Mickey's Lists of 2008!

Mickey's Top Ten of 2008
1 - Fleet Foxes - s/t - This and Girl Talk may as well be tied for best, but longevity may favor the Foxes. Also, I can play it in front of the boys, which I can't say for Girl Talk.

2 - Girl Talk - Feed the Animals - Was there any inkling Mr. Gillis could have outdone Night Ripper? Not only does he do things one better, he also gave away the album for free.

3 - Frightened Rabbit - Midnight Organ Fight - These guys manage to be cliched on paper: Acoustic guitar, keyboards, drums, bitter songs about breakups. The whole is definitely greater than the sum of its parts.

4 - Dr. Dog - Fate - Another triumph by the boys of Dog.

5 - Smoking Popes - Stay Down - Dear Rivers Cuomo, Please relinquish your first two Weezer albums to Josh Caterer. Thank you. - Mickey Pearson (PS to the haters - I understand that Little Jane-Marie is unapologetically cheesy, but I'm a father now and can sympathize with Caterer.)

6 - TV on the Radio - Dear Science, - This band is unstoppable.

7 - Haley Bonar - Big Star - She may have abandoned Duluth, but it seems to have benefitted her outlook on life, as the songs here have a tinge of Prozac to them.

8 - Department of Eagles - In Ear Park - The lead Grizzly Bear dude does roughly the same thing as his GB stuff, but manages to make it a lot less echoey and more structured. Delish!

9 - The Dodos - Visiter - Sort of like Animal Collective's Sung Tongs, but more accessible. Lots of fun.

10 - She & Him - Volume One - Zooey Deschanel showcases her awesome voice with M. Ward's great musicianship behind.

More past the break...

Honorable Mentions:
The Decemberists - Always the Bridesmaid series
Blitzen Trapper - Furr
Doomtree - S/T
Tim Fite - Fair Ain't Fair
Someone Still Loves You, Boris Yeltsin - Pershing
Rhymefest - Man in the Mirror
Okkervil River - The Stand Ins
The Mountain Goats - Heretic Pride
The Hold Steady - Stay Positive

Albums I'd probably like a lot if I'd listened to them more:
The Knux - Remind Me In 3 Days...
Jeremy Messersmith - The Silver City
Old Crow Medicine Show - Tennessee Pusher

Best Songs, alphabetical by artist: (Download this mix here)
Furr - Blitzen Trapper
Highway 16 - Haley Bonar
Gold And a Pager - The Cool Kids
Valerie Plame - The Decemberists
No One Does It - Department of Eagles
Foam Hands - Destroyer
Fools - Dodos
Gander Back - Doomtree
From - Dr. Dog
Big Mistake - Tim Fite
Ragged Wood - Fleet Foxes
The Modern Leper - Frightened Rabbit
Tracks 1-6 on Night Ripper - Girl Talk
Lisa - Albert Hammond Jr.
One For the Cutters - The Hold Steady
Will Get Fooled Again - Max Tundra
Cookie Breath - Nathan McKee
Time to Pretend - MGMT
You Swan Go On - Mount Eerie w/Julie Doiron & Fred Squire
Autoclave - The Mountain Goats
A Few Words In Defense of Our Country - Randy Newman
Lost Coastlines - Okkervil River
Carolina Drama - The Raconteurs
Sentimental Heart - She & Him
Inní mér syngur vitleysingur - Sigur Rós
If You Don't Care - Smoking Popes
Boring Fountain - Someone Still Loves You, Boris Yeltsin
Golden Age - TV On the Radio
Oxford Comma - Vampire Weekend
The Grey Estates - Wolf Parade

Finn's Favorite songs of 2008:
1 - Riding in My Car - Wiggleworms
2 - Istanbul (Not Constantinople) - They Might Be Giants
3 = Yellow Submarine - The Beatles
4 - White Winter Hymnal - Fleet Foxes
5 - Streets of Fire - The New Pornographers

Best (read: only) movie I saw in the theater:
The Dark Knight

Wishlist '09:
A new Sufjan Stevens album, please
The Shins
Andrew Bird - Noble Beast
Spoon