Hey all. Here are my top ten singles of the year. I probably left a ton of stuff out, but this is what I liked/listened to/got around to/had money to buy/was able to listen for free on Myspace/heard on Sirius XMU.

I basically made two top 10 lists rather than one top 20 list. Brilliant. I may get around to posting some more mp3 links, so check back.

2008 NEG LIST - A dismal year of disses, disconnects and disintegration (economy, world stability, the break up of Madonna and Guy Ritchie).

1. L.E.S Artistes (xxxchange remix) - Santogold. Yes, this is a remix. Xxxchange adds some real gravity to this song that the original lacks in comparison. Luckily the original intent of the song remains - a diss on the pretentiousness of NYC scenestars who pretend to be artists. Listen to this one LOUD.

2. Lost Coastlines - Okkervil River - 2008 was the year “bromance” became prominent in the cultural lexicon (thanks to Judd Apatow, NOT Brody Jenner) and this song, a metaphor on the trials of touring, elegantly pays tribute to the departure of band member Jon Meiburg who left to focus on his own band, Shearwater. Will Sheff is the king of break-up songs (Get Big, A Stone, Love to a Monster) and this one is no exception.

Here’s a great stripped down version of the song being played live for an Italian radio station.

3. Kim and Jessie - M83. Everybody keeps talking about how this song belongs in a John Hughes movie, but c’mon, will someone make a fan tribute video for Twilight using this song?

4. Love Lockdown - Kanye West. I hated this song at first but after several earnest listens and watching him perform the song on Letterman, I realized the problem with Kanye West is that everybody’s expecting a Golddigger pt 2 with every new release so it’s easy to knock him off when he fails to deliver. And say what you want about how Autotune is a cop-out, but give the man some props for the most interesting hip hop percussion that doesn’t involve ?uestlove.

5. Change is Hard - She and Him. Yes, Zooey Deschanel makes the list. More importantly, M. Ward makes the list.

6. Another World - Antony and the Johnsons. I had the honor of hearing this song live at the Walt Disney Hall with an orchestra. That was also the night that I learned that a good friend of mine had passed away, so I really can’t listen to this song ever again the same way.

7. Everybody But Me - Lykke Li. This song captures the loneliness and alienation like nothing I’ve ever heard. I would stay at home with this girl and watch The Wire with her any day of the week.

8. Jack Killed Mom - Jenny Lewis. I’ve been hearing different iterations of this song live since 2006, so I was happy to hear that it’s finally been committed to record. The song doesn’t come near any of the hits of Rabbit Fur Coat, then again this song is best heard live.

9. Jockin Jay-Z by Jay-Z. At one point I had this one at the top of the list. I even wrote “Dope Boy Fresh” into my IM statuses. That’s the power of this song, man. One of the highlights of my August trip back to PA was talking to my 8th grade cousin about how awesome this song was - “And the guitars, that’s such an awesome part of the song, man.”

It’s not enough for Jay-Z to just goof on Wonderwall in front of tens of thousands at Glastonbury. Note to Noel Gallager: Don’t bring a knife to a gunfight.

10. Chemtrails - Beck. I honestly thought this was a new Stone Roses song when I first heard it. I’m not Beck’s biggest fan of his experimental stuff (I still only own Sea Change), but he never fails when he does fall straight into a genre, in this case SHOEGAZE!!!!

This one goes to Eleven - Cape Canaveral - Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band. Of course I was skeptical when he dropped his Bright Eyes moniker and read that this album was recorded in a short time in Mexico, but his ballads never fail.

2008 PLUS LIST - OMG - We elected an African American, some of my friends got married, some of them had kids and some of them landed on the cover magazines, I still have a job. 2008 wasn’t all THAT bad.

1. Soul on Fire - Spiritualized. I had the fortune of hearing the acoustic mainlines version of this song first and on both occasions (I went to BOTH back to back shows at the Vista Theater) I got goosebumps as Jason continually elevates the emotion of the chorus. That elevation is lost in the studio version, but nonetheless it’s one of his best songs since Stop Your Crying.

Here’s an acoustic performance of the song at the MFA in Boston.

2. Single Ladies - Beyonce. I’m willing to bet dollars to donuts that you could play this song twice within an hour at a New Year’s eve party and no one would give a shit. This song is like the Dark Knight of pop songs - it’s awesomeness transcends both class, race and cultural boundaries. If you’re going to a wedding anytime in the next couple of years and they don’t play this song, I would really question whether your friends are racist or not.

3. Ready For the Floor - Hot Chip. “You my number one guy.” It’s not homoerotic, kids - The song was originally written for Kylie Minogue and it’s also a quote from the original Tim Burton Batman film, hence the Joker tribute in the music video for the song.

4. Time to Pretend - MGMT. Overplayed probably, but go jogging with this song in your shuffle and listen to your calories burn at a rate that will surprise you. Our generation’s Born to Run.

5. Black Rice - Women. I heard this first on Sirius XMU and was glad to know some of my other friends were putting it on their playlists. Sounds like old school Kinks. The Kinks will be next year’s Paul Simon, the older artist new bands will imitate (I’m looking at you Vampire Weekend)

6. Inní Mér Syngur Vitleysingur - Sigur Ros. The other great Sigur Ros song that wasn’t Gobbledigook.

7. A&E - Goldfrapp. Straying from her usual electro-dancey affair, Ms. Alison Goldfrapp really has my attention now. Especially in the backless dress.

8. Golden Age - TV on the Radio. Because we were all hoping for/expecting something completely unlike Wolf Like Me but still amazing in a way that only TV on the Radio can deliver.

9. What Never Comes - Crooked Fingers. I think I’m the only person that listens to Crooked Fingers.

10. Love in this Club - Usher. And I HATE Usher, funny enough. The number 10 spot was between this and Whatever U Like, and it simply came down to a coin toss.

HONORABLE MENTION - No Age, Portishead, The Submarines, My Morning Jacket, Wolf Parade, Calexico, Duffy.

MISC:

Guilty Pleasures - T.I., Alicia Keys and Natasha Bedingfield (yes, that theme song to The Hills), Annie - I Know UR Girlfriend Hates Me, Estelle.

Year’s Best Covers:

You Really Got a Hold on Me (Smoky and the Miracles) - She and Him
If U Leave (OMD) - Rafter
Falling Down (Tom Waits) - Scarlett Johansson
Love Hurts (Gram Parsons/Nazareth) - Jenny Lewis and Jonathan Rice
You’re All I Need (Method Man) - Wale (prod. Mark Ronson)
Golden State (John Doe) - Eddie Vedder and Corin Tucker
Prince - Crimson and Clover