10 Great Under the Radar songs of 2008
I was thinking about doing an early top 25 songs list, but to tell you the truth I haven’t listened to enough stuff…a lot of albums I probably will buy are coming out soon (Joseph Arthur, Ben Folds, The Cure, Kaiser Chiefs, Rise Against), and a lot of albums that are out I haven’t gotten yet, even though I’ve heard a lot of them (Death Cab for Cutie, The Raconteurs, The Hold Steady). So no list as of yet. Instead, I’m going to list 10 songs I HAVE heard by bands that aren’t necessarily household names that I really like, and most likely will be on that list when I actually do it.
In no particular order…
Slow Runner–The Stakes Were Raised–I heard four songs of this band on their myspace page and thought it was the best album I’d ever heard…then I heard the rest of the album, which was three more mediocre songs and two instrumentals, and I just got the mp3s of those original four songs. The band somehow manage to out-Death Cab Death Cab, doing whatever the hell they do to sound good better than they do.
Mates of State–My Only Offer–Band that has been around forever, usually with somewhat good songs. This isn’t the best song by them I’ve ever heard (that would be “Fraud in the 80s”), which is a little peppier, but this has a catchy chorus and nice piano riff.
Matt Keating–St. Cloud–Had never heard of him, even though he’s apparently been releasing albums for the past 15 years, until I saw him open for Joseph Arthur last week. Writes good power-pop songs in the vein of Matthew Sweet, I thought. Not bad.
Tokyo Police Club–Juno–Buzz band has some good, albeit short, songs. None of them have particularly stood out, but this is probably the best of them.
Black Kids–I’m Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How to Dance With You–a horrible band to tell people you’re listening to…”What are you listening to?” “Black Kids!” “I don’t care what race they are, what’s the name of the band,” This song is proof that I’ve started listening to pop music. Because it basically is pop music, uber-poppy fun stuff that I usually avoid, but I’m starting to get into WHEN DONE RIGHT. Which is rare.
Against Me!–Thrash Unreal–Another band that has been around forever, and one that I generally never thought very highly of. But I like their new album, and this is a strong indication of the direction they’re going in.
Bon Iver–Skinny Love–A little emo for my taste, but also has the Iron and Wine vibe as well, which is a little stronger. Nice acoustic song that gets a little over-emotional at times, but still warrants additional listens.
Los Campesinos–My Year in Lists–The second bit of proof I’m listening to pop music, this song, which is undeniably silly, is also mind-numbingly catchy. The lyrics aren’t brilliant, but it’s a fun listen.
What Made Milwaukee Famous–Resistance St.–Loved the 60’s sound of their previous ‘hit’ “Sweet Lady” off their previous album. This is nowhere near as good as that song, but it’s good enough to still be a top song.
The (International) Noise Conspiracy–Despite having the greatest titled song in the history of time (2001’s “Capitalism Stole My Virginity”), these Swedish commies (yes, they really are communists) are one of the top two punk bands in the world right now alongside Rise Against. And the songs are just so fucking catchy. The new album’s not out yet, but they debuted this song on myspace and it’s up to T(I)NC standards.
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