![[Listmas 2009] A Glance Back at 2008](http://cdn.elbo.ws/posts/2164875_lg.jpg)
Hello my good friends and delightful readers! For those of you unfamiliar or at the very least unclear on the concept, allow me to welcome you to a time of year that I call Listmas! The basic idea behind Listmas is shockingly simple. I devote the entire month of December to year-end lists of various kinds. The rest of this week will sort of be an odds-and-sods sort of collection of items, and then the two weeks following will tackle my annual Top 50 Songs and Top 50 Albums of 2009 lists, piece by piece. So welcome, I hope you [...]
![[Listmas 2008]: The Top 50 Albums Of The Year (#10-1)](http://cdn.elbo.ws/posts/1422827_lg.jpg)
After a small delay thanks to multiple holiday parties and working overtime at my real job because many of my co-workers are on vacation, the good news is that this is finally up. In my list of best albums for the year, the top ten are always the most important (naturally). Consequently, this is also my absolute favorite post every year, so I hope you thoroughly enjoy it. To restate what I said when I started this Top 50 Albums countdown last week, all albums and their placement on this list was decided in mid-November before most everyone [...]
![[Listmas 2008]: The Top 50 Songs Of The Year (#50-26)](http://cdn.elbo.ws/posts/1419351_lg.jpg)
With an original plan of dragging my Top 50 Songs of 2008 list out for the entire week, my very busy holiday work schedule and the arrest of the Governor of Illinois put a wrench into everything. So instead, we'll be doing the Top 50 Songs list in 2 parts, with 25 songs apiece. What can I say about the year in songs? Honestly, not a whole lot. This year's music was surprisingly great, but I find myself thinking back more to specific albums rather than individual songs. So coming up with this list was a little bit [...]
![[Listmas 2008]: The Top 50 Albums Of The Year (#40-31)](http://cdn.elbo.ws/posts/1419257_lg.jpg)
Alright kids, we're just starting to get revved up in terms of this Top 50 Albums countdown. Yesterday I covered albumse 50-41, and today we continue with albums 40-31. Naturally then, we'll have wrapped this whole thing up by the end of the week. I'd say that today features some really great albums, but every day of this countdown features really great albums. And so, let's just keep this going. If you're looking for any and all entries concerning my Top 50 Albums of 2008, click here . 40. Drive-By Truckers - Brighter [...]
![[Listmas 2008]: The Top 50 Albums Of The Year (#20-11)](http://cdn.elbo.ws/posts/1416225_lg.jpg)
So we continue, Day #4 of 5 whereupon I'm listing my Top 50 Albums of 2008. The pseudo-excitement is building, and tomorrow comes my 10 favorite records. The end is near. What's going to make the final cut? Check back and find out! For the rest of my Top 50 Albums of 2008, click here ! 20. Mount Eerie - Lost Wisdom (Download: Flaming Home ) Sure, I've been disappointed by the dissolution of The Microphones a few years ago, but Phil Elverum carries the mantle onwards with Mount [...]
![[Listmas 2008]: The Top 50 Albums Of The Year (#30-21)](http://cdn.elbo.ws/posts/1414275_lg.jpg)
As it is mid-week, we are naturally approaching the middle of Faronheit's Top 50 Albums of 2008 countdown. We've already covered so much, and by the end of the week we'll have covered so much more. That last sentence is a little something I like to call "filler." Hope you enjoyed it. Now then, on with the countdown! For complete coverage of my Top 50 Albums of 2008 list, click here ! 30. Little Joy - Little Joy (Download: Don't Watch Me Dancing ) No offense to Albert Hammond [...]
![[Listmas 2008]: The Top 50 Albums Of The Year (#40-31)](http://cdn.elbo.ws/posts/1412391_lg.jpg)
Welcome back. It's Day 2 of Faronheit's Top 50 Albums of 2008 countdown, today featuring numbers 40 through 31. Lots of exciting picks yesterday, even more today. There's not much else I've got to say, except maybe that if you want to have a look at #50-41 from yesterday, you can click here . It's that easy! 40. Drive-By Truckers - Brighter Than Creation's Dark The difference between alt-country and straight up country can be a very thin line. No band knows this better than the Drive-By Truckers, who have often [...]
![[Listmas 2008]: The Top 50 Songs Of The Year (#25-1)](http://cdn.elbo.ws/posts/1410056_lg.jpg)
Here's the second half of my Top 50 Songs of 2008 list. We covered a whole lot of ground yesterday, but rest assured everything is bigger and better with this last set of songs. For those of you looking to gain insight as to what might appear on my Top 50 Albums of 2008 list by surveying this list, I should tell you that there's very little parallel between the two lists. Oh! And one thing I forgot to mention yesterday in regards to these songs. One big rule I have is to only put songs on this [...]
![[Listmas 2008]: The Top 50 Albums Of The Year (#50-41)](http://cdn.elbo.ws/posts/1409846_lg.jpg)
We've made it to the last week of Listmas 2008, otherwise known as the last 5 days I'll have posts for you this year. Before I take my requisite holiday vacation though, we've got important business to take care of. Namely, my list of the Top 50 Albums of 2008. As the case as been in past years, I'll spend the week counting down to my favorite album of the year, revealing 10 new albums each day. As it's Monday, we begin the countdown with #50-41. Tomorrow is 40-31 and so forth. For disclaimer purposes, I'd [...]
