With the start of a new year comes the inevitable looking back at the year just ended. We're no different. Over the next few days, Online Gargoyle staff members will give their choices of the best of 2008 in a number of different categories — and some will offer their choices of the worst of 2008 as well. Arts & entertainment co-editor Sindha Agha starts things off with her picks for the best songs of last year.

10. “Metal Heart”
Cat Power
In her 2008 album release, “Jukebox,” Cat Power’s Chan Marshall reworks older pieces. “Metal Heart,” a song originally from her 1998 album, “Moon Pix,” is recomposed. The years of distance between the songs is tangible; the 2008 version of “Metal Heart” adds heaps of wisdom and age onto the original. The song has a more desperate, pleading, and alive sound to it than before, but does not outshine its quieter, gentler sister song. And if all this wasn’t enough, Marshall works her lyrical magic again and belts out true poetry, causing the listener to join her in the “sad sad zoo” she sings of.
Listen to an iTunes sample of “Metal Heart” here.

9. “Crying”
TV on the Radio
“Crying” is, hands down, not my favorite TV on the Radio song. I do, however, give it my full endorsement. It stars in TV on the Radio's fourth studio album, “Dear Science,” keeping up in TVOTR tradition by being nothing less than bizarre. Nothing about this song is predictable. I can just imagine the group recycling every sound they've every heard and filtering those sounds through their heads, picking out, from this imagined junkyard of musical treasures, a combination they can all agree on. “Crying” is an energetically played piece: confident, cool, and amiable simultaneously. TVOTR melds together funky guitar, vocals that somehow manage not to drown out and to hold their own, brass that pops in, giving the song rushes of adrenaline, and a million other nuts and bolts, leaving, once again, nothing more to be desired.
Listen to an iTunes sample of “Crying” here.

8. “Crimewave”
Crystal Castles
“Crimewave” is probably the song I became most obsessed with this year. First of all, it feels almost impossible not to dance when I play it. Secondly, it’s an excellent piece of evidence that electro evolution is entirely possible. The tune is a blend of pixilated sounds and extraterrestrial video game gunshots, but Crystal Castles — the Toronto duo of instrumentalist Ethan Kath and vocalist Alice Glass — go beyond Mario and sew in a beautiful melody, a beat with unquestionable depth, and staccato vocals.
Listen to an iTunes sample of “Crimewave” here.

7. “Psychotic Girl”
The Black Keys
“Psychotic Girl” has replaced “You’re the One” as my new favorite song by The Black Keys. Just about everything in this song reminds me of something I like: The beat reminds me of Beck, the twangy plucking of strings of Sufjan Stevens, the piano of Mr. B’s easygoing, lackadaisical boogie, and the vocals of organic, unpolished blues (my favorite kind). The Black Keys have become more sophisticated and retained their unique charm all at once, leaving me thoroughly impressed.
Listen to an iTunes sample of “Psychotic Girl” here.

6. “Grounds for Divorce”
Elbow
This rough and soulful alternative tune mixes all sorts of sounds into the perfect rock 'n' roll cocktail. The song was featured in the trailer of the Coen Brothers’ latest film, “Burn After Reading.” Bluesy “ooo”s are interspersed with grungy guitar chords and thrashing drum beats. The sound is noisy and the song is utterly addictive, easily making it one of my favorite songs of the year.
Listen to an iTunes sample of “Grounds for Divorce” here.

5. “Skinny Love”
Bon Iver
When Justin Vernon (Bon Iver) wrote “For Emma, Forever Ago,” he was living in his father’s remote cabin in Wisconsin. Vernon had just split up with his girlfriend and left his band, DeYarmond Edison. For three months he remained in that cabin, completely alone, and wrote “For Emma, Forever Ago.” Never have I listened to an album that breathes so much solid emotion as this one. “Skinny Love” is one of my favorite tracks from the collection, a composition of complete vulnerability, solitude, and, even though the album is Vernon’s debut, resignation. Though this song tugs at the heart, it isn’t discouraging and it doesn’t wallow, but rather is filled with feelings of exhausted optimism and rebirth.
Listen to an iTunes sample of “Skinny Love” here.

4. “L.E.S. Artistes”
Santogold
To anyone who says that Santogold is just a carbon copy of M.I.A., “L.E.S. Artistes” should be more than enough proof that Santogold’s Santi White has not only created her own unique sound, but also her own genre. I can honestly say that White has created music unlike anything I have heard before, even if I can pick out influences such as power chords reminiscent of The Strokes, flavor like Karen O., and, sure enough, vocals similar to M.I.A. Besides her incredible songwriting skills, one of the qualities I most respect about Santogold is that she doesn’t fear being deemed a “pop artist.” Most of her songs are radio-friendly, catchy tunes that can be admired by just about anyone. White’s talent is such that her wildfire popularity hasn’t done a thing to damage her artistic credibility. Off her debut self-titled album, “L.E.S. Artistes” is an ambitious and unforgettable track.
Listen to an iTunes sample of “L.E.S. Artistes” here.

3. “Vertigo (If It's a Crime)”
Islands
This melodic, almost 11-minute indie-rock ballad is an epic ending to Island’s latest album, “Arm’s Way.” Although it’s a lengthy composition, it captivates the listener from the initial moments and manages to keep your attention all the way to 10 minutes, 57 seconds in, where the song putters and fades off. The piece takes its initial simplicity and changes, twisting into something entirely different. Then, after a while, it takes its new form and evolves again … and again. Halfway through the song it turns instrumental and almost separate from the first half, but somehow it remains very obviously related. There is not much more to say about the song, except to emphasize its brilliance once more, reward it the position of best song from the album, and recommend it enthusiastically.
Listen to an iTunes sample of “Vertigo (If It's a Crime)” here.

2. “Mykonos”
Fleet Foxes
Fleet Foxes have made a grand entrance into the world of indie folk-rock. Their a cappella charm and angelic vocals float, authentically vintage, out of each song. The guitar is swift and delicate, not all that different from the work of José González. “Mykonos” is a bittersweet pastoral song that will have you at your knees, in awe with its beauty. There’s something sacred and intelligent about their sound. Although their fame is a newer development, their music seems legendary, akin to the classic rock legends from the '60s and '70s still worshipped today. I don’t think there is any way that this band is destined to only have a quick presence in the shifty world of indie music, but that their musical genius is going to carry them far beyond that.
Listen to an iTunes sample of “Mykonos” here.

1. “Kids”
MGMT
“Kids” has got to be one of this year’s catchiest songs, with a thumping beat, a hum-worthy melody, and synth that washes over you, making it hard not to be smitten with this new next-big-thing band. MGMT’s duo of Ben Goldwasser and Andrew VanWyngarden have created what I consider to be the most successful reinventions of pop yet. Not a single song on “Time to Pretend,” their first full album, shows any restraint. Each track does 200 percent, filled with layer upon layer of instrumentals strung together with irresistible synthesizer, oozing everlasting youth and bursting with color — it’s almost impossible not to notice MGMT, and “Kids” wins the crown (in close competition with “Electric Feel”) for best song on their first album.
Listen to an iTunes sample of “Kids” here.