The final piece of my countdown puzzle is as always, my annual mixtape. Coming up with a songs of the year list is just too overhwhelming (hell, I have a hard enough time with the albums), so I like to put out a mix of the songs that defined the year in music for me. This year I managed to fit 18 songs into my 80 minute CD-R, but these are not necessarily my favorite 18 songs of the year. As a matter of fact, this was an especially tough year to figure out my mixtape because some of my favorite songs were just way too long and took up too much space. That’s the reason you won’t see any Titus Andronicus, Joanna Newsom, Sufjan, or LCD Soundsystem songs. There’s also some great songs I left off because the band had previously been on a mixtape and I wanted to get some new blood on to the mix this year.
Anyway, to the stats: As I already said, there’s 18 songs on this year’s mix. Only 5 of the songs come from albums that made my top 10, and 6 from 11 thru 25 albums. That means only 11 of the 18 songs come from albums in my top 25. That certainly has something to do with all the great tracks this year, but is also because, as I stated, I wanted to mix it up a little this year. (Pun intended? Yes.) The lowest ranked album with a song on the mix is “July Flame” from Laura Veirs’s album of the same name, which chimed in at #59 in my final rankings. I don’t have any songs from EPs, which is a rarity for my mixes.
So there you go. Below you can find the songs that will be spinning around my car’s cd player for the next few weeks, whenever I forget to bring my ipod with me. As I always remind people, this is not a ranking. The songs are listed in order of how they appeared on their respective albums. If you want to see my entire top 25 albums list in one easy place, head on over to my Amazon.com list and check it out (as well as all my lists for the past 10 years). Last, but not least, for the 3rd year in a row Amy Boyd has created my Mixtape album art for me. I’m taking care of her cat, so, it’s the least she could do. If you know her or ever happen to randomly meet her, tell her what an awesome job she did, once again.
[“World Sick” – Broken Social Scene :: Forgiveness Rock Record]
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[“Floating Vibes” – Surfer Blood :: Astro Coast]
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[“Go do” – Jónsi :: Go]
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[“Excuses” – The Morning Benders :: Big Echo]
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[“July Flame” – Laura Veirs :: July Flame]
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[“Airplanes” – Local Natives :: Gorilla Manor]
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[“Crash Years” – The New Pornographers :: Together]
So now the countdown can begin with the 15 albums that make up #11 through #25. The only albums you’ll see a little blurb for here are the albums that fall in this range that I’ve yet to do a write up for on the blog. For the rest of the albums, you can click on the band name to link to the post where they were mentioned.
#25) Wolf Parade – Expo 86
The third release (and possibly last) from the Montreal group still doesn’t quite reach the heights of their wonderful 2005 debut, but Expo 86 does get back to what made that album so good, while ridding themselves of the over-ambition and 2008’s decent, but disappointing At Mount Zoomer. Spencer Krug is one of my favorite indie rock artists, and I always liked his stuff more than co-founder Dan Boeckner, however, on this album Boeckner is the star, although the album’s best moment does come from Krug in “What Did My Lover Say? (It Always Had To Go This Way)”.
[“What Did My Lover Say? (It Always Had To Go This Way)” – Expo 86]
#24) The Tallest Man on Earth – The Wild Hunt
It’s pretty much impossible to listen to The Tallest Man on Earth (aka, Kristian Matsson) and not get a Dylan-esque vibe. It’s a comparison that has followed Matsson to this point in his career, and certainly won’t stop if he continues down the path of The Wild Hunt, the 2nd full-length album from the Swedish singer-songwriter. Mattson’s folk is masterfully done and incredibly soulful and heartfelt in not only the music, but especially the lyrics.
[“The Wild Hunt” – The Wild Hunt]
#23) The Besnard Lakes – The Besnard Lakes Are the Roaring Night
Montreal’s The Besnard Lakes follow up their breakout 2007 release, The Besnard Lakes are The Dark Horse, by picking up right where they left off with another set of eerie post-rock tracks that do nothing but validate the brilliance of this quartet. The Besnard Lakes Are The Roaring Night is more of the atmospheric physchadelic rock that made Dark Horse so intriguing, and while many bands try to accomplish this sound, few are able to with such majesty. It’s a beautiful album, creating numerous soundscapes, while not sacrificing melody.
[“Albatross” – The Besnard Lakes Are The Roaring Night]
#22) Vampire Weekend – Contra
Released all the way back in January, it’s easy to overlook Contra, Vampire Weekend’s 2nd full-length album, as one of the bigger releases of the year. Following up their very successful and highly hyped debut album was no easy task, and while I don’t think Contra pops quite as well as their debut, it does accentuate all the tendencies that made their debut a “love it, or hate it” release. And I respect the hell out of that. Contra is Vampire Weekend putting their feet to the gas pedal and emphasizing all their eccentricities to the max, and not taking the time to look back at what people are saying…because they just don’t care.
#20) Frightened Rabbit – The Winter of Mixed Drinks
Frightened Rabbit’s 2008 release, The Midnight Organ Fight, was so immensely emotional that trying to follow it up would be no easy task. The Winter of Mixed Drinks only comes up slightly short of Organ Fight‘s granduer due to a more arena rock and polished sound rather than the raw folksiness that added to Organ Fight‘s charm. That’s not to say this album isn’t still packed with emotionally devastating ballads, because it most certainly is, thanks in large part to the vulnerability found in the Scottish vocals. As long as those vocals continue to find their way to the forefront, and these guys continue to write some impressive personal tunes, I don’t see there ever being too big of a drop off from album to album.
[“Swim Until You Can’t See Land” – The Winter of Mixed Drinks]
Avigdor Zahner-Isenberg is the latest prodigy Sub Pop records is hoping to strike gold with. Well, if the 19 year old’s self-titled debut album as Avi Buffalo is any indication, they may have done just that. Based in Long Beach, Avi Buffalo combines the west coast sound with the northwest indie rock sound seen in many of his current and former labelmates. Lyrically, Avi writes about what you expect every 19 year old to write about: sex. So there’s still some growing up to do there, but the earnestness and confidence in his lyrics can not be denied. There is a sweetness to this music that makes it very likable, but the songwriting techniques for a group of teenagers is the most impressive thing.
#13) Kanye West – My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy
Anyone that knows me, knows that I’m not a rap/hip-hop guy. At all. However, in the last couple years I have given into opening my mind a bit to the genre. So, the fact that I have a rap album this high, should show you just how much I think of it. Everyone knows about Kanye. We all know how self-absorbed and narcissistic he is, as well as pretty much any other synonym for self-indulgent you can come up with. But honestly, it’s something he’s embraced and it’s become part of his songwriting, to the point of being self-deprecating. That feeling is captured perfectly on My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy in some of the most deeply personal artwork you’re going to find as all of the experiences he’s gone through in the last couple years come forward in cathartic effect. Oh, and the album consists of some very fine hip-hop songs as well.
[“Dark Fantasy” – My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy]
#12) Jónsi – Go
The debut album from Sigur Rós frontman Jónsi starts off with a series of bleeps and bloops on song “Go Do” before fading into the more majestic soundscape and vocals you’d come to expect from the Icelandic artist. It’s barely one minute in and your ears have already been given a treat unlike anything else you will hear this year. The Nico Muhly arrangements only add to the gigantic scope of Jónsi’s music, while Jónsi’s naivety and sweetness make this an exhilarating listen. At times Go is as vibrant and emotionally stirring as the best work of Sigur Rós and makes their “indefinite hiatus” a little bit easier to deal with.
Posted by Hawkins 
A Round of Sound 