Jams, But Not the Heady Kind

Looking back at the archive from the last couple of months, it came to my attention that none other than Mr. Stephen Colbert has declared “music posts” to be “On Notice.” So naturally, just to spite him (because what would this blog be without an unhealthy amount of spite?), here comes another damned music post. Colbert can put me on the Threat Down or whatever if he wants.

I'm seeing a lot of these year-end, best-of lists being rolled out lately, and man are they ever lame. (This Vampire Weekend stuff has got to go. Seriously.) So I was thinking, “Maybe our blog could do its own albums-of-the-year list. It couldn't be any worse than the abomination Blender just put out (I know. It's Blender. But still.).” Then I remembered that I'd be the only one to participate anyway. Either that, or I'd have to remind most people that Alabama's The Closer You Get... came out in 1983.

Rather than go through all that, I got bored and compiled the definitive list of the best stuff to come out this year and, since I've pretty much written about the best albums here already, I'll just blow you away with 2008's Top Five Stone Cold Jams of the Year. Not necessarily the best songs, but just, you know, jams man.

1. Ryan Adams – “Magick”
I'm an unapologetic Ryan Adams fanboy, but this new record of his is pretty forgettable, aside from “Magick.” You've got to respect any song that's tangentially about fighting off zombies in a shopping mall, and where the guy is actually singing about listening to jams on the radio. Song defines the word “jam.”



2. TV On the Radio – “DLZ”
There's a little bit of Portuguese tucked into the chorus, but you don't need the equivalent of my three grueling semesters of learning to fale essa língua in order to understand that this is the truest of jams.



3. R.E.M. - “Living Well Is the Best Revenge”
Not known in most circles for their production of high-quality jams, R.E.M. comes back with an album full of them. And this is easily the best one.



4. The Kills – “Getting Down”
The title says it all, no?



5. Justin Townes Earle - “Far Away In Another Time”
Don't worry. I didn't forget about the all-important slow jam of the year.



And of course: Weezer – “The Greatest Man That Ever Lived (Variations On a Shaker Hymn)”
This is a bonus pick for anyone who missed this one earlier in the year. I still can't get over it. I could listen to this all day, every day and never stop laughing. Dare I say, the jam to end all jams?