As musical immersion goes, the South By Southwest Music & Media Conference is about as complete as it gets. Live music is everywhere you look in Austin, from official venues to makeshift stages set up in empty lots and art galleries and courtyards, for the better part of four days in a city that makes music part of its personality. Being a “South By” rookie, I travelled to Austin with two objectives: see as much music as possible and be open to surprises. The result? I saw 51 performances by 49 acts in five days, met fellow music nerds from across the globe, ate Tex Mex, walked the city’s streets and tweeted my experiences throughout.

Now, the total number of artists appearing at the festival was above 2,000. Obviously there was no way I could see everything I wanted to. But it really was a music lover’s playground all week, and as an added bonus several friends of mine were there too, so it was always easy to find someone to hang out with. The people of Austin are incredibly generous to turn their city over to outsiders for the week, and in fact it wasn’t until my last day in town that I felt like I was visiting a place where people actually live instead of just partying. So, armed with overpriced data and text plans for my iPhone and a scruffy beard that allowed me to fit right in, I began my SXSW last Wednesday evening…

The venues

Clearly music is important to Austin. It is home to legendary Waterloo Records and a bevy of successful artists such as Spoon and the late Townes Van Zandt, and SXSW was in its 24th year this year. Still, it’s astonishing to see so many great live music venues in a city that size, even a university town. Some of my favourites included Stubb’s, a permanent outdoor stage behind a BBQ place; Red Eyed Fly, which had a back patio stage and a smaller indoor stage for the fest; Mohawk, a two-tiered room also with two stages; and Emo’s, with its wide main room stage and plenty of space on its lopsided concrete floor. There were a couple dozen other official venues I missed out on, and eventually I began to wonder how they found enough sound systems to go around.

The day parties

Before I came I was advised to RSVP to as many day parties as I could, and so I did without really knowing what that meant. As it turned out, some of the best music of the festival was to be found at day parties, which were hosted by magazines, record labels, radio stations, blogs, music stores, and whoever else felt like throwing a bash. All of them were free, and were either set up at a major venue before its evening schedule began or at stages erected in vacant lots, parking lots or other available spaces.

The best day parties I went to were the AV Club party at the Mohawk (with Everybody Was In The French Resistance … Now!, pictured above) on Friday, the Coffee! No Pants? party on Saturday at Red Eyed Fly (hosted by radio station WXPN out of the University of Pennsylvania and featuring Lissie — video below), and the MWTX mini-festival out at some dusty vacant lot on Friday where I saw Billy Bragg and Frightened Rabbit.

Motel Sweet Home

Story time! I landed pretty sweet accommodations for the fest: a bachelor suite walking distance from downtown which used to be the living quarters for clergy at an old church building. The new owners are planning renos on the building, but until then they put some suites up for rent on Craigslist for South By. I didn’t actually meet the proprietor at first, since we handled payment online and she left the keys in the mailbox. But on my second night: trouble. It was late at night and the key I was given only worked in the deadbolt. It was almost as though I shouldn’t have also locked the doorknob unless I had a second key….

Anyway, I didn’t buy a voice plan for my cellphone in the U.S., so e-mail and text were the only ways to make contact unless I wanted to run up roaming charges. And by the time I resorted to that it was past 3 a.m.

And straight to voice mail.

Running out of options, I briefly attempted to snooze on the step of the apartment until I came to my senses. That’s when I wandered down the street, underdressed and with a dying cellphone, and flagged down a cab. Somehow the cabbie knew of a motel with vacancies on the busiest week of the year: a sketchy little place called the Deluxe Inn. The stains on the carpet weren’t too bad, the room smelled of cigarette smoke but was otherwise clean, and I bedded down for a few hours. In the morning I heard back from the proprietor of my building and met her back at the suite to get the second key and a reimbursement of what the motel cost.

