For all of the single/bored people out there who look forward to hanging out with their friends on the weekend, don't bite your tongue because V-Day falls on a Saturday this year. To replace your lovestruck friends, we've compiled a list that should help spread some of our love of music to you.
If you're in the full spirit of the day and want to have some fun, Best Week Ever shows how to make Skittles vodka. You can check out some more v-day drinks here. If you're a sugar-lover, check out these desserts for the occasion. If you came just for the music, enjoy our list, then head on over to The Trip Wire for some more.
MP3: Ra Ra Riot - Can You Tell (buy)
MP3: She and Him - Sentimental Heart (buy)
MP3: The Kooks - I Want You (buy)
MP3: Kings of Leon - Sex on Fire (buy)
MP3: Pictures and Sound - It's You (buy)
MP3: Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin - Some Constellation (buy)
MP3: The Pains of Being Pure at Heart - This Love Is F#cking Right (buy)
MP3: The Walkmen - Lost You (buy)
MP3: Motion City Soundtrack - Broken Heart (acoustic) (buy)
MP3: Daniel Martin Moore - It's You (buy)
MP3: TV on the Radio - I Was A Lover (buy)
MP3: Art Brut - People In Love (buy)
MP3: The Stills - I'm With You (buy)
It only gets better from here. Once again, if you missed our previous lists or want to see the top 20, hit up the links below:
Part 1: MUF's Top 100 Songs of 2008 (81-100)
Part 2: MUF's Top 100 Songs of 2008 (61-80)
Part 3: MUF's Top 100 Songs of 2008 (41-60)
Part 5: MUF's Top 100 Songs of 2008 (1-20)
40. The Gaslight Anthem - The 59' Sound (buy)
Why: A common theme for popular indie music is that while the songs themselves may be new, they carry a nostalgic, retro sound that makes their songs even more likable. This goes for TGA's "59' Sound" which made heads turn this past year.
39. The Rosebuds - Life Like (buy)
Why: Multiple vocals and the downtoned theme from the Raleigh group sinks and dims with every beat. Even better, it doesn't come across as dark, but rather more mystical and foreign composed than anything.
38. CSS - Jager Yoga (buy)
Why: A delightful piano capade makes for one of this years best jammable songs. The best part of this song is really how synced up the band is and how rhythmic and movable each instrument is. All of that accompanied with at least three solos made this a sure-fire pick for us.
37. The Helio Sequence - Lately (buy)
Why: The message of this song fits perfectly to the regretful tone of Summers' vocals. There's not enough that can be said of this band. Computers, drums and guitar are all you need to make a classic album for us.
36. The Lodger - The Good Old Days (buy)
Why: These Brits rarely leave a beat or a breath to be determined and when they compiled this song, nothing was left for interpretation. Much like "Morning Tide" from The Little Ones, this song shakes with an amicable personality sure to make you feel like you got out on the right side of the bed.
35. Glasvegas - Geraldine (buy)
Why: Perhaps running even with "Daddy's Gone" on the self-titled debut from the Scottish group, "Geraldine" provides heart through uplifting dream guitar wailing and the intriguing vocals of James Allan.
34. Cut Copy - Feel The Love (buy)
Why: The vanguard for many electronica albums generally gets the "Intro" title. Not Cut Copy's In Ghost Colours. "Feel the Love" not only was playable but could be considered a staple to the buzz that surrounded the Aussie's rise to many #1 album rankings.
33. Weezer - Pork and Beans (buy)
Why: As much as we loved their video for this song, there were more reasons to add this to our top songs list of the year besides Weezer just being Weezer. "Pork and Beans" is a defiant song created for the record companies themselves. They wanted a pop hit, they got one. Turns out Weezer can apparently light it up in their classic style whenever they want, despite their efforts to go in a different direction on this album.
32. Anthem In - Down (buy)
Why: The resemblance of this song to DCFC struck first, and the more I listened to it and their album, I realized there really was not too many similarities at all. As the band's best song on their latest album, Anthem In fits right here in a perfect spot from many of our favs of this year.
