Top Ten Tunes of 2008: 1 - "Caravan Girl" by Goldfrapp

As is the tradition with these things I should start with a countdown of the rest of the top ten.

10 - "Nude" by Radiohead
9 - "Whiteboy" by James
8 - "5 Years Time" by Noah and the Whale
7 - "Hey Little Bird" by I Am Kloot
6 - "Warwick Avenue" by Duffy
5 - "Daddy's Gone" by Glasvegas
4 - "Clowns" by Goldfrapp
3 - "White Winter Hymnal" by the Fleet Foxes
2 - "One Day Like This" by Elbow

and now I can reveal my favourite tune of 2008 (to anyone who didn't read the title of this post)...

As I wrote yesterday, it was a difficult choice between the ubiquitous Elbow track and the eventual winner "Caravan Girl" by Goldfrapp. This is the second appearance in the chart from the avant-garde electro-pop-cum-glam-folk duo, underlining the quality of the album from which they are taken, Seventh Tree. So without further ado, I present my favourite tune of 2008. Seasonal felicitations to all.

Top Ten Tunes of 2008: 2 - "One Day Like This" by Elbow

Only narrowly missing on the top spot in my favourite ten tunes of 2008 is "One Day Like This" by Elbow from the Mercury Prize winning album, The Seldom Seen Kid. Readers from the UK will no doubt recognise it from its frequent use as incidental music on the television, not least on the BBC's Olympics coverage. This video shows Elbow's triumphant performance of "One Day Like This" at this year's Glastonbury Festival.

Nine down, one to go... tomorrow I reveal my favourite tune of the year...

Top Ten Tunes of 2008: 3 - "White Winter Hymnal" by the Fleet Foxes

So far all the artists in my top ten countdown have been British; not, I hasten to add, by design. Consequently, I am glad to include "White Winter Hymnal" by the marvelous Fleet Foxes as my third favourite tune of 2008. The grungey look of this Seattle-based (natch) quintet belies a sound that is reminiscent of the close-harmony folk-rock of the late-60s - which is no bad thing.

Tomorrow... number two... watch this space

Top Ten Tunes of 2008: 4 - "Clowns" by Goldfrapp

The latest Goldfrapp album, Seventh Tree is a real return to form, after the T.rex-u-like Supernature. The addition of a folkier, more pastoral sound to the synth-driven has produced a number of gems, including this song, "clowns", the fourth single to be taken from the album. The video for the song is from a recent performance for the BBC Electric Proms.

Tomorrow I reach the top three of my top ten tunes of 2008...

Top Ten Tunes of 2008: 5 - "Daddy`s Gone" by Glasvegas

Today's entry in my top ten tunes of 2008 features another video of a performance taken from the BBC show Later... With Jools Holland, by Glasvegas. The four-piece band, who unsurprisingly hail from Glasgow. combine indie-rock, social commentary and a production not unlike Phil Specter's wall-of-sound. This is especially evident on this poignant track about abandonment: "Daddy's Gone."

Come back tomorrow to find out what my fourth favourite tune of 2008 is...

Top Ten Tunes of 2008: 6 - "Warwick Avenue" by Duffy

The Welsh songstress Duffy has been somewhat ubiquitous this year, following the success of her 2007 album Rockferry. It has spawned a number of successful singles including "Warwick Avenue," which is a great showcase for her smokey vocal stylings. The video included in this post shows Duffy's performance of the song on the BBC show Later... With Jools Holland.

Tune in again tomorrow when we will enter the top five...

Top Ten Tunes of 2008: 7 - "Hey Little Bird" by I Am Kloot

Regular readers of this blog will know of my attempts to promote the bitter sweet music of the Manchester based band I am Kloot. This year saw the commercial release of their new album, I am Koot Play Moolah Rouge. Taken from that album is "Hey Little Bird" - number seven in my top ten tunes of 2008.

Number six tomorrow...

Top Ten Tunes of 2008: 8 - "5 Years Time" by Noah and the Whale

The next entry in my top ten tunes for 2008 is this quirky feelgood tune from London folkie combo Noah and the Whale. "5 Years Time" features singer-songwriter and friend-of-the-band, Laura Marling, on backing vocals. Enjoy.

Number 7 is just a day away...

Top Ten Tunes of 2008: 9 - "Whiteboy" by James

I wasn't a big fan of James during their hey-day in the early-90s, but the sheer brilliance of the lyrics for "Whiteboy" made this my ninth favourite tune of the year. I particularly enjoyed the lines:

My mum says I look like Yule Brynner
Too old for Hamlet, too young for Lear
Got a shaved head, lost weight fakir
Got a pierced nip cause it's still hip to appear queer

Unfortunately there is no promotional video for the song on YouTube. Nevertheless, somebody put the song on there displaying the cover of album from which "Whiteboy" was taken. That may be no loss because it'll help you concentrate on those cunningly crafted lyrics.

... the number 8 tune will appear here tomorrow... I bet you can't wait...

Top Ten Tunes of 2008: 10 - "Nude" by Radiohead

In something of an homage to the much-missed John Peel and his annual 'Festive Fifty' I will be listing my ten favourite tunes of 2008, one per day until the Number 1 is revealed on Christmas Day. Each post will contain the obligatory YouTube video (where available).

So let's get started with...

10: Radiohead - Nude

In Rainbows provides something of a sonic smorgasbord for fans of the Oxford quintet. Each of the tunes on the album could have slotted in to one of their earlier albums, but not in such a way that makes In Rainbows an incoherent random collection of tunes. Here is the melancholic Nude, which wouldn't have been out of place on OK Computer.

... tune in tomorrow for number 9