The food

Imagine you’re a vegetarian and all you hear about culinary delights of the place you’re visiting can be summed up in three letters: BBQ. Doesn’t exactly set the heart alight (although I’m sure some of you out there wouldn’t mind that, smothered in some tangy sauce). Thankfully, Austin also offers great Tex Mex, and it’s enough of a hippie hangout to have more veggie options than the rest of Texas combined.A few day parties I went to provided free breakfast burritos, but the standout breakfast I had was at a diner called 24, right next to Waterloo Records at 6th and Lamar. The wait was long, but the payoff was worth it: it’s comfort food done right, with local, fresh, organic and veg-friendly ingredients. Just check out this description of breakfast:

Served all day. Certified humane, cage-free eggs from Gonzales, TX. Waffles made from yeast-risen dough with butter, Madagascar bourbon vanilla and raw sugar. Maple syrup is 100% Grade A Dark Amber. Veggie sausage made in-house with beets, mushrooms, lentils, rice, pumpkin seeds and golden flaxseeds. Pork sausage ground and made in-house; bacon is Wright Brand Applewood Smoked. Ham is Niman Ranch Applewood Smoked Uncured Petite; country ham is Luter’s Genuine Smithfield from Virginia.

Tell me that doesn’t whet your appetite. Anyway, I had a breakfast platter with a waffle, two eggs, fresh fruit, veggie sausage and a tall glass of grapefruit juice. It was enough to tide me over until dinner, when I found fantastic cheese quesadillas — in a pub of all places!

The bands

I shouldn’t be so proud of the fact that I saw 20 bands on the Friday of the festival. I really ought to be striving for quality over quantity, right? Yet just being exposed to so much music made me long for the next great thing, even just a few songs into any given act. Besides, I only saw six acts on Wednesday, 12 on Thursday, 11 on Saturday and two on Sunday, after most everyone had gone home. That’s a little more reasonable, I think.

One thing you learn quickly at South By is to lower your expectations as far as sound quality is concerned. There’s very little time for sound check, and the variety of acts all with different instrumentation means a huge challenge for the sound men (and women). That said, let’s run through my five favourite sets of the festival (not necessarily in this order):

1. Les Savy Fav at Galaxy Room Backyard: Problems hearing the vocals aside, this was a fantastic show. Singer Tim Harrington is a certified mad man who can be relied upon only for his unpredictability. Right away he was climbing speaker towers, messing with the stage lights by turning them on the audience, and before long chewing the ends off glow sticks and pouring the chemical goo on his bare chest. And at least the band’s guitar-heavy melodies could be clearly heard. After missing most of the Les Savy Fav set two years ago in Barcelona for reasons of intoxication, this is what I came for.

2. Free Energy at Beauty Bar/Palm Door: These A.M. radio revivalists gave me my second wind on Thursday night after a listless and perturbed set by Titus Andronicus. I moved right up to the front and rocked out to sunny power pop like a crazy person. Being heavy on the hooks would have been enough for me, but guitarist Scott Wells can really shred. One of my favourite bands of 2010 so far.

3. Major Lazer at Cedar Street Courtyard: In terms of musicianship there wasn’t a lot to Major Lazer, but it was the best hour-long party I was part of all week. The Diplo/Switch collab was represented by Diplo as DJ, accompanied by a guy-girl tandem of party-till-you-drop cheerleaders (”a hype man, Skerrit Bwoy, and a dancer, Mimi,” according to Pitchfork). The trio kept the crowd hopping and the vibe loose, a nice antidote to that evening’s freezing temperature.

4. Broken Bells at Stubb’s: For a relatively new group, combining the talents of Danger Mouse and James Mercer from The Shins, Broken Bells were incredibly tight, and they stole the show on a very strong NPR Music bill that also included Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings, The Walkmen and local favourites Spoon. Something about Danger Mouse’s punchy treatment of Mercer’s falsetto-friendly melodies really takes it to another level. I can’t wait to really dive into their debut album, as soon as I get my hands on it. In the meantime, NPR has a recording of their Stubb’s set.

5. Visqueen at Habana Calle 6: Seattle’s Visqueen had piqued my interest thanks to the NPR All Songs Considered festival preview podcast, and a very strong single, “Hand Me Down.” Fronted by songwriter Rachel Flotard and her shining lead vocals, the five-piece rock band filled the room for this early Saturday night set, and impressed with a melodic blitz on the ears. It also helped that Flotard was several ways of charming in between songs. If there’s any justice in rock (and we all know there is), this won’t be the last you hear of Visqueen.

