Top 15 Songs of 2008: 7 and 6!

Onward we march! Work interfered once again with my attempts to post daily, but we’re back with a double-dose today.

7: BLACK KIDS - PARTIE TRAUMATIC

You may have heard us talk about Black Kids before, since we mentioned them here. Oh, and here. On occasion, you may have read this post. Or watched this. Hopefully you at least saw our opinion on the band get vindicated here. Long story short, I don’t think any of us love this band, but we sure do like them. Of course, it’s not hard to explain why, as they have the loose, energetic rock style that all the critics keep saying makes Los Campesinos! so great. And it’s not that Los Campesinos! aren’t great, it’s just that listening to Black Kids is so much more fun. I mean this song features a sample from one of those “Spooky Halloween Sounds!” cds, Reggie Youngblood declaring that the song is “the tits”, and a danceable beat. What more could you ask for?

6: THE DECEMBERISTS - VALERIE PLAME

I talked about this song at length here. As any of our site’s readers know, we LOVE us some Decemberists. This song has been heralded as a return to form for the band. While it’s not fair for fans to demand a band to remain creatively stagnant, Valerie Plame is a pleasant reminder of a time when The Decemberists were known for creative instrumentation and eccentric song topics. It’s the globe-trotting story of a boy with an unrequited crush on Valerie Plame that’s backed by a banjo, oom-pah tuba, and triumphant horn stabs. It’s charming and just strange enough that you can’t help but be sucked in. Not one of the band’s greatest moments, but a great song all the same.