31. French Kicks - Abandon (buy)
Why: One of the first songs this year that we fell head over heels for. That was, until we heard the rest of the album. French Kicks seem to be inspired by something from the past, although we can't put our finger on it, but this song combines all of the bands best attributes as one.
30. Bloc Party - Talons (Phones R.I.P. mix) (buy)
Why: What more do you need to know? This was out favorite remix of the year and involves Bloc Party.
29. The Academy Is... - About A Girl (buy)
Why: The Academy Is... continues to define themselves from album to album and Fast Times at Barrington High by no means mimicked any of their previous work. "About a Girl" hit a pop switch with many radio listeners while also serving as the gateway to this album which is part of an ever-expansive genre laden with relationship cursing lyrics and memorable refrains.
28. Fleet Foxes - Ragged Wood (buy)
Why: Many of the songs from FF were astounding through vocal harmonizing and the overall timing involved. If the individual efforts of the group shone through anywhere on the album, it was here. From Skye Skjelset's acoustic play to Robin Pecknold's yearning lyrics, this track manifested yesterday's folk with today's talent.
27. Blitzen Trapper - Furr (buy)
Why: Yet another preview song we heard before the album was actually in our hands. "Furr" tells a folk story just as much the band themselves sound folk in this song. Given the combination and our love for those quiet, yet deadly bands, this track settled quite well to say the least.
26. Kings of Leon - Manhattan (buy)
Why: KOL have been doing their thing for some time now, and although their past success has drawn many to them in terms of popularity and radio play, this was the first time we really noticed them. In fact, "Manhattan" still holds true to be our favorite song by these young lads.
25. Bloc Party - Better Than Heaven (buy)
Why: Drop the beat and throw in some synths and breakdowns and you've got Kele singing Bloc Party's best track of the year. As driven as their album was to be louder and more raw, this song reminded us of their great past works.
24. m83 - Graveyard Girl (buy)
Why: Edgy and electrically charged "Graveyard Girl" embodies a forgotten effervescence that soundtracks from the 80's once spawned.
23. Coldplay - Strawberry Swing (buy)
Why: Unlike the rest of Viva La Vida, this song progressed while still maintaining its individuality as just one song and not two grouped together. Coldplay displayed a folk-inspired joy in this song through light banjo vibes and storytelling, which ultimately developed into the diamond in the rough from VLV.
22. The Shore - When Tomorrow Comes (buy)
Why: Our favorite song from the obscure band from CA. We know them to deliver a sound so laid back, yet calibrated to perfection. Whatever these guys do seems to fit our fancy for some rockable, likable psychadelic rock. Throw this one back to the 60s and they would be legends in our time.
21. Vampire Weekend - Oxford Comma (buy)
Why: The Ivy League boys snapped together a clever song "dripping with disdain" and a melodic chemistry that charms any listener. Imagine a convoluted rock anthem strung together by preppy musicians in a study hall and you have "Oxford Comma".
Missed our rundown of this year's best? See our top 30.
Many albums that didn't make our Top-30 list for the year, reached lofty places on other sites' lists. As our motto is, we won't saturate you with music we don't think is worth mentioning. The albums below were all quite good, but just fell below the best of the year.
MP3: Eureka Birds - Mars (buy)
MP3: Daniel Martin Moore - Stray Age (buy)
MP3: Deerhunter - Nothing Ever Happened (buy)
MP3: Nada Surf - Weightless (buy)
Here are MusicUnderFire's honorable mentions for 2008:
Not flashy. Not laced with catchy refrains. This Baltimore group caught our attention and has stuck with us since, thanks to a consistent debut album. We reviewed them and we liked them quite a bit. If you like an album off the beaten path, this is for you.
