On Bubble Wrap Radio, we focused on the music of 2008 this week, causing us to relive the year as listening to music often does. Obama was elected — yay? I wasn’t so sure, but he was better than that other guy.
Personally, 2008 wasn’t the best year in my life. My father clearly had Alzheimer’s. My life was where it was, neither here nor there, and a big part of my past was slipping away. Musically, it wasn’t the greatest either. Although there were some good tunes, this was the year I started to suspect the indie kids of getting soft. Sure, I like pretty rock as much as the next girl, but man does not live on gentle melodies alone.
Fortunately, there were a few songs that still remind me of what rock and roll music is all about. The Kills “What New York Used To Be” was a winner — and they’re right, it ain’t the same. Surprisingly, I was a big fan of Ladyhawke’s Paris Is Burning. Usually, dance tunes about girls lost in romantic foreign capitols don’t do much for me, but this one had it all. I was sucked in despite myself.
On the folky side, I liked Orion Town by Frontier Ruckus a lot. Unlike the happy Brooklyn bands, they sounded real. And then there was Pogo, speaking of romantic, with Go Out And Love Someone, a wholly lifted, shuffled, and remixed piece of musical collage borrowed quite intentionally from the Disney Company. It is better than that, much more than just a pastiche of samples, which is probably why Disney chose to collaborate with Pogo rather than prosecute him.
CG gave us a stack of ’08 dance tracks including That’s Not My Name by the Ting Tings, That Beep by Architecture in Helsinki, and Can’t Shake It by Kate Miller Heidke.
Here’s the full playlist for the Bubble Wrap 2008 Commemorative Show, Part I.
April 13, 2016
Go Out And Love Someone: Songs of 2008
School of Language – Rockist Pt. 4
Crystal Castles – Untrust Us
Asteroid #4 – Ask Me About Pittsburgh
Ladyhawke – Paris Is Burning
The Kills – What New York Used To Be
Magnetic Fields – California Girls
Frontier Ruckus – Orion Town
Kate Miller Heidke – Can’t Shake It
Odyssey – Woolfy
The Roots with Wale – Rising Up
The Ting Tings* – That’s Not My Name
Freedy Johnston – Favorite Waste Of Time
Fleet Foxes – White Winter Hymnal
Autumn Defense – Sun In California
Beirut – Sunday Smile
Howard Hello – Follow
Pogo – Go Out And Love Somebody
Architecture In Helsinki – That Beep
Boom Clap Bachelors – L-O-V-E
Maria Jose – Quieu Eves Tu
Blue Rinse – Celebrity Murder Party
Obama / Staples Singers – Yes We Can
*Little Known Fact: Ting tings are a chewy ginger candy from Indonesia. We know because a family member brought some home to us from a far eastern trip. They were not exactly edible but exotic…