Music Under Fire

The completion of MusicUnderFire's Best Songs of 2008. As before, if you missed our other parts of the top 100 list, 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 4: MUF's Top 100 Songs of 2008 (21-40)

20. Low Vs Diamond - Actions Are Actions (buy)
Why: From the harmonizing in the opening all the way down the the refrain and verses, this not only an excellent job of songwriting, but an exhillarating effort by one onf our favorite new finds this year. It really doesn't get much better than the breakdown 1:47 into the song.

19. American Princes - Auditorium (buy)
Why: The first 5 seconds sounds like something The Eagles may have put together years ago, but the song takes an upbeat turn with the drums, which is one of many factors that pulled this song together to make it work so well at the quick pace that it pulls. Fantastic job by American Princes for sneaking into our top 20.

18. Earlimart - Face Down In The Right Town (buy)
Why: Each time this song is played, its hard to get the 'Da do-do, Da do-do' out of your head. Earlimart's sublties are what makes them so great. Additional background vocals and piano add-ons make this a fantastic song. Personally, I would love to hear an acoustic version of this song done in all piano. This is our favorite Earlimart song to date.

17. Daniel Martin Moore - That'll Be The Plan (buy)
Why: As one of our readers put so well, it feels as though Moore is channelling Nick Drake. The songs are written so well, and the guitar-work is the driving factor in most of his album, but this song's happy nature and pleasant tattered rhythms made this our personal favorite that cannot be missed!

16. Dr. Dog - The Breeze (buy)
Why: As far as quick-hitters go, songs you immediately are drawn to, Philadelphia's own Dr. Dog stunned us with "The Breeze". The sullen vocals of Scott McMicken created a retro sound and blissful experience every time we listened to this song. Truly, this song will live on for years due to the songs tactful nature and composition of classic sounds we've all known to love.

15. Your Vegas - Troubled Times (buy)
Why: One of our favorite electro-rockers Your Vegas came out with a stunning, polished self-titled album this year and premiered this song off of their A Town and Two Cities EP. It remains our favorite song from the group.

14. Tokyo Police Club - Tessellate (buy)
Why: Months ago, I recall trying to figure out which song I really liked best off of this album, and with all of the peppy songs to pick from, 'Tessellate' was our hands-down, favorite pick. Maybe its the piano breakdowns, or maybe its the clapping/drumming combination, but whatever the case, we have added tessellate into our favorite songs of the year as well as our ever-expanding vocabulary.

13. Cut Copy - Lights and Music (buy)
Why: Its amazing that iTunes offered this song as a free download the week this came out, and we've been enjoying it ever since. Cut Copy's album was hard not to be recognized this year and the dance scene benefitted from this techno driven song, laced with some guitars -something these guys have blended so well.

12. Elbow - Mirrorball (buy)
Why: Another beautiful song from an extremely talented band. We can't stress enough how great it was to have Elbow return with another gem this year. If you don't know much about these guys and have quite the eclectic rock tastes, you might want to go back and listen to the rest of their catalogue.

11. The Airborne Toxic Event - Sometime Around Midnight (buy)
Why: This song has found its way into everyone's music libraries in 2008 and this song alone has made a name for the band. We felt it was such an anomaly, we had to include it in our top 20. The guitar pedals and singing are right up our alley.

10. Delta Spirit - Trashcan (buy)
Why: DS was pieced together of mainly percussionists and this song is already a classic, as far as we're concerned. The piano is refreshing as well as the soulful singing by Matt Vasquez. A perfect fit for our top 10.

9. MGMT - Time To Pretend (buy)
Why: You may have played it out by now, but MGMT's song "Time To Pretend" was all over the place this year in commercials, movie previews and everyone's iPods. We particularly can get enough of the synth melodie during the refrain. Match the song up with this year's most ridiculous video and you've got yourself our #9.

8. Coldplay Lovers In Japan / Reign Of Love (buy)
Why: Everything great about Coldplay is included in this song including some new touches added by Brian Eno. The pickup around 1:11 into the song makes this one of our favorites and an easy song to continuously return to.

7. French Kicks - Said So What (buy)
Why: Everything about this song is perfect, from the pool ball-breaking rhythm to the vocal chemistry. If there is one band to go see that we haven't, French Kicks are at the top of the list. Everything these guys create seems to melt in our ears.

6. Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin - Modern Mystery (buy)
Why: One of our most returned songs of 08' is "Modern Mystery" due to its soft-rock appeal and some clever lyrics - "You can really put me in my place, on a map in outer space." Not enough has been said of this talented group in 2008!

5. Fleet Foxes - White Winter Hymnal (buy)
Why: The harmony and picture just listening to this song with your eyes closed is enough to make us drop this one right into our #4 spot. Fleet Foxes stunned us this past year and will undoubtedly continue to do so, given our soft-spot for folksy bands.

4. Ra Ra Riot - Can You Tell (buy)
Why: A sucker for violins and some great heartfelt lyrics made Ra Ra Riot's "Can You Tell" a shoo-in for one of our favorite songs. Its really hard to ignore Ra Ra Riot, especially with a song like this.

3. Death Cab For Cutie - Cath... (buy)
Why: The one redeeming moment for DCFC was their best song from the album, "Cath...". The redeeming factor for this album was the lyrics pieced into every song by Gibbard, and although "Cath.." may be a bit depressing, its done perfectly so in a classic Death Cab style.