A final note about a festival the size of this one: you can get exposed to all kinds of new music without ever seeing it live if you talk to fellow festival-goers and read a few reviews during the weekend. The list of acts I’m currently checking out or planning to check out, even though I missed their SXSW sets, includes Local Natives, Surfer Blood, Thee Oh Sees, Dawes, The Morning Benders, Freelance Whales, Gin Wigmore, The Low Anthem (I did catch the tail end of one of their sets), Let’s Wrestle, Wye Oak, The Cave Singers, Avi Buffalo, Dum Dum Girls, Marina & The Diamonds, Dr. Dog, Neon Indian, Bear In Heaven, The Soft Pack, Toro Y Moi, Rye Rye, Cymbals Eat Guitars, Memory Tapes, Oh No Ono, Here We Go Magic, Deer Tick, Band of Heathens, An Horse, Kings Go Forth, The Hood Internet, Dan Mangan, The Honey Brothers, Rival Schools, Hey Marseilles, Gemma Ray, and Cheeseburger. That’s a good list!

Room for Improvement

Speaking of acts I didn’t see, there were a few “must-sees” on my list that I just didn’t get to over the weekend, most regrettably Lyrics Born, The xx, Rhymefest, The Whigs, jj, Scissor Sisters, Ben Gibbard and Califone. Which brings us to the things-I-will-do-differently-next-time portion of the blog entry. There’s no question I’ll be back in Austin again, though I’m not exactly sure when. So here’s a rundown of what I’d like to improve upon:

1. Consider not buying a festival badge: This year I was able to secure a badge from a friend who couldn’t go, which gave me plenty of access to official shows and very little in the way of lineups. That’s a big plus, but as I’ve said some of the best stuff in Austin was free, and my pal Michael attended a lot of the same stuff I did without a pass. If I’m going to do it on the cheap next year, the badge will be the first thing to go.
2. See a wider variety of acts, by country: By my tally, I saw fewer than 10 acts from outside North America, blowing a pretty good chance to check out music from China, Japan, Chile — even stuff from Scandanavia, which I could have seen more of. As well, I couldn’t resist the temptation to see Torontonian and other Canadian artists in an exotic locale. No regrets, as the sets by bands like Born Ruffians, the Rural Alberta Advantage and the Parlour Steps were among the most rewarding I saw, but next time I’ll try to go easy on the Canucks.
3. See a wider variety of acts, by genre: My list was heavy on the indie rock and electro — my favourite genres to be sure, but too often I passed over hip hop or folk or anything too far outside my comfort zone.
4. Bring a highlighter: My ramshackle iCal-based system worked okay, but it would have been better to have it working in tandem with old-fashioned marking up of the festival pocket guide.
5. Keep an eye out for “secret” shows and less-hyped events: This one is tough, because who wants to be reading and researching when you could be rocking? I was able to catch some cool stuff because I watched my Twitter feed (drag-queen Ramones cover band the Ramonahs comes to mind), but I missed out on some great day-party sets because of planning deficiencies.
6. Rent, or maybe even travel with, a bike: Lots of stuff was within walking distance, but a bike would have allowed me to expand my realm and also get home quickly at the end of the night without a pedalled cab, as cool as they were.
7. Persuade more of my friends to join in the fun: So, is anybody free in March 2011?

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When I consider the year in music, my thoughts turn more to singles than albums, possibly because I’ve spent quite a bit of time foraging for songs that will make people go nuts on the dance floor in 2009. Nevertheless, I remain committed to the album as the primary vehicle for musical expression, and in 2009 there were plenty of good ones.

Here, then, are my personal picks for the 10 best albums of 2009, limited simply by what showed up on my radar this year. The usual disclaimer applies: If there is a terrific album I didn’t hear (such as, perhaps, Florence and the Machine’s Lungs or St. Vincent’s Actor), or became aware of too late to form a real opinion (as in the case of the debut from Them Crooked Vultures and The Thermals’ Now We Can See), it’s not on the list. Also, a few 2008 releases were in high rotation for me in 2009, like The Gaslight Anthem’s The ‘59 Sound. But please alert me to any blind spots, because I am nothing if not a sponge for great music.

