2008 ALBUMS

1. Ne-Yo, Year of the Gentleman (Def Jam)
2. Poplife Presents Poplife Sucks (N.E.W.S.)
3. Erykah Badu, New Amerykah Part 1: 4th World War (Motown)
4. Raphael Saadiq, The Way I See It (Columbia)
5. Hercules and Love Affair (DFA/Mute)
6. Portishead, Third (Mercury)
7. Lil’ Wayne, Tha Carter III (Cash Money)
8. Flying Lotus, Los Angeles (Warp)
9. Fucked Up, The Chemistry of Common Life (Matador)
10. Solange, Sol-Angel and the Hadley St. Dreams (Music World/Geffen)

11. Efdemin, Carry On--Pretend We’re Not in the Room (Curle)
12. Spoon, Daytrotter Session (Daytrotter.com)
13. El Guincho, Alegranza (Matador)
14. DJ /rupture, Uproot (The Agriculture)
15. Zomby, Where Were U in ’92? (Werk)
16. Andy Stott, Unknown Exception: Selected Tracks Vol. 1 (2004-2008) (Modern Love)
17. Tape, Luminarium (Hapna)
18. Etran Finatawa, Desert Crossroads (Riverboat)
19. Benga, Diary of an Afro-Warrior (Tempa)
20. The Hold Steady, Stay Positive (Vagrant)

21. Blitzen Trapper, Furr (Sub Pop)
22. Dave Aju, Open Wide (Circus Company)
23. caUSE co-MOTION!, It’s Time! Singles & EPs 2005-2008 (Slumberland)
24. Girl Talk, Feed the Animals (Illegal Art)
25. The Muslims (1928)
26. Drive-By Truckers, Brighter Than Creation’s Dark (New West)
27. M.I.A., How Many Votes Fix Mix EP (Interscope)
28. Red Snapper, Pale Blue Dot (Lo)
29. Quiet Village, Silent Movie (K7)
30. Seun Kuti & Fela’s Egypt 80 (Disorient)

31. Menahan Street Band, Make the Road by Walking (Dunham)
32. Metro Area, Fabric 43 (Fabric)
33. Kalabrese, RA Podcast 89 (Resident Advisor)
34. Dungen, 4 (Kemado)
35. Gang Gang Dance, Saint Dymphna (The Social Registry)
36. Ellen Allien, Boogybytes Vol. 04 (Bpitch Control)
37. Noze, Songs on the Rocks (Get Physical)
38. Willie Nelson & Wynton Marsalis, Two Men with the Blues (Blue Note)
39. Carl Craig, Sessions (K7)
40. The Bug, London Zoo (Ninja Tune)

41. Blood on the Wall, Liferz (The Social Registry)
42. Four Tet, RA Podcast 102 (Resident Advisor)
43. The Fiery Furnaces, Remember (Thrill Jockey)
44. Vampire Weekend (XL)
45. Tokyo Police Club, Elephant Shell (Saddle Creek)
46. Of Montreal, Skeletal Lamping (Polyvinyl)
47. Alex Moulton, Exodus (Expansion Team)
48. Fuse Presents Adam Beyer (N.E.W.S.)
49. Onur Ozer, Watergate 01 (Watergate)
50. Johnson & Jonson (Tres)

MORE YEAR-END FUN:
Rodriguez, Cold Fact--have a marijuana. On the other hand, don't.

YEAR-END THOUGHTS:
If you think Fleet Foxes is better than Year of the Gentleman, you're out of your cotton-pickin' mind. "Oliver James" is the most embarrassingly mawkish thing I heard all year, the kind of song that's twice as painful for its obvious sincerity. I wrote songs that Tried To Say Something Important About, Um, You Know, Something, Man once too, and I quit because they sucked, for which the world thanks me even if it isn't aware it does. Encouraging it is bad form.

Pacific Ocean Blue is badly sung, dimly produced MOR. whose "importance" is entirely due to its maker's death. If he'd stuck around to double-drum with John Stamos the reissue probably wouldn't have gotten anywhere near The Wire's pages, though given that mag's commitment to mistaking shitty production with the avant-garde, maybe not.

The Girl Talk album still sounds pretty good, is neither a masterwork (Night Ripper was my No. 2 of '06 in part because '06 sucked so hard) nor anything to huff and puff and blow the Internet down about, much less make like a bobblehead about when someone does, especially when the Big Revelation is that, wow, everything's a mash-up. Dude, what if the inmates ran the asylum?! What if they gave a war and nobody came?! THINK OF THE POSSIBILITIES!

