Oh Hell, She's Getting Up In the DJ Booth Again.

I think this is the tenth year I'm hauling out my music collection in a manner of speaking to go over songs that from this day on I'll hear and remember the past year. Every high, every low, every middle-ish sort of okay moment I was grateful to have.

Sure, Love Song by Sara Bareilles and So What by Pink made my list, because I'm a girly little girl. Nan and Mum ended up liking I Kissed A Girl by Katy Perry and Out of Our Heads by Sheryl Crow, but then there were songs I liked just because they were bizarre, like We're Brothers Forever by Reynaldo Lapuz. What? You didn't see that? Don't watch Idol? Then you may not know how fantastic David Cook is.

Part of my eternal paradox is that I'm rabidly active in politics AND I watch American Idol. Crazy, I know, but Cookie David Cook made it worthwhile. His new album is great, the track Bar-Ba-Sol ended up meaning quite a bit to me not only because the lyrics are frikkin' fantastic.

There are people and cats and dogs and birds I've loved and places I've been in every one of these songs, so it's not just me spouting the names of albums that came out, no. Chinese Democracy finally arrived, for instance, and a week later the title track came on the radio and I didn't recognize it as one of the new ones. That's not how these songs end up on my list. I'm giving you the ones I'll never forget.

With the sort-of exception of We'll Go Walking by The Silver Seas, which was the first new song heard in 2008, and I can't say I've heard it since. I seem to recall liking it though.

I'd like to yammer on, but time's ticking away, so enough of that, here's some videos to songs you can use to recapture 2008 if you ever feel the need to:

Invisible Man - Joe Jackson

Conquest - White Stripes

What's On Your Mind by Madrugada

Whole Thing - Big Blue Ball featuring Peter Gabriel

Gravedigger - Willie Nelson

Liverpool 8 - Ringo Starr

This Is Not America - Ahn Trio

Supernatural Superserious - R.E.M.

Declaration (This Is It) - Kirk Franklin

Sentimental Heart - She & Him

Violet Hill - Coldplay with Brian Eno

Stamp Your Feet - Donna Summer

Salute Your Solution - The Raconteurs

Pork And Beans - Ween

Shut Up And Let Me Go - The Ting Tings

Not Now But Soon - Imogen Heap

I'm Good I'm Gone - Lykke Li

Going On - Gnarls Barkley

4 Minutes - Madonna feat. Justin Timberlake (I think we've covered my love for Madonna already.)

Bleeding Love - Leona Lewis (The link is to the routine the song was used for on So You Think You Can Dance, which is how this song got into my head. Really. Mark was neat.)

Damaged - Danity Kane

Cry For You - September

The Only One - The Cure

Thirty-One Today - Aimee Mann

Crazy - Violent Femmes

Borneo - Firewater

Next Life...Let's Just Wave to Each Other - Kevin Bartlett

Head Down - Nine Inch Nails

Human - The Killers

Circus Cosmos - Alu

Byrdgirl - Matthew Sweet

One More (Or Ten) - 7 Seconds of Love

It's Alright - Dar Williams

Carry Your Heart - Catherine A.D.

You Don't Know Me - Ben Folds and Regina Spektor

Another Way To Die - Jack White and Alicia Keys

Love Is A Stranger - Martha Wainwright

Loosen Up - The Shaky Hands)

Numba 1 (The Tide Is High) - Kardinal Offishall f/ Keri Hilson

Tickle Me Pink - Johnny Flynn

Shine On Me - Chris Dane Owens

Chasing Pavements - Adele

Kaiser Chiefs - Never Miss A Beat

20 Dollar Nose Bleed - Fall Out Boy

Live Your Life - T.I. featuring Rihanna

And then...my number one all time frikkin' favorite forever and ever...Viva La Vida by Coldplay. I loved it from the teeny bit that played in the Apple ads, then Mum loved it, then it snowballed into a life of its own.

I have a lot of great music to look forward to next year...new Imogen Heap, U2, Scissor Sisters...now if everything else in the year can be as great. That's my wish, everyone. Hug your loved ones, enjoy what you do, don't sweat what you don't get to do, and be well.

Oh Hell, She's Getting Up In the DJ Booth Again.