Recommended Music Blog

Seeing as we’ve just hit a new year I thought it would be appropriate to sum up the last 12 months with a nice little top 10 countdown! So here goes. Based on my last.fm stats here’s a rundown of my top 10 most listened to artists of 2008. To make it a little more interesting I’ve included a song and album recommendation for you too!

10 - Foo Fighters [317 Plays]
Song: Times Like These (stream)
Album: There is Nothing Left to Lose (stream)

They had a new album out this year - but I wasn’t really impressed with it. I didn’t really consider it to be anything special - but at the same time it wasn’t disappointing. I’ve picked a song that I’ve only recently discovered, and that I can’t really see myself ever getting bored of! There is Nothing Left to Lose was the first Foo album I ever bought, at first I only liked one or two songs. But gradually over the years I’ve become fond of every single song - it will always have a special place in my heart.

9 - Oasis [365 Plays]
Song: The Shock of the Lightning (stream)
Album: Standing on the Shoulder of Giants (stream)

Dig Out Your Soul kinda sprung at me from nowhere - I’ve no idea how I missed it but I didn’t have a clue a new album was on the way! Having been a fan for a long time I was glad to hear a return to some classic Oasis style music, in the form of my recommended song The Shock of the Lightning. However, the rest of the album didn’t really deliver the same punchy sound. So rather than fill me with enthusiasm for the future it made me return to some older Oasis releases. I feel that Standing on the Shoulder of Giants quite often doesn’t get the recognition it deserves - it’s a little softer round the edges than previous work but I find it thoroughly enjoyable!

8 - In Flames [396 Plays]
Song: Come Clarity (stream)
Album: Come Clarity (stream)

I’m not typically a huge fan of Death Metal - but In Flames have a great way of fusing melodies into their material which can lead to devastatingly good songs! I’ve picked a recommendation from a fairly recent album, over the years their sound has changed quite a bit. This time last year I would have picked an earlier release such as Whoracle - but Come Clarity (both the song and the entire album) has grown on me so much over the last 12 months!

7 - Palladium [398 Plays]
Song: The Way It’s Not (myspace)
Album: The Way It’s Not (not released)

First flung my way when their song ‘Happy Hour’ was the iTunes single of the week I’ve loved everything this band have done since then! They have plenty of material available on their myspace, but it would appear now that the long anticipated debut album (The Way It’s Not) won’t be released. I was lucky enough to find a promo copy on eBay though, so it’s been played pretty regularly! There are a few songs available via their myspace and iTunes and I urge you to check them out. If you’ve never heard of them, then expect insanely catchy pop-indie-rock songs - loosely in the style of such bands as the Hoosiers, only much better!

6 - Alexander Brandon [411 Plays]
Song: The Dragonfly (stream & buy)
Album: Era’s End (stream & buy)

Mainly a composer for video games I first discovered him when I fell in love with the soundtrack to Deus Ex. Since then he has started to release solo material that is a little more catered for a mainstream audience. I’m happy to say that all the elements I loved from his work on Deus Ex have remained. Similar melody styles, amazing atmosphere and a general feeling of epicness… If that’s a word! Earlier in the year I discovered his first album - Era’s End. All but one of the tracks are instrumental but they bring a certain feeling of pop to his already developed style! To stream and download the album check out his website, and for free Deus Ex music downloads check out dx-music.com.

To find out who my top 5 played artists of 2008 are check out my post ‘Top Artists 2008 (Part 2 - The Final 5) - to be posted soon!