Who else wants to join the Slow Listening Movement?

Fuck it, I've tweaked it long enough, and by this point all I could add are songs I've seen on other lists. My Top 100 Tracks of 2008:

1. MGMT, “Time to Pretend” (Columbia)
2. Paleface & Kyla, “Do You Mind (Crazi Cousinz Remix)” (Maximum Bass)
3. Ne-Yo, “So You Can Cry” (Def Jam)
4. The Whitest Boy Alive, “Golden Cage (Fred Falke Remix)” (Modular)
5. Lil Wayne, “A Milli” (Cash Money)
6. Matias Aguayo, “Minimal (DJ Koze Mix)” (Kompakt)
7. Lloyd ft. Lil Wayne, “Girls Around the World” (IG/Universal)
8. Cole Medina, “Love You Inside Out (The Pinches Mix)” (MP3)
9. Hot Chip, “One Pure Thought (Supermayer Remix)” (EMI)
10. Zomby, “Spliff Dub (Rustie Remix)” (Hyperdub)

11. Dear Jayne, “Rain” (Music Line)
12. Estelle ft. Kanye West, “American Boy” (Capitol)
13. Etran Finatawa, “Asistan” (Riverboat)
14. Hercules and Love Affair, “Blind (Frankie Knuckles Remix)” (DFA)
15. Clinic, “Coda” (Domino)
16. Alphabeat, “Fascination” (Copenhagen/EMI)
17. The Juan MacLean, “Happy House” (DFA)
18. The-Dream ft. Rihanna, “Livin' a Lie” (Def Jam)
19. Santogold, “Lights Out” (Downtown)
20. Reba McEntire & Kenny Chesney, “Every Other Weekend” (MCA Nashville)

21. Invisible Conga People, “Cable Dazed” (Italians Do It Better)
22. Solange, “Sandcastle Disco” (Music World)
23. DJ Koze, “Zouzou” (Kompakt)
24. Spoon, “Don't You Evah (Ted Leo's I Want It Hotter Remix)” (Merge)
25. The Hold Steady, “Constructive Summer” (Vagrant)
26. Burial, “Archangel (Boy 8-Bit's Simple Remix)” (MP3)
27. Raphael Saadiq, “Staying In Love” (Columbia)
28. Soulja Boy Tell'em, “Yahhh!” (Collipark)
29. Stereolab, “Chemical Chords” (4AD)
30. El Guincho, “Antillas” (Matador)

31. Fucked Up, “No Epiphany” (Matador)
32. Flying Lotus, “RobertaFlack (Martyn’s Heart Beat Mix)” (Warp)
33. The Bug ft. Flowdan, “Ganja” (Ninja Tune)
34. Heartsrevolution, “Digital Suicide” (Iheartcomix)
35. Joey + Rory, “Cheater, Cheater” (Vanguard/Sugar Hill)
36. Beyoncé, “Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)” (Music World)
37. The Mole, “Baby You're the One” (Wagon Repair)
38. Erykah Badu, “The Cell” (Universal Motown)
39. The Roots, “75 Bars (Black's Reconstruction)” (Geffen)
40. Luke Bryan, “Country Man” (Capitol Nashville)

41. David Byrne and Brian Eno, “Strange Overtones” (Everything That Happens)
42. The Cure vs. the Commodores, “Easy Heaven (BRAT Mashup)” (MP3)
43. Guillaume and the Coutu Dumonts, “Les Gans (Philip Sherburne Remix)” (Musique Risquée)
44. Caspa, “Floor Dem” (Hyperdub)
45. Big Boi ft. Raekwon & Andre 3000, “Royal Flush” (MP3)
46. Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings, “How Long Do I Have To Wait For You (Reggae Version)” (Daptone)
47. Blitzen Trapper, “Furr” (Sub Pop)
48. Dave Aju, “Crazy Place (Luciano Likuid Remix)” (Circus Company)
49. Blood on the Wall, “Acid Fight” (The Social Registry)
50. Kelley Polar, “Entropy Reigns (Pearson and Usher's Second Law Instrumental)” (Environ)

