Mixtape 28: Best Songs of 2008

Every Wednesday until December, Web in Front will be offering up digital mixtapes of our favorite rock songs of the decade (including rock ‘n roll, rock-pop, indie-rock, post-rock, etc… you get the idea). This is done both in an effort to look back on the past ten years of music as the first decade of a new century winds down, and also to satisfy the insatiable need that all music obsessives have burning within them to make lists and mixes–we simply cannot help ourselves.

This is the second-to-last-mix in our series of Best Songs of the Decade mixtapes, and whether it’s due to the fact that there was a bevy of good songs last year or the music is just too fresh in our minds, this mixtape had the largest number of tracks to unfortunately be left off to fit within our 25-song constraints.  So, to fans of Spiritualized, Hercules and Love Affair, Hot Chip, Ra Ra Riot, the Dodos, Why?, Wolf Parade, Shearwater, Abe Vigoda, Cut Copy and the Vivian Girls, all apologies.

That said, what is included is pretty spectacular–2008 was a year that found the Walkmen shading their music in the dark, shadowy cool of the third Velvet Underground album; Justin Vernon broke everyone’s hearts with permafrost ache and lonliness of his aka, Bon Iver; the Henry Clay People released a record–and a powerhouse anthem–that captured the potential of the band’s rollicking rock ‘n roll heart; Portishead returned, Los Campesinos! appeared, and Benji Hughes smirked and crooned.

Elsewhere, Sigur Rós ditched the [insert glacier reference here] postrock of their earlier work for a more accessible, Animal Collective-by-way-of-Iceland sound; Jenny Lewis went from ’60s blue-eyed-soul to ’70s coke-spoon-rock;  She and Him and Vampire Weekend divided listeners by–gasp!–being overtly catchy; Nick Cave went about the business of being Nick Cave (ie: badass); TV on the Radio started to dance, No Age blew out eardrums, and the Airborne Toxic Event released an inescapable anthem.

Please note, this is our list of favorite tunes from 2008, meaning that we’re in highly subjective territory.  If you see a favorite song missing, please remember to stay calm.  It’s still only a list.  Tracklisting and song info after the jump.

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1.  “In the New Year” – The Walkmen (You & Me)

2.  “Constructive Summer” – The Hold Steady (Stay Positive)

3.  “Working Part Time” – The Henry Clay People (For Cheap or For Free)

4.  “Children” – Delta Spirit (Ode to Sunshine)

5.  “Skinny Love” – Bon Iver (For Emma, Forever Ago)

6.  “White Winter Hymnal” – Fleet Foxes (Fleet Foxes)

7.  “Tight Tee Shirt” – Benji Hughes (A Love Extreme)

8.  “Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!!” – Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds (Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!!)

9.  “Red Dress” – TV on the Radio (Dear Science,)

10.  “Aly, Walk with Me” – The Raveonettes (Lust Lust Lust)

11.  “Please Stop Dancing” – The Magnetic Fields (Distortion)

12.  “Nylon Smile” – Portishead (Third)

13.  “Kim & Jessie” – M83 (Saturdays = Youth)

14.  “Teen Creeps” – No Age (Nouns)

15.  “Nothing Ever Happened” – Deerhunter (Microcastle)

16.  “Death to Los Campesinos!” – Los Campesinos! (Hold on Now, Youngster…)

17.  “Gobbledigook” – Sigur Rós (Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust)

18.  “Acid Tongue” – Jenny Lewis (Acid Tongue)

19.  “Furr” – Blitzen Trapper (Furr)

20.  “Sentimental Heart” – She and Him (Volume One)

21.  “Gardenia” – Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks (Real Emotional Trash)

22.  “Walcott” – Vampire Weekend (Vampire Weekend)

23.  “On a Day Like This” – Elbow (The Seldom Seen Kid)

24.  “Gila” – Beach House (Devotion)

25.  “Sometime Around Midnight” – The Airborne Toxic Event (The Airborne Toxic Event)

November 18, 2009 | Filed Under Exclusive Features, Featured Media, Mixtapes 

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