As I was compiling my favorite songs of this year, I realized something: they don’t fit into a linear listing, and several definite themes appeared over and over. And so, I present c.h’s Top 5 Top 5 song lists of 2008. Enjoy.

 5) The Five Best Worst Songs of 2008

These are the songs that I love, but hate to love all the same. They’re catchy to a fault, so ironic they turn themselves inside out, or so bad they make my ears bleed, but I can’t stop listening to them anyway.

5. Wrestlers – Hot Chip

   Much as I hate to admit it now, Hot Chip’s third album just doesn’t stack up to their previous two. It’s just a bit too clean, a bit too unpredictable for unpredictability’s sake. Here’s to their next try, which should be coming out next year.

4. My Freeze Ray – Neil Patrick Harris

   I couldn’t help promote Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog one last time. This is my favorite song from the Superhero Comedy/Tragedy Musical, and the one that holds up best when you haven’t seen the show yet. Which you should go do, now.

3. New Soul – Yael Naïm

   Yes, that song from the MacBook Air commercials. Catchy, but really has nothing going for it. Also, the rest of Naïm’s album was crap. None of that stopped it from getting heavy rotation on my iPod.

2. I Kissed a Girl – Katy Perry

   Fuck you Katy Perry for getting this song stuck in my head. And for being so hot and so not at the same time. DAMN YOU I AM NOW QUOTING OTHER SONGS OF YOURS MUST TURN OFF RADIO!!!!!!!!

1. L’homme – Boy Crisis (off-site download)

   The Best Worst song of 2008! This is a song filled with so much nihilism and irony that it makes kittens cry. It’s also a song I play on repeat frequently. Best taken with a large dose of pot and (as suggested by the Village Voice) icanhasdowntown.

 4) The Five Best Songs to Dance to of 2008

Of all the lists, this was perhaps the easiest to write. So much good dance music, so little time.

5. Je veux te voir – Yelle

   The French electroclash artist Yelle made her US splash in 2008, and this is the song that did it for us ‘Mericans. Featuring yelling, syncopated rhythms, and horribly inappropriate lyrics, this is one that will give you the best kind of weird stares when it’s on your playlist at your next dance party. The video barely missed being put on the next list.

4. Paper Planes feat. Bun B and Rich Boy – M.I.A.

   My favorite version of the many remixes of M.I.A.’s Paper planes. So much has been said of this song that it’s not worth going over again, but this is one mix that shouldn’t be missed, above all others.

3. Gallery Piece (Jon Brion remix) – of Montreal

   Is the remix better than the original in this case? Perhaps not, but it’s one I’d much rather throw on a dance mix. Eventually I’m actually going to throw my of Montreal-themed dance party, and boy, when this song comes on, you’d better watch out.

2. No Pause – Girl Talk

   When Girl Talk’s new album came out this summer, I don’t think I listened to anything else for a week straight. With every genre ever represented in 60 minutes of danceable music, why would I? This song eventually pushed its way into the forefront of my favorite songs from the album, especially for the final mash-up on it (featuring a song from the first list of this list of lists).

1. Future Faberge (MGMT & of Montreal) – AmpLive

   If 2008 is the year the mash-up gained mainstream appeal, then this is the song that would be the theme-song of all mash-ups in “Adrian’s World”, as it so well showcases how the art can bring out the best of both songs that it works on, creating a whole that is greater than either of its parts. AmpLive is also notable for his Rainydayz Remixes of tracks off Radiohead’s In Rainbows.

 3) The Top Five Videos of 2008

The best mix of video and music from 2008, although few would be listed within the best songs without the video. Unfortunately, my favorite video ever is too old to make it, but these will easily do.

5. Beat Control – Tilly and the Wall

   A clip that I spent hours watching over and over again when it first came out. It’s definitely so bad it’s good, and there is just something so tantalizing about Tilly’s (or is that The Wall’s?) facial expressions.