Vampire Weekend - Vampire Weekend
Taking the first major step of 2008 was VW. Songs such as "A-Punk", "Oxford Comma" and "Campus" certainly earned this high marks for many and would have been higher if not for some transitional drawbacks.
The top singer/songwriter on our list for this year, Moore used his simplicity and songwriting talents only he could pull off. Although a heavy contender to make it in the top 30, Moore was found he could do only one type of songwriting style, but nail it every time. Stray Age was a cinch to listen through the whole way - perfect for a relaxing situation, not something you will want to put on your iPod to go to the gym. We particularly enjoyed "That'll Be The Plan". Outstanding effort by Sub Pop's newest songwriter.
Snow Patrol - A Hundred Million Suns
Snow patrol didn't particularly stun us this time around, but the album had enough versatility with some of their traditional poker hands to some longshots they took, which actually worked. If you've listened to SP as long as we have, "Chocolate" seems to be in heavier rotation than "Engines", but that could possibly change. Just like most Snow Patrol albums, this one is a grower. Many tracks veer in a different dirrection that their older albums, particularly their last track "The Lightning Strike: (i) What If This Storm Ends? / (ii) The Sunlight Through The Flags / (iii) Daybreak", a three part song, in which each part blends into the next. I'm not sure why they didn't do their whole album this way, but this is just one example of how the band is growing and reaching deeper into their creative interworkings.
Kings of Leon - Only By The Night
These youngsters are growing up quick, and as if you haven't noticed already, there's something special about them. Not only has the world of pop taken in "Sex On Fire", but the band managed to make a bit of consistency out of their name. Their listeners got another solid outing by Kings of Leon once again. Songs such as "Manhattan" and "Revelry" made this album that more intriguing. Although they did have some gems on here, KOL seem to have the same formula time and time again, when in fact we were never head over heels for it to begin with. This would be the only reason we could not keep it in with our favs of this year.
Greg Laswell - Three Flights from Alto Nido
An album laced with not just your run-of-the mill sappy singer/songwriter material, Greg Laswell had a bit of every emotion poured into his debut. Songs such as "Comes and Goes (In Waves)" are well orchestrated and much has to do with his classy label, Vangard. Laswells songs excelled in both the studio and on the road. There's not much to say about this album that hasn't already been said here.
Where A Weekend In The City left off, Intimacy took that and notched it up ten times, in terms of sheer loudness that is. The albums glory may be captured in the club-friendly "Better Than Heaven", but this album had too many pitfalls to be considered for our top albums. What did make this album great is the unbridled feel to the songs. Tracks such as "One Month Off" made for a great anthem for this album as did many other songs that followed the same raucous attitude. Bloc Party continues to put out albums with a few likable songs on each album.
Frightened Rabbit - The Midnight Organ Fight
One of the most influential albums for the first half of the year, Frightened Rabbit used many unorthodox methods of song. Perhaps its their folk-pop appeal, or maybe we liked them because we love Scottish bands. But no, FR was something quite special this year, and this list of 'almosts' also serves a purpose to show that other albums did not even make it into our 'honorable mentions' list. The Midnight Organ Fight was driven by some nifty songwriting by Scott Hutchison and backed by a talented band (sans bass). This is a well deserved spot in the midst of many other talented bands we've heard this year. (if you're looking for a Christmas song from Frightened Rabbit, check our short list of Indie Christmas Songs.)
Another album teetering on the brink of making it into our top albums of this year, Deerhunter put out a marvelous effort, yet didni't score enough songs for us to truly 'get'. Most notable from this album is "Nothing Ever Happened". It looks like this group's future is quite bright, so I would anticipate much to happen in their future.
Nada Surf - Lucky
Their latest album showcased why they are such a timeless group. Songs such as "See These Bones", "Beautiful Beat" and "Weightless" highlighted this addition to your Nada Surf collection. Nada Surf has quite a bit of experience and it shined on this album.