2. The Helio Sequence - Keep Your Eyes Ahead (buy)
Why: Our music libraries would fall completely apart in 2008 had it not been for The Helio Sequence's stunning album and title-track that we listed here. What more could you possibly want from a band? We had trouble choosing our favorite song from this album, but looking back at their show in May of this past year, this really was their best song performed live and comes across so well on the album as well.

1. Blitzen Trapper - God & Suicide (buy)
Why: The notion behind our #1 track is nothing pleasant to really put too much time into thinking about, but everything comes together in this song. Every time this track is played, CCR comes to mind, along with every other classic rock song that managed to stick around for decades. The same will happen to this song and Blitzen Trapper will continue to live on long after they band is finished playing. Excellent song by all accounts. Our only gripe may be that its only two minues long!

This week we're celebrating our 300th post! Considering 75% of all blogs don't make it past 3 months (we had 85 posts back then), we think this is a pretty big acomplishment to be where we're at - 300 posts in nine months (that's a little more than a post a day if you're doing the math).

For this small milestone, we compiled the list of ear-catching songs below. This is no ordinary list. Many of the songs below come from groups we've been following for quite some time and a few may be found on our 'best of' lists at the end of the year - the remainder are songs we've stubled upon in our searches for great music, new and old. We hope you enjoy our list below and are even more thankful for all of the visitors and people who have supported our site over the course of the last 9 months!

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)

Get your notepad out, this week has some quick hitters that are destined to spice up your music player. Led by The Academy Is and their newest piece, Fast Times at Barrington High, the pop punk boys from Chicago have been gaining speed from album to album.

Perhaps the most flexible of the artists releasing this week, is none other than the Swedish soulful indie groove of Lykke Li. Her song "Little Bit" is so darn catchy.

For fans of an acoustic or stripped-down vibe, The Walkmen, The Honorary Title and Ra Ra Riot fit the bill. With that charming and sometimes maniacal touch, The Walkmen's You and Me meshes well to the palate of Vampire Weekend and even 70's flower rockers.

Delivering some off-collar intrique this week is none other than Sterolab. Their album Chemical Chords comes with the same precision that has made them a mainstay in the experimental ambient scene.

31Knots - Worried Well (Official) (MySpace)
Anarbor - The Natural Way EP (Official) (MySpace)
Brimstone Howl - We Came in Peace (Official) (MySpace)
Caesars - Strawberry Weed (Official) (MySpace)
David Byrne - Big Love OST (Official) (MySpace)
Death Vessel - Nothing Is Precious Enough for Us (Official) (MySpace)
Fiery Furnaces - Remember (Official) (MySpace)
Gorilla Biscuits - Start Today (MySpace)
GZA - Pro Tools (Official) (MySpace)
Hotel Lights - Firecracker People (Official) (MySpace)
Human Highway - Moody Motorcycle (Official) (MySpace)
Jaguar Love - Take Me To The Sea (Official) (MySpace)
Jeff Hanson - Madam Owl (Official) (MySpace)
Jennifer O'Connor - Here With Me (Official) (MySpace)
Jesu - Why Are We Not Perfect? (Official) (MySpace)
Julianna Hatfield - How To Walk Away (Official) (MySpace)
Karina - First Love (Official) (MySpace)
Lindstrom - Where You Go I go Too (Official) (MySpace)
Loudon Wainwright III - Recovery (Official) (MySpace)
Lykke Li - Youth Novels (Official) (MySpace)
MakeUpBreakUp - We Prefer Not To... EP (Official) (MySpace)
Moondoggies - Don't Be A Stranger (Official) (MySpace)
Music Tapes - Music Tapes for Clouds & Tornadoes (Official) (MySpace)
Perhapst - Perhapst (Official) (MySpace)
Pram - The Moving Frontier (Official) (MySpace)
Ra Ra Riot - The Rhumb Line (Official) (MySpace)
Royal We - The Royal We (Official) (MySpace)
Salme Dahlstrom - The Acid Cowgirl Audio Trade (Official) (MySpace)
sBach - sBach (Official) (MySpace)
Shwayze - Shwayze (Official) (MySpace)
Staind - The Illusion of Progress (Official) (MySpace)
Starling Electric - Clouded Staircase (Official) (MySpace)
Stereolab - Chemical Chords (Official) (MySpace)
Straight Line - Stitch When Skies Wash Ashore (Official) (MySpace)
System and Station - A Nation of Actors (Official) (MySpace)
The Academy Is ... - Fast Times at Barrington High (Official) (MySpace)
The Dandy Warhols - Earth to the Dandy Warhols (Official) (MySpace)
The Honorary Title - Scream and Light Up the Sky (Official) (MySpace)
The Ritz - The Night of Day (Official) (MySpace)
The Stills - Oceans Will Rise (Official) (MySpace)
The Walkmen - You And Me (Official) (MySpace)
Todd Snider - Peace Queer (Official) (MySpace)
The Uglysuit - The Uglysuit (Official) (MySpace)
Uh Huh Her - Common Reaction (Official) (MySpace)
Verve - Forth (Official) (MySpace)
Xavier Rudd - Dark Shades of Blue (Official) (MySpace)