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	<title>Music News, Reviews, and Gossip on Idolator.com &#187; Girl Talk</title>
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	<link>http://idolator.com</link>
	<description>Music News, Reviews, and Gossip on Idolator.com</description>
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		<title>Idolator&#8217;s Top 10 Favorite Pop Mashups</title>
		<link>http://idolator.com/6008062/mashups-top-10-britney-spears-adele</link>
		<comments>http://idolator.com/6008062/mashups-top-10-britney-spears-adele#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 12 Sep 2011 22:32:16 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Idolator Staff</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Lists]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Adele]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Aerosmith]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Britney Spears]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Christina Aguilera]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[DJ Earworm]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Feature]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Girl Talk]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Green Day]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Katy Perry]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Ke$ha]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Kreayshawn]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Lil Wayne]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Rihanna]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[The Ting Tings]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://idolator.com/?p=6008062</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[
It&#8217;s a fast-paced world, and sometimes we find ourselves way too busy to listen to songs one at a time — which is why we love jamming out to mashups. It&#8217;s called multitasking, people! One awesome song combined with another awesome song should get you twice the awesome in the same amount of time, right? ... <a class="more" href="http://idolator.com/6008062/mashups-top-10-britney-spears-adele">More&#160;&#187;</a>]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://cdn.idolator.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/britney-spears-till-the-world-ends-music-video.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-6008422" title="britney-spears-till-the-world-ends-music-video" src="http://cdn.idolator.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/britney-spears-till-the-world-ends-music-video.jpg" alt="britney-spears-till-the-world-ends-music-video" width="500" height="306" /></a><br />
It&#8217;s a fast-paced world, and sometimes we find ourselves way too busy to listen to songs one at a time — which is why we <em>love</em> jamming out to mashups. It&#8217;s called multitasking, people! One awesome song combined with <em>another</em> awesome song should get you twice the awesome in the same amount of time, right? Plus, it&#8217;s always fun finding out what would happen if you mushed together Britney with Adele, or Lil Wayne with the theme to an NBC sitcom! We&#8217;ve browsed our playlists and compiled our Top 10 Favorite Pop Mashups, which you can catch after the jump.<span id="more-6008062"></span></p>
<p>After checking out our Top 10, don&#8217;t forget to share your own all-time fave picks in the comments!</p>
<p><strong>Jarod Ripley &#8211; &#8220;Rolling Till The World Ends&#8221; (</strong><strong>Britney Spears&#8217; &#8220;Till The World Ends&#8221; x Adele&#8217;s &#8220;Rolling In The Deep&#8221;</strong>)</p>
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<p><strong>Freelance Hellraiser &#8211; &#8220;A Stroke Of Genie-us&#8221; (The Strokes&#8217; &#8220;Hard To Explain&#8221; x Christina Aguilera&#8217;s &#8220;Genie In A Bottle&#8221;)</strong></p>
<p><object classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000" width="510" height="412" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0"><param name="wmode" value="transparent" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /><param name="src" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/ShPPbT3svAw?version=3&amp;hl=en_US" /><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true" /><embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="510" height="412" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/ShPPbT3svAw?version=3&amp;hl=en_US" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object></p>
<p><strong>Party Ben &#8211; &#8220;Boulevard Of Broken Songs&#8221; (Green Day&#8217;s &#8220;Boulevard Of Broken Dreams&#8221; x Oasis&#8217; &#8220;Wonderwall&#8221; x Travis&#8217; &#8220;Writing To Reach You&#8221; x Aerosmith&#8217;s &#8220;Dream On&#8221;)</strong></p>
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<p><strong>A Plus D &#8211; &#8220;Gucci Gucci Girl Power&#8221; (Kreayshawn&#8217;s &#8220;Gucci Gucci&#8221; x Toni Basil&#8217;s &#8220;Hey Mickey&#8221; x The Ting Tings&#8217; &#8220;That&#8217;s Not My Name&#8221; x The Go-Go&#8217;s &#8220;We Got The Beat&#8221;)</strong></p>
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<p><strong>Clockwork &#8211; &#8220;Office Musik&#8221; (Lil Wayne&#8217;s &#8220;Hustler Musik&#8221; x<em> The Office</em> theme)</strong></p>
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<p><strong><em>Glee</em> &#8211; Michael Jackson&#8217;s &#8220;Thriller&#8221; x Yeah Yeah Yeahs&#8217; &#8220;Heads Will Roll&#8221;</strong></p>
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<p><strong>DJ Place Boing &#8211; Katy Perry&#8217;s &#8220;California Gurls&#8221; x Ke$ha&#8217;s &#8220;TiK ToK&#8221;</strong></p>
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<p><strong>Party Ben &#8211; Rihanna&#8217;s &#8220;What&#8217;s My Name&#8221; x John Cougar Mellencamp&#8217;s &#8220;Jack And Diane&#8221;</strong></p>
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<p><strong>DJ Earworm &#8211; &#8220;United States Of Pop 2009&#8243;</strong></p>
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<p><strong>Girl Talk &#8211; &#8220;Get It Get It&#8221;</strong></p>
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]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss></wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>4</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>The Morning Mix: Britney Spears Earns Half A Million For Product Placement</title>
		<link>http://idolator.com/5776781/britney-spears-hold-it-against-me-product-placement</link>
		<comments>http://idolator.com/5776781/britney-spears-hold-it-against-me-product-placement#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 23 Feb 2011 13:03:39 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Becky Bain</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Highlights]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Britney Spears]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Girl Talk]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Katy Perry]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Morning Mix]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://idolator.com/?p=5776781</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Did You Hear?
:: Britney Spears wrestled up $500,000 for filling her &#8220;Hold It Against Me&#8221; video with shots of Sony, Make Up Forever, and PlentyOfFish.com, as well as her own fragrance, Radiance. We&#8217;re positive that 500,000 Britney fans would have donated one dollar each for the video to be free of obvious product placement. [Rolling ... <a class="more" href="http://idolator.com/5776781/britney-spears-hold-it-against-me-product-placement">More&#160;&#187;</a>]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><strong><a href="http://cdn.idolator.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/Britney-Spears3.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-5776841" title="Britney Spears" src="http://cdn.idolator.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/Britney-Spears3.jpg" alt="Britney Spears" width="500" height="313" /></a>Did You Hear?</strong></p>
<p><strong>:: </strong>Britney Spears wrestled up $500,000 for filling her <a href="http://idolator.com/5772451/britney-spears-hold-it-against-me-video" target="_blank">&#8220;Hold It Against Me&#8221;</a> video with shots of Sony, Make Up Forever, and PlentyOfFish.com, as well as her own fragrance, Radiance. We&#8217;re positive that 500,000 Britney fans would have donated one dollar each for the video to be free of obvious product placement. [<a href="http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/britney-spears-made-500-000-from-product-placement-in-hold-it-against-me-video-20110222" target="_blank">Rolling Stone</a>]</p>
<p><strong>::</strong> Are <em>these</em> examples of product placement in Katy Perry music videos up to the pop star&#8217;s <a href="http://idolator.com/5775171/katy-perry-britney-spears" target="_blank">high standards</a>? [<a href="http://nymag.com/daily/entertainment/2011/02/katy_perrys_six_most_stylish_a.html?utm_source=feedburner&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_campaign=Feed%3A+nymag%2Fvulture+(Vulture+-+nymag.com%27s+Entertainment+and+Culture+Blog)" target="_blank">Vulture</a>]</p>
