BEST OF 2008
The Year in Music in Review
Best Albums #20-#11
Best Albums #10-#1
Best Singles
Best Reissues
Primitive Futures

AGIT STAFF FAVORITES
Kevin J. Elliott
Dorian S. Ham
Tom Butler
Michael P. O'Shaughnessy
Josie Rubio
Ron Wadlinger
Jennifer Farmer
Phil Goldberg
Stephen Slaybaugh

FEATURE
No Age

ALBUM REVIEWS
Quantum of Solace: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
Faunts, Faunts Remixed
Super Desserts, Barefoot in the Disenchanted Forest
A Filial, $1,99
Common, Universal Mind Control

WHAT'S THE RUMPUS?
Live Reviews of Boss Hog, Red, Hot + Rio 2, and Duran Duran

PAST PERFECT
Pavement, Brighten the Corners: Nicene Creed Edition

PRIMITIVE FUTURES
Sacred Bones Records from Children's Hospital and The Rebel

FEATURE
Psychic TV

ALBUM REVIEWS
Paper Route Gangstaz, Fear and Loathing in Hunts Vegas
K-The-I???, Yesterday, Today & Tomorrow
The Secret History, Desolation Town EP
Hills of Elysium, Cigadent

WHAT'S THE RUMPUS?
The Second Coming of the Buddha Machine

PAST PERFECT
The Grifters, Ain't My Lookout

PRIMITIVE FUTURES
Black Mountain's "Lucy Brown" and The Harrisburg Players' Volume One EP

FEATURE
The Homosexuals

ALBUM REVIEWS
Windy & Carl, Songs for the Broken Hearted
Kanye West, 808s and Heartbreak
Dido, Safe Trip Home
Black Milk, Tronic
The (International) Noise Conspiracy, The Cross of My Calling

WHAT'S THE RUMPUS?
The Pitchfork500

PAST PERFECT
Blue Ash, No More, No Less

PRIMITIVE FUTURES
An Interview with Dan Melchior

FEATURE
TV on the Radio

ALBUM REVIEWS
Los Campesinos! We Are Beautiful, We Are Doomed
Mike Rep & the Quotas, Songs the Grackles Liked EP
Frida Hyvönen, Silence Is Wild
Isobel Campbell & Mark Lanegan, Sunday at Devil Dirt

WHAT'S THE RUMPUS?
The Flaming Lips' Christmas on Mars

PAST PERFECT
The Jesus and Mary Chain, The Power of Negative Thinking

PRIMITIVE FUTURES
An Interview with Los Llamarada

FEATURE
Thomas Function

ALBUM REVIEWS
The Dead C, Secret Earth
Wintersleep, Welcome to the Night Sky
Love Is All, A Hundred Things Keep Me Up At Night
The Magnificents, Year of Explorers

WHAT'S THE RUMPUS?
Happy Mondays: Call the Cops

PAST PERFECT
New Order, The Collector's Editions

PRIMITIVE FUTURES
Diplo, Blow Your Head

FEATURE
Dungen

ALBUM REVIEWS
Times New Viking, Stay Awake EP
Skeletons, Money
Q-Tip, The Renaissance
Wild Beasts, Limbo, Panto

WHAT'S THE RUMPUS?
Fuck Yeah! A New President

PAST PERFECT
Kevin Ayers, What More Can I Say?

PRIMITIVE FUTURES
Yussuf Jerusalem, A Heart Full of Sorrow

FEATURE
Yo! Majesty (Part One with Shunda K.)
Yo! Majesty (Part Two with Jwl B.)

ALBUM REVIEWS
The Cure, 4:13 Dream
O'Death, Broken Hymns, Limbs, and Skin
Crystal Stilts, Alight of Night
Deerhunter, Microcastle
Like a Fox, Where's My Golden Arm?

WHAT'S THE RUMPUS?
Lou Reed's Berlin

PAST PERFECT
The Clash, Live at Shea Stadium

PRIMITIVE FUTURES
El Jesus de Magico's "Unclean Ghost" and Mika Miko's "Sex Jazz (Extended)"

FEATURE
Crystal Stilts

ALBUM REVIEWS
Gang Gang Dance, Saint Dymphna
The Sea and Cake, Car Alarm
Tobacco, Fucked Up Friends
Magnetic Morning, A.M.

