album is a tribute to drummer John Pike who died tragically and has left his mark all over this album having helped pen songs (perhaps even hautingly) like Dying Is Fine and Ghost Under Rocks. While Ra Ra Riot takes a much different approach to death, unlike Arcade Fire whom is all about being gloomy and sad, Ra Ra Riot celebrates the life of John Pike. This may bother people but even without looking at this album on a emotional album, it’s still one of the better musical albums. Everything is classically influenced and Ra Ra Riot is able to pull off the big band aspect to perfection. I have no qualms about giving this album a perfect score because in some aspects from top to bottom it’s a great album. I guess it’s not higher on this list because it’s not too far of what’s already been done and it’s a tad little bit repetitive.
Too Too Too Fast by Ra Ra Riot
Dying Is Fine by Ra Ra Riot
#8 Los Campesinos! Hold On Now, Younster…
Original Rating: 5 out of 5 Another top 10 spot to a big band, I feel as if I like too many of these big bands, however nobody quite does it like Los Campesinos! While Gareth has unique but rough vocals that many point to being annoying, Aleks balances it perfectly with her soothing female touch. The best part of this record is the song writing but it doesn’t hurt to have a wide variety of instruments being used such as the violin,glockenspiel and a variety of others on this septet. I think why I and others rate this album so highly is the uniqueness, no band is like Los Campesinos! They can make a record fun, thought provoking, while capping it off with great music. I understand that this album is a bit hit or miss though so not everyone is going to like it.
You! Me! Dancing! by Los Campesinos!
My Year In Lists by Los Campesinos!

#7 Why? – Alopecia
Rating: 4.5 out of 5
Alopecia, the condition in where you are bald, in some cases without hair all over your body. In that sense being without hair is like being bare, and Yoni Wolf bares all on Alopecia. I actually had a problem listening to this album when writing this review. I found myself feeling depressed and that’s arguably what makes this album great. It passes on that emotion with ease and is my Rap album of the year (although I only check out a few records). Why? has moved onto more of a full band ensemble but at its core it’s a rap album with instrumental sections. No fancy beats or anything of that sort, just a high level of rap from start to finish and you’ll rarely find a rap record that is abstract and wide open as this. Yoni Wolf’s writing is downright brilliant and some of these songs are greater then words I could ever come up with. If you haven’t had a chance to listen to the record check out these tracks:
Fatalist Palmistry by Why?
These Few Presidents by Why?
#6 Vampire Weekend – Self Titled
Original Rating: 5 out of 5
2008 was a crappy year in general but not for Vampire Weekend. They’ve gone from blogger favorites to superstars. I remember listening to their Blue CD-R and thinking what a great band they were where the production values were absolutely flawless. With success comes criticism though and while I find their success may far exceed expectations, overrated is not a term I use to describe this album. Yes, somewhat African influenced, it doesn’t overdo and VW stays within what makes a great pop song while including classical influences where Rostam Batmanglij’s work is by far the most significant. Anyway while the actual official album was mercifully released with just two new tracks (albeit great ones) after almost a full year with the CD-R, it was still an album that went through extended longevity and that’s ultimately why I chose to give it a high score. It’s basically a pop album that has paved the way (or has other bands mirroring) for bands to use more African influenced music. It’s still a great pop album and Vampire Weekend themselves has showed that this album is no fluke. If you’ve heard their covers and some new tracks (like Ottoman) you’ll find that they maintain the high level that got them to the top while expanding their sound. (You can’t say that for a band like MGMT who just has people remixing their stuff).
M79 by Vampire Weekend
Oxford Comma by Vampire Weekend

#5 Fleet Foxes – Self Titled
Rating: 5 out of 5
I like to pat myself on the back as one of the first blogs to discover the Fleet Foxes outside of the Seattle area, who can honestly say they had White Winter Hymnal in their 2007 top songs list? Too bad it doesn’t mean anything when you have no readers. But I digress. The Fleet Foxes do have an folk/Americana style but their emphasis is on their tight vocals from all members. While at first I felt the #5 ranking was too high, going back to this album makes its undeniably difficult to do so. While this album is necessarily an album that fits together but song by song, each track seems to have countless effort in crafting the absolutely perfect vocals on each track.
White Winter Hymnal by Fleet Foxes
Ragged Wood by Fleet Foxes