10. Metric — Fantasies
A bit of a return to form for Metric after the inconsistent Live It Out from 2005, Fantasies was nominated for the 2009 Polaris Prize. Nothing complicated about the album, but it can be relied upon for steady rock with a slight snarl from Emily Haines. Key tracks: “Help I’m Alive,” “Sick Muse,” “Gimme Sympathy”
9. Yeah Yeah Yeahs — It’s Blitz!
A triumphant third album for the Karen O-led rockers, who demonstrated plenty of swagger and added electro-pop elements to their sound with resounding success. Also worth noting is how they filled in for the Beastie Boys at this summer’s Lollapalooza festival and practically stole the show. Key tracks: “Zero,” “Dull Life,” “Heads Will Roll”

8. Wilco — Wilco (The Album)
I will freely acknowledge that I am comfortably living in my Wilco years, a period in which everything Jeff Tweedy says, does or thinks speaks directly to my personal experience. Still, it’s reassuring that this record reintroduces the listener to the band’s sense of humour and whimsy. In showcasing the many sides of Wilco in 2009 (The Song, The Album, The Tour, even The Tote), Tweedy and company let their hair down in a way that wasn’t immediately apparent on 2007’s Sky Blue Sky. Even a tender duet with Feist, “You and I,” is a ballad with a lighter side. Key tracks: “Wilco (The Song),” “You and I,” “I’ll Fight”

7. M. Ward — Hold Time
Wise enough to recognize a partnership that hits the right notes, the man they call M. recruited Zooey Deschanel (the two of them released a standout album as She & Him in 2008) to add backing vocals to a couple of the tracks on this record (including “Rave On“). The tone they set is evocative of a sunny, warm and rich roots recording from the ’60s. That Ward is able to up the ante with textured instrumentation and production throughout Hold Time makes it an absolute delight. Key tracks: “For Beginners,” “Never Had Nobody Like You,” “Stars of Leo”
6. Jon-Rae Fletcher — Oh Maria
Oh Maria is a journey into the deepest part of the soul of Jon-Rae Fletcher, a Kelowna, B.C., native whose career has taken him to Toronto with gospel-tinged country act The River and back to B.C., where this album was born. Fletcher explores themes of love, loss and belonging using a deep and soulful singing voice and a desperately dark point of view, accompanied by a stripped-down band accented by a single trombone. Key tracks: “Maria,” “Downtown,” “Oh, Maria” (No YouTube videos of these songs, but here’s one from a recent performance in Victoria)

5. K’naan — Troubadour
Canadian by way of Somalia, rapper K’naan bared all by telling his story through Troubadour, a 14-song statement record that was short-listed for the Polaris Prize. Anecdotes about his homeland and direct references to the immigrant experience simply sparkle with the rhymes and lyrics of a poet, but K’naan also possesses an obvious passion for party music. With a song about relying on Western Union and one that was chosen as a theme song for the 2010 soccer World Cup, it’s as well-rounded an album as you’ll hear from all of 2009. Key tracks: “Bang Bang,” “Dreamer,” “Wavin’ Flag”

4. The xx — xx
It’s fair to call this an unspectacular debut album, until you really listen to it. Then it strikes a nerve with a direct hit. The rather plain girl-guy vocals become intense whispers aimed at the heart. The picked-guitar and bass dance together in a minimalist’s haunted, sensual dream. And overall, the writing and production make this feel not like a debut, but a return to form. And they’re all 20 years old. Key tracks: “Crystalized,” “Islands,” “Shelter”

3. Animal Collective — Merriweather Post Pavilion
Who would have believed at the start of their career that Animal Collective would chart in the Billboard top 20 in 2009? Certainly not many. But Merriweather Post Pavilion is the kind of album that created a lot of surprises. It features restless pop melodies packed tightly within a wrapping of samples and synth loops that sound as fantastic in earbuds as on the dancefloor. Trance-like vocals and tribal rhythms come standard, of course. Key tracks: “My Girls,” “Summertime Clothes,” “Bluish”

2. Gentleman Reg — Jet Black
It’s time now to expose the robbery of the year: Jet Black was not even long-listed for the Polaris Prize this year, even though it would be my pick for the winner. Gentleman Reg’s trademark is rock with an easy groove and the best falsetto you’ve ever heard. Jet Black is full of gems, from singalong straight-ahead rockers to aching ballads. There’s even one of the year’s best dancefloor anthems in “We’re In A Thunderstorm.” Key tracks: “You Can’t Get It Back,” “How We Exit,” “We’re In A Thunderstorm”

