Top 5 Albums of 2008  

2008 was an amazing year for music. So many great albums and talented bands emerged this year making it one of the best years in recent history. I started this list out as a top 20 list then quickly realized there is no way on Earth that I am going to write 20 different summaries for each of those albums. Then I also realized it is really, really hard to rank my favorite albums of the year in a particular order with the exception of #1 on my list. My top 5 consists of the albums I probably listened to the most this year.

5. Los Campesinos-Hold on Now, Youngster/ We are Beautiful, We are Doomed

Ok so it isn't fair that these guys released 2 great albums in the same year so I lumped the album together for ranking purposes. It is also this lumping together of two good albums that elevates Los Campesinos to # 5 on my list. The melodies and instrumentation is undeniably fun. Even if some might cringe or even furrow their brows when they hear lyrics like " send me stationary just to make me horny" one can't help but have a good time listening to these guys. Songs like " You! Me! Dancing!" can really get your feet moving and your head nodding. So because this album makes me happy and rocks my socks it earns the #5 spot on my list.



4. Tokyo Police Club- Elephant Shell

Elephant Shell is an album of bountiful gifts. I can put this album on and instantly start bouncing around. The drumming in this band always gets me going. The bass lines reverberate my party muscles. The quasi-detached vocal stylings contrasting with the high hand-clap energy creates pure magic. Some people may disregard this album as a forgettable pop record but those people don't like having fun and are probably depressed.



3. Kings of Leon- Only by the Night

This album sexually rocked me. My pants quaked and the room rumbled when this collection of tunes hit the airwaves. I know a lot of long time fans of the band are complaining that KOL have gone mainstream and their old stuff is much better and they knew of KOL long ago and this isn't their best. But to those people I say; stop talking jibber jabber and start feeling how on fire your sex can be if you let it. The drumming is spectacular but I must give a special shout out to the bassist and his sexual bassing ways. So in summation... I liked this album.



2 Sigur Ros- Med sud i eyrum vid spilum endalaust

This is Sigur Ros' most accessible album of all time. Some of you might begin to worry that the beautiful and intimate settings their prior releases painted was no more. But never fear because all the elements you loved about Sigur Ros are still largely intact but this time around they have used them to create an atmosphere of joy and hope. No more crying in the fetal position next to your bed, emo kid. The mood is lighter and melodies strong and hopeful. So largely because I am a sucker for pretty Icelandic vocal stylings this album goes #2 on my list.



1. Bon Iver- For Emma , Forever Ago

I can honestly say that this album will be go down as one of my favorite albums of all-time. Absolutely haunting and stunningly beautiful; It leaves the listener with a serene sense of remoteness. Some of you may know the background of the album; how it was recorded in a secluded log cabin in Wisconsin after the break up of lead singer Justin Vernon's previous band. He fled to this cabin to re-collect himself and in the process unknowingly wrote the best album of 2008. The environment that Vernon paints with his music mirrors back to this very cabin; a space where one can shed all the worry and anxiety that life handed us. An open space and a simplification of the everyday where we get back to the basic nature of ourselves. I know I live in California and shouldn't complain about weather but every time I hear this album I can't help but long for a bit of snow and a fireplace. His soulful yet pleasingly grainy voice rides a line between Sam Beam of Iron and Wine and Tunde Adebimpe of TV on the Radio. His vocal phrasing and pronunciation turn his voice into a sonic force rather than just a simple deliver of words. His use of the falsetto is tasteful and employed masterfully. I really can't say enough good things about this album as I could probably break down what I love about each song till the sun goes down. From the first listen many months ago till today; this album still affects me deeply. So please if you haven't, listen to this album and look out for his " Blood Bank" EP due next January.