Ana’s Best Albums, Songs, and Movies of 2008

Click on the turntable on the left to listen to a continuous stream of music featured on Pretty Much Amazing - updated every day. For more, you can check out the Best Songs of 2011, or our Best Albums of 2011.

Anas Best Albums, Songs, and Movies of 2008 music mp3 feature

Best Album

Bon Iver – For Emma, Forever Ago: This album will never get old for me. It’s so simple and beautiful … or simply beautiful!

Girl Talk – Feed the Animals: I love nostalgia and so much of this album was a trip down memory lane … just fused with this year’s radio hits. Plus, anyone that can mix Jay-Z with Radiohead and not f**k it up deserves some cred.

MGMT – Oracular Spectacular: Is this not on anyone’s list?

Calexico – Carried to Dust: My first taste of Calexico and I was super impressed. I love the variety of influences and styles you hear in their songs.

Lykke Li – Youth Novels: It really didn’t take much for me to get into Lykke Li. I heard “Tonight” and instantly wanted more. It’s been love ever since.

Best Song

Kings of Leon – Closer: This is probably one of my most listened to songs of 2008. I only wish it wasn’t the opening track to their album cause it made the rest of the album pale in comparison.

Calexico – Man Made Lake: Perfect example of how Calexico should be writing music for soundtracks and are just extremely talented overall.

Bon Iver – Flume: This song is proof that you don’t need much more than a simple acoustic guitar rhythm and beautifully piercing vocals to write a great song. Heck, your lyrics don’t even have to make sense!

TV on the Radio – DLZ: There is so much I love about this song: the drums, the vocals, the lyrics—everything! Clearly why it’s on my top five songs of the year.

Coldplay – 42: Definitely my favorite track off Viva La Vida. Great lyrics and perfect music that’s as emotional as the lyrics.

Best Movie

Be Kind Rewind: This movie pays homage to some of the best but does so in a quirky/fun and totally Gondry way.

Cloverfield: It’s more the shock at how much I enjoyed this that made Cloverfield land on my top 5. I was expecting a mediocre movie at best, but found that it was tastefully done for a movie about a huge monster attacking New York City. I’m just glad I didn’t see it in theatres otherwise all the shaking might have made me vomit.

Dark Knight: Does this even need to be justified?

In Bruges: I can’t believe how much I liked this movie as well. I honestly went into it barely knowing anything and left it thinking: that was awesome! It totally made me develop a new found respect for Colin Farrell and was one of my most highly recommended movies of 2008.

Step Brothers: This was like the new Dumb and Dumber to me. And Dumb and Dumber is about as funny as it gets (sort of).

Half Note is a guest-blogger here on PMA. Read her blog, The Daily Eargasm for her other music picks.

Ed. Note: Are you interested in writing about music? We'd love to hear from you! Email us with samples and a short bio.

{ 23 comments… read them below or add one }

Michael. December 31, 2008 at 11:09 am

You’re more or less spot on with the music, but it’s the movies that kill ya.

Your “Best Movies” list is utterly uninspired. I don’t know if you just didn’t watch any/many good movies this year, or if your music taste is just that bad.

Reply

John C. December 31, 2008 at 11:15 am

Yeah, the Dark Knight is sort of a given, sure, but the other four are big “what the fuck?”-s.

I have a huge list of movies for you to watch miss Half Note, if you’re interested.

Reply

John C. December 31, 2008 at 11:15 am

Yeah, the Dark Knight is sort of a given, sure, but the other four are big “what the fuck?”-s.

I have a huge list of movies for you to watch miss Half Note, if you’re interested.

Reply

Randi Baron December 31, 2008 at 11:18 am

haha you should check out the movies on my list :) in bruges was pretty good though.

Reply

anony! December 31, 2008 at 11:18 am

sorry, but my feelings are the same as these two guys… you need to watch some of the better movies of 2008.

Maybe start with: Milk, Slumdog Millionaire, Revolutionary Road, Wall-E (but who hasn’t seen that?), The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, and I would also recommend The Wrestler.

Reply

Lisa December 31, 2008 at 11:23 am

oh my god, i hated Be Kind, Rewind so much. its that passionate hatred. I probably only hated Cloverfield more.

This isn’t a good sign.

Reply

Andrew December 31, 2008 at 11:54 am

Enough has been said about the movies — watch the list “anony!” gave you…

but the music is pretty solid and this IS a music blog after all… good job

Reply

Jacob December 31, 2008 at 12:55 pm

I sort of wish you went beyond your Top 5, but solid picks. I completely agree with you on Girl Talk. It’s so good!

Reply

Jason December 31, 2008 at 2:12 pm

If you didn’t see ‘In Bruges’ this year, then you have missed one of the best movies of the year, some of you are so mindless to find good movies for yourselves. Just so any of you know, Cloverfield was one of, if not the most original movie this year. I’m so tired of all these d0uches that go to the Oscar website and spam everybody’s best of lists with their “you should watch this…”. Great lists Ana!

Reply

Anonymous December 31, 2008 at 2:28 pm

funny because the oscars haven’t announced any of the nominations yet. even if they did — the oscars showcase the best movies and overall performances of the year. you should probably watch some of those and find some TRUE originality. Cloverfield ORIGINAL? are you kidding me. it was a terrible mix of Godzilla and the Blair Witch Project.

And I agree, In Bruges was good. But definitely not that good.

and what the fuck is this about being mindless for not finding movies ourselves? what does that even mean? how can you FIND a movie? do these things just materialize out of thin air? every movie anyone watches originated as a reference at one point. let it be a review, word-of-mouth, an online trailer, or an oscar nomination.

