James' Best Songs Of 2008

From what I recall, 2008 was a pretty good year.

I finished school, which was nice. I still don't have a decent job (or any job, for that matter) or make a decent living, but I remain glad to be rid of academia and the cloying, isolationist environment it fosters. Which isn't to say that I hated school, quite the opposite, just that after five years of it I was happy to have it over and done with.

And I still am.

This was also the year that I moved out of my kinda-first apartment (after a fairly acrimonious split with my longtime roommate) and back in with my parents for two long, agonizing months. The plus side of this was that Pamela and I found a much better new place, which I reside in to this day.

I'm sure some other stuff happened too. I think I got my wisdom teeth out that year.

Oh, and, of course, The Dark Knight came out and delivered on a prayer that most Batman fans thought would never be answered. I think some other people might have went to see it too . . .

Musically there were some real high notes. Portishead returned and, even though I didn't really care about them before, I did (and continue to) love their Third album. We also got some really good records from Destroyer, The Hold Steady, Deerhunter and The Walkmen, among others.

So, yeah, a pretty good year all around, and one you should definitely re-visit. Like right now.

Here's the track-list:

01. Portishead - "Magic Doors" [from Third]
02. Destroyer - "Foam Hands" [from Trouble In Dreams]
03. No Age - "Teen Creeps" [from Nouns]
04. Hercules and Love Affair - "Blind" [from Hercules and Love Affair]
05. The Hold Steady - "Constructive Summer" [from Stay Positive]
06. Spiritualized - "Death Take Your Fiddle" [from Songs in A&E]
07. Cut Copy - "So Haunted" [from In Ghost Colours]
08. Fleet Foxes - "White Winter Hymnal" [from Fleet Foxes]
09. TV on the Radio - "Stork and Owl" [from Dear Science]
10. Vampire Weekend - "Oxford Comma" [from Vampire Weekend]
11. Department of Eagles - "Around the Bay" [from In Ear Park]
12. Wolf Parade - "An Animal in Your Care" [from At Mount Zoomer]
13. Beach House - "You Came to Me" [from Devotion]
14. Fucked Up - "No Epiphany" [from The Chemistry Of Common Life]
15. Bonnie "Prince" Billy - "Lie Down in the Light" [from Lie Down in the Light]
16. Deerhunter - "Nothing Ever Happens" [from Microcastle]
17. Bob Dylan - "Red River Shore" [from The Bootleg Series Vol. 8 – Tell Tale Signs: Rare and Unreleased 1989–2006]
18. The Walkmen - "In the New Year" [from You & Me]

Here's the download link:

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=QJ7PX5SC

Enjoy.