Blythe's Top Ten Albums of 2008

While 2007 was a fruitful music year (Panda Bear, Of Montreal, Andrew Bird, Animal Collective... to name a few), 2008 made up for the over-exertion of its' predecessor, and by which I mean it completely slacked off and lost interest in commercial music.

So my top ten is somewhat biased, and somewhat being a complete asshole, because it contains entries that are TECHNICALLY, not 2008. I feel that I have enough experience in being a music snob that I can integrate past years' selections into the current year, as we are experiencing a musical emergency:

10) Brian Wilson 'That Lucky Old Sun' (Obligation, you see, we owe him for 96% of the music we enjoy today, research some Beach Boys and you'll see the correlation)

9) Animal Collective 'Water Curses' (Yes, I feel that an EP can beat out any album dated anywhere past May 2008)

8) South 'You Are Here' (I feel that a band that is musically inclined, and can produce themselves, deserve a spot in the year's honorable mentions. Kudos for having perception of the genre they profit within.)

7) Battlestar Galactica: Season 3 soundtrack (You are missing out if you are not watching the show... but further, if you appreciate music, you miss out more than the degenerative loser!). The soundtracks are very reflective of primitive African rhythm, with the lush complexity of a full orchestra section. Even though the show is based in uncharted territory of outer space, it makes you experience the tribal beats that our hearts call home.

6) Spiritualized 'Songs in A & E (Though his voice has been desecrated through illness, there is the same amount of soul there, as in his previous albums.) The full experience of gossip and modern rock, you feel at home in both genres listening to this album. I should also add to die-hard fans... it took me months to deal with the vocal change... but have come to accept it, out of necessity for an artist I adore.

5) Of Montreal 'Skeletal Lamping' (Alright, I'll admit, it took some getting used to, but this album is pretty awesome, and is the personification of kinky, wild sex. Mission accomplished! As that was the goal of the album).

4) Elbow 'Seldom Seen Kid' (One of the better music-oriented albums this year. Great song-writing, unique voice. Yay! New sounds!)

3) The Walkmen 'You & Me' (Alright you guys, I forgive you for the 2006 embarrassment 'A Hundred Miles Off'. You're 2008 offering is solid enough for me to forget you ever made the other one. You came back to your roots of sad, melodic NYC rock. I approve.)

2) Fleet Foxes 'Fleet Foxes' (This is here for two reasons: The first being that as much as I hate to admit it, I totally care what other music snobs think of me. The second is that this album has a vintage sonic quality to it, and I am still astounded when I listen to it that it actually was 2008. I also enjoy the songwriting.)

1) Of Montreal 'Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer?' (Yeah what?! In fact, I AM so edgy to put a 2007 album as my number one album of 2008. You know why? Because I still listen to it, and it still puts to shame its' nine predecessors, and everything that was released this year.
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So may I suggest a New Year's Resolution to the music industry: Let's try some standards this time around in 2009, cool? I'm about to kill someone for something interesting to listen to...

Oh, also, if you could paralyze Ben Gibbard's vocal cords, I would be very appreciative. You know, just if you have the time.