<p><strong>:: </strong>Find out why James Franco won&#8217;t be singing a Cher song – <em>with</em> Cher — at the Oscars. [<a href="http://www.eonline.com/uberblog/marc_malkin/b227289_why_james_franco_wont_be_singing_cher.html?cmpid=rss-000000-rssfeed-365-topstories&amp;utm_source=eonline&amp;utm_medium=rssfeeds&amp;utm_campaign=rss_topstories" target="_blank">E! Online</a>]</p>
<p><strong>:: </strong>Taylor Swift whips her hair while rockin&#8217; out in Hong Kong. [<a href="http://www.pinkisthenewblog.com/2011/02/taylor-swift-performs-live-in-hong-kong/" target="_blank">Pink Is The New Blog</a>]</p>
<p><strong>::</strong> Mash-up master Girl Talk is going on tour — check out the dates at the source. Seeing him live must be like seeing about 100 different music acts all at the same time, no? [<a href="http://consequenceofsound.net/2011/02/22/girl-talk-adds-more-2011-tour-dates/" target="_blank">Consequence Of Sound</a>]</p>
<p>After the jump, find out which music acts are performing on the tube today.<br />
<span id="more-5776781"></span></p>
<p><strong>Music On TV:</strong><br />
:: Late Show with David Letterman (CBS) — the Mountain Goats<br />
:: Tonight Show with Jay Leno (NBC) — Randy Jackson, Travie McCoy<br />
:: Jimmy Kimmel Live (ABC) — Twilight Singers<br />
:: Last Call with Carson Daly (ABC) — Lucero<br />
:: Conan (TBS) — G. Love<br />
:: Lopez Tonight (TBS) — Bobby V &amp; Bobby Brown<br />
:: Late Night with Jimmy Fallon (NBC) — Bell Biv Devoe<br />
:: Ellen DeGeneres (ABC) — Kellie Pickler, Greyson Chance<br />
:: The View (ABC) — Plain White T&#8217;s<br />
:: The Talk (CBS) — Justin Bieber</p>
]]></content:encoded>
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		<slash:comments>2</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>10 Out Of &#8216;10: Idolator&#8217;s Favorite Albums Of The Year</title>
		<link>http://idolator.com/5715222/idolator-favorite-albums-of-2010</link>
		<comments>http://idolator.com/5715222/idolator-favorite-albums-of-2010#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 15 Dec 2010 20:08:26 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Idolator Staff</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Lists]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Feature]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Girl Talk]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Goldfrapp]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Gorillaz]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Kate Nash]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Ke$ha]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Kelis]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Kylie Minogue]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Robyn]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Scissor Sisters]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Spotlight]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[The Bird And The Bee]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://idolator.com/?p=5715222</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[With the year just about wrapped up, we here at Idolator decided to get together, pore over our individual iPods and revisit the music that got us motivated in 2010. Perhaps some of the following 10 albums weren&#8217;t the most critically acclaimed, but they were ones that inspired our hopes, heart-felt dreams and repeated plays ... <a class="more" href="http://idolator.com/5715222/idolator-favorite-albums-of-2010">More&#160;&#187;</a>]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://idolator.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/Scissor-Sisters-Robyn-Kelis-Goldfrapp-Idolator-10-Favorite-Albums-2010.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-5718962" title="Scissor Sisters Robyn Kelis Goldfrapp Idolator 10 Favorite Albums 2010" src="http://cdn.idolator.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/Scissor-Sisters-Robyn-Kelis-Goldfrapp-Idolator-10-Favorite-Albums-2010.jpg" alt="Scissor Sisters Robyn Kelis Goldfrapp Idolator 10 Favorite Albums 2010" width="465" height="231" /></a>With the year just about wrapped up, we here at Idolator decided to get together, pore over our individual iPods and revisit the music that got us motivated in 2010. Perhaps some of the following 10 albums weren&#8217;t the most <a href="http://idolator.com/5710642/rolling-stone-awards-kanye-west-top-honors-for-album-and-single-of-the-year" target="_blank">critically</a> <a href="http://idolator.com/5710552/spin-list-40-best-albums-of-2010" target="_blank">acclaimed</a>, but they were ones that inspired our hopes, heart-felt dreams and repeated plays while we navigated Planet Pop here on the website each day over the past 12 months. And so, in no particular order other than alphabetical&#8230;</p>
<p><span id="more-5715222"></span></p>
<p><strong><a href="http://idolator.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/51WVYRZpFmL._SL500_AA300_.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-5716672" title="51WVYRZpFmL._SL500_AA300_" src="http://cdn.idolator.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/51WVYRZpFmL._SL500_AA300_.jpg" alt="51WVYRZpFmL._SL500_AA300_" width="300" height="300" /></a>ERIKA&#8217;S PICK:</strong><strong> The Bird &amp; The Bee</strong>,<strong> </strong><a href="http://idolator.com/5434472/listen-to-the-bird-and-the-bee-cover-hall-and-oates-classic-kiss-on-my-list" target="_blank"><em>Interpreting The Masters Vol. 1: A Tribute To Daryl Hall And John Oates</em></a><strong><em><br />
</em></strong>I can’t decide what The Bird And The Bee accomplished more effectively: covering Daryl Hall and John Oates’ hits, or channeling the &#8217;80s duo when trying their hand at their own tunes (“4th Of July&#8221;, “Heard It On The Radio”).  This synth-pop/oh-so-melancholy covers album is somehow timeless, thanks in large part to Inara George’s velvety vocals.  “Kiss On My List” is a “must add” track to your crush’s next mix CD—better yet, just lend them the whole album. You’ll thank me.</p>
<p><strong><a href="http://idolator.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/Girl-Talk-All-Day-Cover-Art-540x540.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-5716691" title="Girl-Talk-All-Day-Cover-Art-540x540" src="http://cdn.idolator.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/Girl-Talk-All-Day-Cover-Art-540x540-500x500.jpg" alt="Girl-Talk-All-Day-Cover-Art-540x540" width="300" height="300" /></a></strong><strong>ERIKA&#8217;S PICK: Girl Talk</strong>, <em>All Day</em><strong><em><br />
</em></strong>Though some might argue this album could have been called <em>Feed The Animals Vol. 2</em>, with <em>All Day</em> Gregg Gillis (a.k.a. Girl Talk) proved he hasn&#8217;t lost his touch since 2008. To me, this ultimate mash-up album (or mega party playlist) is an amazing comment on the way we consume music on our iPods in 2010: in short 20-second spurts, like an over-excited and overstimulated ADHD kindergartener at Chuck E. Cheese. Seriously, when was the last time you listened to an entire song while driving in your car? As with Belinda Carlisle, Derek And The Dominoes and B.o.B.’s “Haterz Everywhere” all in one song (&#8221;Down For The Count&#8221;), Greg musically transforms apples and oranges into addictive lemonade. Now, will Nike please get with it and release a Girl Talk workout program? This music was built for a hardcore cardio regimen.</p>
<p><strong><a href="http://idolator.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/GoldFrapp-Head-First.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-5716681" title="GoldFrapp Head First" src="http://cdn.idolator.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/GoldFrapp-Head-First-500x500.jpg" alt="GoldFrapp Head First" width="300" height="300" /></a></strong><strong>ROBBIE&#8217;S PICK: Goldfrapp</strong>,<strong> </strong><a href="http://idolator.com/5454752/goldfrapp-the-idolator-interview"><em>Head First</em></a><br />
When Brit duo Goldfrapp&#8217;s fifth album arrived in March, it provided the perfect soundtrack to thaw out to as both the winter and the previous decade faded away. Personally, their albums have always been hit or miss with me. But something about <em>Head First</em> just clicked: the Atari-on-the-dancefloor kick of &#8220;Rocket&#8221;; the exuberant &#8220;Young Turks&#8221;-esque bounce of &#8220;Believer&#8221;; the yearning and synth-y rush of &#8220;I Wanna Life.&#8221; In the <a href="http://idolator.com/5454752/goldfrapp-the-idolator-interview" target="_blank">interview I did with Alison Goldfrapp</a> earlier this year, she said, &#8220;We wanted to write good, strong melodies… It was just time to get out the synths again, put your hands in the air.&#8221; Mission accomplished. Both <em>Head First</em> and its single &#8220;Rocket&#8221; <a href="http://idolator.com/5705741/the-2011-grammy-nominations" target="_blank">are Grammy-nominated</a>.</p>
<p><strong><em><a href="http://idolator.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/gorillaz-plastic-beach.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-5716622" title="gorillaz-plastic-beach" src="http://cdn.idolator.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/gorillaz-plastic-beach-500x500.jpg" alt="gorillaz-plastic-beach" width="301" height="301" /></a></em>BECKY&#8217;S PICK: Gorillaz</strong>, <a href="http://idolator.com/5554681/gorillaz-take-us-on-a-journey-to-plastic-beach-with-their-short-film" target="_blank"><em>Plastic Beach</em></a><br />
