Julie's Top Songs of 2008 (part the first)

1. My Year in Lists - Los Campesinos!

I listened to this song for about four months solid this year. I retitled my personal blog after it. I watched the video nearly obsessively. This was undoubtedly the song of the year for me. The hook, the twee, the nostalgia, it was unstoppable. Thanks, Danny.

2. Murder in the City - The Avett Brothers

I have been extremely remiss in not writing about the Avett Brothers show we saw earlier this year in Gainesville, Florida.



Thanks to a tip from my old pal Curtis, I had already started listening to Emotionalism pretty obsessively as early as February of this year, but their studio work left me completely unprepared for the live show. Raucous bluegrass hoedown, indeed. Although this year's release, The Second Gleam, left me a little bit cold, this particular track is just so sweet and family-oriented, it melts me every time.



3. Fools - The Dodo's



This is another twitchy genre mash-up that I found completely impossible not to listen to over and over again earlier this year. They may be sweaty, but they sure can put together four-plus minutes of music.

4. Bleeding All Over You - Martha Wainwright

The song doesn't start until about three and a half minutes into the clip, but it's worth it. Something about her music is so classic and timeless, a little Rickie Lee, a little Neko Case, a little twang, and a lot of bitter cynical melancholy. And we all need that sometimes, right?



5. Here's the Thing - Girl Talk

In the interest of ending this on an upbeat note (with a positive jam), and because it is so damned well-deserved, a little slice of genius from the brilliant minds at the Case Western Reserve University bioengineering department: