Favorite Musical Moments of 2008 (In No Particular Order)

1. TV On The Radio, Dear Science.

2. Esau Mwamamwaya and Radioclit, "Tengazako." It turns out there is room in this world for one more version of MIA's "Paper Planes." This one is from Africa and is full of joy.

3. DJ Earworm, "If I Were a Freefallin' Boy (Beyonce vs. Tom Petty)." The great thing about this mash-up is that it saves you time by allowing you to listen to two great songs at the same time.

4. Lil Wayne, "Mr. Carter." I give up. The guy's great. Even the seasons are jealous of him, or so he boasts here.

5. The dream I had in which Sonic Youth were playing a concert as a kind of lecture-demonstration - they would describe how they were making their guitar sounds while they were playing. As if their music is now so old that it is considered classical.

6. Conor Oberst, "Moab" and Fleet Foxes, "White Winter Hymnal." Talk about classicism. Two great singles by guys who have learned from their forbears.

7. Mavis Staples on the NPR radio show Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me. She didn't do much singing, but she stole the show in an old-school, show business way. Plus she revealed that Bob Dylan once proposed marriage to her!

8. Ida Maria, "Oh My God." Full-throttle Scandinavian pop-rock. She is apparently so badass that she broke her ribs during a show when she threw herself into an amp.

You can find a lot of this this stuff on Hype Machine.