Damon Albarn has always been able to blur (pun somewhat intended) the line between pop, electro, hip-hop, funk and sounds I can&#8217;t begin to compartmentalize. But the aural trip of Gorillaz&#8217;s <em>Plastic Beach</em> captures some of his most visceral, glittering, twinkling melodies yet. The result of his copious collaborations and sunny synth work on this set of tunes is something just as beautiful and lush as the scenic album cover implies.</p>
<p><a href="http://idolator.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/Kate-Nash-My-Best-Friend-is-You-full-album.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-5716662" title="Kate-Nash-My-Best-Friend-is-You-full-album" src="http://cdn.idolator.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/Kate-Nash-My-Best-Friend-is-You-full-album.jpg" alt="Kate-Nash-My-Best-Friend-is-You-full-album" width="301" height="301" /></a><strong>ERIKA&#8217;S PICK: Kate Nash</strong>, <a href="http://idolator.com/5506861/idolator-interview-kate-nash" target="_blank"><em>My Best Friend Is You</em></a><strong><br />
</strong>Kate Nash managed to transport me back my 17-year-old self with this album. Listening to <em>My Best Friend Is You</em> hit me very much the way Fiona Apple’s <em>When The Pawn&#8230;</em> did, sitting on the floor of my bedroom with the liner notes spread out in an attempt to learn and decipher every lyric. If I was a teen today and on the hunt for my musical idol, Taylor Swift would come off too sweet and Lady Gaga too intense. Kate speaks to the girl who at first listen seems bright and cheerful, but on closer inspection is packing a razor sharp bite.<strong><br />
</strong></p>
<p><em><a href="http://idolator.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/kelis_fleshtone_album_cover_art.jpg"><img class="size-full wp-image-5716612 aligncenter" title="kelis_fleshtone_album_cover_art" src="http://cdn.idolator.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/kelis_fleshtone_album_cover_art.jpg" alt="kelis_fleshtone_album_cover_art" width="300" height="299" /></a></em><strong>BECKY&#8217;S PICK: Kelis</strong>, <a href="http://idolator.com/5560951/photos-kelis-flesh-tone-release-part/legendary-damon-dania-ramirez-and-kelis-attend-kelis-flesh-to-2" target="_blank"><em>Flesh Tone</em></a><br />
Kelis was able to effortlessly transform from a quirky R&amp;B/hip-hop artist to electro queen with this non-stop dance album, one that has yet to grow old on me after an infinite number of plays—while driving in my car, running the treadmill, dancing during a house party or just sitting back and taking in her collection of hypnotic beats. Not only was this surprising set irresistible, it was also one of the sweetest albums of the year—many of the songs are about the love for her son Knight, whom she was pregnant with while writing and recording the LP. <em>Aww</em>.</p>
<p><a href="http://idolator.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/KESHA_ANIMAL_5x5.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-5716632" title="KESHA_ANIMAL_5x5" src="http://cdn.idolator.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/KESHA_ANIMAL_5x5-500x500.jpg" alt="KESHA_ANIMAL_5x5" width="300" height="300" /></a><strong>BECKY&#8217;S PICK: Ke$ha</strong>, <a href="http://idolator.com/5359562/keha-drinks-and-drives-straight-to-the-top-of-the-chart" target="_blank"><em>Animal</em></a><br />
As much of a guilty pleasure it is to earnestly enjoy K-Dolla&#8217;s debut <em>Animal</em>, I really don&#8217;t feel that guilty about it. The hooks on this album last for days and stick in your head long after the hangover is gone. Just like the masses flocking to <em>Hot Tub Time Machine </em>or <em>Jersey Shore</em> or some similar lowbrow form of entertainment, I get why Ke$ha became so popular with her drunk-and-proud-of-it persona, boasting lyrics so dumbed-down they make a tween&#8217;s text messages come off as clever. It&#8217;s all about not having to think too hard while letting loose and having fun—and fun is had in abundance on every incredibly-catchy track.</p>
<p><a href="http://idolator.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/cd-kylieMinogue_aphrodite.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-5716642" title="cd-kylieMinogue_aphrodite" src="http://cdn.idolator.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/cd-kylieMinogue_aphrodite-500x500.jpg" alt="cd-kylieMinogue_aphrodite" width="303" height="303" /></a><strong>ROBBIE&#8217;S PICK: Kylie Minogue</strong>, <a href="http://idolator.com/5528952/preview-kylie-minogues-new-album-with-the-aphrodite-megamix" target="_blank"><em>Aphrodite</em></a><strong><em><br />
</em></strong>Like Madonna with <em>Confessions On A Dancefloor</em>, hooking up with producer Stuart Price turned out to be the perfect way for Kylie to give her already impressive career a fresh jolt. The Aussie pop queen&#8217;s 11th album hops from sweet (&#8221;All The Lovers&#8221;) and sassy (&#8221;Get Outta My Way&#8221;) dance-pop tunes to harder club jams (&#8221;Put Your Hands Up&#8221;) and fist-in-the-air anthem-like (&#8221;Aphrodite&#8221;) tracks. And yet Price somehow deftly made it all cohesive. <em>Aphrodite</em> pretty much <em>was</em> my Summer 2010.<strong><em> </em></strong></p>
<p><strong><em><a href="http://idolator.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/Robyn-Body-Talk-Pt-3.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-5716652" title="Robyn-Body-Talk-Pt-3" src="http://cdn.idolator.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/Robyn-Body-Talk-Pt-3.jpg" alt="Robyn-Body-Talk-Pt-3" width="300" height="296" /></a></em>ROBBIE&#8217;S PICK: Robyn</strong>, <a href="http://idolator.com/5682542/robyn-time-machine-max-martin-body-talk" target="_blank"><em>Body Talk</em></a><strong><em><br />
</em></strong>I&#8217;m not exactly sure how Robyn cuts right to the heart of the universal longing we all feel with her icy-cool pop jams, but she&#8217;s pretty damn good at it. Anyone who doesn&#8217;t believe music with electronic drums can evoke emotions needs to give &#8220;Call Your Girlfriend&#8221;, &#8220;Stars 4-ever&#8221; and &#8220;In My Eyes&#8221; a spin. Then deal yourself a final blow with the <a href="http://idolator.com/5705741/the-2011-grammy-nominations" target="_blank">Grammy-nominated</a> &#8220;Dancing On My Own.&#8221; Collecting the previous <em>Body Talk</em> mini albums as they were released over the course of the year was a fun exercise, but do yourself a favor and grab the whole LP.<strong><em> </em></strong></p>
<p><strong><em><a href="http://idolator.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/scissor_sisters_night_work.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-5716631" title="scissor_sisters_night_work" src="http://cdn.idolator.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/scissor_sisters_night_work-500x500.jpg" alt="scissor_sisters_night_work" width="300" height="300" /></a></em>BECKY&#8217;S PICK: Scissor Sisters</strong>, <a href="http://idolator.com/5474241/scissor-sisters-return-with-album-night-work-and-new-song-invisible-light" target="_blank"><em>Night Work</em></a><br />
The Scissters made a triumphant dance mix with producer Stuart Price (who also worked his magic on Kylie&#8217;s <em>Aphrodite</em>), and it&#8217;s impossible to stop yourself from moving and grooving to this disc, which brims over with tracks as perky as the derriere on the album&#8217;s cover art. Although not fully unappreciated—this disco-rave party album has scored them even more fans, including <a href="http://idolator.com/5606891/photos-katy-perry-and-adam-lambert-party-with-the-scissor-sisters" target="_blank">Adam Lambert, Katy Perry</a> and<a href="http://idolator.com/5615191/lady-gaga-scissor-sisters-tour-2011" target="_blank"> Lady Gaga</a>—we still can&#8217;t believe this haunting, wicked, cheeky record didn&#8217;t make more year-end lists.</p>
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		<title>Toby Keith Way Too Much Of A Bad-Ass To Be A Leader</title>
		<link>http://idolator.com/5219991/toby-keith-way-too-much-of-a-bad-ass-to-be-a-leader</link>
		<comments>http://idolator.com/5219991/toby-keith-way-too-much-of-a-bad-ass-to-be-a-leader#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 23 Apr 2009 16:00:21 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Maura</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Elton John]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Girl Talk]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Toby Keith]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://idolator.com/?p=5219991</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[In today's wrapup of headlines: Toby Keith isn't ready to make nice with voters, Elton John says "goodbye" to Las Vegas' 10-karat-bricked roads, and Gregg "Girl Talk" Gillis is thinking about maybe engaging in the art of songcraft!  <a class="more" href="http://idolator.com/5219991/toby-keith-way-too-much-of-a-bad-ass-to-be-a-leader">More&#160;&#187;</a>]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><img src="http://cdn.idolator.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/tobykeith-99x120.jpg" alt="tobykeith" title="tobykeith" width="99" height="120" class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-5220011" />• <b>Toby Keith</b> not running for Oklahoma governor because &#8220;being a politician would mean (having) to get along with too many people&#8221; (I swear that he said this) [<a href="http://www.newsok.com/toby-keith-not-running-for-oklahoma-governor/article/3363330">newsOK</a> via <a href="http://voices.washingtonpost.com/postrock/2009/04/toby_keith_not_turning_how_do.html">WP</a>]<br />
