Best Songs Of '08
Rendered In Bad Haiku Form
Yes, I'm Pretentious



25. Marnie Stern- Transformer
Fiercely succinct;
Shouty lady impresses
With dazzling guitar.

24. Fuck Buttons- Sweet Love For Planet Earth
Crescendoing noise:
Not everyone’s cup of tea,
But my ears love it.

23. Margot and the Nuclear So and So’s - Real Naked Girls
Lies! No nudity,
Just minor key prettiness
And delicate synths.

22. Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds- Dig Lazarus Dig!
Back to grizzled best,
Cave evokes a mad preacher
Succumbed to Satan.

21. Bon Iver- Skinny Love
Think Iron and Wine
With more intense emotion
and inferior beard.

20. The Hold Steady- Sequestered In Memphis
Craig Finn writing songs
About girls and booze shocker?!
Now with more handclaps!

19. The Acorn- Lullaby
Lilting Canuck folk;
It warms the cockles of my
Cold and bitter heart.

18. MGMT- Time To Pretend
Commercial success
Means we’re fated to pretend
this ain’t great. It is.

17. Ponytail- Beg Waves
A cuddly Deerhoof
Deranged, like pogoing through
A kaleidoscope.

16. Fleet Foxes- White Winter Hymnal
Gorgeous harmonies
Are all well and good, but guys:
Please man the fuck up.

15. Shearwater- On The Death Of The Waters
Quiet……quiet………LOUD!
Adam falls off seat in shock
And bangs head on wall.

14. Make Model- The Was
Quality synth-pop
With judicious “ba-ba-ba’s”
I think they split up :-(

13. Get Well Soon- If The Hat Is Missing, I Have Gone Hunting
Accordion intros
Bode well for extravagance;
This has it in spades.

12. Cloud Cult- When Water Comes To Life
Flamboyance galore
From chamber-pop Flaming Lips
This band needs more love.

11. Vampire Weekend- Walcott
Preppy Ivy Leaguers
Strike gold with jaunty anthem
‘bout Cod or something.

10. Titus Andronicus- Fear and Loathing in Mahwah, NJ
Pogues fight Arcade Fire
In dingy Brooklyn punk bar
Good times had by all.

9. Broken Records- The Slow Parade
Edinburgh's finest
Deliver magnificence
With stately, poised grace.

8. Why?- Song Of The Sad Assassin
White-boy rap done good
With odd Sufjan elements;
Why? Because it’s ace.

7. Of Montreal- An Eluardian Instance
Barnes triumphs again;
Mountain Goats are not impressed
But hey, I sure am!

6. Andrew Bird- Masterswarm
Dapper whistling god
Surpasses himself again;
I like the guy’s style.

5. M83- Kim and Jessie
Hark at those drum pads!
Should close a John Hughes movie…
Mom, I want a perm.

4. Department of Eagles- Teenagers
Debussy intro,
Rumbling cello, discordance…
I bow down to thee.

3. The Mae Shi- Run To Your Grave
Lo-fi brilliance;
Like pure sugar injected
Straight into your brain

2. TV On The Radio- Dancing Choose
Stax brass, Tunde’s raps;
A billion times better
Than their spell-checker.

1. Dan Deacon- Wham City
Not *strictly* ‘08
But songs this sublime transcend
Mere laws of space-time.