The Year Was takes you on a journey through time. In each show, Annett travels back to a different year. What did it sound like around the world in different genres, scenes, and areas of pop culture?

This time, we delve into the heart of indie sleaze. 2008 was the year of sticky dance floors, skinny jeans, and smudged eyeliner. The iPhone was barely a year old and Instagram didn’t exist – instead, everyone was obsessed with music blogs. It was the age of the iPod Shuffle and you could find a wide mix of grimy, energetic and carefree sounds on it. Hot Chip and Hercules and Love Affair pieced together brilliant dance tunes, Cut Copy emerged from their glimmering cloud of synth beeps, Santogold gave hipsters a new favorite song to belt out, Fleet Foxes rode a wave of MySpace success, Beyoncé’s “Single Ladies” choreography entered the collective consciousness and everyone talked about Vampire Weekend. It was a time of hope and Obama’s “Yes, we can” campaign – just before the global economy fully tanked later that year.

2008 was a “Time to Pretend.” Let’s listen back!