• <b>Elton John</b>&#8217;s five-year Vegas run ends, but don&#8217;t worry, if the economy stays as shitty as it&#8217;s been he&#8217;ll be back [<a href="http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/news/elton-john-ends-las-vegas-run-1003965846.story">Billboard</a>]<br />
• Nokia&#8217;s all-you-can-eat mobile music program <b>Comes With Music</b> reportedly nabbed 23,000 subscribers since launching last year in the UK [<a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/8012874.stm">BBC</a>]<br />
• Major labels talking to <b>Hulu</b> about adding music videos to the site, thus turning even more of the Internet into TV [<a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&#038;sid=aIve2K3rJFl0&#038;refer=home">Bloomberg</a>]<br />
• <b>Girl Talk</b> may actually make songs with structures more complex than &#8220;throw a bunch of shit into a Sparks can and shake&#8221; on his next album [<a href="http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/news/girl-talk-experimenting-with-actual-songs-1003965864.story">Billboard</a>]<br />
• <b>Ra Ra Riot</b> and <b>Vampire Weekend</b> members collaborate, blogosphere falls in on itself [<a href="http://myoldkyhome.blogspot.com/2009/04/ra-ra-riot-vampire-weekend-discovery.html">MOKB</a>]</p>
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		<title>William Safire Writes A Mash Note To Mash-Ups</title>
		<link>http://idolator.com/5154569/william-safire-writes-a-mash-note-to-mash-ups</link>
		<comments>http://idolator.com/5154569/william-safire-writes-a-mash-note-to-mash-ups#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 16 Feb 2009 08:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Mike Barthel</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Girl Talk]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[New York Times]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">ffb4c934f683e01ae3f0f445f599e19c</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[<p><a class="autolink" title="Click here to read more posts tagged WILLIAM SAFIRE" title="Click here to read more posts tagged WILLIAM SAFIRE" href="http://idolator.com/tag/william-safire/">William Safire</a>'s "On Language" columns have gotten a lot more enjoyable since he stopped writing op-eds for <em>The <a class="autolink" title="Click here to read more posts tagged NEW YORK TIMES" title="Click here to read more posts tagged NEW YORK TIMES" href="http://idolator.com/tag/new-york-times/">New York Times</a></em>, but when he steps into a field with which he is not entirely familiar, the results cross that fine line between charming and cringey.  Of course, it's also hard to tell when he's kidding&#8212;he self-consciously begins one sentence here with "I recall a letter written to Gov. William Scranton..."&#8212;but, well, he's writing about "mashup."  And "remix."  You can probably tell where this is going.</p> <a class="more" href="http://idolator.com/5154569/william-safire-writes-a-mash-note-to-mash-ups">More&#160;&#187;</a>]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><img src="http://cdn.idolator.com/assets/images/2009/02/custom_1234814927241_51UhOtoEVUL._SL500_AA240_.jpg" width="158" height="158" class="left" /><a class="autolink" title="Click here to read more posts tagged WILLIAM SAFIRE" title="Click here to read more posts tagged WILLIAM SAFIRE" href="http://idolator.com/tag/william-safire/">William Safire</a>&#8217;s &#8220;On Language&#8221; columns have gotten a lot more enjoyable since he stopped writing op-eds for <em>The <a class="autolink" title="Click here to read more posts tagged NEW YORK TIMES" title="Click here to read more posts tagged NEW YORK TIMES" href="http://idolator.com/tag/new-york-times/">New York Times</a></em>, but when he steps into a field with which he is not entirely familiar, the results cross that fine line between charming and cringey.  Of course, it&#8217;s also hard to tell when he&#8217;s kidding&mdash;he self-consciously begins one sentence here with &#8220;I recall a letter written to Gov. William Scranton&#8230;&#8221;&mdash;but, well, he&#8217;s writing about &#8220;mashup.&#8221;  And &#8220;remix.&#8221;  You can probably tell where this is going.</p>
<p><br  /><br />
Certainly he takes a different view of the medium than most of us would, though since we are not William Safire, I suppose we would be in the wrong.  He attributes the genesis of mashups to &#8220;the hip-hop world in the mid-&#8217;90s,&#8221; while I would be more likely to say it started with Plunderphonics and caught on with <a class="autolink" title="Click here to read more posts tagged 2 MANY DJS" title="Click here to read more posts tagged 2 MANY DJS" href="http://idolator.com/tag/2-many-djs/">2 Many DJs</a>.  Maybe Bill is thinking of &#8220;freestyle&#8221;?  He also does an odd skip over the very precise technical origins of &#8220;remix,&#8221; saying that it &#8220;began in 1969 as a variant of &#8216;re-recording&#8217;.&#8221;  Er, isn&#8217;t it a variant of &#8220;mixing&#8221;?  As in, it&#8217;s been mixed and finalized once and then someone mixes it again?</p>
<p>It seems to me there is a very simple difference between &#8220;mashup&#8221; and &#8220;remix,&#8221; one which informs all their non-musical uses.  A mashup takes parts of two or more existing things and combines them without substantially altering the originals.  A remix takes parts of a single thing and rearranges it.  So something that combines, say, <a href="http://code.google.com/support/bin/answer.py?answer=73041&#038;topic=12044">Google Maps</a> with a <a href="http://www.eightmaps.com/">set of data</a> is a mashup, whereas something like <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wind_Done_Gone">The Wind Done Gone</a> that takes an existing novel and rewrites it from the perspective of a different character could be called a remix.  It&#8217;s nice that Safire took things outside the usual story, but if his column was aimed at people unfamiliar with the concepts, I&#8217;m not sure how much it helped.</p>
<p>On the bright side, it didn&#8217;t mention <a class="autolink" title="Click here to read more posts tagged GIRL TALK" title="Click here to read more posts tagged GIRL TALK" href="http://idolator.com/tag/girl-talk/">Girl Talk</a>.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/15/magazine/15wwln_safire-t.html?partner=rssnyt&#038;emc=rss">Rifacimento</a> [NYT]</p>
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		<title>New Muxtape Offers Exciting New Chance To Listen To Middling Indie Rock&#8230; In Bright Colors!</title>
		<link>http://idolator.com/5140186/new-muxtape-offers-exciting-new-chance-to-listen-to-middling-indie-rock-in-bright-colors</link>
		<comments>http://idolator.com/5140186/new-muxtape-offers-exciting-new-chance-to-listen-to-middling-indie-rock-in-bright-colors#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 27 Jan 2009 06:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Christopher R. Weingarten</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Girl Talk]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[quicklink=false]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">34919482eb9d968a2eaecb29c5728fd0</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[<p>Muxtape is back! Sort of! Once the sleekest, niftiest way to trade mix streams of your fave raves, Muxtape is has now been relaunched as a platform for bands to offer their music for free! Cool! So it's sort of like a <em>space</em> for <em>my</em> music to be held, you know?</p> <a class="more" href="http://idolator.com/5140186/new-muxtape-offers-exciting-new-chance-to-listen-to-middling-indie-rock-in-bright-colors">More&#160;&#187;</a>]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><img src="http://cdn.idolator.com/assets/images/idolator/2009/01/muxy.jpg" width="134" height="120" class="left" />Muxtape is back! Sort of! Once the sleekest, niftiest way to trade mix streams of your fave raves, Muxtape is has now been relaunched as a platform for bands to offer their music for free! Cool! So it&#8217;s sort of like a <em>space</em> for <em>my</em> music to be held, you know?</p>
<p><br  /><br />
The Muxtape dudes got 12 of their favorite artists to put up some streamy music. And their favorite artists run the gamut from middling indie rock (Of Montreal) to middling indie-electro (Apes And Androids) to middling indie retro dance (Old Gold) to middling whatever the fuck the Dresden Dolls are (Amanda Palmer). Wanna know how well this works? When I wanted to find out who Old Gold was so I could make fun of him, I went to his MySpace page.</p>
<p>It&#8217;s still new, so maybe I&#8217;m being a little harsh. And Muxtape gave me some pretty good times back in the day, so I&#8217;m glad the site kept its very cool, very clean design. Congrats on dudes still giving their program life in a way that is no longer ducking the RIAA&#8230; except for, you know, all the incredibly illegal samples on the Girl Talk content. And that Francis And The Lights song that sounds a little too close to <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7hK3Y1Ehv9c">&#8220;Rock With You&#8221;</a> for my comfort.</p>
<p><a href="http://muxtape.com">Muxtape</a> [Official site]</p>
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		<title>80 &#8216;08 (and Heartbreak): Announcing Idolator&#8217;s Year-End Extravaganza</title>
