The Top 10 Songs of 2008 from Earshot Presents are not downloadable from this page, but are hyperlinked either to the iTunes Music Store or their source.
Little Kingdom – Citay
Little Kingdom the song is representative of Little Kingdom the album is representative of Citay, a bitchin’ psych-rock outfit from San Francisco.
Little Kingdom
You Can’t Hurry Love – The Concretes
With the charge of Spector-on-speed energy of this song, it’s amazing that the album could also include what is the most heart-wrenchingly depressing song of the year, The Concrete’s New Friend.
You Can’t Hurry Love
Ashamed – Deer Tick
I quote my brother when I say that “this guy is going places”. Sounds like something my father might say over lunch about a one-man band we just passed on Church Street, but it’s true. Chances are good that 2009 will be the Year of the Deer Tick. These Daytrotter tracks are as stunning as the rest of the tracks off of War Elephant, the studio re-release.
Ashamed
100 Years – Dr. Dog
Dr. Dog’s Fate, which is coincidentally playing in the coffee shop from which I write, might not make my Top 10 albums, but this track is stunning. Timeless, soulful, and vaguely reminiscent of an old traditional tune that Dr. Dog could have never written themselves. But it’s theirs. Respect.
100 Years
Womanizer – Britney Spears
When I’m in the kitchen, I listen to some pretty random radio on my trusty ‘ol PAL radio (PAL=great gift, btw). This dance track with incredible momentum played once in November and I had it in my head for over a week without knowing anything about it. I guess I wasn’t surprised to later hear that it was Britney’s come-back song, released in advance of her come-back album . Womanizer made an unprecedented jump from #96 to #1 on the Bilboard Hot 100 on October 15th and broke single-day download records online upon its release.
Womanizer
Most of the Time – Bob Dylan
Tell Tale Signs, the 8th volume in Dylan’s Bootleg Series, is the best yet. That’s if you’re a fan of Dylan’s more recent work. Which a good number of haters are not. The fact is – and we’re reminded with this album – that some o Dylan’s best work is also some of his most recent. Note: this track isn’t so recent – it’s an outtake from 1989’s Oh, Mercy.
Most of the Time
Mykonos – Fleet Foxes
…because what Best of 2008 would be complete without the Fleet Foxes?
Mykonos
Fire in your Belly – Liam Finn
Liam Finn’s album I’ll Be Lightning was by far my favorite album of 2008. Liam Finn’s September performance at Webster Hall was by far my favorite live performance of 2008. Liam wrote, recorded, and produced this album almost entirely by himself, a feat that would be completely understandable if you ever got the privilege of seeing him live.
Fire in Your Belly
Make the Road by Walking – Menahan Street Band
I wish I knew what was going on over on Menahan Street when I lived in Bushwick. The smooth soul sounds here are created by (+/-) the musicians of Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings. Made the Road by Walking is as beautiful and inspiring as its title.
Made the Road by Walking
M79 – Vampire Weekend
Vampire Weekend were all the rage in 2008. Their Stroke-ish power-packed-indie-pop-cum-Ivy-League-charm made critics and Brooklyn WNYC tote-baggers cream themselves for good reason. Hopefully there’s more where it came from.
M79
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If you have some more time to kill, you may also be interested in checking out the Top 10 Videos of 2008 from Earshot Presents or the Top 10 Comedy mp3s of 2008 from Earshot Presents.
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