The 10 Best Singles of 2008: Part 2

Finally come round to finishing these off... so:

5. Mystery Jets - Two Doors Down

I think 80s pop was really making a comeback, and it's not set to change so sorry fo anyone who hates the revival. This was probably one of the most obvious examples of the comeback - right down to the video! It's amazing to see how far the Jets have come considering they were making much more avant-garde songs on their debut record. It must be something to do with losing the dad factor! Anyway, despite having my most hated musical instrument blaring away towards the end this was undoubtedly one of the catchiest, loveliest, most heart-warming songs of the year!

4. Camille - Money Note

The most danceable vocal performance ever? Maybe, but maybe you know better. But you've got to love her cheeky remarks against Mariah, Celine and every other pop star diva out there today. Even the video is bonkers as our Camille takes the mickey out of just about everything, from scantily clad women in videos, to ballad-style candles and odd acrobatics. And takes a hissy fit at the end when she doesn't get her own way the hula hoop. Crackers, but wonderful:




3. MGMT - Electric Feel

I'm obsessed by this song, mostly because it's so darned happy. I love the bass riffs, love the drum build up, that mystic bit at the beginning where it sets you up for a ride in the Amazon and... well, I pretty much love everything about this song. I can't explain, just like how I can't explain why the heck I can't embed the video on to my page! I'm super upset about it. I want everyone to hear this wonderful song. Just once. For me... sniff.... This version is okay-ish. But doesn't give the record justice...




2. The Kills - Cheap and Cheerful

Sassy, simple, short and seductive all at the same time. This is what The Kills do best. And this song is so evil that it had to be somewhere in my Top 3 for this year (you all know how I like evil songs!). They only needed 2 minutes to fit in all the malice they'd stored up and released it into, what is on the surface, one of their most upbeat songs to date. It's up-tempo but lying underneath there are the themes of madness, desire and money. All the ingredients for brilliance then. Besides, Alison Mossheart is like an American PJ Harvey which is always a bonus!





1. Friendly Fires - Jump In The Pool

Ah! We are at the end at last! At first I thought that the Kills would run away with this title when I heard "Cheap and Cheerful" towards the start of the year but then in the summer the more delicate vocals of Ed MacFarlane, the melotron and the samba-infused beats swept me off my feet, to a place where I couldn't look back with any sincerity to say that there was a better song than this in 2008. Disagree all you like - for me, this was the sweeping electro song we all needed. While most people in the genre went for brash, in-your-face drama, the Fires were creating an altogether different kind of melodrama with this terrific, memorable and somewhat emotive second single, which also opened their brilliant debut album. Bravo!

Introducing: La Roux

This is La Roux, a synth-pop star in the making I think. In the latest edition of the Observer Music Magazine Brighton-based postrel Little Boots said that the only people carrying on the tradition of quirky and eccentric British pop were Hot Chip - well if all goes well then our friend La Roux will be able to join them.

Her real name is Elly Jackson, she's based in London and writes odd songs that don't have a clean-cut meaning with fuzzy vocals and brilliant synth hooks - far better than some of the other pretenders we have out there at the minute! An added bonus to all this? Unlike a lot of female artists coming from London lately (I'm looking at you Adele, Kate Nash, Lily Allen etc.) she's not singing in a horrible cockney accents. And she can bend her voice really well, willing it to stretch it to its limits, a bit like Camille singing that bit on "Money Note" when she takes the mick out of Mariah Carey and Celine Dion's faint weak voices then bursts into harmonic screaming, only more British! What a breath of fresh air...

Yep, it really is that good - at the minute she only has just over 2000 friends on MySpace which is nothing so maybe I've picked up on something good here. There's only a minute and a half worth of her single "Quicksand" but it's all you need to get hooked. Then again you can listen to "Reflections Are Protection" and a new mix of "In It For The Kill" in full which is a blessing! It's really a one for people who like singing and not talking, Hot Chip's odd take on electro and a good dollop of eccentricity!

Check out that page anyway, I'll leave the link right... here: http://www.myspace.com/larouxuk

Music Hole

Someone out there has to have heard at least one song by French songstress Camille. If you haven't, you're missing out on something quite magical. She's not your average pop star and indeed tends to only use peoples' voices to create her music, which is the beauty of her new album "Music Hole" which I've been enjoying now for a good month or so.

Granted, there's some nice instrumentation to add atmosphere on "Cats and Dogs". Apparently they're not our friends, they just pretend. Then she imitates cats, dogs, monkeys, pigs, sheep... This premise pretty much sums up the way that Camille thinks, which is a bit like a bonkers Kate Bush on a night on the town with Bjork. See, this isn't for people who like Girls Aloud or Sugababes. It's much deeper than that. "Winter's Child" and "The Monk" are somewhat out-there but then she creates more down-to-earth pop songs like "Money Note" and "Gospel With No Lord".

"Money Note" is a witty stab at divas such as Mariah Carey and Celine Dion where Camille imitates them mockingly and pokes fun at the fact that they're aiming to be the best and hit all the right notes to make billions.

My favourite song though has to be "Katie's Tea" which at first sounds like a little ditty sung as an ode to the tea that her friend Catherine makes. She sings about the different varieties of tea (Tetley's and Lapsung Suchang - yes, I know I can't spell it - are mentioned a lot) and how she couldn't give it up for the world. Then it all gets a little bit dark, with the tea turning blood-red and then the music turns into a hypnotic spiral to represent her "trip" into madness.

Give it a go. No doubt a few of you will end up liking the srange but humourous stylings of this well-kept gem.

What I'm Listening to Right Now - "I Told Her On Alderaan" by Neon Neon