		<link>http://idolator.com/5103876/80-08-and-heartbreak-announcing-idolators-year-end-extravaganza</link>
		<comments>http://idolator.com/5103876/80-08-and-heartbreak-announcing-idolators-year-end-extravaganza#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 31 Dec 2008 05:45:00 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Michaelangelo Matos</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[33 1/3]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[ABBA]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Alphabeat]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[American Idol]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Andrew W.K.]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Arnel Pineda]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Be Your Own Pet]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Beyonce]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Black Sabbath]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Britney Spears]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[carl wilson]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Celine Dion]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Coachella]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Courtney Love]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[David Archuleta]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[David Cook]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Dean Wareham]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[dj k-swift]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[DJ Koze]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Elvis Costello]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Erykah Badu]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Estelle]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Fall Out Boy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Fred Schneider]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Game]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Gary Brolsma]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Gaslight Anthem]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Girl Talk]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Gnarls Barkley]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Guns N Roses]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Ida Maria]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[James Brown]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Jamey Johnson]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Jarvis Cocker]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Jay-Z]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Jenny Lewis]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Jonas Brothers]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Journey]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Juliana Hatfield]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Justin Moore]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Kanye West]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Kid Rock]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Kings Of Leon]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Kompakt]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Larry Norman]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Lil Wayne]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Lily Allen]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Lloyd]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[M.I.A.]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Madonna]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Mamma Mia]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Mariah Carey]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Mary J. Blige]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Max Martin]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[MBV]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Miley Cyrus]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Monotonix]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Nine Inch Nails]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Of Montreal]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Optimo]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Paramore]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Perez Hilton]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Pete Wentz]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Portishead]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Prince]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Pussycat Dolls]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[R. Kelly]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Radiohead]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Rick Astley]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Rihanna]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Santogold]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Scott Weiland]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Sheryl Crow]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Slipknot]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Solange Knowles]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Sonseed]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Stone Temple Pilots]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[T-Pain]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[T.I.]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[The Raconteurs]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[The Wire]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[timestamp=false]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Trent Reznor]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[TV On The Radio]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Velvet Revolver]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Wye Oak]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[YouTube]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">f4e4da1e37ff11b035b2b3285e09a912</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[<p>What were the 80 most important musical recordings, artists, trends, events, and performances of 2008? What were the eight things this year that broke our hearts&#8212;or, at least, our ears? We're happy to announce <strong>80 '08 (and Heartbreak)</strong>, Idolator's year-end overview. The list is below the jump.</p> <a class="more" href="http://idolator.com/5103876/80-08-and-heartbreak-announcing-idolators-year-end-extravaganza">More&#160;&#187;</a>]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><img src="http://cdn.idolator.com/assets/images/idolator/2008/12/large_ROUTE80.jpg" class="center" width="453" height="328" style="display:block;" />What were the 80 most important musical recordings, artists, trends, events, and performances of 2008? What were the eight things this year that broke our hearts&mdash;or, at least, our ears? We&#8217;re happy to announce <strong>80 &#8216;08 (and Heartbreak)</strong>, Idolator&#8217;s year-end overview. The list is below the jump.</p>
<p>80. <a href="http://idolator.com/5103877/no-80-andrew-wk-mclaughlin-groove">Andrew W.K., &#8220;McLaughlin Groove&#8221;</a><br />
79. <a href="http://idolator.com/5104001/no-79-elvis-costello-puts-his-trust-in-fall-out-boy">Elvis Costello puts his trust in Fall Out Boy</a><br />
78. <a href="http://idolator.com/5103879/no-78-wye-oak-i-want-for-nothing">Wye Oak, &#8220;I Want for Nothing&#8221;</a><br />
77. <a href="http://idolator.com/5103884/no-77-nine-inch-nails-flood-of-digitally-distributed-new-music">Nine Inch Nails&#8217; flood of digitally distributed music</a><br />
76. <a href="http://idolator.com/5104954/no-76-tv-on-the-radio-golden-age">TV on the Radio, &#8220;Golden Age&#8221;</a><br />
75. <a href="http://idolator.com/5105275/no-75-journey-welcomes-the-web-20-era-and-a-new-singer-with-open-arms">Journey welcomes the Web 2.0 Era (and a new singer) with open arms</a><br />
74. <a href="http://idolator.com/5104960/no-74-jenny-lewis-acid-tongue">Jenny Lewis, &#8220;Acid Tongue&#8221;</a><br />
73. <a href="http://idolator.com/5104962/no-73-radiohead-scores-the-years-strangest-top-40-hit">Radiohead scores the year&#8217;s strangest Top 40 hit</a><br />
72. <a href="http://idolator.com/5104975/no-72-the-music-tapes-at-athens-popfest-august-2008">The Music Tapes at Athens Popfest, August 2008</a><br />
71. <a href="http://idolator.com/5106276/no-71-kanye-lily-pete-and-courtney-form-their-own-blogger-nation">Kanye, Lily, Pete, and Courtney form their own blogger nation</a><br />
70. <a href="http://idolator.com/5106131/no-70-french-kicks-swimming">French Kicks, <i>Swimming</i></a><br />
69. <a href="http://idolator.com/5106277/no-69-hanging-chads-scary-masks-and-the-exposed-midriffs-of-the-pussycat-dolls">Soundscan: down for the recount</a><br />
68. <a href="http://idolator.com/5106137/no-68-make-it-stop-the-most-of-ross-johnson"><i>Make It Stop! The Most of Ross Johnson</i></a><br />
67. <a href="http://idolator.com/5107079/no-67-parry-gripp-hamster-on-a-piano-eating-popcorn">Parry Gripp, &#8220;Hamster on a Piano (Eating Popcorn)&#8221;</a><br />
66. <a href="http://idolator.com/5107176/no-66-okay-huggable-dust">Okay, <i>Huggable Dust</i></a><br />
65. <a href="http://idolator.com/5107180/no-65-mariah-carey-touch-my-body">Mariah Carey, &#8220;Touch My Body&#8221;</a><br />
64. <a href="http://idolator.com/5107080/no-64-360-deals-make-heads-spin">360 deals make heads spin</a><br />