#4 The Bug – London Zoo
Rating: 5 out of 5
I was really happy to pick up this record by producer Kevin Martin. It completely goes outside of the music I normally like even though this album is more or less genre-defying. It’s an electronic album using influences from dubstep and and a large group Reggae and Grime vocalists. It’s hard to find weaknesses in this album as Kevin Martin’s beats are as daring and bring to light to the angst and anger without shoving it done your throat. A track like Jah War uses trip hop elements and reminds me a lot of the Machine Gun intro but of course being more significant in a track that clearly expresses the artist’s point of view on war. This has to be a lock for the Mercrury prize or at least it better me.
Jah War featuring Flow Dan by The Bug
Skeng featuring Killa P and Flowdan by The Bug
#3 M83 – Saturdays=Youth
Original Rating: 5 out of 5
The album starts slowly with You, Appearing but picks up with Kim & Jessie and doesn’t turn its back. It’s a dream pop album by nature using a variety of electronic elements that make you wish you were young again. It gives off a cool 80s feel without being overly cheesy (arguable on Graveyard Girl when the poem hits). However there are no mistakes or misses on this album, where can I ultimately fault it? It has some of the best songs of the year but the more I look into it, might as well just include the whole album (each song has an argument). Another level where this album works that many do not, it’s actually themed toward about being youthful, while that can be slightly annoying for some, it works with the song writing and actually feels like an album, a collection songs put together like a story and ultimately feeling like they belong together.
Highway of Endless Dreams by M83
Graveyard Girl by M83

#2 Deerhunter – Microcastle
Rating: None, reviewed by Christian.
I was forced by writers to check this album out. I’ve always know how talented Bradford Cox was by the few tracks I did check out but I guess I should’ve taken it a bit more seriously. It’s a bit tough as I’m still familiarizing myself with this album but I definitely agree that it should be held up with high regard. The album starts with with Cover Me (Slowly) an instrumental and works itself in a simplistic track Agoraphobia. This album actually progresses with each song, slowly building up toward a climax. Some of these tracks are straight up pop songs but while it is actually simplistic, it just doesn’t feel that way when Lockett Pundt, is repeating “Come for me, comfort for me”. Their experimenting is obvious but subtle at the same time. This album is flawless and while calling an album a pop record may be taboo, it’s more or less brilliant pop. It shifts a little bit toward the end being less pop and more experimental. It does this at a perfect pace, not in a rush just to shift gears to a new style and sticking within it’s own sound.
Agoraphobia by Deerhunter
Never Stops by Deerhunter

And FINALLY….

#1 Frightened Rabbit – The Midnight Organ Fight
Original Rating: 5 out of 5
I don’t know how serious I was when I said that Frightened Rabbit’s Midnight Organ Fight might be on the best albums of the year. Little did I know, many other people were thinking that too but it has been by far the most listened record of the year for me and that alone merits putting it in the first spot. Being a folk rock album, the key is the songwriting and Scott Hutchinson discusses things such as the absurdity in religion, sex for pleasure, death being overrated and loneliness. A lot of detractors say that it’s typical sad sappy indie rock boy banter but I don’t think it’s fair to dismiss this album as just that. In a way while at times where Hutchinson seems lonely and depressed, he surprises you a track with Head Rolls Off, shrugging off his death as no big deal in some sort of hopeful manner. At times he’s more angry like in Keep Yourself Warm, criticizing those who have one night stands while other times he’s just showing how vulnerable he is like on The Twist or admitting weakness like in The Modern Leper. It’s basically a complete album on human nature and encompasses all the feelings one can honestly have. It’s not one particular emotion but all of them battling each other (hence the midnight organ fight) once, where no particular thought prevails but it’s a mind where each thought is muddled with the other. Sometimes cute, sometimes just being fed up, it’s ultimately an album that will be a favorite of mine for years to come.
Head Rolls Off by Frightened Rabbit
The Twist by Frightened Rabbit

Lost Coastlines features the use of TV’s for heads (another use of TV’s like in their video for Our Life Is Not A Movie or Maybe) which turns out to be some workers. Probably because Meiburg couldn’t actually be there? Not the great music video but a great song nonetheless.

Lost Coastlines by Okkervil River

He Doesn’t Know Why is an alright music video featuring the use of fade outs and goats… why are they not called the Fleet Goats? I enjoyed this song a lot though off their album.


