Bag Of Songs Top 25 Albums of 2008 : 21 to 25

December 31, 2008 by
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Starting off with the ususal disclaimer when it comes to a list of this sort, this is by no means going to be the all encompassing perfect list from the last year but moreso what I listened to and enjoyed the most. With the overwhelming amount of music that came my way this past year there’s surely still potential greats I haven’t even listened to. Here’s the first five more to come as soon as I can get it ready to post.
Feel free to chime in with comments along the way,let me know your picks, what you think I missed, etc.

 

 

 

 

25 Vampire Weekend – Vampire Weekend [BUY]
By the time Vamppire Weekend finally got around to releasing a ” real” album very early in this year I had grown tired of listening to them for the most part. But to not include them here seemed to somehow discount the fact that they did in fact release a pretty good album. While not necessarily brand new sound, Their blend of afropop and new wave was unique amongst their peers. So for better or for worse no one else in 2008 sounded like them and they triumphed despite some pretty widespread backlash. It’ll be interesting to see where album number 2 takes them.

Vampire Weekend – A-Punk

 

 

 

 

24 Nada Surf – Lucky [BUY]
After the addicting brilliance of 2005’s The Weight Is A Gift, my expectations for this record were so high that if it met them this would easily be in the top five on this list. While there are some true gems here like Whose Authority, I Like What You Say, and Ice On The Wing, most of the album is relatively good songs mired down in a slow midtempo vibe which drains a lot of the
power out of them. What you end up with is really good record instead of the potential career defining classic it had the promise to be.

Nada Surf – I Like What You Say

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

23 Hot Chip – Made In the Dark [BUY]
Hot Chip is the personification of the cell phone,text message,video game,internet generation in sound. Frenetic and danceable and catchy as hell with a top 40 pop melodic sense twisted into it all. They also know how to slow it down too, the title track Made In The Dark could easily pass for a lost Jayhawks song while In The Privacy Of Our Love dabbles in the same atmospherics as Grizzly Bear’s The Knife. Overall, an album with a lot more depth than it got credit for.

Hot Chip – Ready For The Floor

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

22 Eli “Paperboy” Reed And The True Loves – Roll With You [BUY]
The sound of Old School Soul and R&B made some significant return in 2008 and Eli Reed’s apprenticeship in Memphis roadhouses served him well. Roll With You is a horn infused flat out party record steeped in the sounds of classic Rhythm and Blues artists like Otis Redding and Jackie Wilson.

Eli “Paperboy” Reed And The True Loves – The Satisfier

 

 

 

 

 

 

21 Jukebox The Ghost – Let Live And Let Ghosts [BUY]
One Philadelphia’s shining stars at the Moment, Jukebox The Ghost released it’s debut full length record this year. It harkens back to the kind of classic piano based pop songs Ben Folds used to write when he still had the fire in his soul. Hold It In easily qualifies as one of the catchiest singles of the year.

Jukebox The Ghost – Hold It In

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