Puttin' a Ring on It

I’m driving blind at the moment. My computer is busted, and my iPod is minimally loaded, so I’m probably going to run into a lot of issues when I make my official Top 10 for music this year. Unlike most years, I’ve been keeping myself pretty current on the goings-on of the music biz, but without my computer, there’s going to be a number of glaring omissions. And with the rumored release of a sequel to John Parrish and PJ Harvey’s Dance Hall at Louse Point remaining in question, the top spot is up for grabs. I hate to say it, but I doubt there’s a year that PJ Harvey has released an album where it wouldn’t have been my number one.

As for the albums I still haven’t picked up (or in some cases listened to fully yet), the latest from Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds, Ryan Adams, Tricky, Tindersticks, Glasvegas, Girl Talk, Mogwai, Jenny Lewis, Cut Copy, Carla Bruni, Silver Mt. Zion, Oasis, Ray LaMontagne or Of Montreal. I also didn’t include Seaside Rock by Peter Bjorn and John or Sunday at Dirt Devil by Isobel Campbell and Mark Lanegan, because they’ve felt like “runners-up all” from the beginning. I’m also discounting Antony and the Johnsons and The Radio Dept.’s EPs, although I think Antony’s song “Another World” is easily one of the top 5 songs of 2008.

I think I’ll probably make a 2008 playlist when I get around to solidifying the list, as there were so many singular moments from a variety of albums that rocked me, even if I wasn’t as smitten with the album as a whole. That’s where you’ll find the likes of Santogold, Cold War Kids, Ra Ra Riot, Brett Anderson, Kings of Leon, MGMT, CSS and Dr. Dog. Naturally, any recommendations are always welcome.

Here’s a shortlist of some of the contenders, though I can already see which ones won’t make the final elimination round:

The B-52's - Funplex
Bon Iver - For Emma, Forever Ago
Bonnie 'Prince' Billy - Lie Down in the Light
Brendan Canning - Something for All of Us
Cat Power - Jukebox

DeVotchKa - A Mad and Faithful Telling
Eagles of Death Metal - Heart On
Fleet Foxes - Fleet Foxes
French Kicks - Swimming

Goldfrapp - Seventh Tree
Grace Jones - Hurricane
Hercules and Love Affair - Hercules and Love Affair
Kaki King - Dreaming of Revenge

Lykke Li - Youth Novels
M83 - Saturdays = Youth
Neil Halstead - Oh! Mighty Engine
Poni Hoax - Images of Sigrid

Portishead - Third
Sébastien Tellier - Sexuality [thanks, David!]
Sigur Rós - með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust
TV on the Radio - Dear Science
The Verve - Forth