He Doesn’t Know Why by Fleet Foxes

Eagles of Death Metal, I’ve only heard about since it was one of Josh Homme’s side projects. Nancy sent me a few tracks and they were pretty likable but surprisingly not death metal. Anyway the Wannabe in LA is a great video, it reminds of the Queens of The Stone Age style videos that are fun to watch whether or not you like the music (which is catchy).
Wannabe In LA by Eagles of Death Metal:
Some very cool

P.S. here’s an awesome performance of Dance, Dance, Dance with Lykke Li and Bon Iver:

The Fleet Foxes have been compared to the likes of Band of Horses and My Morning Jacket, the latter I’ve never listened to and some people are accusing the Fleet Foxes from taking their style. I don’t really care for these things as a style or genre is not concrete and not necessarily about the music despite some similarities.

I’ve been listening to their debut album for sometime. I hate downloading leeks but when a lot of people say that they’ve listened to it and proclaimed it as one of the best of the year…you tend to get curious. It’s been finally released today.

This album looks like it’ll be critically acclaimed, so far with mainly scores of 80 out of 100 or greater and a lot of perfect scores to boot. From my own perspective, I thought this was the perfect album but the real question now is whether or not this album will stand the test of time.

The album opens with Red Squirrel/Sun Rises, which starts with all members singing in a quirky fashion before it actually begins with a nice southern/bluesy intro. This song starts off kind of slow with sweet harmonized vocals over minimal instrumentation. At 2:45 we get this cool guitar solo to end the song. Not the best song but great for placement and as a starting point; it was great not offering too much and just giving us a little peak.

The next track was as an internet favorite at a time, White Winter Hymnal which I had posted back in the middle November talking about what a great track it was. The Fleet Foxes didn’t have anything to offer then and their popularity really exploded with this song. I think I was a little hurt/angry that my publicizing of them did not really do anything and I didn’t really get noticed for saying “Hey! Here’s a good fucking song”. It finished as the #26 track of 2007. At least the Fleet Foxes are popular now at least and I guess I have more of a “pull”. Either way this track is great…maybe less lyrically but it’s sung incredibly well and musically it comes off as a great pop song. While this song is a catchy tune, after listening through the rest of the albums, this song barely scratches of their talent.

Ragged Wood is in my opinion by far their bread and butter. Musically rich and the singing is absolutely hypnotizing. Musically this song can be cut into 2 or 3 songs. It’s a bit like Red Squirrel/Sun Rises with the structure but there’s so much more in track. What’s angering me at the moment is that I can’t find the lyrics online but man the Fleet Foxes make me feel like I should go back for some reason.

I am running out of time review of the rest of the album but everything builds upon itself. Musically they add so many elements despite having top of the line vocals. There’s a lot that doesn’t meet the eye and even if you don’t hear some of the small details you’ll still come away with believing that this album is something special.

I definitely like every song on this album. Lyrically they didn’t stick with the White Winter Hymnal reverb and I’m glad because they showed off something that I actually wasn’t expecting. It really displays the qualities of a perfect album.

I like how the album gets better as you go through it. While White Winter Hymnal is a great song and all and will have the masses satisfied to begin with, it has nothing on the last half of the album which all flows really amazingly well and it should leave you amazed.

A great album for anything mood, whether you’re mad, sleepy, happy…it displays tons of emotion yet defies it.

Rating: 5 out of 5
Potential top album of the year? Yep.

I feel bad for putting 4 out 10 songs….hopefully I don’t get into trouble.

Ragged Wood by The Fleet Foxes

Quiet Houses by The Fleet Foxes

He Doesn’t Know Why by The Fleet Foxes

Meadowlark by The Fleet Foxes

Buy this album at: CD Universe/Insound/Amazon

First things first, I’d like to give myself a pat on the back for posting on the Fleet Foxes earlier then 99% of the blogs. Alas, I doubt many read it but it’s proof that we’ve got some ability here to be “tastemakers”. It almost saddens me that I don’t have that much of a sway to get people to like something. It’s fun to get on the bandwagon earlier then others, if not snobby. Anyway back in November I was just addicted “White Winter Hymnal” which is on Ragged Wood their LP set for a June release, there wasn’t much by them at the time but Siberian assured me that the Fleet Foxes were going to be big.

Come around 4 months later, they had White Winter Hymnal featured on P4K and it seems as if they wanted to personally push the band by giving a rather generous 8.7 causing a craze it seems. I personally think the score is biased as a way of P4K pushing bands they see fit but I have no problem with that as I would do the same. The problem with getting a great review is the inevitability of backlash which they have received. People calling them a carbon copy of Band of Horses and what not.

I’ll just keep it simple and review the 5 song E.P and shut up about P4K. I checked out both the Sun Giant EP and Ragged Wood (yeah I downloaded it) and while the Sun Giant EP does give a taste of whats to come, it’s more like eating left over crumbs off a lemon meringue pie (mmm). With that said, the Sun Giant EP is a decent effort mixing different styles of country and folk but I don’t think it’s that good of an EP to introduce you with what their capable of.