63. <a href="http://idolator.com/5108115/no-63-daniel-amos-darn-floor-big-bite">Daniel Amos, <i>Darn Floor Big Bite</i></a><br />
62. <a href="http://idolator.com/5108117/no-62-cut-copy-in-ghost-colours">Cut Copy, <i>In Ghost Colours</i></a><br />
61. <a href="http://idolator.com/5108290/no-61-solange-sol+angel-and-the-hadley-street-dreams">Solange, <i>Sol-Angel and the Hadley St. Dreams</i></a><br />
60. <a href="http://idolator.com/5108295/no-60-the-numa-numa-dance-gets-a-revival-and-a-makeover">The Numa Numa Dance revival</a><br />
59. <a href="http://idolator.com/5108123/no-59-the-gaslight-anthem-the-59-sound">The Gaslight Anthem, <i>The &#8216;59 Sound</i></a><br />
58. <a href="http://idolator.com/5109133/no-58-90s-alt+rock-memoirs">&#8217;90s alt-rock memoirs</a><br />
57. <a href="http://idolator.com/5109817/no-57-larry-norman-and-sonseed">Larry Norman and Sonseed</a><br />
56. <a href="http://idolator.com/5109820/no-56-sheryl-crow-shine-over-babylon">Sheryl Crow, &#8220;Shine Over Babylon&#8221;</a><br />
55. <a href="http://idolator.com/5109139/no-55-dj-koze-goes-beyond-minimal">DJ Koze</a><br />
54. <a href="http://idolator.com/5109827/no-54-david-cook-beats-david-archuleta-on-american-idol">David Cook beats David Archuleta on <i>American Idol</i></a><br />
53. <a href="http://idolator.com/5111097/no-53-t+pain-thr33-ringz">T-Pain, <i>Thr33 Ringz</i></a><br />
52. <a href="http://idolator.com/5111085/no-52-perez-hilton-and-sony-bmg-have-a-slapfight">Perez Hilton Vs. Sony BMG: slapfight!</a><br />
51. <a href="http://idolator.com/5111099/no-51-justin-moores-back-that-thing-up-video">Justin Moore&#8217;s &#8220;Back That Thing Up&#8221; video</a><br />
50. <a href="http://idolator.com/5111101/no-50-optimos-mix-cds">Optimo&#8217;s mix CDs</a><br />
49. <a href="http://idolator.com/5111103/no-49-extra-golden-at-the-caledonia-lounge-june-2008">Extra Golden live at the Caledonia Lounge, Athens, GA, June 2008</a><br />
48. <a href="http://idolator.com/5111892/no-48-jamey-johnson-that-lonesome-song">Jamey Johnson, <i>That Lonesome Song</i></a><br />
47. <a href="http://idolator.com/5111902/no-47-daveigh-chase-sings-the-happiest-girl-in-the-whole-usa-on-hbos-big-love">Daveigh Chase sings &#8220;The Happiest Girl in the Whole USA&#8221; on HBO&#8217;s <i>Big Love</i></a><br />
46. <a href="http://idolator.com/5112164/no-46-gnarls-barkley-and-the-raconteurs-race-each-other-to-the-record-store">Gnarls Barkley and the Raconteurs race each other to the record store</a><br />
45. <a href="http://idolator.com/5111897/no-45-pete-wentz-tries-to-save-the-music-video-with-fnmtv">Pete Wentz tries to save the music video with <i>FNMTV</i></a><br />
44. <a href="http://idolator.com/5111905/no-44-rbs-breakbeat-vogue">R&#038;B&#8217;s breakbeat vogue</a><br />
43. <a href="http://idolator.com/5112988/no-43-the-curious-rise-of-jobromance">Jobromance!</a><br />
42. <a href="http://idolator.com/5112994/no-42-dennis-wilson-pacific-ocean-blue-legacy-edition">Dennis Wilson, <i>Pacific Ocean Blue (Legacy Edition)</i></a><br />
41. <a href="http://idolator.com/5112996/no-41-miley-cyrus-see-you-again">Miley Cyrus, &#8220;See You Again&#8221;</a><br />
40. <a href="http://idolator.com/5112997/no-40-max-martin-and-dr-luke-infiltrate-rock-radio">Max Martin and Dr. Luke infiltrate rock radio</a><br />
39. <a href="http://idolator.com/5113309/no-39-of-montreal-get-skeletal">Of Montreal get <i>Skeletal</i></a><br />
38. <a href="http://idolator.com/5113685/no-38-poplife-presents-poplife-sucks"><i>Poplife Presents Poplife Sucks</i></a><br />
37. <a href="http://idolator.com/5113700/no-37-alec-foeges-right-of-the-dial-and-taylor-clarks-starbucked">Alec Foege, <i>Right of the Dial</i> and Taylor Clark, <i>Starbucked</i></a><br />
36. <a href="http://idolator.com/5113710/no-36-major-labels-fail-to-kill-the-singleagain">Major labels fail to kill the single&mdash;again</a><br />
35. <a href="http://idolator.com/5114385/no-35-velvet-revolver-brings-the-drama">Velvet Revolver brings the drama</a><br />
34. <a href="http://idolator.com/5114580/no-34-blake-leyh-makes-us-listen-closer-to-the-wire">Blake Leyh makes us listen closer to <i>The Wire</i></a><br />
33. <a href="http://idolator.com/5114612/no-33-soulja-boy-tell-em-yahhh">Soulja Boy Tell &#8216;Em, &#8220;Yahhh!&#8221;</a><br />
32. <a href="http://idolator.com/5114639/no-32-the-end-of-trl">The end of <i>TRL</i></a><br />
31. <a href="http://idolator.com/5114644/no-31-the-old+skool-rave-revival-asks-where-were-you-in-92">The old-skool rave revival</a><br />
30. <a href="http://idolator.com/5115973/no-30-ida-maria-oh-my-god">Ida Maria, &#8220;Oh My God&#8221;</a><br />
29. <a href="http://idolator.com/5116541/no-29-fred-schneider-on-the-daily-show-with-jon-stewart">Fred Schneider on <i>The Daily Show with Jon Stewart</i></a><br />
28. <a href="http://idolator.com/5116540/no-28-cmts-can-you-duet">CMT&#8217;s <i>Can You Duet</i></a><br />
27. <a href="http://idolator.com/5116777/no-27-artists-from-the-90s-line-up-to-cash-in-now-honey">&#8217;90s reunion fever</a><br />
26. <a href="http://idolator.com/5116780/no-26-estelle-makes-her-way-across-the-ocean">Estelle makes her way across the ocean</a><br />
25. <a href="http://idolator.com/5116554/no-25-john-darnielles-master-of-reality-and-carl-wilsons-lets-talk-about-love-a-journey-to-the-end-of-taste">John Darnielle&#8217;s <i>Master of Reality</i> and Carl Wilson&#8217;s <i>Let&#8217;s Talk About Love: A Journey to the End of Taste</i></a><br />
24. <a href="http://idolator.com/5117490/no-24-girl-talk-feed-the-animals">Girl Talk, <i>Feed the Animals</i></a><br />
23. <a href="http://idolator.com/5117393/no-23-santogold-lights-out">Santogold, &#8220;Lights Out&#8221;</a><br />
22. <a href="http://idolator.com/5117515/no-22-summer-festivals-blanket-america-leave-music-fans-gasping-for-air">Summer festival glut</a><br />
21. <a href="http://idolator.com/5117456/no-21-monotonix-live-in-baltimore">Monotonix live in Baltimore</a><br />
20. <a href="http://idolator.com/5117467/no-20-james-sullivan-the-hardest-working-man-how-james-brown-saved-the-soul-of-america">James Sullivan, <i>The Hardest Working Man: How James Brown Saved the Soul of America</i></a><br />
19. <a href="http://idolator.com/5118932/no-19-be-your-own-pet-becky">Be Your Own Pet, &#8220;Becky&#8221;</a><br />
18. <a href="http://idolator.com/5118938/no-18-kanye-wests-aesthetics">Kanye West&#8217;s aesthetics</a><br />
17. <a href="http://idolator.com/5119578/no-17-the-vinyl-is-back-trend-story-keeps-coming-back">&#8220;Vinyl is back!&#8221;</a><br />
16. <a href="http://idolator.com/5118935/no-16-global-reissues-bonanza">Global reissues bonanza</a><br />
15. <a href="http://idolator.com/5118936/no-15-beyonc-single-ladies-put-a-ring-on-it">Beyoncé, &#8220;Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)&#8221;</a><br />
14. <a href="http://idolator.com/5119581/no-14-the-internet-is-never-gonna-give-rick-astley-up">Rickrolling rolls on</a><br />
13. <a href="http://idolator.com/5118937/no-13-mia-paper-planes">M.I.A., &#8220;Paper Planes&#8221;</a><br />
12. <a href="http://idolator.com/5120040/no-12-alphabeat-gets-wonky">Alphabeat get &#8220;wonky&#8221;</a><br />
11. <a href="http://idolator.com/5120048/no-11-the-year-of-the-remix">The year of the remix</a><br />
10. <a href="http://idolator.com/5120675/no-10-r-kelly-goes-to-court">R. Kelly goes to court</a><br />
9. <a href="http://idolator.com/5120056/no-9-jarvis-cocker-at-pitchfork-festival-july-2008">Jarvis Cocker at Pitchfork Festival, Chicago, July 2008</a><br />
8. <a href="http://idolator.com/5120061/no-8-the-ron-clark-academy-you-can-vote-however-you-like">The Ron Clark Academy, &#8220;You Can Vote However You Like&#8221;</a><br />
7. <a href="http://idolator.com/5120065/no-7-portishead-third">Portishead, <i>Third</i></a><br />
6. <a href="http://idolator.com/5121113/no-6-prince-thinks-youre-so-very-special">Prince at Coachella Festival, April 2008</a><br />
5. <a href="http://idolator.com/5121109/no-5-erykah-badu-new-amerykah-part-one-4th-world-war">Erykah Badu, <i>New Amerykah Part One (4th World War)</i></a><br />
4. <a href="http://idolator.com/5121114/no-4-guitar-hero-and-rock-band-prove-that-anyone-can-play-plastic-guitar"><em>Guitar Hero</em> / <em>Rock Band</em></a><br />
3. <a href="http://idolator.com/5121118/no-3-a-very-musical-presidential-election-presented-by-vhs-or-beta">A very musical Presidential election</a><br />
2. <a href="http://idolator.com/5121138/no-2-lil-wayne-is-all-things-to-all-people">Lil Wayne: All things to all people</a><br />
1. <a href="http://idolator.com/5121137/no-1-ne+yo-year-of-the-gentleman">Ne-Yo, <em>Year Of The Gentleman</em></a></p>
<p>HEARTBREAKS<br />
1. <a href="http://idolator.com/5103903/heartbreak-no-1-mamma-mia-misses-the-essence-of-abba"><i>Mamma Mia</i> Misses The Essence Of ABBA</a> (Kate Richardson)<br />
2. <a href="http://idolator.com/5106140/heartbreak-no-2-the-death-of-baltimore-club-musics-queen-dj-k+swift">The Death of Baltimore Club Music&#8217;s Queen, DJ K-Swift</a> (Al Shipley)<br />
3. <a href="http://idolator.com/5107354/heartbreak-no-3-the-blogosphere-as-the-new-status-quo">The blogosphere as the new status quo</a> (Lucas Jensen)<br />
4. <a href="http://idolator.com/5113726/heartbreak-no-4-britney-spears-on-mtvs-2008-video-music-awards">Britney Spears on the 2008 MTV VMAs</a> (Molly McAleer)<br />
5. <a href="http://idolator.com/5118933/heartbreak-no-5-be-your-own-pet-breaks-up">Be Your Own Pet breaks up</a> (Mike Barthel)<br />