4. Jizz in my Pants – The Lonely Island

   The Lonely Islands have struck gold again, almost exactly a year after Dick in a Box. Why are dick jokes so funny around Christmas?

3. Wanderlust – Björk

   This is probably the only serious video I’m including on this list (that is, the only one that MTV might actually play). The visuals here really do something for the song, and are unlike any other visuals you’re likely to see anywhere else. Also check out the 3-D version.

2. Kids – MGMT

   While the video for “Electric Feel” might have been a more obvious choice (being by the same director, having an actual budget, and being more self-referential), I can’t get over the video for “Kids”. There’s something beautiful in the simplicity. Not to mention in that girl. So much expression in her face. So much pretty in her face. Anyone have her number?

1. Pork and Beans – Weezer

   Watch it here since embedding has been turned off.

   With Pork and Beans, Weezer released an actually decent song (something they hadn’t done in years). With the video, they created something that had about everything that had made the past year in internet videos awesome, and was awesome for it rather than lame for copying. Yet another in the theme of 2008, that remixes can do right.

 2) The Five Best Songs of 2008 not from 2008

While not officially songs that came out this year, each has made a splash in 2008 for some reason, and thus they get their recognition here. Don’t think any less of them: the last two are some of the best songs on the list.

5. Tie: Je veux te voir – Yelle & Paper Planes – M.I.A.

   I felt obligated to include these songs here due to having included them earlier, even though they are not actually from 2008. However, that Yelle became big in The States this year explains her placement, and

4. Go To Hell Mountain – His Name is Alive

   I really just wanted a chance to put this song SOMEWHERE, since I’ve listened to it so damn much this year, and it was released at the end of last year, and a December release always means hard times finding one’s way onto the best of lists. So here it is. Fuck the rules.

3. Ant in Alaska – Liz Phair

   A song which I have written about before, it was released officially for the first time this year with the 15 year anniversary release of Exile in Guyville. It’s a damn shame Phair can’t make new songs like her old songs.

2. Hallelujah – Jeff Buckley

   Lord knows that it baffles me to no end that Simon Cowell, of all people, has given this song the popularity it’s always deserved, but damn it, I don’t care how it was done, I’m just glad it has been. What is one of my favorite songs ever, and what I think is the best recording of said song, has finally entered the popular consciousness. ‘Bout damn time.

1. 2080 – Yeasayer

   A sad tale: Originally, this was going to be my number one song of the year. It’s been something I’ve been listening to all year, and something that still hasn’t gotten a bit tiresome the more I’ve listened to it. But damn it, it was released in 2007. While Yeasayer has grown very much in 2008, I just couldn’t convince myself to overlook that. However, it’s a damn fine song anyway, one that has set the tone for my year (I sometimes like to think of it as the ultimate Crunchy Con anthem), and one that has only gotten better with age.

 1) The Top Five Songs of 2008

Here they are. The moment you’ve all been waiting for (or not if you just skipped here).

5. Lolita – Throw Me The Statue

   Throw Me The Statue is one of my favorite new bands to come out this year. This is probably the best song off their album. There ain’t much more to say than that. I’m really looking forward to their new release, as I’ve made evident before.

4. Inní mér syngur vitleysingur – Sigur Rós

   I must admit, picking a song off Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust proved to be quite difficult. I knew that I’d have to include something off the album, as with it my favorite Icelandic band showed how strong they actually are, willing to grow in interesting new ways. While “Gobbledigook” was probably the obvious song to showcase the new sound, I feel that this one more faithfully features the feeling of the entire record, being rooted in Sigur Rós tradition while showing off a new upbeat sound.

3. Five Years Time – Noah and the Whale

   God damn this is a catchy song. It’s so twee, while not being dumbly or sickeningly so in any way. Listen to it with your girlfriend the next time you see her, and you won’t be able to help being cute with each other.

2. Close Your Eyes - We Are Blind – Alaska in Winter w/Beirut

   When this song came out at the very beginning of the year, I pegged it as my favorite song of the winter thus far, and as something I was still going to love a year down the road. Well, damn it, I was right. It’s Beirut done with electronic instruments. It’s mucho win. And though it’s been two years since I’ve spent any amount of winter in Alaska, this song brings me back every time.

