My top things and stuff of 2008

by asi

you gotta love end-of-year lists..

funny year it’s been, must i admit. Whats more, I cannot really remember anything that happened before the 2nd of August when Thalia was born and our life turn upside down inside out in a totally awesome way, so the winner in the category ‘event of the year’ is pretty much sealed…

Without further delay, here are my random top things and stuff of 2008

1. Music: I can say with both embarrassment and pride that 2008 was the year I truly started to listening to music. And it made me feel as if in the past 35 years I’ve been living in a cave in a desert far far away. Thanks to lovely friends and the ever so good Last.FM I went on a brilliant aural journey opening my ears to stuff I never thought I’d ever listen to. As to the album of the year, this is practically impossible for me to choose so here are my 10 best albums of the year in no particular order (mind you, some of these albums aren’t new, i just discovered them this year):

- Fleet Foxes: Fleet Foxes (2008)
- Shortwave Set: Replica Sun Machine (2008)
- The Album Leaf: In a safe Place (2008)
- Hercules & Love Affair: Hercules And Love Affair (2008)
- Department of Eagles: In Ear Park (2008)
- Bon Iver: For Emma, Forever Ago (2008)
- Plants and Animals: Parc Avenue (2008)
- Ratatat: everything they ever released (2004-2008)
- Midlake: The Trials of Van Occupanther (2006)
- Gnarls Barkley – The Odd Couple (2008)

2. Film: Unfortunately I’ve been bad with the cinema this year but of the fairly few I’ve seen, No Country for Old Man was the strongest.

3. Book of the year: The History of Love by Nicole Krauss

4. Gig of the year: Again, fairly weak year on the live gigs front but Fleet Foxes and Jamie Lidell were exceptionally awesome – you must see them before you die.

5. Brand of the year: Beaming Baby. Wipe your baby’s ass with conscious!

6. Blog of the year: Tough tough choice. A constantly brilliant stream from my usual blog buddies but three newly found loves worthy a mention this year are Murketing by Rob Walker, the ever inspiring Creative Synthesis Blog and the shazangesque La Blogotheque

*Special league-of-it’s-own award goes to Boston.com’s Big Picture Blog which is arguably the most amazing thing on the inerweb

7. Promotion of the year: M&S FOOD – Dine in for 2 for £10… hailz to the credit crunch!

8. Gadget of the year: The iPhone, what else? it’s amazing how all the giants waited like pussies just to get a nice-sexy-game-changer-kick-in-the-butt. Suckers. Steve, you’re the Antichrist.

9. Business initiative of the year: The School of Life I so wish them to be successful.

10. Digital campaign of the year: it’s gotta be balloonacy!

11. Marketing idea of the year: Dr. Pepper’s Guns & Roses album hack. Genius.

12. Web App of the year: blip.fm

13. Website of the year: The Daily Beast

14. TV program of the year. I don’t really watch schedule TV anymore but I finally succumbed to The Wire and it is indeed one of the best things on TV eva!

15. Most annoying thing of the year: social media experts wearisome chatter on every possible platform. We are all part of it. Let’s talk less and do more.

This is probably my very last post this year. i’m off in couple of days to Tel-Aviv to reunite with my wife and baby and i’m hoping not to be online for a single moment for a whole two weeks.

Wishing you all happy holidays and brilliant New Year

See you in 2009

Asi
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