1. Miike Snow — Miike Snow
Another debut album cracks the top ten, and this time it was untouchable. Miike Snow will make you want to get on the dancefloor immediately, grabbing hold with an active rhythm section and seizing control with the strong tenor of singer Andrew Wyatt. But the real strength is in the songwriting, which makes sense: two of the trio’s members wrote the popular Britney Spears track “Toxic”. I dare you to resist the groove on this ultimately satisfying album. Key tracks: “Animal,” “Cult Logic,” “A Horse Is Not A Home”

Honourable Mentions: Grizzly Bear’s Veckatimest, Phoenix’s Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix, Parlour Steps’ The Hidden Names, Dark Was the Night (a compilation), White Rabbits’ It’s Frightening, Monsters of Folk’s self-titled album, Camera Obscura’s My Maudlin Career, Viva Vocce’s Rose City, Mos Def’s The Ecstatic

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I’m stealing this Facebook meme for use on my blog, which will export it to Facebook as a note, and to Twitter…. whoa, meta…

OK, here are the rules. Test your memory and your love of live music by listing 50 artists or bands (or as many as you can remember) you’ve seen in concert. List the first 50 acts that come into your head. An act you saw at a festival and opening acts count, but only if you can’t think of 50 other artists. Oh, and list the first concert you ever saw (you can remember that, can’t you)?

Should you choose this challenge, here’s what you do: Copy my note. Click on “notes” under tabs on your profile page. Select “write a new note” in the top corner. Paste the copy in the body of the note. Make your list. Change the number at the top, and add your title. Once you’ve saved, don’t forget to tag friends (including me) on the right.

1. Beirut
2. The New Pornographers
3. The Weakerthans
4. Constantines
5. Regina Spektor
6. Modest Mouse
7. Death Cab For Cutie
8. Wilco
9. My Morning Jacket
10. Blue Rodeo
11. Matthew Good Band
12. The Grapes of Wrath (first show)
13. Of Montreal
14. The Rural Alberta Advantage
15. Tori Amos
16. Barenaked Ladies
17. Rheostatics
18. Sunshine State
19. Parlour Steps
20. Mark Berube
21. Iron & Wine
22. Forget Your Face
23. Reel Big Fish
24. Goldfinger
25. Joel Plaskett Emergency
26. Frightened Rabbit
27. Nathan Lawr
28. Jane’s Addiction
29. Wolf Parade
30. The Arcade Fire
31. Weezer
32. Radiohead
33. The Tragically Hip
34. Smashing Pumpkins
35. Sloan
36. Chemical Brothers
37. Oasis
38. Metallica
39. The Odds
40. Shout Out Out Out Out
41. Champion
42. Hamilton Trading Co.
43. Laura Barrett
44. Bon Iver
45. The Shout Out Louds
46. Tilly and The Wall
47. Henri Faberge and The Adorables
48. The Bicycles
49. The Blow
50. Big Sugar

(Easier than I was afraid it would be, but it took a bit of time. I had to remember who I’d seen somewhere other than a festival!)

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• Desmond Mason, SF: Good defender who can pass the ball, and distribution will be key to the Raps’ offence.
• Ike Diogu, PF: Rebounds well and a deceptively good scorer if given minutes.
• Jamaal Magloire, C: Local boy has lost at least two steps and won’t play all that well defensively, but he’d play for cheap and would provide five fouls off the bench as a ninth or 10th man.
• Dahntay Jones, SG: Fills the need for a two guard who can play a lot of minutes while top draft pick DeMar DeRozan hones his skills at the position. As an added bonus, he’s a defensive specialist on a team with no stoppers on the perimeter. Played for less than a million last season.

I have no idea how many, if any, of these guys we could afford or would be interested in signing, especially since GM Bryan Colangelo appears to still be wheeling and dealing. There could be value in any of them, however, especially on the defensive end.

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Today we’ve got a double-shot of music happenings on propeller: a new episode of the Hiptarded podcast and a reminder to mark Feb. 28 on your calendar for a night of celebration as the Dueling Deejays collective turns two years old.