WHAT'S THE RUMPUS?
The Elephant Holiday Surprise Tour in Columbus

PAST PERFECT
U2, Under a Blood Red Sky

PRIMITIVE FUTURES
Introducing... Day Creeper

FEATURE
Music Tapes

ALBUM REVIEWS
Her Space Holiday, XOXO Panda and the New Kid Revival
Deerhoof, Offend Maggie
Holly Golightly and the Brokeoffs, Dirt Don't Hurt
Rachael Yamagata, Elephants... Teeth Sinking Into Heart

WHAT'S THE RUMPUS?
Live review of Jandek at the Wexner Center in Columbus

PAST PERFECT
The Creedence Clearwater Revival Catalog Reissued

PRIMITIVE FUTURES
Wavves and Hank IV

FEATURE
Tyvek

ALBUM REVIEWS
Dungen, 4
Juana Molina, Un Dia
Crystal Antlers, Crystal Antlers EP
Fucked Up, The Chemistry of Common Life
Catfish Haven, Devastator

WHAT'S THE RUMPUS?
Live reviews of My Morning Jacket and Echo and the Bunnymen

PAST PERFECT
Suicidal Tendencies, Suicidal Tendencies

PRIMITIVE FUTURES
Jay Reatard, Matador Singles '08

FEATURE
Prisonshake

WHAT'S THE RUMPUS?
Radio Silence/A Selected Visual History of American Hardcore Music

PAST PERFECT
Portastatic, Some Small History

PRIMITIVE FUTURES
Singles from caUSE co-MOTION, Wounded Lion, Little Claw and Zola Jesus

FEATURE
High Places

ALBUM REVIEWS
TV on the Radio, Dear Science
Mogwai, The Hawk Is Howling
Tom Morello, The Fabled City
Portugal. The Man, Censored Colors
Brightblack Morning Light, Motion to Rejoin

WHAT'S THE RUMPUS?
Columbus Discount Records vs. Sub Pop

PRIMITIVE FUTURES
Eddy Current Suppression Ring, Primary Colours

FEATURE
Lykke Li

ALBUM REVIEWS
Tindersticks, Hungry Saw
The Standard, Swimmer
War Tapes, War Tapes EP
Calexico, Carried to Dust

WHAT'S THE RUMPUS?
Skins & Punks

PAST PERFECT
Tom Verlaine, Dreamtime and Words From the Front

FEATURE
Ego Summit

ALBUM REVIEWS
The Donkeys, Living on the Other Side
Michael Franti & Spearhead, All Rebel Rockers
Master Slash Slave, Scandal
Ten Kens, Ten Kens
Damien Jurado, Caught in the Trees

WHAT'S THE RUMPUS?
Kraftwerk and the Electronic Revolution

PAST PERFECT
Wee, You Can Fly on My Aeroplane

PRIMITIVE FUTURES
Introducing... DrunkDriver

FEATURE
Xiu Xiu

ALBUM REVIEWS
Chad Vangaalen, Soft Airplane
UNKLE, End Titles... Stories for Films
Player/Kommander, On the Eve of Absolute Get Down
Duchess Says, Anthologie Des 3 Perchoirs
Waves on Waves, Waves on Waves

WHAT'S THE RUMPUS?
Agent Orange Live Review

PAST PERFECT
Licorice Roots, Melodeon

PRIMITIVE FUTURES
Imaginary Icons, Titmachine, and Vivian Girls

FEATURE
Neil Halstead

ALBUM REVIEWS
Prisonshake, Dirty Moons
Heavy Heavy Low Low, Turtle Nipple and the Toxic Shark
Toadies, No Deliverance
Death Vessel, Nothing Is Precious Enough For Us
Brothers and Sisters, Fortunately

WHAT'S THE RUMPUS?
Alice Cooper Live Review

PAST PERFECT
Another State of Mind

PRIMITIVE FUTURES
Introducing... Love Tan

FEATURE
Vivian Girls

ALBUM REVIEWS
Caesars, Strawberry Weed
Jennifer O'Connor, Here With Me
The Stills, Oceans Will Rise
Lindstrøm, Where You Go I Go Too
Jaguar Love, Take Me to the Sea

WHAT'S THE RUMPUS?
The Shoegaze Top 10

PAST PERFECT
Delicious Vinyl All-Stars, Rmxxology

PRIMITIVE FUTURES
Jacuzzi Boys, Black Orphan, The Duchess and the Duke, Night of Pleasure, and more

FEATURE
Oxford Collapse

ALBUM REVIEWS
Stereolab, Chemical Chords
Music Tapes, Music Tapes for Clouds and Tornadoes
Juliana Hatfield, How to Walk Away
Inara George and Van Dyke Parks, An Invitation