This week has some of the most music in one seven day stretch than any other week we've stumbled upon this year... but it doesn't make much of difference if there isn't some good music contained in that list to begin with, so let's get started. Cold War Kids, whose Loyalty to Loyalty is the one we're looking forward to the most. This is the Fullerton, CA group's follow up to their much acclaimed album from last year Robbers & Cowards.
Also on our fingertips is Thievery Corporation's Radio Retaliation. This is the DJ duo Rob Garza and Eric Hilton's seventh full length album since their beginnings back in 1997. Could this be better than our favorite The Cosmic Game?
Blitzen Trapper makes some noise for SubPop and French Kicks reveal their Covers EP, which we talked about last week. Covers EP is available digitally this week. Let's not forget Kings of Leon, whom we mentioned could be out with their best yet this time around, or Peter, Bjorn & John, who's single "Young Folks" made them infamous last year - they're newest, Seaside Rock, should be worth checking out.
Lastly, Mogwai and TV On The Radio arrive this week with a new album each. Need we say more? Get listening!
MP3: Blitzen Trapper - Furr (buy)
MP3: TV On The Radio - Golden Age (buy)
MP3: Peter Bjorn & John - Needles and Pills (buy)
Akimbo - Jersey Shores (Official) (MySpace)
All Girl Summer Fun Band - Looking Into It (Official) (MySpace)
Astronautalis - Pomegranate (Official) (MySpace)
Bang! Bang! - Industry Box (Official) (MySpace)
Blitzen Trapper - Furr (Official) (MySpace)
Brightblack Morning Light - Motion to Rejoin (Official) (MySpace)
Casiotone for the Painfully Alone - Town Topic (Official) (MySpace)
CAW! CAW! - Wait Outside EP (Official) (MySpace)
Cold War Kids - Loyalty to Loyalty (Official) (MySpace)
Conifer - Crown Fire (Official) (MySpace)
Cotton Jones Basket Ride - River Strumming (Official) (MySpace)
Donovan Quinn & The 13th Month - Donovan Quinn & The 13th Month (Official) (MySpace)
Dynamite Club - Fusion Era (Official) (MySpace)
Eleh - Floating Frequencies (Official) (MySpace)
Elvin Bishop - The Blues Roll On (Official) (MySpace)
Everlast - Love, War and The Ghost Of Whitey Ford (Official) (MySpace)
Faun Fables - A Table Forgotten EP (Official) (MySpace)
French Kicks - Covers EP (digital release) (Official) (MySpace)
Friendly Fires - Friendly Fires (Official) (MySpace)
Ghengis Tron - Board Up The House Remix (Official) (MySpace)
Girl Talk - Feed The Animals (physical release) (Official) (MySpace)
High Places - High Places (Official) (MySpace)
Holy Sons - Decline of the West (Official) (MySpace)
House of Heroes - The End is Not the End (Official) (MySpace)
I Heart Lung - Interoceans (Official) (MySpace)
Jackson Browne - Time For Conquer (Official) (MySpace)
Jenny Lewis - Acid Tongue (Official) (MySpace)
Karl Blau - Nature's Got Away (Official) (MySpace)
Kid Sister - Dream Date (Official) (MySpace)
Kings of Leon - Only By The Night (Official) (MySpace)
Kiss the Anus of a Black Cat - Nebulous Dreams (Official) (MySpace)
Koufax - Strugglers (Official) (MySpace)
La Dusseldorf - La Dusseldorf (Official) (MySpace)
Left Spine Down - Fighting For Voltage (Official) (MySpace)
Mamiffer - Hirror Enniffer (Official) (MySpace)
Marmoset - Record in Red (Official) (MySpace)
Max Richter - 24 Postcards in Full Color (Official) (MySpace)
Mogwai - The Hawk is Howling (Official) (MySpace)
Old Crow Medicine - Tennessee Pusher (Official) (MySpace)
Paul Flaherty - Aria Nativa (Official) (MySpace)
