Hall of Awesome: 2008 Mixtape

Every year, I select my top ten albums of the year, and every year, there are always a ton of other albums that may not be deserving of that list, yet still have some amazing songs on them. That’s where the 2008 Mixtape comes in, taking those individual songs and stringing them together in a futile attempt at coherence. Thanks to the people over at La La, you can stream the whole thing for free in the blog sidebar. Here's the full tracklist, along with my comments on some of my selections:

1. The Decemberists, "Valarie Plame"
   Colin Meloy and Co. put out three singles this year, each with some pretty solid tunes on them, but it begs the question: Why didn’t they just release one six-track EP instead of spreading them out over the course of three months?
   
2. The Magnetic Fields, "California Girls"
   
3. Gnarls Barkley, "Who's Gonna Save My Soul"
   
4. Beck, "Chemtrails"
   Danger Mouse gets a double feature this year, and here's hoping 2009 will prove to be an equally productive year for the man.
   
5. Oasis, "The Shock of the Lightning"
   
6. The Explorers Club, "Forever"
   Even though I wouldn't stop talking about this album, it didn't blow my mind enough to appear on my top 10 list this year. It still remains an impressive collection of Brian Wilson-influenced beach pop that is definitely worth a listen.
   
7. Chairlift, "Bruises"
   Someone give the guy who picks the songs for Apple ads a raise.
   
8. The Hold Steady, "Constructive Summer"
   
9. Flight of the Conchords, "Ladies of the World"
   This album would've easily made my top 10 list if Flight of the Conchords had bothered to include ALL of the songs from season one. Oh well.
   
10. Fleet Foxes, "Blue Ridge Mountains"
    I got into this album extremely late in the game, so it won't be topping my list like some others, but this song immediately caught my ear and refuses to let go of it.
    
11. Keane, "The Lovers are Losing"
    
12. Ben Folds, "Bitch Went Nuts"
    I'm willing to forgive Folds for some of the filler on his latest album, mainly because the Ben Folds Five reunion concert kicked so much ass.
    
13. Music Go Music, "Light of Love"
    Yeah, I thought it was ABBA, too, but it's not.
    
14. Death Vessel, "Bruno's Torso"
    
15. Of Montreal, "An Eluardian Instance"
    
16. Antony & The Johnsons, "Shake That Devil"
    I've always thought Antony was too weird for his own good, but this song really blew me away. The awesome part takes over at about 2:30.
    
17. Benji Hughes, "Baby, It's Your Life"
    
18. Conor Oberst, "Souled Out!!!"
    
19. Peter Gabriel, "Down to Earth"
    This final track should serve as an indicator of what my favorite movie of the year is going to be.