First, the podcast. Last month, Jehan and I took the train to Montreal and used the opportunity to record our review of the year in music. Listen in to Hiptarded #5 (right-click to download mp3), featuring songs from: The Rural Alberta Advantage, The Ting Tings, The Black Ghosts, MGMT, Born Ruffians and Bon Iver. The podcast clocks in at about 39 minutes, perfect for your daily commute or your weekly turn to do the dishes.

Then, join us for an old-fashioned dance party at a new venue! We’ve pulled together as many of the Dueling Deejays who have appeared over the past two years as possible for a very special night on Saturday, Feb. 28 at Teranga Afrobar in Kensington Market, Toronto. Teranga features a kickin’ sound system and a well-trodden dancefloor. All the details are on the accompanying flyer, and at the Dueling Deejays homepage.

See you on the 28th, and enjoy the ‘cast!

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10. Vampire Weekend Vampire Weekend
9. Why? Alopecia
8. The Mountain Goats Heretic Pride
7. The Rural Alberta Advantage Hometowns
6. The Black Ghosts The Black Ghosts
5. Frightened Rabbit The Midnight Organ Fight
4. Mates of State Re-arrange Us
3. Bon Iver For Emma, Forever Ago
2. Born Ruffians Red, Yellow & Blue
1. Girl Talk Feed the Animals (for its incredible melding of decades of pop music in one innovative, rewarding package. A real step up from Night Ripper in intensity and danceability)

Honourable mentions: MGMT (Oracular Spectacular), TV on the Radio (Dear Science), The Ting Tings (We Started Nothing), The Walkmen (You & Me), Constantines (Kensington Heights), Cut Copy (In Ghost Colours)

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I’m not going to go as far as saying that these songs are the best of the year, because as I scan other people’s lists I’m already finding terrific stuff I missed out on. However, I can say with certainty that these are the 50 songs from ‘08 that gave me goosebumps, made me want to dance or lodged themselves in my head more than any others.

50. Willow Tree by Chad VanGaalen

49. Another Day by Jamie Lidell: Thank you, Jamie, for taking over the role of modern soul champ from Ben Harper, who went off the rails some time ago.

48. Little Bit by Lykke Li

47. I Will Possess Your Heart by Death Cab For Cutie

46. Viva La Vida by Coldplay: They’ve become a contemptible band, and the vocal melody is accused of being stolen from Ted Nugent, of all people, but still the song is undeniably appealing.

45. Bats Over the Pacific Ocean by Jaguar Love: Released on a Matador Records sampler in March, prior to the band’s summertime debut. Love the intensity and driving beat. And yes, that singer is a guy (Johnny Whitney, formerly of the Blood Brothers).

44. Rich Girls by The Virgins: Pretty much on this list just for the disco-tastic bassline.

43. Why Do You Let Me Stay Here? by She & Him: Sure she sang sweetly in the holiday movie Elf, but who knew Zooey Deschanel had pipes like that? M. Ward is in the band, too.

42. Silence by Portishead: A triumphant return suitable for dark times.

41. Bruises by Chairlift: I hope you’ve listened to this song enough times to disassociate it from the iPod commercial, because it really is a breezy pop gem.

40. Sex On Fire by Kings of Leon

39. Stay Positive by The Hold Steady

38. Mansard Roof by Vampire Weekend: Since the album’s best track, Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa, became an instant hit in 2007, ahead of the LP’s release, the excellent Mansard Roof will have to represent.

37. Hit the Wall by Brendan Canning: Broken Social Scene never really went away; they just started releasing albums under individuals’ names. Thankfully, the great songs have a way of emerging.

36. In the Night by The I Spies: Listen carefully to the guitar line in the chorus. If the next Girl Talk album could somehow incorporate that, it would surely blow my mind.
(Can’t find it on Seeqpod, but it’s a free download here from Last.fm)

35. You Belong by Hercules and Love Affair

34. The Grey Estates by Wolf Parade

33. Foxes Mate For Life by Born Ruffians: Can’t say enough about this fantastic Toronto band’s first album. This one is in an odd time signature (either 5/8 or 10/8, or something even more complicated), but even beyond that delightful timekeeping challenge it’s a great song.

