My top 5 albums of 2008

5.) Santogold/ Santogold
I accidently came across Santogold on YouTube one day. My first thought watching her perform was, “Why the hell is MIA performing I thought she was pregnant?” But, I was wrong because in my eyes Santogold is less annoying than MIA. Her music is a brand of her own, with punk, new wave, and eclectic all over her album ‘Santogold’. After giving the album a good few listens, it grew on me. Her first single “Les artistes” was an indie/rock hit and made her a fixture among music artists. The album has received great praise from magazines and the industry itself.

www.myspace.com/santogold




4.) N.E.R.D/ Seeing Sounds
I’ve always been a fan of this band, until they broke up out of nowhere in 2005. I settled to listening to their second album ‘Fly or die’ for almost a year until I eventually lost it…on purpose. But, due to random boredom, they got back together to make their third album, ‘Seeing Sounds’. The first single “Spazz” received less airplay than their other single ‘Everyone nose’ which had a music video. I hated the music video due to Lindsay Lohan making a worthless appearance in it. The album shows their true producing talent as every song is written by Pharrell Williams. Every song is more unique and unlike them, which makes it even better.

www.myspace.com/nerdofficial




3.) Does it offend you yeah? / You have no idea what you’ve gotten yourself into
Does it offend you yeah?, formed in 2006 in Reading, England. Their electro/ dance punk sound has made critics compare them to Daft Punk, Justice and Digitalism. As for the name of the group, according to an interview it came from an episode of the British TV show “The Office”.They have a way of screaming at you, literally. As soon as you go on their MySpace page at less one of their songs immediately grabs you full attention.The one song that made me pay over $20 bucks just to get their album from a friend in the UK was “Let’s Make out.” Every song is a different dance track that I guarantee has been played at a rave.The only way I can hate this band is if I hear another one of their songs in a horrible movie trailer.

www.myspace.com/doesitoffendyou




2.) Lykke Li/ Youth Novels
I’ve tried so many ways to avoid her when she first came out. I just remember seeing her video one day on MTVU in the cafeteria. However, I gave her a try when my two persistent friends kept singing her songs out loud and posting her other songs all over MySpace. And I must say that I’m pissed that I actually avoided her. Her music is a mix of soul and electro and her voice makes it better, even though she’s kind of talking. Rolling Stone magazine put her song “I’m good, I’m gone “in the # 24 spot for the 100 best songs of 2008. Her album “Youth Novels” is apparently a book of her life, which sounded like it was filled of break ups and makes ups…cliché I know but I had to do it. She even did a cover of the song “Knocked up” which is by and featured Kings of Leon and that makes her awesome in my eyes.

www.myspace.com/lykkeli


And drum roll please ….




1.)Mindless Self Indulgence/ IF

If you have never heard of Mindless Self Indulgence you need to choke on something…I don’t care what it is but choke! I never heard of this band until 2007 when I went to Projekt Revolution and ended up working by the second stage where new artist performed. MSI hit the stage with the lead singer Jimmy Urine (yes, that is his name) talking about animals having sex and throwing condoms into the audience. After their set I had the chance to get an autograph and picture with him. Yes, I just bragged about it, because it was that fucking awesome! With their new album, IF their sound stays the same as their first album. However, this album was more of a big fuck you to their record executives. Every song is showcases Jimmy’s true ability to make masturbation and sex on the road funny. This album made my summer more interesting due to my friend and I blasting it every day after work and during our road trips. In other words this album deserves to number one for one reason…”IT’S MOTHER FUCKING AWESOME!!”

www.myspace.com/mindlessselfindulgence

Honorable Mentions:
Paramore –The Final Riot!
Kings of Leon- Only by the night
Jack’s Mannequin- The Glass Passengers
The Killers- Human