The Fleet Foxes are going to be big. Marks my words, expect a huge score for Ragged Wood from everywhere unless the critics are dumbasses. They are better than Band of Horses though I understand that the lead singer sounds exactly like him. It’s more lyrically engaging and his singing (too lazy to look up his name) shows some awesome range while the band itself shows some creative musicianship especially on the title track “Sun Giant”. The only downside is that I get kind of bored with the beginning of most of the tracks as they take long to get going. The songs are actually quite dense but I feel as if some of the tracks could be fast forwarded a bit or just have the instruments kick in a lot earlier.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5. Not bad at all and it’s probably a low score due to Ragged Wood being absolutely amazing.

Two of my favorite tracks off Sun Giant:

Mykonos by The Fleet Foxes

Sun Giant by The Fleet Foxes

Buy the Sun Giant EP @ Insound, CD Universe, Amazon

There are probably 50 or so bands I’d like to see and while it feels dumb to list them in between the middle of the festival, a lot of blogs have taken a backburner and the promotional companies all seem to be quiet (times like these I miss the spamming).

Here the bands I’ve would’ve liked to see:
Simian Mobile Disco, Lightspeed Champion, White Williams, Okkervil River, Division Day, Shearwater, Peter Moren, A Place To Bury Strangers, Kate Tucker & The Sons of Sweden, Die! Die! Die!, Jens Lekman, Islands, J. Tillman, Emmy The Great, Evangelicals, Black Mountain, Holy Fuck, Vampire Weekend, Shapes Have Fangs, Fleet Foxes, Blitzen Trapper, Handsome Furs, Crystal Castles, Headlights, Shout Out Louds, The Raveonettes, Why?, Los Campesinos! and more I’d be iffy about.

Here’s my playlist:

Crimewave by Crystal Castles
Hearts of Iron by The Handsome Furs
Two Step Forwards by Emmy The Great
Innocent Son by The Fleet Foxes
Unless It Kicks by Okkervil River
Stormy High by Black Mountain
Streams of Whiskey by The Shout Out Louds feat. The Essex Green
That Great Love Sound by The Raveonettes
The Pulse by Holy Fuck
Country Caravan by Blitzen Trapper
2007, The Year Punk Rock Broke (My Heart) by Los Campesinos!

I did hate uploading tracks though and the linking stuff (takes forever). I also had to re-upload some tracks after annoying my friend Jack with bandwidth usage. Look out for the rest tomorrow.

50. A Girl in Port by Okkervil River
49. Shirin by Jens Lekman (link)
48. I Know I’ll See You by A Place To Bury Strangers (link)
47. For Science Fiction by Maritime (link)
46. Freak Out by Liars (link)
45. Phantom by Justice (link)
44. Sleep Deprivation by Simian Mobile Disco
43. Take Me To the Ballroom by the Moonbabies
42. Tthhee Ppaarrttyy by Justice (link)
41. Myriad Harbour by The New Pornographers (link)
40. Objects of My Affection by Peter, Bjorn and John
39. Blue Headlights by The Shout Out Louds (link)
38. No I in Threesome by Interpol
37. My Moon, My Man by Feist
36. Kookaburra by John Vanderslice
35. Paper Birds by Siberian (link)
34. Make A Plan To Love Me by the Bright Eyes
33. Philadelphia Grand Jury by the Fiery Furnaces
32. I Believe by Simian Mobile Disco
31. You Got Yr. Cherry Bomb by Spoon
30. I’m Not Going to Teach Your Boyfriend How To Dance With You by the Black Kids
29. You Can’t Hold the Hand of the Rock and Roll Man by Okkervil River
28. Airship by Siberian (link)
27. Turn On Me by The Shins (link)
26. White Winter Hymnal by the Fleet Foxes (link)

Finn described the Fleet Foxes are folky/Americana and they had one very good song “White Winter Hymnal” that was amazing. What makes this song great? Probably the range of vocals displayed and this song just feels like something I could peacefully die sleep to. Either way I feel like I’m dreaming when this songs enters my brain. I’m not great with words and I doubt I will ever be and I find words never do a song justice.

They have an album to be released in January 08 and I can barely find anything about their band except for a few blog postings from the Seattle area. Such as Three Imaginary Girls, a great blog.

Anyway check out the song I’ve been raving about.
White Winter Hymnal by the Fleet Foxes