1. Tiger Mountain Peasant Song – Fleet Foxes

   So this is it. My favorite damn song of the whole damn year. While many others claim other songs from Fleet Foxes’ debut as the best from the album, I think that it is unconditionally this one. It’s haunting and beautiful, has been covered to brilliant effect, and it’s not escaping from my playlist any time soon.

 Bonus List! Top Five Songs I Couldn’t Figure Out Where to Fit in the Top Five Lists of 2008.

A cop-out? Maybe. But there were a few songs I wanted to include that just didn’t fit, to showcase a few new releases. So here they are, mp3’s for most included.

5. Comfy In Nautica – Panda Bear

   Panda Bear’s solo release gave us our much needed dose of Animal Collective this year, and this song works wonders in the right mood.

4. Gamma Ray – Beck

   Beck’s new album was quite solid this year, produced by Danger Mouse (of Gnarles Barkley fame).

3. Black Fur – Fredrik

   Honestly, I can’t even remember where I found this song. But it’s been on a few playlists all year, and Fredrik’s other stuff is worth looking into as well.

2. School of Kraut – Peter Bjorn and John

   PB&J’s sophomore record was an instrumental one, perhaps purposely designed to step around, rather than over, the so frequently seen “sophomore slump”. This song, while unconventional, is quite catchy, and every time I hear it I think of this awesome video (perhaps the only internet meme not to make it into the “Pork and Beans” video).

1. Trance Figure – School of Seven Bells

   As happens, I first heard this song while in my local record shop, and asked for the song title. A bit after that, I began hearing of School of Seven Bells’ other works, which are worth looking into. This is still my favorite, though, sentimental favorite though it might be.

 Fin, or Merry Christmas

Well, this has been quite fun for me. I hope you, too, gentle reader, enjoy the songs, the videos, the mp3’s, and the snark. Keep tuned to c.h in the new year, as I’ll be continuing posting, hopefully eventually upping the frequency with which I do so. I’ll also have some exciting news within the next month about another website I’m working on, so keep in touch about that. Until next time, Merry Christmas and happy holidays.

 Alaska as metaphor

Go ahead and follow the above picture, which is also a link, to the large-format version. Beautiful, isn’t it? The photo was taken a couple of miles from my home town, of a series of mountains across the Cook Inlet. On a clear day they stick out and beckon, dwarfing all surroundings. Seeing these mountains, it is no wonder that Liz Phair’s unreleased song from her Exile in Guyville recordings used Alaska as a metaphor for cold, vast wastelands. The song itself presents a cold, bleak landscape in its first half, featuring just Phair’s hoarse voice and lonely pluckings on her acoustic guitar. The second dabbles more in dispair, with Phair’s lyrics turning dark, and revealing the betrayal and loneliness she feels. Songs like this show that Phair’s reject songs from her first album hold more meaning and feeling than both her two more recent albums combined. A shame.

• Ant in Alaska – Liz Phair

 Cliché doesn’t have to be

Elliott Smith’s song “Needle in the Hay” takes the same rout as Phair’s: Smith singing hoarsely alone with acoustic accompaniment. It’s a pairing that works well to add emphasis to loneliness; although, as with the song’s title, has been used to the point of cliché. Smith showed his talent as a performer by transcending both clichés of this song, producing that is heartfelt and depressing (especially in light of his later suicide[?]). Where it takes the lack of accompaniment and the harsh qualities of Phair’s voice to fully develop the theme of her song, Smith is able to cut right to the chase and, without irony, use the cliché to full effect.

