There are many others like it, but this is mine.

Music to Design, Develop, and Market by? Maybe. All I know is that the goal was to create a killer mix, Alex’s Best of 2k8, comprised entirely of songs that came out this year. Everybody’s doing it. NME, Rolling Stone Singles and Albums (i especially like that that last url is “…albums_of_the_yea”), Spin Magazine… even Dave Brown at Holiday Matinee made a mixtape for Sanctuary143. Well, this one is mine.

1. Hiphopopotamus vs. Rhymenoceros – Flight of the Conchords feat. Rhymenoceros and the Hiphopopatomus. New season starts in January! And this is just rad.
2. That Green Gentlemen (Things Have Changed) – Panic! At The Disco. A crowd pleaser with a message. Things have changed. Ha. Was that lame? Who cares.
3. You Don’t Know Me – Ben Folds feat. Regina Spektor. With a video directed by Tim and Eric, how can you go wrong?
4. Believe – The Bravery. We hear this one on the radio so frequently, it is not officially “our song”, but it might just be our radio song. Or something. Anyhoo, the music video youtube‘d by Universal Music Group is ridiculously bad quality, but the music itself is not.
5. On Top Of The World – T.I. feat. Ludacris & B.O.B. … the album has other singles, but I like this one, and it’s my mixtape. Also, I realized that by using rap/hip hop songs by artists featuring other artists, I could squeeze like 9 people into 4 tracks. Mixtape Optimization (MTO) is the new SEO for the upcoming 2k9. You heard it here.
6. Goddess of Death – The Roman Spring. I wanted to get a healthy sampling from some of my favorite local bands as well. The Modlins and The Roman Spring toured together in April of 08, out to the ABQ and back. This is one of my favorite songs of theirs. Represent.
7. The ’59 Sound – The Gaslight Anthem. So hot right now. Also, the very end of the song ends similarly to how the next one starts.
8. Cath – Death Cab For Cutie. I missed them openning for Neil Young a few months ago, and will never be forgiven. But this is what it is. Oh, if I could write lyrics that descriptive…
9. Human – The Killers. San Diego’s own Ray Suen is the official 5th Killer these days, and this one makes Arlene dance. Double whammy.
10. Universal Mind Control – Common feat. Pharell. The future is now!
11. Creeper – Islands. Creepy! I wore a shirt to their concert at the Epicentre, and it was the only time I got a comment about it other than a woman telling me it should be colored in. I guess thats a sidenote to how great the show was, but still. Crazy Canadians.
12. The Kids Are A Drag – Swim Party. I got so excited about this one, I almost forgot to post tracks 10 and 11! Featuring the Modlins’ Matt and Eric on some backup vocal support as well, this is definitely my favorite song off their debut full-length Pixie Dust on the Blood Range. They even took this song further, breaking it down for Sezio.org’s interview session at the Luce Loft in July of this here ’08. It still gives me goosebumps.
13. Salute Your Salution – The Raconteurs. The Kills physically hurt as their opener at SDSU Open Air a few months ago. Maybe I’m getting old, or maybe the bass really was too loud. Either way, the Raconteurs killed it thereafter. Yea, you like that transition?
14. What It Is – The Cool Kids. Caught them at SF Outside Lands fest. One of my only regrets of 08 is that I didn’t buy their tshirt, which did in fact have a cat on it. Check them out, performing this one on the Jimmy Kimmel show.
15. Tessellate – Tokyo Police Club. Math references in awesome songs? My mommy would be proud. Also, Street Scene 08 and openning for Weezer? Yes now. Video!
16. White Lightning – Hot TV. Still trying to lure Mark down to San Diego on the permanent length. But in the meantime, he is helping produce the next Modlins album, due out sometime in Spring 09. Hot TV is his baby, and we Modlins helped sing and clap along to this one when we played together at Glendale’s The Scene at the end of May.
17. Georgia – Jaguar Love. Formed by remnants of The Blood Brothers and Pretty Girls Make Graves, rumor has it that I mostly went to see these guys play at Beauty Bar SD because their tshirt has a cat on it. Well, um, here they are performing in Portland last June. Yea.
18. Coldest Winter – Kanye West. One of the final tracks off November’s 808s & Heartbreak, there is no music video yet, but you can find the audio all over the internets, if you want.
19. Help Me – Alkaline Trio. I’m not sure what about this song has to do with riding the train from Will Smith’s Wild Wild West, but whatcha gonna do?
20. Chuck Norris – Apes of Wrath. The last song off their debut EP, Plastic, Fake and Frozen, this is another one of my favorite songs by another one of my favorite local bands. Insert Chuck Norris joke here. Good? good. Archive.org has a whole show, live at the Beauty Bar on June 13, 2008.
21. I’m Yours – Jason Mraz. Yes. If you don’t agree, you can put together your own Best of 2k8 cd. But this one is mine.
22. A Milli – The Roots feat. Lil Wayne. Performed live together in Miami 10-08-08. It is my understanding that ?uestlove has a drum machine that is making the “a milli a milli” loop. Is there anything he can’t do? Also, reinforces that tha Lil Weezy is everywhere in ’08.

and there you have it. Here’s to 2k9!