2008: Top Songs

1. Goldfrapp- A & E
Those familiar with Goldfrapp's past knew they were capable of switching gears as they said they would after the disco-tastic Supernature but know one could know they would come up something so completely different from everything else they have done before while conjuring up their most emotional single to date. A year after I first heard the song it still gives me chills. Every time.

2. The Killers- Human
Bonding over their mutual Pet Shop Boys admiration Stuart Price takes The Killers down the disco in a collaboration that brings out the best in both parties. Brandon Flowers searching vocals take on questions that no one else dared ask as the music gives us the divine answer.

3. Moby- Disco Lies
First appearing on the Cloverfield soundtrack this second single from Last Night is the finest pop moments of the year you've never heard. Unfashionably technopop rather than electropop the song takes at what first appear to be pedestrian disco diva vocals wailing about how "you lied" and turn it into something transcendent. Shame a poorly planned initial release and a terrible video kept this grower from everyone but fans.

4. Cut Copy- Lights & Music
While I continue to bill this as the hipsters "Where The Streets Have No Name" the lush economy of the song is so breathtaking that even my repeat listens have only faintly dulled the impact of the song.

5. Kanye West- Love Lockdown
Forget Kanye the media personality for a moment. Can you think of a single song with an arrangement that flies completely in the face of convention that comes across as absolutely accessible as "Love Lockdown"? Kanye's futuristic performances are a jaw dropping but at the core the song deals with love that has spun out of control in an honest way and that is something pretty amazing too.

6. Hot Chip- Ready For The Floor
This rumored Kylie reject (sadly debunked) is ready for the floor as it asks "I can’t hear your voice, do I have a choice?" before creating even more confusion by quoting Tim Burton's Batman. Amazing.

7. The Black Ghosts- Anyway You Choose To Give It
Bringing together the talents of the guy behind The Wiseguys (my favorite big beat two hit wonder of 1999) with the vocalist from Simian (naturally not a part of the amazing Simian Mobile Disco) "Anyway You Choose To Give It" is a proper song that begs for you to hit repeat despite the Justice-sized overdriven bass that dresses the track. With an album that finally just dropped in full on itunes this is most definitely an act to keep an eye on.

8. Chemical Brothers- Keep My Composure
Better by a hair than the other new Chemical Brother track included on the unnecessary singles collection Brotherhood this collaboration with Spank Rock finds the Brothers reconnecting with a raw jump up hip hop sound they haven't explored since the Loops Of Fury EP. Plays up more of their strengths than 95% of their material this decade.

9. Nine Inch Nails- Discipline
Trent Reznor stops trying to be scary all the time on this disco number from the second Nine Inch Nails album of the year (the free one) and releases his most openly commercial singles in years.

10. Ladytron- Deep Blue
Who doesn't love a song about the most famous chess playing computer in the world?

Things I Learned In 2008

Over the past year I have learned a few new things:

• Spiralfrog is amazing! I read about the site, which offers free legit downloads from most of the major labels and big indies, last January in a year end recap that predicted it would die a quick death. The site runs on a model similar to the subscription based versions of napster, rhapsody and zune offering drm-protected wma files that play back with windows media player and on wma compatible mp3 players. While it won't help ipod sheep the site offers a quality way to preview music in a way that the public has been looking for since original version of napster went mainstream.
• Publicly calling your label out on being stupid works. At least sometimes: Moby posted a missive about the merits of beatport and how he couldn't understand why his label wouldn't allow his music to be sold on the site when everything in the music business had fallen to pieces. After what he said was years of privately arguing with his label his material was posted on beatport within a month.
• Neon Neon's "Dream Cars" borrows at least half of it's melody from The Drifter's "Under The Boardwalk".
• Major labels still don't know how to handle import releases. This year saw late, often internet only, releases from Robyn, Kylie, Groove Armada, The Egg (put out in 2004 everywhere else) as we still wait for Roisin Murphy, Girls Aloud and who-knows-what-I-forgot to come out stateside. While not all of these are out on multinational labels one would think that it would be a fairly easy to avoid losing US sales on acts like this. Simply release everything you have the rights for digitally at the same time across the world so you catch the early adopters. Then if the label decides they can actually push an album do a CD release when the artist is available to promote it in the US. Problem solved. Get to it guys.
• When revisiting Pet Shop Boys albums I haven't listened to in some time I find myself reaching new insights that I later realize I actually read at GeoWayne's site at some point since my last listen. Here I was thinking that I had become older and wiser.
  
• Matinee Club are once again The Modern. Honest.
  
• No clear favorite album this year but it seems like there are too many albums I have yet to give a proper listen to. I found myself most often playing the offerings from Ladytron, Robyn, Midnight Juggernauts, Cut Copy, Neon Neon, Blank + Jones and Goldfrapp.