Last week, All Songs Considered host Bob Boilen previewed some of the albums listeners were selecting in an online poll to determine the best music of 2008. Here, Boilen returns to talk to All Things Considered host Michele Norris about the final results, led by Fleet Foxes' self-titled debut, which was voted the best album of 2008 by NPR listeners. He also discusses the music of Girl Talk, She & Him and Bob Dylan.
Hailing from Seattle, Fleet Foxes' members have earned a reputation for drenching their songs in rich vocal harmonies.
"It's a fantastic record," Boilen says. "It's gorgeous, and you can tell from their songwriting, they're a group that has a huge future; this is just their beginning."
Boilen says that All Songs' listeners are music fans from diverse age groups. Thanks to the Internet, he says, the younger fans have a knowledge and reverence not only for current musicians, but also for music of the past.
"They know the music from the '50s, '60s, '70s and '80s and '90s, and the current music," Boilen says. "They're the most educated bunch of music listeners I've ever seen."
Most artists on the list have found a devoted following. But Boilen puts their success in perspective.
"What makes it big in this world of music are records that sell tens of thousands, and not hundreds of thousands," he says. "But it's fairly innovative and ... eclectically accessible music, and it's what attracts me to it."
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