Song: Hang On
Album: Fate
Artist: Dr. Dog
Selected by: Justin Farrar
Date: January 2, 2009
The Dog is loved for its sweet harmonies and even sweeter hooks. But here, they tap a different brand of energy. “Hang On” is the Beach Boys and Warren Zevon smoking a pack of cigs and getting all funky at nine in the morning. Brilliant! The band has never sounded so pained, so totally ALIVE.
Song: Golden Age
Album: Dear Science
Artist: TV On the Radio
Selected by: Stephanie Benson
Date: January 1, 2009
Admit it, even if you're staring into the toilet, cursing that last festive drink, there's still a glimmer of hope that the coming 365 days will be your greatest yet. It's the undeniable power of January 1. This New Year's, we'll let one of the best alt rock singles of 2008 help spread the happy vibes to your 2009. So, clap your hands because "there's a golden age comin' round."
Song: Skinny Love
Album: For Emma, Forever Ago
Artist: Bon Iver
Selected by: Nate Cavalieri
Date: December 31, 2008
Much like the record from which it comes, this tune has the kind of hushed, snowed-in intimacy that you might expect from a guy who broke up with his girlfriend, split up his band and headed to a hunting cabin in the Wisconsin woods to ride out the heartbreak. Justin Vernon's one-man band, Bon Iver, won apt comparisons to Elliot Smith and turned out the slow-grow record of 2008. By the time its done, those of you who aren't curled up in the fetal position sobbing will want to take your head out of the oven.
Song: Lollipop
Album: Tha Carter III
Artist: Lil' Wayne
Selected by: Toshi Kondo
Date: December 30, 2008
After creating a near-frenzy with countless stellar mixtapes and guest appearances, would 2008 see Lil Wayne break through as a bonafied superstar or wilt under the almost unrealistic expectations? Wayne chose the former, using auto-tune on this sexually explicit serenade with singer-songwriter Static Major (Aaliyah, Missy Elliott, Timbaland) to create the hottest club song of the year, and propelling Tha Carter III to 3 million copies sold.
Song: Paper Planes
Album: Kala
Artist: M.I.A.
Selected by: Philip Sherburne
Date: December 29, 2008
Multicultural ambassador M.I.A. had her work cut out for her in a year that saw America elect a mixed-race president with roots in Kenya, Kansas and Hawaii. But her "Paper Planes," an ambivalent look at globalization, logged some serious mileage, soaring through the airwaves to explode in countless remixes and cover versions.
Song: Seven Principles
Album: Selections 1976-1988
Artist: Sweet Honey in the Rock
Selected by: Sarah Bardeen
Date: December 26, 2008
Get into the spirit of Kwanzaa -- which begins today. Tune into the uplifting harmonies of American a cappella institution Sweet Honey in the Rock as they sing about the holiday's seven principles.
Song: The Little Drummer Boy
Album: The Little Drummer Boy
Artist: Harry Simeone Chorale
Selected by: Stephanie Benson
Date: December 25, 2008
Once upon a time, in a land before the Beatles, a young lad named Richard Starkey received his first drum kit for Christmas. Somewhere in the distance a sprightly fellow by the name of Pete Best, unaware of his future fate as an original Beatle, sighs. The rest is history.
Song: Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)
Album: A Christmas Gift To You From Phil Spector
Artist: Darlene Love
Selected by: Mike McGuirk
Date: December 24, 2008
Arguably the best Christmas song of them all (except for maybe the rest of this album) -- the yearning in Darlene Love’s voice, the shimmering sleigh bells, the drums, the pianos, the backup singers – it just doesn’t get the much more … Christmas-y than this. (Let’s just try and forget that Phil Spector is currently on trial for the murder of a nightclub hostess, not to mention his felony possession of extremely bad hair.)
Song: Run Rudolph Run
Album: We Wish You a Metal Xmas ... and a Headbanging New Year
Artist: Lemmy Kilmister, Billy Gibbons and Dave Grohl
Selected by: Jen Guyre
Date: December 18, 2008
What better gift could the holidays bring than the union of Motörhead vocalist/bassist Lemmy Kilmister, ZZ Top axe-slinger Billy Gibbons and Foo Fighter frontman Dave Grohl on his first love, the drums. Their whiskey-drenched version of this holiday classic is as explosive as Marty McFly‘s rendition of “Johnny B. Goode." But nothing beats Lemmy’s yuletide cheer: “Merry Christmas, m*th*rf*ck*r!”
Song: Medley: Carol of the Bells
Album: Christmastime
Artist: The Swingle Singers
Selected by: Nick Dedina
Date: December 17, 2008
Christmas Present just can't seem to measure up to warm memories of Christmas Past. Maybe that's why this wordless medley from the French vocal jazz group works so well. This one instantly conjures up more childhood holiday memories than anything outside of a Charlie Brown Christmas special.
Play It Now