Peter Broderick - Home (Official) (MySpace)
Peter, Bjorn and John - Seaside Rock (Official) (MySpace)
Signal Hill Transmission - Starting Gun (Official) (MySpace)
Sing It Loud - Come Around (Official) (MySpace)
Tecumseh - Avalanche & Inundation (Official) (MySpace)
Ten Kens - Ten Kens (Official) (MySpace)
Terry Lynn - Kingstonlogic (Official) (MySpace)
The Mojomatics - Don't Pretend That You Know Me (Official) (MySpace)
The Morning Light - The Morning Light (Official) (MySpace)
The Pink Spiders - Sweat It Out (Official) (MySpace)
The Pretenders - Break Up The Concrete (Official) (MySpace)
The Week That Was - The Week That Was (Official) (MySpace)
Thievery Corporation - Radio Retaliation (Official) (MySpace)
Tracy Shedd - Cigarettes & Smoke Machines (Official) (MySpace)
TV on the Radio - Dear Science, (Official) (MySpace)
Woven - Designer Codes (Official) (MySpace)
Kings of Leon's Only By The Night will be out tomorrow (9/23/08) and we can already tell you its their best work to date, despite their 3.8 rating from Pitchfork (you know how they love halting a band's momentum like a brick wall). At least it beats out any Louis XIV review I've ever read.
They've certainly drummed up a good amount of press for themselves, and its not going to dissapoint those pressing for a better, deeper album from the foursome. Afterall, you have to be a great band to put out a good album, and to be hand-picked touring partners of U2 and Bob Dylan says a lot as to where this band is headed, right?
You may have heard their first single "Sex On Fire"; the vocals of Caleb Followill are stunning, as they are in my favorite song from this album "Manhattan". But rather than rant on and on and on about these guys as so many have already done, there are quite a bit of well done write-ups on Only By The Night already. Here are a few reviews from fellow bloggers:
Culture Bully Swear I'm Not Paul Chewing Gum For The Ears The Score Magazine State Magazine Pitchfork Semifiction There Goes The Fear Count Me Out Audio Scribbler
That should do for now... looks like reviews are all over the place once again, which is par for the course for KOL.
MP3: Kings of Leon - Manhattan (buy)
Official - http://www.kingsofleon.com/
MySpace - http://www.myspace.com/kingsofleon
MP3: Fujiya & Miyagi - Knickerbocker (buy)
MP3: Delta Spirit - People C'Mon (buy) (MUF)
MP3: Low Vs Diamond - This Is Your Life (buy)
MP3: Greg Laswell - Comes and Goes (In Waves) (buy)
MP3: I Love You But I've Chosen Darkness - When You Go Out (buy) (MySpace)
MP3: The Walkmen - In The New Year (buy)
MP3: The Stills - Being Here (buy)
MP3: Athlete - Flying Over Bus Stops (acoustic) (buy)
MP3: Kings of Leon - Manhattan (buy)
MP3: CSS - Beautiful Song (buy)
MP3: Does It Offend You Yeah - Whip it (Devo Cover) (buy)
MP3: Anthem In - Down (buy) (Official)
MP3: Arizona - Thimble (buy)
MP3: Black Kids - I'm not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How To Dance (buy)
MP3: El Ten Eleven - I Like Van Halen Because My Sister Says They Are Cool (buy)
MP3: Ra Ra Riot - Can You Tell Me (buy) (Official)
MP3: The Bravery - Swollen Summer (buy)
MP3: Daniel Gray - In the Morning (readme) (MySpace)
MP3: The Honorary Title - Stay Away (buy)
MP3: The Kooks - Kids (MGMT cover) (buy)
MP3: Radiohead - Down Is The New Up (buy)
MP3: Panda Riot - Paper Planes (live on WOXY) (buy) (Official)
MP3: The New Year - The Company I Get (buy)
MP3: The Uglysuit - Chicago (buy)
MP3: Ladyhawke - Back of the Van (Van She Tech Remix) (Official)