• Needle in the Hay – Elliott Smith (song in m4a format)

 Fleet Foxes done in the woods

First Aid Kit is a duet of two sisters from Sweden. This is a recording of theirs, done the morning after having seen Fleet Foxes in concert, in tribute to them. The Fleet Foxes’ recorded version of this song might be more haunting and lonely, and follows the theme so far of a single vocalist with a single acoustic guitar for accompaniment, but the image of these two young sisters singing their hearts out, isolated but together, about such a sad topic, is really moving. While the narrator’s love might be permanently lost, theirs is not, and with their smiles to each other come hope for him as well as the rest of us.

• Tiger Mountain Peasant Song – Fleet Foxes

Work is going well. I have my first two consecutive days off tomorrow and Thursday. Because I’m too tired to write anything coherent, here are just some of the things I’ve been thinking about lately.

 So, I finally understand Postmodernism

This post explains why The Notorious B.I.G.’s “Mo’ Money, Mo’ Problems” exemplifies Postmodernism in art. Not only is the video great, and the song better than anything Kanye West is putting out now (OMG I hate Kanye sometimes), the write-up at the blog really underscores what the video meant in context of the late 90s. Wins all around.

 GOG Has Landed

Another one for the nostalgia category: Good Old Games is a website that sells legal downloads of old video games. All are DRM-free, and most are $5.99. Check out MDK2, Sacrifice, and the Fallout series. Some really good games to be had here for legit and cheap.

 Gender Roles Aren’t Dead!

The 100 Skills Every Man Should Know made its rounds on the blogosphere a few weeks ago, and now there is a reply in the form of 30 Skills Every Woman Should Have Before Turning 30. No one I know was upset by the sexism of either list, and indeed while the lists are gender-specific, there are “untraditional” skills in both of them. Damn good, I say. It’s just a truth about the world that, over-all, women and men face often different problems, and thus should have different skill sets to cope with those problems, and recognizing that doesn’t mean we are or ought to be placing either gender into a narrowly-defined role.

 Digital Drugs

RjDj is a new App for the iPhone that samples environmental sounds in real-time and then plays back the sounds, remixed according to certain algorithms. It makes a lot more sense when you watch it, thus this video:

There are a bunch more videos on youtube of RjDj in action. While I first thought it kind of over-hyped rhetoric, I’ve begun to like the description of this as a “digital drug”, enhancing and changing sensual perception in real-time by changing what we perceive before it enters the body, not how our processes that input. Granted, by that thinking even sunglasses are a form of out-of-body drug, being a stimulus changer, but I think that one can see how this kind of technology allows for more controlled and specific types of stimulus manipulation. I can’t wait for technology to allow more of these kinds of controlled sensory-changing devices to come into being. Having a soundtrack to your life is finally possible, and is scary/cool.

While I’m a bit too tired after my last two days of work (23 hours of work in two days, splitting my finder open on a mandoline, chain-drinking coffee, making so many freaking spinach salads, watching calluses grow on my hands, and loving every minute of it) for a real post, I wanted to share a band I’ve known for a bit, but recently found again while in the mood to listen to some good punk. Against Me is a good DIY punk band with indie influences and fun politics (and which is currently on tour and should be supported!). I’m hugely digging their song “Baby I’m an Anarchist” right now. Here it is. I’m sure I’ll be singing this and “Surfin’ Bird” to myself for the next few days while I’m working mornings.

• Baby, I’m an Anarchist – Against Me

Check our their website for more music, videos, and tour dates.

I walked into the local record place last night after work, figuring I’d reward a good day at a new job with an impulse buy. Wandering around, something amazing was playing, a folksy blues. I found myself whistling along, snapping my fingers. I picked up a DVD that I’ve wanted to own for a while, went up to the counter, and asked who was playing, and bought Rodriguez’s Cold Fact along with my DVD. As I was told by the girl at the counter, Rodriguez was from Detroit, and in the 70’s he put out an album which hadn’t gotten much play until 10 years later. His story gets weirder, but I want to leave that for Wikipedia to tell so I can get on to the music. The whole album is available to stream at last.fm. This is an album that is best taken as a whole. Sugar Man, the lead track, was also the biggest song from the album, so I leave it here in MP3 form for those two lazy to bother going to last.fm to stream it. Do check it out, especially if you like modern Detroit rock (The White Stripes, Brenden Benson) or 70’s folk rock (Dylan, Cohen, Donovan). Rodriguez mixes the best of both of these.

