The Death Set‘s Johnny Siera and Jahphet Landis sing the praises of clean underwear and Ninjasonik.

Who was the best artist of 2008?

Johnny Siera: Ninja fuckin sonik, Sonik fuckin ninja! It’s an awesome thing to watch friends start to come up. Ninjasonik’s shows are crazy, like if Jabba’s palace was between Bmore and Brooklyn, and Han Solo was in new sneakers crowdsurfing with a flipped up Suicidal Tendencies cap.

Jahphet Landis: Ninjasonik! Hands down, these dudes are savs! They don’t care about what anyone thinks–they do what they want! Their songs are fun and humorous with hard beats. The three of them combined make up Shonuff, The Shogun of Harlem in The Last Dragon.

Who was the worst artist of 2008?

Johnny Siera: It’s a hater-free zone right here, but if I had to wave in a general direction it would have to be all the haircut, “tight” indie bands with their perfect voices that bore me to death when we’re on tour. Vomit…

What was the best 12″ single of 2008?

Johnny Siera: Daedelus “Fair Weather Friends.” So addictive it’s crazy. Ridiculously catchy hook, perfect sampling.

Jahphet Landis: “Loose” by Spankrock! The beat is insane and instantly makes any environment a party environment! We used it to open up our set a bunch of times this year.

What was the best style trend of 2008?

Johnny Siera: Clean socks and underwear. Who would have thought as grown-ass men this would occur so infrequently, especially in their beautiful combination? Yet touring pretty much straight all year really proved this little unfortunate reality.

Jahphet Landis: Everything I decided to wear this year! It was pretty much the same thing everyday, though.

What was the worst style trend of 2008?

Johnny Siera: Young urban kids dressing like circa ’90s psy-trance forest ravers. Maybe if high on Ecstasy it might seem a good idea to turn grandma’s blanket into a vest but what if they’re not even (on Ecstasy, that is)?

Jahphet Landis: Keffiyeh (the arab scarf), all-over print tees, and baggy ass jeans like it’s still 1992. Kanon! Get “Up to Di Times” like Vybz Kartel says.

What was the worst music trend of 2008?

Johnny Siera: Again hater-free zone but a general lack of performance confrontation. More GG Allin-style confrontation would be interesting, perhaps minus the shit tossing and misogyny.

Jahphet Landis: “Shark biting” was definitely the worst music trend of ’08. It was so horrible to watch how the pop scene stole so many rad ideas from so many independent artists.

Best of 2008
Drop the Lime
Abe Vigoda
Bradford Cox
Andrew Jeffrey Wright
eLZhi
Cut Copy
Fucked Up
Evidence
Vivian Girls
Matt Furie
dj/ Rupture
Telepathe
The Death Set
Holy Ghost
Mochipet
CTRL
Plump DJs
Jose James
Worship Worthy
Peter Beste
Hercules and Love Affair
Magda
The Alchemist
DC Recordings