32. The Sound by Human Highway: Jim Guthrie and Nick Thorburn of Islands join forces for something I might be tempted to call “acoustic-groovy.” But I won’t.

31. Pop Lie by Okkervil River

30. The Hollows by Why?: Strange, strange lyrics from the mind of Yoni Wolf, backed by indie rock with a hip-hop sensibility.

29. Evil Urges by My Morning Jacket: Only really becomes an elite song after about the 3:03 mark.

28. Get Better by Mates of State

27. Ready For the Floor by Hot Chip: Feels like it’s been a staple of my dance playlists for years.

26. The Old Price Still Lives At Home by Shad: Great by itself, but best experienced by watching the Fresh-Prince-parodying video.

25. Barack Obama by Cocoa Tea: A reggae veteran’s homage to that guy everyone likes.

24. Hott 2 Deff by Lyrics Born

23. Man in the Mirror by Rhymefest: Not a cover, but the title track from the Chicago emcee’s Michael Jackson tribute album. With an assist to golden-touch producer Mark Ronson.

22. Heretic Pride by The Mountain Goats: Upbeat song with chilling lyrics

21. This Gift by Sons and Daughters: Gotta love the call-and-response “ah-ooohs”.

20. Tessellate by Tokyo Police Club

19. That’s Not My Name by The Ting Tings: First of two faves from the British duo. Also worth noting: Dizzee Rascal does a great cover of this track, twisting the lyrics just so.

18. Right Hand On My Heart by The Whigs

17. The Twist by Frightened Rabbit

16. Hearts On Fire by Cut Copy

15. Anyway You Choose to Give It by The Black Ghosts: Sets itself apart from other dance-pop tracks released this year because the singer can really sing and the songwriting is thoughtful and not quite as derivitive as something like Hearts On Fire (which I love, but you know, it sounds like it could have been released in 1984).

14. Kids by MGMT: Having brought up the 80s influence in dance music this year, I may as well stick with the theme. MGMT was better than anyone this year at packaging that synth-based sound with clever lyrics and hooks the captain would be proud of. Example #1 is here.

13. I Will Not Sing A Hateful Song by Constantines

12. Moab by Conor Oberst: It’s almost a guarantee that the driving force behind Bright Eyes will release at least one song every year that I adore.
(Sorry, couldn’t find it on Seeqpod)

11. Many Shades of Black by The Raconteurs: Just a great singalong torch song in which Brendan Benson channels the spirit of Freddie Mercury.

10. Great DJ by The Ting Tings: The drums, the drums, the drums, the drums, the drums, the drums, the drums, the drums, the drums, the drums, the drums, the drums.

9. Don’t Haunt This Place by The Rural Alberta Advantage: Toronto trio’s melancholy pop classic with the sweetest harmonies. And dare I say the drums, the drums, the drums….

8. Creeper by Islands: I knew a lot about Islands before this song, but I didn’t know that nobody writes a spooky, catchy, four-on-the-floor rock-disco anthem like Nick Thorburn.

7. White Winter Hymnal by Fleet Foxes: They sing nice.

6. The Modern Leper by Frightened Rabbit: All of Scotland should take a bow for this one (especially the mandolin player).

5. See These Bones by Nada Surf: The year’s best buildup song, with overlapping vocal lines in the rock-out climax that nearly leave you blessedly exhausted by the end of it.

4. Time to Pretend by MGMT: Yes, I fell under the spell of this mesmerizing dance number. Really says 2008 for me, which might make it a song I never listen to in the 10s.

3. I Need A Life by Born Ruffians: Has all the elements that make Born Ruffians great: jingly-jangly guitars, call-and-response vocals and urgent but bending-not-breaking drums.

2. American Boy by Estelle (featuring Kanye West): Every element of this track is like candy for the ears, from Estelle’s accent to the dirty-synth chorus to the ridiculous rap riffing off British slang. Never got old, never stopped killing it on the dancefloor.

1. Skinny Love by Bon Iver: This one’s from the tortured soul department, and boy does it hit the spot. Justin Vernon has the ideal falsetto for wailing in the verses, and belts it out in his normal range in the chorus, to great effect. The messy fiddling on the acoustic guitar works, and the handclaps at the end let you know everything’s going to be alright.

Coming next week: Top 10 albums of 2008, according to me.

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