The best CDs, songs and concerts of 2008…so far
Photo: Cover of Moby’s “Last Night” CD, one of the best releases of the year so far.
Music sales continued to fall during the first half of 2008 — no surprise there. But that doesn’t mean it wasn’t a great time for new music, songs and concerts.
In no particular order, here is the music that moved me most January-June, though I wonder how many of these names will hold up by year’s end.
And don’t even think about looking for Usher, Leona Lewis or Panic at the Disco on any of these lists.
Which albums, songs and shows made the biggest impressions on you?
CDs
Moby, “Last Night”
Lil Wayne, “Tha Carter III”
Radiohead, “In Rainbows”
Erykah Badu, “New Amerykah, Pt. 1: 4th World War”
Duffy, “Rockferry”
Vampire Weekend, “Vampire Weekend”
Coldplay, “Viva La Vida”
Raheem DeVaughn, “Love Behind the Melody”
Estelle, “Shine”
Ladytron, “Velocifero”
Raconteurs, “Consolers of the Lonely”
Mariah Carey, “E=MC2”
Lyfe Jennings, “Lyfe Change”
Sheryl Crow, “Detours”
Death Cab for Cutie, “Narrow Stairs”
Songs
Keyshia Cole, “Heaven Sent”
Adele, “Chasing Pavements”
Rick Ross, “The Boss”
Flobots, “Handlebars”
Nine Inch Nails, “Discipline”
Madonna featuring Justin Timberlake, “4 Minutes”
N.E.R.D., “Everyone Nose (All the Girls Standing in the Line for the Bathroom”)
Lil Wayne, “A Milli”
Kooks, “Always Where I Need to Be”
David Banner featuring Chris Brown and Yung Joc, “Get Like Me”
Natasha Bedingfield, “Pocketful of Sunshine”
Mariah Carey, “Touch My Body”
Ludo, “Love Me Dead”
Snoop Dogg, “Life of Da Party”/“Sensual Seduction”
“No Air,” Jordin Sparks and Chris Brown
Concerts
Radiohead, May 14 at Verizon Wireless Amphitheater
Chris Brown, Jan. 31 at Scottrade Center
Alicia Keys, Ne-Yo, April 27 at Scottrade Center
N.E.R.D., March 9 at the Pageant
John Mayer, July 3 at Verizon Wireless Amphitheater
Stone Temple Pilots, June 8 at Verizon Wireless Amphitheater
Chris Rock, March 30 at the Fox Theater
Stevie Nicks, June 13 at Chaifetz Arena
Jill Scott, Raheem DeVaughn, March 26 at the Fox Theater
Wynton Marsalis, Feb. 9 at the Sheldon Concert Hall
Erykah Badu, the Roots, May 29 at Fox Theater
Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings, Jan. 30 at Blueberry Hill’s Duck Room
Story of the Year, April 22 at the Pageant
Kid Rock, Feb. 16 at Scottrade Center
R. Kelly, Keyshia Cole, Jan. 6 at Scottrade Center
Kevin C. Johnson has covered the St. Louis' music and nightlife scene for the past decade. 
Why not Panic and Usher, when you have Mariah Carey?!
The Best of 2008
Vampire Weekend-Vampire Weekens
M83- Saturdays=Youth
The Hold Steady-Stay Positive
Fleet Foxes- Fleet Foxes
Cut Copy- In Ghost Colours
Weezer-The Red Album
My Morning Jacket-Evil Urges
The Cool Kids- The Bake Sale EP
Lil Wayne- Tha Carter III
Girl Talk-Feed the Animals
No Age-Nouns
King Khan & the Shrines- The Supreme Genius of King Khan and the Shrines
NO Dave Matthews for the Concert list? O. . .K. . . .
I always get a chuckle out of articles like this, as musical taste is so personal. I don’t particularly care for any of the artists you’ve mentioned. It’s a fairly narrow representation, as you obviously prefer pop and R&B.
Right on Kev…I heard the Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings was a dope show…Hate I missed it…
As always,these are just MHO
CD-The Parlor Mob-And you were a crow
Song-The Parlor Mob-Everything you’re breathing for
Concert-The Mars Volta-The Pageant
Wait….you have story of the year and kid rock as your favorite concerts and not one of the amazing Wilco shows on there. That is just pathetic in my humble opinion. To each his own though!
I love the attempt towards a pretence of quality in the first few paragraphs only to spoil it all with insubstantial fluff like Mariah Carey, Natasha Bedingfield, Jordin Sparks etc The one pop song which will stand the test of time from the first 6 months more so than any of those listed is of course “Bleeding Love” - it may have been overplayed and outplayed now, but it will be considered a classic in the long term.
Concert - The Mars Volta - Pageant
An absolutely amazing show.
Mute Math will be the concert of the year.
The Myriad - “With Arrows, With Poise” deserves a spot on the CD list.