Best tracks of 2008

Happy new year everyone! Hope you’ve enjoyed 2009 so far. And what better way to start the new year than telling you what will be hot in 2009 looking back at 2008. After we’ve squeezed the last drop of goodness out of 2008, here’s my list of the best tracks. Check out the best remixes of 2008 too if you haven’t done so already. To stay updated with Going Other Places in 2009, the RSS feed subscription is your best friend!

10. Benga – Night (New link)

Along with Skream’s Midnight Request Line this has become a dubstep hymn with it’s insanely catching hook and perfect finish. Benga has always been a master of the lower frequencies, a fact that is proofed once again with this track.

9. Cut Copy – Hearts on Fire (New link)

The seamless shift between tracks on Cut Copy’s In Ghost Colours made it hard to choose between their many gems, where their trademark Australian synthpop made my heart melt time after time. Hearts on Fire was always something special for me though with a chorus that never really gets to bore me.

8. Lykke Li – Little Bit

I have already expressed an amount of love for Lykke Li that’s well past what should be allowed. Although the remixes of her tracks are of exceptional quality, her original tracks expose a certain vulnerability that makes her stand out. Little Bit may be the best example of that with a shy chorus about being just a little bit in love.

7. Empire of the Sun – Walking on a Dream (New link)

Where Cut Copy were cool and pretty straight forward most of the time, Empire of the Sun were something completely different. Allowing themselves to make the most pompous albumcover of the year was a pretty brave move, but that the music could match their image was a bit surprising. Walking on a Dream is way over the top but somehow just a perfect popsong anyway.

6. College feat. Minitel Rose – The Energy Story (New link)

The artists around the Valerie label have been surprising me with their bittersweet pop this year that somehow went in a completely different direction from most of the guys who went big. College’s The Energy Story was definitely my favorite of the bunch as a electropop gem with a melancholic twist.

5. The Bug feat. Warrior Queen – Poison Dart

When you name your album London Zoo it shouldn’t be a surprise that the album has a primal sound to it. Still, I was surprised by The Bugs simple take on dubstep where this collaboration with Warrior Queen instantly became my favorite. Very apocalyptic track in a way, and I have yet to understand any of the lyrics.

4. Metronomy – Heartbreaker

Math seems to become an increasingly important factor in music where bands like Foals and Metronomy did theirs to promote the geeky sources of inspiration. I’ll never get tired of listening to those first 45 seconds! And is that a revolving door you’ve sampled guys?

3. Ladyhawke – Back of the Van (New link)

Ladyhawke’s retro sounds won me over in 2008 and Back of the Van really stood out on her debut. The insisting chorus does it for me every time, and you have no trouble believing that Ladyhawke is on fire when you listen to this track…. or that may just be me?

2. Passion Pit – Sleepyhead (New link)

At first this sounds like a mess. Jack Kerouac mumbles something and some smurfs take over the party, but all of a sudden you’re in the middle of one of the best and weirdest tracks of the year. The range of Michael Angelakos’ voice is just incredible! I actually thought that these high pitched voices (fake or real) died out many years ago, but Passion Pit proved me wrong.

1. Hercules & Love Affair – Blind (New link)

Call me a pitchfork fanboy or whatever you like, but this is the best track of 2008 by far. Disco came back to rescue us from the turbulent seas of distortion, and Anthony Hegarty was leading the crew in collaboration with Andrew Butler and the rest of Hercules and Love Affair. I don’t even know where to start with this one, it’s just a magic track.

Similar ramblings:

1. Empire of the Sun to release debut album
2. Van She remix Empire of The Sun
3. Pegase releases Empire of the Sun remix

Tagged as: benga, college, cut copy, empire of the sun, hercules and love affair, ladyhawke, lykke li, metronomy, minitel rose, passion pit, the bug