6. <a href="http://idolator.com/5120043/heartbreak-no-6-everyone-in-the-music-business-losing-their-freakin-jobs">Everyone in the music business losing their freakin&#8217; jobs</a> (Michaelangelo Matos)<br />
7. <a href="http://idolator.com/5120677/heartbreak-no-7-axl-rose-finally-brings-democracy-to-china">Guns N&#8217; Roses, <i>Chinese Democracy</i></a> (Maura Johnston)<br />
8. <a href="http://idolator.com/5121129/heartbreak-no-8-john-rich-shills-for-the-republican-party">John Rich shills for the GOP</a> (Chuck Eddy)</p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss></wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>23</slash:comments>
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		<item>
		<title>No. 24: Girl Talk, &#8220;Feed The Animals&#8221;</title>
		<link>http://idolator.com/5117490/no-24-girl-talk-feed-the-animals</link>
		<comments>http://idolator.com/5117490/no-24-girl-talk-feed-the-animals#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 24 Dec 2008 03:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Mike Barthel</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Girl Talk]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">fd566b336d9fca307aeeb63a52bfcd97</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[<p> The non-music media loves to write about mash-ups, because it allows them to talk about the niche concern of pop music without much discussing music at all. Because mash-up artists use existing songs, journalists trade the difficulty of understanding new artists for reliable classics. They can talk about all the non-musical aspects of music&#8212;MP3s, piracy, copyright, major labels, downloading, iPods, etc&#8212;and they don't look like the kind of old fuddy-duddies who champion bands that sound like the bands they themselves loved when they were young, such as Dr. Dog and Wilco.</p> <a class="more" href="http://idolator.com/5117490/no-24-girl-talk-feed-the-animals">More&#160;&#187;</a>]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><img src="http://cdn.idolator.com/assets/images/idolator/2008/12/gt.jpg" class="center" width="500" height="500" style="display:block;" /> The non-music media loves to write about mash-ups, because it allows them to talk about the niche concern of pop music without much discussing music at all. Because mash-up artists use existing songs, journalists trade the difficulty of understanding new artists for reliable classics. They can talk about all the non-musical aspects of music&mdash;MP3s, piracy, copyright, major labels, downloading, iPods, etc&mdash;and they don&#8217;t look like the kind of old fuddy-duddies who champion bands that sound like the bands they themselves loved when they were young, such as Dr. Dog and Wilco.</p>
<p><object width="506" height="417" class="left gawkerVideo embeddedVideo"><param name="wmode" value="transparent" /><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/6JBAxkZun3s&#038;hl=en&#038;fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/6JBAxkZun3s&#038;hl=en&#038;fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" allowfullscreen="true" width="506" height="417" class="left gawkerVideo"></object><img src="http://cdn.idolator.com/assets/images/idolator/2008/12/6JBAxkZun3s_01.jpg" style="display: none;" class="embeddedVideoThumbnail"></p>
<p>
It&#8217;s understandable why Greg Gillis would play into all of this, and it&#8217;s hard to begrudge anyone making a living off music these days, but it can make the music harder to hear. Still, a lot of people say this album is great, and while I feel like <i>Night Ripper</i> was much better, who am I to argue with mass appeal? For better or worse, Gillis was one of the biggest forces in music this year.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6JBAxkZun3s">&#8220;Play Your Part (Pt. 1)&#8221;</a> [YouTube]<br />
<a href="http://www.myspace.com/girltalk">Girl Talk</a> [MySpace]<br />
<a href="http://idolator.com/5103876/80-08-and-heartbreak-announcing-idolators-year+end-extravaganza">80 &#8216;08 (and heartbreak)</a></p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss></wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>6</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Stephen King Takes A Shine To Girl Talk And Al Green</title>
		<link>http://idolator.com/5100147/stephen-king-takes-a-shine-to-girl-talk-and-al-green</link>
		<comments>http://idolator.com/5100147/stephen-king-takes-a-shine-to-girl-talk-and-al-green#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 01 Dec 2008 06:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Maura</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Year-End Analysis]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Al Green]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[extend=true]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Girl Talk]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Stephen King]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">b9006f1cc73995e13bc1fc5d57da94e0</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[<p>Last year, Stephen King could <a href="http://idolator.com/tunes/year_end-analysis/stephen-king-makes-a-stand-against-the-musical-dead-zone-of-2007-328426.php">only pick seven albums that he liked from the year's offerings</a>, but 2008 has apparently been kinder to King's ears: Not only was he moved to pick a full top 10, he placed <em>two</em> albums&#8212;Buckcherry's <em>Black Butterfly</em> and the Pretenders' <em>Break Up The Concrete</em>&#8212;at No. 1. Whoa, don't get too crazy now!  </p>
<p><b>THE GOOD:</b> Hey, I liked that Al Green album too.<br />
<b>THE BAD:</b> The gallisticle (my new term for those pageview-inflating lists that are presented as galleries: feel free to pass it along!) is peppered with "dancing about architecture" punnery and "aw, gosh, <em>EW</em>, you don't <em>have</em> to give me space in your mag" bloviation like the following: "Of all the things I write about for EW, pop music's the hardest, because a columnist doesn't get paid for saying, 'I dunno, I just like it.' But can I really explain why I love 'I Kissed a Girl' by Katy Perry and would be delighted never to hear Taylor Swift's 'You're Not Sorry' again? No. All I can say is that I find 'the taste of her cherry ChapStick' in 'Girl' entrancingly sexy, while everything about 'You're Not Sorry'... makes me sorry." That's the sort of wordplay that gets Uncle Stevie the big bucks! Suck it, <a href="http://www.observer.com/2008/media/layoffs-begin-entertainment-weekly">layoff victims</a>!<br />
<b>THE WHAAA?</b> "This is as dense and allusive as James Joyce's <em>Ulysses</em>, only you can dance to it." Guess what copyright-busting PC user he said <em>that</em> about? Somewhere, some dude who gets paid to write about rock full-time (well, at least <em>most</em> of the time in this economy) is sobbing for not having thought of the Joyce allusion first.</p> <a class="more" href="http://idolator.com/5100147/stephen-king-takes-a-shine-to-girl-talk-and-al-green">More&#160;&#187;</a>]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><img src="http://cdn.idolator.com/assets/images/2008/12/custom_1228154158447_stephenking.jpg" width="158" height="187" class="left" />Last year, Stephen King could <a href="http://idolator.com/tunes/year_end-analysis/stephen-king-makes-a-stand-against-the-musical-dead-zone-of-2007-328426.php">only pick seven albums that he liked from the year&#8217;s offerings</a>, but 2008 has apparently been kinder to King&#8217;s ears: Not only was he moved to pick a full top 10, he placed <em>two</em> albums&mdash;Buckcherry&#8217;s <em>Black Butterfly</em> and the Pretenders&#8217; <em>Break Up The Concrete</em>&mdash;at No. 1. Whoa, don&#8217;t get too crazy now!  </p>
<p><b>THE GOOD:</b> Hey, I liked that Al Green album too.<br />
<b>THE BAD:</b> The gallisticle (my new term for those pageview-inflating lists that are presented as galleries: feel free to pass it along!) is peppered with &#8220;dancing about architecture&#8221; punnery and &#8220;aw, gosh, <em>EW</em>, you don&#8217;t <em>have</em> to give me space in your mag&#8221; bloviation like the following: &#8220;Of all the things I write about for EW, pop music&#8217;s the hardest, because a columnist doesn&#8217;t get paid for saying, &#8216;I dunno, I just like it.&#8217; But can I really explain why I love &#8216;I Kissed a Girl&#8217; by Katy Perry and would be delighted never to hear Taylor Swift&#8217;s &#8216;You&#8217;re Not Sorry&#8217; again? No. All I can say is that I find &#8216;the taste of her cherry ChapStick&#8217; in &#8216;Girl&#8217; entrancingly sexy, while everything about &#8216;You&#8217;re Not Sorry&#8217;&#8230; makes me sorry.&#8221; That&#8217;s the sort of wordplay that gets Uncle Stevie the big bucks! Suck it, <a href="http://www.observer.com/2008/media/layoffs-begin-entertainment-weekly">layoff victims</a>!<br />
<b>THE WHAAA?</b> &#8220;This is as dense and allusive as James Joyce&#8217;s <em>Ulysses</em>, only you can dance to it.&#8221; Guess what copyright-busting PC user he said <em>that</em> about? Somewhere, some dude who gets paid to write about rock full-time (well, at least <em>most</em> of the time in this economy) is sobbing for not having thought of the Joyce allusion first.</p>
<p><br  /><br />
1. Buckcherry, <em>Black Butterfly</em> / The Pretenders, <em>Break Up The Concrete</em><br />
2. AC/DC, <em>Black Ice</em><br />
3. James McMurtry, <em>Just Us Kids</em><br />
