2008

It has become time to sum up another year that has gone by. Financially depressing and politically messy (yet possibly hopeful) it was a year of future concern. Wall-E was not the only one to raise the issue of pollution. The songs which were released captured the worry and melancholia of the year well. The Swedish people took Takida and tearful "Curley Sue" to their hearts and in my top ten songs of 2008 there are only two up tempo songs - even there one is about surrender and the other about deceit.

But before I give you that list, have a look at what I thought were the albums of the year. Despite heavy releases such as Metallica, Guns n Roses, Slipknot and AC/DC none of these made the list, other big names did however. Is the list too Swedish? Possibly.


1. Cult of Luna – Eternal Kingdom
2. In Flames – A Sense of Purpose
3. The Haunted – Versus
4. Backyard Babies – Backyard Babies
5. Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band – Conor Oberst
6. The Hellacopters – Head Off
7. Gojira – The Way of All Flesh
8. Rise Against – Appeal to Reason
9. Ida Maria – Fortress Round My Heart
10. Kleerup - Kleerup
(11. Torche - Meanderthal)

Top 10 songs

1. Darling darling – The Hellacopters
2. Until we bleed – Kleerup ft. Lykke Li
3. Abandon – Backyard Babies
4. Snuff – Slipknot
5. If I surrender – The Color Fred
6. Deceit – Union Square
7. Peace Is Free – Black Stone Cherry
8. Ghost Trail – Cult Of Luna
9. Control. Alter. Delete – The Mirimar Disaster
10. Keep Me Warm – Ida Maria
(11. Rivers Run – The Haunted)

A year has gone by and many new musical discoveries have been made.

Ida Maria and Serenade For June were two of my first discoveries this spring.
Kate Nash made my summer golden (one year late, I KNOW) and Stars introduced fall with their beautiful "Personal". This Will Destroy You and Marionette, two very different sounding bands both took my breath away at concerts in Berlin.
And due to my recent move to Germany Turbostaat, Kettcar, Kommando Sonne-Nmilch and Deichkind have entered my life and made great impressions.
Conor Oberst and The Mystic Valley Band and The Color Fred have been among the brighter EMOtional favourites during the year whereas Cavalera Conspiracy and Gojira stood out with heavy riffs.
Some who despite the major hype that surrounded them made an overwhelming impression were Kleerup, Lykke Li and The Faint.
And those who didn’t were Glasvegas and MGMT. Boring stuff.

The gig of the year was no doubt The Hellacopters at Debaser Medis. Amen.