Reply

Half Note December 31, 2008 at 2:28 pm

Lol Micheal is spot on. I actually watch A LOT of movies but they’re usually older ones I rent on Netflix. That means I probably saw somewhere around 10 movies released in 2008. I am anxiously waiting to watch all the movies on Anony’s list on DVD. Except Benjamin Button, I think I’ll cough up $15 or whatever it costs to see a damn movie these days.

Reply

Micheael. December 31, 2008 at 2:31 pm

Hey half note — before you rent on netflick… “preview” them!

http://isohunt.com/
http://utorrent.com/

:)

We’re just trying to improve your american cinema knowledgibility. (that NEEDS to be a word! xD)

Reply

Jason December 31, 2008 at 3:23 pm

Dude, when you can find a film that has a personal videocam viewpoint turned Blockbuster then you can reply to me. A movie isn’t only about a story, its about how you tell a story that matters the most. Also if that were the case, it would be pointless to have an award issued for original picture, because technically nothing would ever really be that original.

Also what you said in the last part about being mindless. Ever thought about going to a store and say “oh you know that dvd looks interesting, maybe I should check it out”. That really was a dumb question, you should think before you post crap. How would it sounded if I said “how do you find [x] person?” do these things just materialize out of thin air? I guess so.

Cloverfield isn’t the only movie I’ve watched this year, I also watched the likely candidates for the Oscars as well and to be honest its like the same story year after year about Love, War and Peace. The Dark Knight was definitely a breath of fresh air. But if people like a certain movie and you don’t, you should just fuck off and move along. Your IQ appears to be sub par so I will try to ignore you if possible.

Reply

Half Note December 31, 2008 at 4:39 pm

I think I might refrain from making a Best Movies of 2009 list next year. =P

Reply

Adam C January 1, 2009 at 5:37 am

Michael don’t be such a snob taste is a matter of opinion.

Reply

Luis Tovar January 1, 2009 at 2:53 pm

haha, last time i checked Cloverfield was a flop. A Hyped flop. It opened at #1 with $40M, but its only made $80M overall. I think a “blockbuster” would at least break the $150-200M range.

Reply

Rich January 1, 2009 at 2:58 pm

Ever thought about going to a store and say “oh you know that dvd looks interesting, maybe I should check it out”.

Yes, because the MAJORITY of people do that…. “Anonymous” has a point, most people watch a movie because it was referred. I don’t see how his pointing that how give him a sub par IQ? And if you’re tying to ignore him, why the fuck is your comment to him the longest one here?

Reply

Jen January 1, 2009 at 3:01 pm

You guys are being ridiculous. It seems Jason is into big budget money-makers (i.e. Cloverfield, the Dark Knight) and not into movies that get deep into human emotion like Revolutionary Road, The Wrestler, and Milk (although DK did do some awesome work with the Joker’s psyche).

That isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

Reply

Jason January 1, 2009 at 5:59 pm

@ Rich, I don’t understand why you agreed with what I said and then continued to say “Anonymous” has a point. I didn’t really understand what you wrote. So, I apologize if I came off as insulting.

Anyway… Luis is literally the last person I would be rude to here so what I meant by blockbuster was that it is the highest grossing film of any January release. Also thanks a lot Jen, you’re right actually. Considering how V for Vendetta, Blood Diamond, and The Lord of the Rings among others happen to be in my Top 5 of all time.

Reply

Randi Baron January 2, 2009 at 10:48 am

ARGUMENTS!

Reply

Half Note January 2, 2009 at 4:22 pm

LOUD NOISES!!

Reply

Luis Tovar January 3, 2009 at 4:50 pm

THE END!

Reply

romanii au talent March 15, 2011 at 11:46 am

Pentru astazi am pus mai jos video Romanii au talent, editia 4, din 11 martie – si daca vreti sa vedeti si celelalte editii puteti intra la sectiunea EMISIUNI SEZON 1 de pe acest site ! Trebuie sa retineti faptul ca trebuie sa aveti viteza de download/upload buna ca sa mearga bine!

Reply

Leave a Comment

I couldn’t do the whole “Best of 2008″ party without including some of my favorite covers, especially since 2008 was such an awesome year for cover-heads. I have featured all…

Keep Reading...

This year has been pretty great. I started it off in Costa Rica for 10 days, and I finished it with 5 in Florida. The music wasn’t too bad either……

Keep Reading...

Props to Gorilla vs Bear from shining some light on St. Louis’ Phaseone. Phaseone’s heavy, menacing vibes remind us of Burial (ironically), Boxcutter and Daedelus. Now, I’ve only heard three…

Keep Reading...

Here is some momentously depressing post-Christmas music for you! The Moz has finally dished on the first single of his new album Years Of Refusal (out February 17th), after nearly…

Keep Reading...

Hot Chip played Santa this year and dropped off a wonderful EP full of re-imagined tracks with friends Robert Wyatt and Geese. Here’s what Hot Chip had to say: Hot…

Keep Reading...

And here begins yet ANOTHER weekly PMA post. Every week, I’ll be taking you through the music of 90210, Gossip Girl, and my personal favorite, Chuck. Since all three shows…

Keep Reading...

Stereogum and team9 have teamed up for a third year in a row to bring us their MySplice III mashup compilation. The mix includes 2008 blog staples like Bloc Party,…

Keep Reading...

Mix – tape – ol – o – gy: New remixes and some covers you’ve (hopefully) never heard before. Remixes on my mind MGMT – Kids (Pet Shop Boys Synthpop…

Keep Reading...

Unfortunately for me I never received a copy of the A Cross The Universe film. Whoever was supposed to send me the DVD decided not to send it. This was…

Keep Reading...