The Best of 2008

Originally published at The International House of Bacon. You can comment here or there.

I can’t say this was the best year for media consumption. No movies blew me away from this year, the music was great in many areas, but no real classics, and I probably enjoyed television and books more than my old standby vices. Regardless…

Top Ten in Music:

1) R.E.M. - Accelerate: I have absolutely zero shame whatsoever in listing this here this year. None whatsoever. Yes, R.E.M. is my favorite band, and I’ve been one of the few (American, at least) fans who’ve enjoyed their recent output. With that said, was Accelerate a return to form? Did it rock pretty hard? Were the songs among the best they’ve written in the last 12-15 years? Yes to all of these in my mind. I was addicted for months when it came out, and I put it back in this past week and can’t get enough. I can’t wait to see what turns up next.

2) She & Him - Volume One: Zooey Deschanel singing like a 60s pop star? I’ll take it. I didn’t expect this to be as great as it ended up being - “Why Do You Let Me Stay Here” is amazing on its own, but the whole album is a really fun, different thing. The novelty of it being an actress singing certainly helps its lot a bit, but I’d like to think the reception would be the same even without that added wrinkle. Highly recommended.

3) Vampire Weekend- Vampire Weekend: Overexposure doesn’t lessen reality - this album is solid, and is one of the best of the year period. Sure, the backlash is insane and they’re unlikely to keep it up long term, but every song on the first album is a winner. The only downside is that you’ve heard them all a million times.

4) Jenny Lewis - Acid Tongue: R.E.M. aside, this is probably the album I listened to the most this year. A different feel than Rabbit Fur Coat, although probably not a better album, my only problem with the album is that I really wish the Rilo Kiley output was this good.

5) Kathleen Edwards - Asking for Flowers: Does Kathleen Edwards essentially make the same album over and over? Yeah, I suppose that might be true. This might be the best of them, though - half of the album is significantly memorable, the songs more musically interesting. She’s one of my favorite performers at this point, so it’s great to not only not be let down, but to continue to see solid albums come around. I can’t wait for the concert in February.

6) Kasey Chambers and Shane Nicholson - Rattlin’ Bones: A bluegrassy effort from Australian country-esque singer and her husband. Not a bad song in the bunch, and both a surprising and not surprising effort from Chambers, who i’ve enjoyed for a while now.

7) Marnie Stern - This Is It and I Am It and You Are It and So Is That and He Is It and She Is It and It Is It and That Is That : I haven’t said much of anything about this album this year, mostly because no one I know tends to like this kind of music. It’s very clashy and noisy, but there’s also something very visceral and almost danceable about it as well. Here’s “Transformer,” one of the more accessable tracks from the album - she’s a very impressive musician, but it’s clearly not the most ear-friendly stuff at times. Either way, the album is quite the achievement.

8) Fujiya & Miyagi - Lightbulbs: Another reliable band - yes, their songs are similar, but they’re also always great. I have nothing bad to say about this album at all, a great, great time.

9) Vivian Girls - Vivian Girls: Some ultra lo-fi rock. The album isn’t even 30 minutes long, but it’s noisy and harmonic and reminds me a lot of music from 10 years ago. Worth a listen.

10) Death Cab for Cutie - Narrow Stairs: While I do like Death Cab’s Barsuk offerings more than the more recent output, I think this is quite possibly their most even-handed and cohesive output. “I Will Possess Your Heart” is one of the best songs of the year.

Other Highlights:

Portishead - Third
The Watson Twins - Fire Songs
Okkervil River - The Stand-Ins
Martha Wainwright - I Know You’re Married But I’ve Got Feelings Too
Bloc Party - Intimacy
Of Montreal - Skeletal Lamping
The Baseball Project - Frozen Ropes and Dying Quails
Conor Oberst - Conor Oberst
The Hold Steady - Stay Positive
Old 97s - Blame it On Gravity

Ten Favorite Songs:

What Made Milwaukee Famous - “Sultan”
Kathleen Edwards - “I Make the Dough, You Get the Glory</i>”
Okkervil River - “Lost Coastlines”
R.E.M. - “Man-Sized Wreath”
Vampire Weekend - “Oxford Comma”
Switches - “Drama Queen”
Death Cab for Cutie - “I Will Possess Your Heart”
Oppenheimer - “Look Up”
David Byrne and Brian Eno - “Strange Overtones”
The Baseball Project - “Gratitude (for Curt Flood)”

Least Favorite Albums:

Weezer - Weezer: If “Pork and Beans” is so good, how the heck did this band become so bad?

Ben Folds - Way to Normal: Again, if “You Don’t Know Me” is so good, this album just feels like a failed experiment in comparison.

Elf Power - In a Cave: A very subpar performance by one of my favorite bands.

2008 Book Highlights:

Neal Stephenson - Anathem: So good, it may be one of my favorite books of all time.
David Louis Edelman - Multireal: The Jump 225 trilogy is quickly becoming one of the better sci-fi efforts I’ve read.
Jonah Goldberg - Liberal Fascism: A book that may never truly be taken as seriously as it should be.
Jeff Kinney - Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules: There is absolutely no writer who’s writing more relevant books for 10 year olds right now, period.
Cory Doctorow - Little Brother: When you can vehemently disagree with the politics and still enjoy a great story, it’s a clear winner.
Suzanne Collins - The Hunger Games: Possibly the best young adult book to come around in years.

2008 Movie Highlights:

Cloverfield: Best monster movie in ages. This is not debatable.
Forgetting Sarah Marshall: If all comedy movies were like this, things would be better.
Step-Brothers: Yeah, Will Ferrell still has it.
Role Models: Best low-expectation/high reward flick in a while.
Iron Man: EDIT - How did I forget this? Better than The Dark Knight, for my money.

Prior Lists:

* 2007
* 2006
* 2005
* 2004
* 2003
* 2002
* 2001
* 2000