• Sugar Man – Rodriguez

This is something a record shop still does so much better than the internet when it comes to music, the song overheard, the impulse buy. The atmosphere created inside can make purchasing that album that you’re hearing on over the speakers that much more compelling, and can make the music more compelling as well. I know this isn’t a thought original to me (hell, High Fidelity touches on it when Cusack’s character decides he’s going to sell 5 copies of The Beta Band’s Three EP’s simply by putting on the album at the right time), but it feels great to be reminded of it in so visceral a way. The point? It’s good to stop reading us music blogs, get out, and discover some music in the real world sometimes.

So, I’ve been relatively silent recently because I’ve been working on a website for a friend’s new music video. The video, which is quite entertaining, is a rap video about Martin Luther and the Reformation, inspired by Jay-Z’s “99 Problems”. It’s below, and the website, with info on the video, cast, and crew, is at 95ThesesRap.com. If you like it, pass the website along. I’m sure Xander will appreciate it. And, if there are any embarrassing formatting snafu’s in the website, let me know in a comment, and include your OS, browser, and browser version.

So, I finally got myself a job.

Starting on the 20th, I’ll be working at the Union League Café, one of New Haven’s finest dining establishments. It will be full-time kitchen work. I’m really excited to be working in a kitchen again. It’s been some of my favorite work, slaving long hours on my feet in a tiny, hot room. Why? You’re making something visible with your hands. There’s nothing quite like putting out a beautiful plate of tasty food and knowing that someone is going to love it. Now imagine that happening every few minutes.

Of course, for this type of speed to happen, you can’t have someone work on a dish from start to finish, thus the “line”. Every person in a kitchen has a different position and different duties, and any one dish will have the work of many different people in it. From the prep cook to the fry cook to the expediter, each person has a job (well, a lot of jobs) to do. This is part of why skills in a home kitchen don’t necessarily map to skills in a professional kitchen, and vice versa. For anyone interested in the world of professional cooking, I highly recommend Anthony Bourdain’s Kitchen Confidential. It’s the most real, honest book I’ve ever read about cooking. I’ve been lucky not to have to work some of the shit jobs that he had to, and Union League will be demanding but not ridiculous.

I’m planning on taking this as a large learning opportunity, and will hopefully have a much more complete knowledge of French cooking within a few months. In that vein, I’m planning on doing a series called “Notes from the Kitchen”, where every once in a while I’ll write about things I learned or discovered in the kitchen: how-tos, recipes, ideas about life, politics, whatever. To start that off, something simple: when working in a hot, crowded, loud, and dangerous kitchen, a certain type of music is necessary. Heavy metal. Below are my two favorite Iron Maiden songs, which with their sharp guitar work and smart lyrics work wonders for your attitude when you’ve got a hot pan in one hand and a sharp knife in the other.

• Number of the Beast – Iron Maiden
• Run to the Hills – Iron Maiden

A beautifully shot clip has been making its rounds recently, and given the song and the fact that I have several versions of it, I can’t help posting them all with reflections on the song and the differences between the versions.

First up, the video (click on the title to go to Vimeo and see it in HD):

Marissa Nadler - Famous Blue Raincoat from Greg Eggebeen on Vimeo.

The video for this song (which was originally written and performed by Leonard Cohen) is beautiful. The split wide-screen, old-stock film fits exactly with the feeling of the song: a letter about older days, memories of which are bittersweet for many reasons. Marissa Nadler’s vocals fit the song well, although her timing will have to grow on me: I’m too used to the versions I have.

The next version is Jonathan Coulton’s:

• Famous Blue Raincoat – Jonathan Coulton — Links to Coulton’s site, where the song is free to listen to.