51. The Dead Science, “Throne of Blood (The Jump Off)” (Constellation)
52. DJ Fakts One ft. Little Brother, “Grown Folks” (Green Streets)
53. Hotstylz ft. Yung Joc, “Lookin Boy (Clean)” (Swag Team/Jive)
54. The B-52’s, “Eyes Wide Open” (Astralwerks)
55. Q-Tip, “Gettin' Up” (Universal Motown)
56. Rex the Dog, “Gecko” (Hundehaus)
57. Kylie Minogue, “In My Arms” (EMI)
58. High Places, “Vision's the First . . . ” (Thrill Jockey)
59. Seun Kuti & Fela's Egypt 80, “Think Africa” (Disorient)
60. SIS, “Standing” (Cécille)

61. Alex Moulton, “Out of Phase” (Expansion Team)
62. Shackleton ft. Vengeance Tenfold, “Death Is Not Final” (Skull Disco)
63. The Night Marchers, “Who's Lady R U?” (Vagrant)
64. Bertrand Burgalat & Robert Wyatt, “This Summer Night” (Domino)
65. Lele, “Breakfast” (Magnetron)
66. Robin Thicke ft. Mary J Blige and Wale, “Magic (Mark Ronson Remix)” (Interscope)
67. Mariah Carey, “I'm That Chick” (Interscope)
68. Lil Wayne, “A Milli (Flying Lotus' Robo Tussin Remix)” (Warp/MP3)
69. M.I.A., “Bucky Done Gun (Billion Dollar DJs Remix for Kicks)” (MP3)
70. SIS, “Trompeta” (Sei Es Drum)

71. Portishead, “Hunter” (Mercury)
72. Maroon 5 ft. Mary J. Blige, “Wake Up Call (Mark Ronson Remix)” (A&M/Octone)
73. Benga & Coki, “Night (Geeneus Remix)” (Tempa)
74. Spoon, “Peace Like a River (Daytrotter Session)” (Daytrotter)
75. Born Ruffians, “I Need a Life (Four Tet Remix)” (Warp)
76. Timberlee, “Heels” (MP3)
77. Johnny Foreigner, “Our Bipolar Friends” (Best Before)
78. Esau Mwamwaya & Radioclit, “Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa” (MP3)
79. Alphabeat, “Boyfriend (Pete Hammond Remix)” (EMI)
80. Sensitiva, “Mimosa” (Cadenza)

81. Miwon, “Kisses to Cure” (City Centre Offices)
82. Billy Currington, “Don't” (Mercury)
83. DJ Mujava, “Township Funk” (This Is Not Music)
84. Surkin, “Next of Kin (Todd Edwards Re-Kindled Mix)” (Institubes)
85. Ellen Allien, “Out (Audion's Out for Infants Mix)” (Bpitch Control)
86. Red Snapper, “Lagos Creepers” (Lo)
87. Shystie, “Sing for Me (Female Reply)” (MP3)
88. Brad Paisley & Keith Urban, “Start a Band” (Arista Nashville)
89. Adele, “Cold Shoulder” (XL)
90. The Muslims, “Beside Myself” (1928)

91. Of Montreal, “Gallery Piece” (Polyvinyl)
92. Sascha Dive, “Annihilating Rhythm” (Drumpoet Community)
93. Jay-Z vs. Public Enemy, “Roc Boys (THOSE MFs Remix)” (MP3)
94. The Decemberists, “Days of Elaine (Extended Mix)” (Capitol)
95. Jay Reatard, “An Ugly Death” (Matador)
96. The BPA ft. Emmy the Great, “Seattle (Brookes Brothers Remix)” (Skint)
97. Sam Taylor-Wood, “I'm in Love with a German Film Star” (Kompakt Pop)
98. Johnson & Jonson, “WOW” (Tres)
99. Fuck Buttons, “Sweet Love for Planet Earth (Andrew Weatherall Remix)” (ATP)
100. Dierks Bentley, “Sweet & Wild” (Capitol Nashville)

A-frickin'-men.

As most of you (I hope) know by now, there's no more Idolator critics poll. Instead, we're doing this--an in-house list that takes off from the Artists ballot as much as the Albums and Tracks and Reissues ones, while throwing some books, live performances, trends, and other stuff in there as well. 80 '08 (and Heartbreak), we call it, and I hope you enjoy it, too.

Love how folks are bending over backwards to laud the new Kanye because it's, you know, "interesting." And it is. Too bad it, you know, sucks.

William DeVaughn's "Be Thankful for What You've Got" has, among other things, the most beautiful floor-tom thud in the history of recorded music.