Virgin

It’s December again and there’s so many end of year best-of lists that your face might break if you see the word Elbow again. But resist the temptation to help the process by putting the latter body part into the former; because these lists are somewhat wonderful really. They are a concise way to relive the tuneful treats that moulded the year from shapeless matter into musical moments that matter. This is no mere best albums of the year rundown though, nor a singles list, rather a coy mixture of the two masquerading as neither.

Any such amalgamation must start with Sex On Fire by Kings of Leon. Although it’s become as irritating as the Vauxhall Nova drivers that play it now, it’s still a breakneck slice of pop filth fit to begin an implausible inventory such as this. After this primal furrow, a soothing, symphonic song is needed to get this mixture to approach decency. Enter Fleet Foxes, whose otherworldly sensitivity has beguiled many in 2008. Tiger Mountain Peasant Song isn’t as nonsensical as its title suggests, it’s a quaint but substantial effort that constantly cajoles and thrills. Delving deeper into this mine of softened, subtle gems is Laura Marling’s Night Terror. The precocious tyke’s startlingly accomplished record was a wavering standard-bearer for 2008 and the fiddle solo is worthy of a list of its own.

Bloc Party came back and masqueraded as an electro group, but then people listened carefully and realised they are the same band buried beneath a bit more top soil banality, and all the better for it, as Talons illustrates. The Last Shadow Puppets‘ The Age of the Understatement revealed that Alex Turner is far too talented to get mentioned more in this humble rundown, while Lightspeed Champion channelled the spirit of Bright Eyes (and stole his band) to produce a cracking cut of alt-folk paranoia on Dry Lips.

It’s taking shape now, but something’s missing. Ah yes, a grammatical anthem from Vampire Weekend, the finely spiky Oxford Comma. Speaking of anally-coiffured upstarts, MGMT’s Kids was the only song to pretend to pose on the dancefloor to, before getting far too gripped by the hook and violently, joyfully harassing the friend/stranger next to you with professions of love and two-steps. M.I.A. provoked similar joyful bemusement by being a rap song that everybody adores, while what better way to end such a list than Jack White singing about gin and murder like a medieval barfly genius on The Raconteurs‘ Carolina Drama.

You can’t buy this album because it doesn’t exist. On the other hand, iTunes does and making a playlist is less complex than a Razorlight songwriting session. Here’s the list in full, or empty, depending on how you look at it. Merry Mixmass.

1. Kings of Leon – Sex on Fire
2. Fleet Foxes – Tiger Mountain Peasant Song
3. Laura Marling – Night Terror
4. Bloc Party – Talons
5. Lightspeed Champion – Dry Lips
6. The Last Shadow Puppets – The Age of the Understatement
7. Vampire Weekend – Oxford Comma
8. MGMT – Kids
9. Mystery Jets – Hideaway
10. M.I.A – Paper Planes
11. The Raconteurs – Carolina Drama

So what’s your top ten of 2008?

Download Eleanor Conway Presents: Buraka Som Sistema Podcast

Having won the MTV VMA for best Portuguese act following the release of their second album Black Diamond, Buraka Som Sistema are on the prowl in bringing credible urban world music to the masses. They’ve identified collaborators MIA, Diplo and Switch, Kano and Hot Chip as the metaphorical musical magpies that they are, and they join me on the first Eleanor Conway Presents: Podcast in association with music.virgin.com to share their musical inspirations behind their sound- the sound of Kuduro.

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Diesel sure knows how to party. By now, only sherpas in Tibet escaped the gossip surrounding the extravagant event, counted off in seventeen cities around the world. At least we finally found out where all that money on over-priced jeans has gone.

On October 11th, Diesel packed a huge tent in Brooklyn with gymnasts flying through the air, fire eaters, and thousands of thirty kids “ready for the floor,” as Hot Chip would say. Just seeing M.I.A. with her lumpy hump made the experience worthwhile (especially since she’s supposed to be (cough) retired); seeing her get the football stadium sized tent into an uproar while wearing spandex above her belly bottom was even better. She’s a powerhouse. The past week, N.E.R.D. has been making rounds around Manhattan - playing at various shows and concerts- but Pharrell as usual put on his party face and crunked it up for the special Saturday show. Other highlights? Hot Chip and Chaka Khan mashed it up; Joel and Benji Madden tried not to get booed during their DJ sets; Franz Ferdinand accompanying rapper T.I. through “Live Your Life”; and half the female audience singing along to Chaka Khan’s “I’m Every Woman.”

We did have a couple complaints. Number 1, there was not nearly enough bars for the crowd (3 for 5,000 people? You do the math). The audio was tricky and it was hard to get a good view. Regardless, kudos for a clothing brand turned lifestyle brand turned music loving party host. If only other companies took notes from Diesel on how to turn up the volume and celebrate music, fashion and everything in between.

M.I.A, a talented act from the UK, is one of my favorite artists but shockingly a couple of months ago she announced that she would no longer be in the music industry. It broke my itty bitty heart! Her music is so unique and different!M.I.A’s song Paper Planes appears in a promo for the stoner flick Pineapple Express and it’s killing the charts! Paper Planes has already been out six months, but it jumped from number 55 to 36 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song is also currently number 3 on iTunes’ top songs chart in the US and her album, Kala, is at number 7 on the iTunes top albums chart. Indie fave M.I.A. has never been a mainstream radio darling. Make a comeback M.I.A!!

This photo is from M.I.A’s performance at last year’s Toronto Virgin Festival, check out Charlyn W’s Flickr photostream for more.