4. Girl Talk, <em>Feed The Animals</em><br />
5. Alejandro Escovedo, <em>Real Animal</em><br />
6. Coldplay, <em>Viva La Vida</em><br />
7. Al Green, <em>Lay It Down</em><br />
8. Lindsey Buckingham, <em>Gift Of Screws</em><br />
9. Randy Newman, <em>Harps And Angels</em><br />
10. James, <em>Hey Ma</em></p>
<p><a href="http://www.ew.com/ew/gallery/0,,20243195,00.html">Stephen King&#8217;s Top 10</a> [EW via <a href="http://starkmagazine.blogspot.com/2008/11/stephen-king-has-lost-it.html">Stark Online</a>]</p>
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		<title>&#8220;Paste&#8221; Inspires Many A List-Watching Music Fan To Ask, &#8220;She &amp; Him??&#8221;</title>
		<link>http://idolator.com/5096124/paste-inspires-many-a-list-watching-music-fan-to-ask-she-him</link>
		<comments>http://idolator.com/5096124/paste-inspires-many-a-list-watching-music-fan-to-ask-she-him#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 21 Nov 2008 08:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Dan Gibson</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Year-End Analysis]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[extend=true]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Girl Talk]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Ida Maria]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Lil Wayne]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Santogold]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[She & Him]]></category>

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		<description><![CDATA[<p><em>Paste</em>'s 2008 best-of isn't unlike the magazine itself:  largely predictable, but with a few surprises seemingly thrown in to confuse or distract.  The list hews rather closely to their adult alternative aesthetic, but as likely obligated by law, they threw in Lil Wayne (No. 29). He's not quite as good as MGMT, in case you were wondering. </p>
<p><strong>THE GOOD:</strong> It cheered my heart to see that Ida Maria's <em>Fortress Round My Heart</em> placed highly (No. 13); the odd, but charming acknowledgment of Torche (No. 34) elicited a similar reaction.  For the Christian rock enthusiast portion of my heart, seeing Sandra McCracken buried near the bottom of the list was nice, although almost a wink and a nod to those who wonder if <em>Paste</em> is a undercover Christian rock mag.  They may recommend Lil Wayne, but don't worry, true believers. They still have room for Jesus rock.<br />
<strong>THE BAD:</strong> Im sure any Idolator reader could pick out a record they don't particularly care for and go all critically nutzoid, but Girl Talk at No. 7 seems like an odd slap in the face to the parade of "real musicians" who fall afterwards.  I like Girl Talk; I downloaded the disc, and it stayed in my car stereo for a few months. But the question ends up being whether these best of lists are really running down the "best" of the year, and that the idea of lasting value and meaning is taken into consideration, or whether a disc's inclusion just means that it was awesome to hear at parties.<br />
<strong>THE WHAAA? </strong>Although I was surprised not to see Al Green on the list, and to note that Santogold's Diplo mixtape outranked her actual album, nothing could top my shock to see She &#038; Him at No. 1.  The magazine defends the selection: "Maybe it’s just a sweet little folk record—a tiny, flawless diamond. Or maybe it’s a pristine distillation of harmony and craft; 50 years of songwriting experience served up on a spinning silver platter. Either way, it’s our album of the year."  To my ears, neither assertion is true. <em>Volume One</em> is a cute novelty record that has more preciousness than innovation, skill, or any other sort of metric people tend to judge great albums by.  Last year's number one was the National's <em>Boxer</em>... this year's pick is a long slide down in quality.</p> <a class="more" href="http://idolator.com/5096124/paste-inspires-many-a-list-watching-music-fan-to-ask-she-him">More&#160;&#187;</a>]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><img src="http://cdn.idolator.com/assets/images/2008/11/custom_1227297082230_She_and_Him_01.jpg" width="158" height="158" class="left" /><em>Paste</em>&#8217;s 2008 best-of isn&#8217;t unlike the magazine itself:  largely predictable, but with a few surprises seemingly thrown in to confuse or distract.  The list hews rather closely to their adult alternative aesthetic, but as likely obligated by law, they threw in Lil Wayne (No. 29). He&#8217;s not quite as good as MGMT, in case you were wondering. </p>
<p><strong>THE GOOD:</strong> It cheered my heart to see that Ida Maria&#8217;s <em>Fortress Round My Heart</em> placed highly (No. 13); the odd, but charming acknowledgment of Torche (No. 34) elicited a similar reaction.  For the Christian rock enthusiast portion of my heart, seeing Sandra McCracken buried near the bottom of the list was nice, although almost a wink and a nod to those who wonder if <em>Paste</em> is a undercover Christian rock mag.  They may recommend Lil Wayne, but don&#8217;t worry, true believers. They still have room for Jesus rock.<br />
<strong>THE BAD:</strong> Im sure any Idolator reader could pick out a record they don&#8217;t particularly care for and go all critically nutzoid, but Girl Talk at No. 7 seems like an odd slap in the face to the parade of &#8220;real musicians&#8221; who fall afterwards.  I like Girl Talk; I downloaded the disc, and it stayed in my car stereo for a few months. But the question ends up being whether these best of lists are really running down the &#8220;best&#8221; of the year, and that the idea of lasting value and meaning is taken into consideration, or whether a disc&#8217;s inclusion just means that it was awesome to hear at parties.<br />
<strong>THE WHAAA? </strong>Although I was surprised not to see Al Green on the list, and to note that Santogold&#8217;s Diplo mixtape outranked her actual album, nothing could top my shock to see She &#038; Him at No. 1.  The magazine defends the selection: &#8220;Maybe it’s just a sweet little folk record—a tiny, flawless diamond. Or maybe it’s a pristine distillation of harmony and craft; 50 years of songwriting experience served up on a spinning silver platter. Either way, it’s our album of the year.&#8221;  To my ears, neither assertion is true. <em>Volume One</em> is a cute novelty record that has more preciousness than innovation, skill, or any other sort of metric people tend to judge great albums by.  Last year&#8217;s number one was the National&#8217;s <em>Boxer</em>&#8230; this year&#8217;s pick is a long slide down in quality.</p>
<p><br  /><br />
1. She &#038; Him, <em>Volume One</em><br />
2. Sigur Rós, <em>Med sud i eyrum vid spilum endalaust</em><br />
3. Vampire Weekend, <em>Vampire Weekend </em><br />
4. Bon Iver,  <em>For Emma, Forever Ago </em><br />
5. Okkervil River -<em> The Stand Ins </em><br />
6. Fleet Foxes, <em>Fleet Foxes </em><br />
7. Girl Talk, <em>Feed the Animals</em><br />
8. Sun Kil Moon, <em>April </em><br />
9. Lucinda Williams,<em> Little Honey</em><br />
10. Deerhunter, <em>Microcastle </em><br />
11. The Hold Steady, <em>Stay Positive </em><br />
12. Of Montreal, <em>Skeletal Lamping </em><br />
13. Ida Maria, <em>Fortress Round My Heart</em><br />
14. Langhorne Slim, <em>Langhorne Slim</em><br />
15. Nick Cave &#038; the Bad Seeds, <em>Dig!!! Lazarus Dig!!! </em><br />
16. My Morning Jacket , <em>Evil Urges</em><br />
17. Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy,<em> Lie Down In The Light </em><br />
18. Death Cab  for Cutie,  <em>Narrow Stairs  </em><br />
19. Gentleman Jesse and His Men, <em>Introducing Gentleman Jesse and His Men</em><br />
20. Hot Chip, <em>Made In The Dark </em><br />
21. The Raveonettes, <em>Lust Lust Lust</em><br />
22. No Age, <em>Nouns </em><br />
23. Mates of State, <em>Re-Arrange Us </em><br />
24. Santogold and Diplo,<em> Top Ranking  </em><br />
25. Mugison, <em>Mugiboogie</em><br />
26. Lee Ann Womack, <em>Call Me Crazy</em><br />
27. Liam Finn, <em>I&#8217;ll Be Lightning</em><br />
28. MGMT, <em>Oracular Spectacular </em><br />
29. Lil Wayne, <em>Tha Carter III </em><br />
30. I&#8217;m From Barcelona, <em>Who Killed Harry Houdini?</em><br />
31. The Walkmen, <em>You &#038; Me</em><br />
32. Silver Jews, <em>Lookout Mountain, Lookout Sea</em><br />
33. Santogold, <em>Santogold </em><br />
34. Torche, <em>Meanderthal </em><br />
35. Colour Revolt, <em>Plunder, Beg and Curse </em><br />
36. The Bridges, <em>Limits of the Sky </em><br />
37. Johnny Flynn &#038; The Sussex Wit, <em>A Larum</em><br />
38. Jamie Lidell, <em>Jim</em><br />
39. The Dodos, <em>Visiter</em><br />
40. Flight of the Conchords, <em>Flight of the Conchords </em><br />
41. The Tallest Man On Earth, <em>Shallow Grave</em><br />
42. Thao Nguyen and the Get Down Stay Down, <em>We Brave Bee Stings &#038; All </em><br />
43. Amanda Palmer, <em>Who Killed Amanda Palmer </em><br />
44. Kathleen Edwards, <em>Asking For Flowers </em><br />
45. M83, <em>Saturdays = Youth</em><br />
46. Lykke Li, <em>Youth Novels</em><br />
47. Laura Marling, <em>Alas, I Cannot Swim</em><br />
48. REM, <em>Accelerate</em><br />
49. Sandra McCracken, <em>Red Balloon</em><br />
50. TV On The Radio, <em>Dear Science</em></p>
<p><a href="http://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2008/11/signs-of-life-2008-best-music.html?p=5">Signs of Life 2008:  Best Music</a> [Paste]</p>
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