Jon, who is probably better known for “Code Monkey” and “Still Alive”, the end music for the video game Portal, and other nerdy or funny songs, has some very thoughtful things to say about the song on his website:

I’m sort of obsessed with [this song] – to me it’s a nearly perfect example of how stories can be told in songs. You never know exactly what happened, but you get glimpses through all these tiny verbal gestures. The title itself says so much without being at all specific. I like to try to fill in the gaps – there’s something about a friend, a wife, and a betrayal, but also something more complicated and private.

The haunting feeling of looking at someone else’s secret life is exactly the feeling the Nadler clip evokes. Coulton’s version of the song does this well with just his instrumentals: the guitar evokes a feeling of cold rain, a dark night, that the listener needs to wrap a blanket around my shoulders while listening to it. Coulton’s version also focuses on the story in the song, being clearly sung in almost a dialog. The contrast between this and some of Coulton’s more irreverent work is sharp, and it proves him as a serious artist.

Finally, we come to the original version of the song:

• Famous Blue Raincoat – Leonard Cohen

Unlike the other two artists, who are looking over the shoulder of the author of the letter, Cohen is the author himself. His version of the song is more heavy than the others, as though the weight of the years since he has seen his brother weighs on him heavily. He writes the letter slowly, and the icy cold of the winter and his feelings is oppressive as he writes. Unlike the others, Nadler who leaves it out and Coulton who says it with just a touch of irony, when Cohen signs his name, he does it with a knowledge that the others don’t have. As Coulton suggests above, there is something utterly private about the letter he is writing; only he and his brother know its full context, and much is left unsaid between them that need not be said.

This song is a deeply personal one, so it is a testament to the other two artists as well as the songwriting that they have been able to take it and make it their own while keeping the original atmosphere of the song. Cohen is a well-covered artist, and it is the strength in his songwriting and simplicity in his arrangements that allow this. This is a collection of songs which, especially with the video for the first, complement each other very well and explore the underlying meaning to a fullness that any one cannot achieve. None is to be missed.

Matt over at You Ain’t No Picasso has scooped me so hard on this one I’m not even going to write about it. Go to his site, read about Andrew Bird and his upcoming album, listen to his new song, and read Andrew Bird writing about songwriting. What are you waiting for?

Well, first some sad news: I’m going to have to miss both Pinback in New Haven and of Montreal in NYC due to other engagements. What’s worse is that I even bought tickets to the of Montreal show. Spendy tickets. However, this is good news for you, dear reader: I’ve posted the tickets online to be sold to the first person who offers me something reasonable.

Of Montreal puts on a great show, and this one will likely be made better by the fact that they’ve finished their new album, and it is in printing to be released by the end of October. The packaging used is exceptional: the CD will come in a specially-made case, digital downloads will be offered with bags, decals, t-shirts, and other objects, and the vinyl comes in a beautifully-decorated package. As of Montreal put it on their blog today:

of Montreal has, from the beginning, taken great pains to always put a lot of thought and care into the art packaging for our records. We’ve always felt that the packaging was just as important as the music inside of it. We’ve worked within the constraints of conventional album packaging, and have tried to create something fantastically uncommon every time. Now, we find ourselves in the middle of an exciting epoch: A time, when new technology has shattered the conventional business model and has set a paradigm shift in motion. For some people in the music biz, this is terrifying. For us, it is a fucking miracle! While the kings are in a stupor, we are going to take full advantage of the changing guard.

And if the packaging is great, the music inside it is even better. The new album is perhaps their best yet: combining the high-fidelity sounds and pop feel of their previous few albums with the longer, meandering concept album style of their earliest albums. Add to that a heavy dose of gender-bending sexuality and some great dance groves, and you have a recipe for amazing. I reviewed a single track from the album earlier, and can only recommend that people pick up the whole thing when it comes out. I know I’ll be buying one of the packages as soon as its available. Until then, here are two songs from the new album to whet your appetite (and maybe convince you to buy those tickets):

• Nonpareil Of Favor — of Montreal
• Gallery Piece — of Montreal