Two Bears in a Record Store

So, for those of you not in Australia (or hiding under rocks), the 2008 Triple J Hottest 100 was counted down yesterday, taking into account over 800,000 votes from around Australia and the world. Kings of Leon's Sex on Fire took out the top spot, which was almost as big a surprise as Heath Ledger winning Best Supporting Actor at the SAGs.


SO, in the interests of openness and honesty, here is my Top 10 songs of 2008 (as I voted for them in the Hottest 100) and where they fell in the countdown:


British India - You Will Die & I Will Take Over (not in Top 100)
Fleet Foxes - White Winter Hymnal (65)
Holidays - The – Holiday (not in Top 100)
Kings Of Leon - Use Somebody (3)
Little Red - Coca Cola (47)
MGMT - Electric Feel (2)
Rapture - The - No Sex For Ben (14)
Saboteurs , The - The Switch And The Spur (not in Top 100)
Sparkadia – Jealousy (79)
Vampire Weekend - M79 (not in Top 100)

OK. So I missed the boat on a few of my picks, and I suppose Sex on Fire should have been an obvious choice, but it was good to see some local Australian acts getting amongst the action.

CB

Here is numbers 10 to 6 of my Top Ten albums of 2008 (in no particular order):
Fleet Foxes – Fleet Foxes
British India – Thieves
The Streets – Everything is Borrowed
Coldplay – Viva la Vida
MGMT – Oracular Spectacular


Fleet Foxes - Fleet Foxes

Fleet Foxes debut, self titled album proved to me that there is always new ways to reinvent rock music – in this case by taking down the tempo, latching onto harmonies, and capturing more than just a little of that old-school rock feel.

This five-piece band from Seattle came from virtually nowhere to become one of the darlings of the 2008 music scene, and I am happy to blindly follow the masses in praising their unique and otherworldly sound.


British India – Thieves

Thieves marks the second album for Melbourne based band British India, and is a fitting follow up to their debut breakthrough album, Guillotine. While this album hasn’t yet had quite the number of hits as the previous album, I think over time it will be remembered as a well rounded piece of work. Particular highlights include ‘God is Dead, Meet the Kids’ and ‘You Will Die and I Will Take Over’.


The Streets – Everything is Borrowed

The penultimate album for Mike Skinner and The Streets is a welcome return to form after a celebrity focused and indulgent previous album. While Skinner hasn’t returned to singing about the day-to-day (and is not likely to ever again), the album certainly shows a man who is much more content about his lot in life, with the over-riding theme being reflection on the bigger things in life such as love and spirituality. My favourite track on the album is ‘The Escapist’, the first single, which best sums up the vibe of the entire album.


Coldplay – Viva la Vida

I have loved Coldplay since ‘Yellow’, and Viva la Vida was an exciting album for Chris Martin and Co., with the world’s biggest band (apart from U2) looking to capture that stadium sound they have been working towards for 4 albums.

The album starts strongly and carries this through for the entire album, with tracks ebbing and flowing over the course of the album. The highlight of the album for me is ‘Strawberry Swing’, a song that harkens back to the bands’ softer, quieter days.

Ultimately, Viva la Vida is a success in as much that it makes me want to see how these guys perform this album live, and how they stand up as crowd favourites against classics from the Coldplay stable.


MGMT – Oracular Spectacular

MGMT are the IT band of 2008, and Oracular Spectacular is an album that has slowly but surely infected the masses with its psychedelic sound scape. For me, ‘Electric Feel’ is one of the best songs of 2008 and sums up the general feel MGMT were going for in their debut outing.

However, while songs such as ‘Electric Feel’, ‘Weekend Wars’, and ‘Kids’ are brilliant examples of the potential of these two Brooklyn based boys, the flow of the album isn’t quite perfect, and the end of the album in particular feels a little slow. Despite this slight drawback, the quality of the good tracks makes this a must-have album for 2008.


Coming soon: my top 5 albums of 2008.


CB