Topps Hella Hott Traxx of 2008, or, Jonny regains his street cred

Here is a list of magnanimous proportions, hearty portions and potent potions. Here is a list of sweet songs I heard this year on last.fm or youtube, and thusly, have thus internets to thank for. A couple of them do not even have proper music videos in (or de-) spite of their greatness. So without further adulation and exaltation, here are the best best-practices for songwriters of 2008, most of which (still) aren't from 2008:

Gnarls Barkley - Run ::: This was my first favorite video of 2008, and also made me want to buy a cable station and shame MTV by playing actual music videos again 24/7. Music videos can still be fresh, friends, as DM and Cee-Lo prove in the following.



Masta Killa Ft. RZA and ODB - Old Man ::: Classic ODB. Classic good-times Wu-Tang. I feel confident I won't have digested every Wu-side project until sometime after 2025, which still gives me plenty of years of the Wu-goodness.



Electrocute - Jet Set Boy ::: Fun little single from fun little electro-garage rock band. No video. Just this.



Talib Kweli Ft. Mos Def, Jay-Z, Kanye West, Busta Ryhmes - Get By ::: Dirrrrrty, party version of the track found on Kweli's 2002 release Quality. Found at Last.fm, from some mixtape comp released between now and then. Got potential supergroup written all over it. No actual video.



DJ Greg Street Ft. Nappy Roots - Good Day ::: I don't know who Greg Street is, but he seems like a fly-er version of Kirk Franklin, IMNSHO. This song is probably 15 years old or something, but it's still swell in 2008.



Shiny Toy Guns - Le Disco ::: This song is so terrible. But I probably listened to it over 2000 times in 2008. The official Shiny Toy Guns video is even worse than the song, so I posted a home-made vid made by two girls who clearly work at Hot Topic that's about 80 times worse. Did I mention how many times I listened to this song? This is what I assume all Los Angeles bands sound like. Sucky but way too catchy. Blah.



Estelle Ft. So Solid and John Legend - Free ::: From Estelle's first album in 2004. I didn't even know she released a new one in 2008 until a few weeks ago. It's on my list to download. I'm hoping to get to it by 2010.



Dungeon Family - Crooked Booty ::: How would I know about albums like this without the internets? Answer: I wouldn't. A collective made up of members of Goodie Mobb, OutKast, and a bunch of other Hotlanta hip-hop/soul artists. Honestly, though, the final product isn't as great as it sounds on paper, but this track still ought to have been the smash hit of 2001. No video exists.



Weezer - Troublemaker ::: Ha! Weezer on the list page! Suck it, Ryan Schreiber! While the Red Album sucked assssss, this track didn't suck quite as much as the rest of the album. In fact, it's quite the infectious, little ditty. Like an ironic version of West Nile. And then they made a great video for it having something to with breaking Guinness World Records. Plus, it's got a game of dodgeball and Rivers in a hair net.



Kanye West - Love Lockdown ::: Kanye premiered this video on Ellen??? Now I know I need my own cable station for sweet vids, because that's redonkulous. While the track is hella catchy, the video is creepy and stereotypical and actually terrible. But I'd still play it like 8 times a day on JTV. Kayne on Ellen. He's so white.



Wu-Tang Clan - Rules ::: From the Wu's 2001 release Iron Flag, I decided that this track was much better 7 years later in 2008. It's kind of like their response to 9/11. I think. It's very confusing. But really good. Again, no video for it. But I'd ask them to make one for heavy rotation.



Mickey Factz Ft. The Cool Kids - Rockin' N' Rollin' ::: While not the best track I've heard from the Cool Kids, this might be their best video, so that's why it makes my list. I'm not into the Cool Kids as much as I think I ought to be, but maybe someday.



DJ Ötzi - The Burger Dance ::: Okay, seriously. The best track of 2008, hands down. It's probably been around longer, and might have been part of a meme phenomenon I missed in 2006 or something, but man-oh-man I love this song. I include the following remix version, because the original one (with it's very own video featuring DJ Ötzi who is bigger than Jesus in Germany) doesn't have banjo and bagpipes and harmonica like the version below. Plus, this fan-made vid has some awesome clip-art and gifs for your enjoyment, too. Enjoy. (I wouldn't dream of ruining the break that comes at 2:45 in, though trust me, even if you hate the song, stick around for it.)



If you don't want to slog through all 13 vids, I created an easier way/playlist on YouTube. Just click the link on the right that says "Play All Videos." Good times, 2008. And thank you, series of tubes. You rock.