Sigur Rós - Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust (2008)

Citing Wikipedia, "Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust (English: With a Buzz in Our Ears We Play Endlessly) is the fifth full-length studio album by the Icelandic band Sigur Rós, released on June 23, 2008.

It is the band's first album to feature a track sung in English ("All Alright"). The first track on the album, Gobbledigook, premiered on Zane Lowe's BBC Radio 1 music show in the UK on May 27, 2008. "Festival" was premiered on Colin Murray's Radio 1 show on June 3, 2008.

In general, the music continues Sigur Rós' departure from their generally ethereal and minimalist music, being (as the title and cover suggest) more playful and fanciful than their early work, featuring more traditional guitar melodies, acoustic instrumentation, and folk-oriented compositions following in the vein of their later albums.

On June 23, The Music Magazine awarded the album 'Album of the Week' for the week of release. The album received mostly positive reviews upon release, earning a rating of 81 out of 100 on Metacritic. It is also in high regard on Rateyourmusic, being ranked #26 in the top albums list of 2008.

Coldplay - Viva la Vida (2008)

Citing Wikipedia, "Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends is the fourth studio album by English alternative rock band Coldplay. It was released on 12 June 2008 in the UK. In May 2008, Coldplay released two successful singles from the record: "Violet Hill" and "Viva la Vida", the latter becoming the band's first song to reach number one in the United States and the United Kingdom.

The album has, to date, been the number-one-selling album in 36 countries around the world. In the United States, it sold 316,000 copies in its first day, and 720,000 in its first week. In the UK, the album sold 125,000 copies in its first day of release and 302,074 in three days, debuting at number one. The album has since sold over 500,000 copies in 10 days since its release, beating the first week UK sales of Coldplay's previous album, X&Y. Viva la Vida has become the most paid-for downloaded album of all time.

Viva la Vida takes its name from a painting by 20th century Mexican artist Frida Kahlo, and translates as "Long live Life" in Spanish. The album's artwork features the painting Liberty Leading the People (La Liberté guidant le peuple) by French painter Eugène Delacroix, commemorating the July Revolution of 1830."

The album received generally positive reviews upon release, earning a rating of 72 out of 100 on Metacritic.

If you'd like to follow the lyrics, click here.

Beck - Modern Guilt (2008)

Citing Wikipedia, "Modern Guilt is the eighth studio album by American musician Beck. It was released on July 8, 2008. The album entered the Billboard 200 at number four, and gave Beck his first ever Top 10 placing on the UK Albums Chart, peaking at number nine. The album has also been Beck's best charting album in Australia, reaching 13. It sold 84,000 copies in it's first week.

The album received generally positive reviews upon release, earning a rating of 77 out of 100 on Metacritic. Filter said of the album "Beck is somehow more aware while puffing out his waves of broken poetry as opposed to the casual seed-spitting he has been known to turn to," and All Music Guide said that it was "an effective dosage of 21st century paranoia." Some negative reviews, such as Popmatters, said that the album "lacks the unique resonating timbres one is accustomed to with Beck," and The Guardian called it "a vanity project".

Modern Guilt features two contributions by Cat Power and is produced by Beck and Danger Mouse."

Check out this Madrid gig review one day prior to the official album release. Here's some cool lyrics hints I came upon while browsing through the album comments at rateyourmusic.com:

"Beck is feeling tired and a little scared. "Gamma Ray" reveals a world with a deteriorating environment, along with a revered nod to Howlin' Wolf's most famous song (Smokestack Lightning). The sudden ending symbolizes Earth's potential fate. Things aren't much better on the governmental front, as suppression and conspiracy are brought to light. Even the title, "Chemtrails", refers to an urban myth that the trails one sees from the back of a jet are laced with governmental mind control chemicals. Beck feels helpless to make the world a better place, and is guilty about that ("Modern Guilt"). Danger Mouse's simple, but compelling beats serve as a musical metaphor for the constant nagging of this guilt. I'm not sure exactly how "Youthless" fits into the whole picture, but it does contain the fascinating line, "THERE’S A MILLION HORSES DRAGGING DOWN A MONOLITH". Maybe we can still pull together to get things done? A brief moment of optimism? If so, it doesn't last long as Beck remains so worried that he fantasizes in "Replica" about how nice it would be to send a replica out to deal with the world and all it's issues while he remains a shut-in (Shades of the themes in 1998's Mutations). The music in "Replica" is arranged in an interesting, modern update of Beatle-like instrumentation (around the 2:00 mark). While "Walls" is the catchiest tune, "Replica" is the most compelling. If we could create a replica then what of the "Soul of Man"? If we are uncertain about our soul, do we feel sincere or silly or guilty when we pray? ("Profanity Prayers").
Listen to the words, and the musical accompaniment fits well. Otherwise, you get reviews about the dullness or average results of the record." (walterx)

If you'd like to follow the lyrics, click here.

Purpose of this blog and general rules

Welcome! I will begin with the main goal of this blog.

It's really easy. All you have to do is choose an album and vote your favorite song(s) off this album.

Mainly I will add new album releases, the ones reviewed positively on Metacritic. If you are not yet aware of this website, go check it out at www.metacritic.com This website is excellent to identify the best releases, but it does not give any hint towards the best songs. So the goal of this blog is to try and fill this gap.

There is only one rule for voting. Please do not vote unless you have listened to the song at least 5 times, and to the whole album at least twice. You can vote for several songs, but please do not enter multiple votes for the same song.

I hope you will return constantly to this blog to look for the best songs, but also vote your favorites.

Feel free to suggest any album which is missing from this blog and I will add it right away!

Cheers!