Happy New Year! My favourite 2008 music tracks...

Hello everyone. The holidays were excellent except for being royally screwed over by Air Canada. We got stuck in Toronto and missed Christmas in Atlanta. Thank you Air Canada. Thank you for the long line-ups to different answers to my same questions and for not once providing customer service to a couple of people who like many others were just trying to share the holidays with their families. To those of you ever flying with Air Canada... if you encounter any problems just phone their 1800 number. Once you wait an hour to get through they will actually help rebook your missed connection unlike everyone else who just passes your problem along to someone else in some other line. Now I sound real bitter.

So I haven't wrote anything for a bit, so I thought I would follow the trends of all magazines/websites and share some of my favourite things from 2008 with you. Of course these lists become even more irrelevant when you share them almost halfway through January. Whatever.

First, I would like to share my thoughts on some of my favourite tracks of the year. My friend Chad organizes a CD swap every year and here are my tracks from the CD compilation I put together for the group:

I noticed a trend this year about the tracks that I like. I figured out that I am a sucker for horns (brassy trumpets especially) and if a swelling string section is thrown in for good measure, my ears like it even more. Assembling these tracks made me realize that I subconsciously fall for tracks that start off quiet, building to a crescendo of either guitars, drums, or sonic wailing. I am disappointed that I am that easily swayed.

Select the links to see some live performances or the video of the song/band.

1) The Rip (4:33) Portishead-Third- It has been awhile since Portishead released an album. Certainly, the layoff hasn’t hurt. I can’t listen to this album in the car, because it is too soothing.
2) Gobbledigook (3:05) Sigur Rós-Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust-I have no idea what this Icelandic band is saying, but their music is gorgeous. I feel like this is their most accessible album and their genius was confirmed when I caught their act at the Chan Centre. This was the last song of the set and I remember smiling as the confetti streamed down.
3) Oxford Comma (3:16) Vampire Weekend-Vampire Weekend-You know the inevitable backlash has begun against this band, but I won’t hold against these guys for producing one of the catchiest records of the year, which ties for my fav of 2008 with Sigur Ros. It was a hard choice choosing my favourite track but I love the beginning of this one.
4) Love Lockdown (4:33) Kanye West-808s & Heartbreak-Auto-tune was the choice of the rappers this year. Lil Wayne, T-Pain, and finally Kanye West. He ain’t a singer, but this track’s percussive throb propels me to pick this one. My actual fav is the repetitive chorus of the last part of “Robocop”. Too bad the rest of the track underwhelms.
5) Sex On Fire (3:26) Kings Of Leon-Only By The Night- Saw them on SNL. Heard it two days later on Gossip Girl. What a track.
6) Human (4:06) The Killers-Day & Age- “Are you human or are you dancer?” makes for a silly chorus, but this sounds like classic Killers. First saw this on SNL and knew it would be a winner.
7) Chemtrails (4:40) Beck-Modern Guilt - This is Beck? Once again, he proves his musical talents knows no bounds.
8) Lover's Day (5:56) TV on the Radio-Dear Science-There is so much going on sonically in this song. I hear something different everytime. I challenge you not to smile and tap your feet as this track builds up.
9) Lost Coastlines (5:32) Okkervil River-The Stand Ins- So relieved that their follow-up disc matches the rock of the previous one.
10) I Make The Dough, You Get The Glory (4:37) Kathleen Edwards-Asking For Flowers- I have always loved Kathleen Edwards. Anyone who sings Gretzky and McSorley in a song is fine by me.
11) For Emma (3:41) Bon Iver-For Emma, Forever Ago-I don’t know what to say other than that I love this track.
12) Stick With Me Baby (2:52) Robert Plant & Alison Krauss-Raising Sand-The only thing I don’t like about this duet is their success is probably preventing us from seeing the full reunion of Led Zepplin.
13) Lost+ (4:19) Coldplay-Prospekt's March-My first choice would have been Viva la Vida, but everyone has heard this. I choose this track because throwing Jay-Z into the mix makes the proceedings more interesting.
14) White Winter Hymnal (2:27) Fleet Foxes-Fleet Foxes- Great disc. Amazing song. They appear on SNL next week.
15) You Can Do Better Than Me (1:59) Death Cab For Cutie-Narrow Stairs-Such a sad ditty, but simplistic and representative of a solid album from DCFC. The version I found on YouTube is scored to some old surfing movie. Weird.

Bonus Tracks: These are not all from 2008, but they still dominated my listening.

16) Wreckless Love (3:53) Alicia Keys-As I Am-After seeing live at the Orpheum, she confirmed that she is beautiful and talented. Her backing band had the best jam of the year on “You Don’t Call Me Anymore.” I have a bigger crush on her now. Check out her American Music Awards performance with Queen Latifah. I forgot that the Queen could rap.
17) House Of Cards (5:28) Radiohead-In Rainbows- I came back to this album over and over again. This video is pretty neat.
18) A Milli (3:42) Lil Wayne-Tha Carter III Lil Wayne's lyrics may offend you, but I think he is pretty funny. Not the best song in the world, but I am always fascinated by anyone (specifically rappers) who can keep a constant verbal barrage going on yet somehow maintain rhythm. I can barely string three sentences together these days. I always wonder how rappers can remember what they need to rap live.
19) Today (3:20) The Smashing Pumpkins-Siamese Dream I hate the Toronto Maple Leafs (sorry all of you TO lovers out there), but I loved their entrance to this track when I caught a game on the old CBC this year. Seeing those classic blue and white jerseys and hearing the perfect beginning riff of this song... I wish the Canucks could work on their entrance music. Sorry I couldn't find the entrance on YouTube.