So i thought i’d get the ball rolling as most of us Pure Poppers tend to avoid responsibility like the plague. Instead of a top 5, or top 10, i opted for a mixtape. Or, as it’s been adapted for the web, a podcast. My mix, as with my listenings this past year leans heavily on the side of post-shoegaze / baleric / dream-pop.

2008 was a rough one and i suppose in the lean years people need their escapism. Here’s a sampling of mine.

M83 – Couleurs // Released on this years excellent nostalgic-for-pop-culture “Saturdays = Youth”. Couleurs took the M83 sound of epic synthetic crescendos and reconfigured it for the dancefloor. I’m surprised Gonzolas hadn’t thought of this sooner. The only problem with leading of a mix with a track like this is where to go next.

Air France – Collapsing at your Doorstep // Over the last few years people have been talking about the Gottenberg sound. Groups like The Tough Alliance, El Perro Del Mar, Studio and Air France have been quietly defining a scene, and this year’s “No Way Down EP” has been coming up on top of the pile, and it’s very well deserved.

A Sunny Day in Glasgow – No. 6 Van Karmen Street // This one was released a couple years ago, but’s been slowly building steam through the interwebs and indie- record stores and i just had to add it to my year end comp on the strength of it’s lovely combination of post-shoegaze, twee, and early 90′s brit-club.

Tim Hecker – Chimeras // I had the amazing chance to go and see Tim Hecker and Christian Fennesz live in Montreal (Ben Frost as well, who held his own) and was absolutely blown away by their performances. This track appeared on 2006′s Harmony in Ultraviolet, and while i’ve been waiting patiently for his next masterpiece (An Imaginary Country, Feb 09) Harmony as well as his backcatalog (including his Jetone work) have been more than satisfying, especially through these longer winter months.

Burial – Etched Headplate // It’s a testimate to how flatout untouchable it is that more than a year on, i’m still listening to Untrue, on a regular, sometimes daily basis. It came out last year right around the same time everyone was making their year end lists, and i think for alot of folks, it took a while for them to absorb – and because of that, and my undying love for this album, i’m including a track from it again here.

Studio – West Side // Another Gottenberg alumn, this from 2007′s Yearbook 1, a catchy collection of singles featuring factory-records-era stacatto guitars, latin drumming and krauty rhythms. This year saw the release of their Yearbook 2 release, a collection of excellent remixes, though i’ve gotta say i prefer the original studio work off of this earlier outing.

Crystal Castles – Magic Spells // 2008 saw the emergence of the 8bit sound into the mainstream, and at the for-front (and not without a little controversy) was the Crystal Castles – While inconsistant at times, their debute was nontheless a pretty killer combo of punk and dance all filtered through taxed and tortured 8bit processors.

Fennesz – Caecilia // This one’s going way back there to Endless Summer – and yes, i know Fennesz had a new album come out in 2008 (Black Sea) , and yes, it’s brilliant – but i had to include this one on this mix cause A) when he played it in Montreal i think i might have had my one and only transendent experience of 2008 and B) it just works in the context of the mix. nuff said.

Menace Ruine – Dismantling // From 2008′s “The Die is Cast” – Black Metal / Doom-gaze / darkfolk duo from some dark place outside of Quebec City, I’ve been trying to get them to come down over the border and do a show here in Burlington but apparently they don’t get out much. Go figure. This track is to me, a pefect confection of Sleep, Slowdive and Fairport Convention. I bet you can’t wait to hear it now.

The Field – Kappsta 2 // From Kompakts Pop Ambient 2008, The field rips it up with another killer track of movement in statis, and yep – i think Kate’s back in the mix. If you’re like me and couldn’t get enough of “From here we go Sublime” make sure you track down the excellent “Sound of Light” EP.

Paavorharju – Tuoksu Tarttuu Meihin // Easily my favorite album from 2008, Paavorharju have created the most startlingly beautiful album i’ve heard since Hecker’s Haunt me Haunt me do it again. And if it wasn’t enough that they will keep you memorized with their subtle blends of radio static, ghostly voices, ancient string arangments and brittle folk, they also have to the good taste to throw in one of best little electo/dance tracks to never hit a dancefloor in 2008. Pick it up, burn a candle, take a walk in the woods -  just listen to it.

Cocteau Twins – I Wear Your Ring // No, it isn’t 1990. No we havn’t gone back in time. But i would be lying to myself and to you if i didn’t include a track by the Cocteaus on my year end list. More than anyone else (besides maybe Kate Bush, but that’s another obsession altogether.) The Cocteaus have defined 2008 for me. I don’t know how it happened, but something clicked in my brain, and all of a sudden their gossamer world of shimmering brilliance opened itself to me.

I guess it’s not all that mysterious as why i’m suddenly obsessed with dream pop, take one part Kate Bush, one part love of psychedelia, one part love of all things shoegaze – and there you have it. The 4AD sound.

You can download the entire mixtape here.