WHAT'S THE RUMPUS?
Digital Downloads Round-up

PAST PERFECT
Felt, Crumbling the Antiseptic Beauty

PRIMITIVE FUTURES
The Feelers

FEATURE
Meth Teeth

ALBUM REVIEWS
Brazilian Girls, New York City
Conor Oberst, Conor Oberst
The Faint, Fasciinatiion
David Vandervelde, Waiting for the Sunrsie
Télépathique, Last Time on Earth

WHAT'S THE RUMPUS?
Live Reviews of Radiohead and Bon Iver

PAST PERFECT
Siltbreeze's Tard & Further'd

PRIMITIVE FUTURES
Fashionable Idiots

FEATURE
Sic Alps

ALBUM REVIEWS
Black Kids, Partie Traumatic
Neil Halstead, Oh! Mighty Engine
Falcon, Falcon EP
Andre Williams & The New Orleans Hellhounds, Can You Deal With It?
Takka Takka, Migration

WHAT'S THE RUMPUS?
Joe Strummer: The Future Is Unwritten

PAST PERFECT
U2, Boy, October and War

PRIMITIVE FUTURES
Psychedelic Horseshit, "New Wave Hippies" and Magic Flowers Dubbed

FEATURE
Oneida

ALBUM REVIEWS
Nas, Nas
CSS, Donkey
Bodies of Water, A Certain Feeling
Buffalo Killers, Let It Ride
Negativland, Thigmotactic

WHAT'S THE RUMPUS?
An Agit Writer at the Pitchfork Festival

PAST PERFECT
Teenage Jesus and the Jerks, Beirut Slump/Shut Up and Bleed

FEATURE
Wire

ALBUM REVIEWS
Sic Alps, U.S. Ez
Eden Express, Que Amors Que
Hit the Lights, Skip School, Start Fights
Mugison, Mugiboogie
U.S. Girls, Introducing...

WHAT'S THE RUMPUS?
Daft Punk's Electroma

PAST PERFECT
Black Sabbath, The Rules of Hell

PRIMITIVE FUTURES
Nobunny, Love Visions

FEATURE
Envelope

ALBUM REVIEWS
Beck, Modern Guilt
Albert Hammond, Jr. ¿Como Te Llama?
The Melvins, Nude With Boots
Bad Religion, New Maps of Hell (Deluxe Edition)
Ratatat, LP3

WHAT'S THE RUMPUS?
R.I.P. Noel Sayre

PAST PERFECT
David Bowie, Live Santa Monica '72

PRIMITIVE FUTURES
Fabulous Diamonds

FEATURE
Frightened Rabbit

ALBUM REVIEWS
Forest Fire, Survival
Jay Reatard, Singles 06-07
Woodbox Gang, Drunk As Dragons
The Watson Twins, Fire Songs

WHAT'S THE RUMPUS?
Heavy Metal in Baghdad

PAST PERFECT
Children of the Sixth Root Race, Songs from the Source

PRIMITIVE FUTURES
June '08 Singles

FEATURE
Eat Skull

ALBUM REVIEWS
Sigur Rós, Med Sud I Eyrum Vid Spilum Endalaust
Edwin McCain, Nobody's Fault But Mine
Hercules and Love Affair, Hercules and Love Affair
HeartsRevolution, Switchblade EP

WHAT'S THE RUMPUS?
The Agit Report from Terrastock 7

PAST PERFECT
Blondie, Parallel Lines Deluxe Collector's Edition

PRIMITIVE FUTURES
Two New Pink Reason Singles

FEATURE
Simply Saucer

ALBUM REVIEWS
Tilly and the Wall, O
Black Diamond Heavies, A Touch of Someone Else's Class
My Brightest Diamond, A Thousand Shark's Teeth
King Khan and the Shrines, The Supreme Genius of King Khan and the Shrines
The Impossible Shapes, The Impossible Shapes

NEWS
Lollapalooza releases schedule
Patti Smith film set for theatrical release
The Apples in Stereo announce tour dates
Son, Ambulance hits the road

PAST PERFECT
Mogwai, Young Team

PRIMITIVE FUTURES
Two New LPs from NorCal

FEATURE
Mudhoney

ALBUM REVIEWS
Robert Pollard, Is Off to Business
Spiritualized, Songs in A&E
My Morning Jacket, Evil Urges
Supergrass, Diamond Hoo Ha
N.E.R.D., Seeing Sounds

NEWS
The Walkmen Announce New Album
InterZune?
The Yeah Yeah Yeahs Start Squeaking Out New Album

PAST PERFECT
Steinski, What Does It All Mean 1983-2006 Retrospective

PRIMITIVE FUTURES
Sacred Bones Records