![[Listmas 2008]: The Top 50 Songs Of The Year (#25-1)](http://cdn.elbo.ws/posts/1405404_lg.jpg)
Time for Part 2 of my list of the Top 50 Songs of 2008! Yes, yesterday featured song numbers 50-26, and today closes the list out with the top 25. Not much else to say, except to additionally clarify one other thing that I failed to mention at the beginning of this Top 50 Songs list. All the songs on this list are on albums or EPs that have been released in 2008. That means any singles that may have been released late this year off of albums set for U.S. release next year will not appear on this list. [...]
![[Listmas 2008]: The Top 50 Songs Of The Year (#50-26)](http://cdn.elbo.ws/posts/1401335_lg.jpg)
Phew! After an initial plan to stretch my Top 50 Songs of 2008 list out all this week, crazy work and home life have thrown a grand wrench into those plans. Instead, we'll be doing the Top 50 Songs in 2 installments over the next 2 days. On the plus side for you, it makes things easier to read (2 installments are better than 5). On the negative side, I'm not going to get the chance to write nearly as much about every song on this list. Typically I like to spend a few sentences explaining why each individual song [...]
![[Listmas 2008]: The 10 Worst Albums Of The Year](http://cdn.elbo.ws/posts/1396961_lg.jpg)
In previous years, this list has been pretty easy to write up. There was easily some crap being shoved onto my doorstep every couple of weeks and I could recall it like clockwork. Sometimes it was even too hard to choose just 10 albums. For 2008 though, that hasn't been the case. While I've found less albums to truly love this past year, I've also found significantly less to hate. As a result I intensely struggled in making this list. It took a lot of hard thought and examination back through the albums I heard this year to find my [...]
![[Listmas 2008]: The Top Ten EPs Of The Year](http://cdn.elbo.ws/posts/1395962_lg.jpg)
I'm running just a slight bit behind with Listmas this year, mainly because this year's holidays are leaving me overworked (and, coincidentally, underpaid). No worries though, because I plan on doing some catch-up in the next week or so. That being said, I'm pleased to present my list of the Top 10 EPs of 2008. Interestingly enough, I think I heard about twice as many EPs this year as I normally do, so that made coming up with this list a bit easier than it normally would be. And there were some really good EPs this year too (surprisingly so)! [...]
![[Listmas 2008]: The 10 Worst Albums Of The Year](http://cdn.elbo.ws/posts/1391881_lg.jpg)
In previous years, this list has been pretty easy to write up. There was easily some crap being shoved onto my doorstep every couple of weeks and I could recall it like clockwork. Sometimes it was even too hard to choose just 10 albums. For 2008 though, that hasn't been the case. While I've found less albums to truly love this past year, I've also found significantly less to hate. As a result I intensely struggled in making this list. It took a lot of hard thought and examination back through the albums I heard this year to find my [...]
![[Listmas 2008]: The Top 10 Indie Films Of The Year](http://cdn.elbo.ws/posts/1387654_lg.jpg)
As you may (or may not) know, movies are the second big passion of my life. If I could ever get myself together and secure a halfway decent job in L.A., I'd go in a heartbeat. Just to be around the place where movies are made would probably bring a little bit of magic to my life. But my massive love of movies is a big reason why I include a Top 10 Indie Films entry as a part of Listmas every year. Now typically I also include a few movie soundtrack mp3s for you to also digest, as this [...]
![[Listmas 2008]: The Top 5 Concerts Of The Year](http://cdn.elbo.ws/posts/1385424_lg.jpg)
I don't go to nearly enough shows. It's not without want or lack of trying, but mostly because of my insane schedule. Let me just say that working a job with no real vacation time and very little pay doesn't help matters in the least. Nevertheless, I did find time to see a good 15 or so concerts this calendar year in addition to the marathon of almost 30 shows that Lollapalooza provides me the comfort of, so I thought that reminiscing on a few of my favorite shows would be a nice touch for Listmas. Normally my lists are [...]
![[Listmas 2008]: A Re-Examination of the Best of 2007](http://cdn.elbo.ws/posts/1383315_lg.jpg)
Welcome to the official start of Listmas 2008! This is an annual thing I do which takes up all of December with lists of many kinds. This first week of Listmas will include 5 separate lists (one for each day, Monday-Friday, and that includes what you see below), and that'll cover a number of topics. Next week I'll spend 5 days examining the 50 Best Songs of 2008, and the week before Christmas will be devoted to the 50 Best Albums of 2008. It's bound to be a whole lot of fun, especially if you're a year-end list kind of [...]
Faronheit
![Niki & The Dove - The Fox [OFFICIAL VIDEO]](http://cdn.elbo.ws/youtube/l2f6UbMnlq4_130.jpg)
The Twilight Sad cover The Smiths
Whitney! ♥
Chromatics: “Into The Black”
Download: The Violet Lights - "Sex and Sound"
