Jukebox Jury: Travis McCoy, Paul F. Tompkins Rate 2008's Hits

As the host of VH1's Best Week Ever , dapper comedian Paul F. Tompkins makes a living siccing his snark on cultural ephemera. Gym Class Heroes frontman Travis McCoy does much the same via his witty rhymes on songs like "Drnk Txt Rmeo" and "Cookie Jar," both from 2008's The Quilt . Unsurprisingly, when the talking head and the rapping mouth came together to pass judgment on a pupu platter of the year's most noteworthy tunes, neither one held back. Well, maybe with one notable exception... Check out these nine songs, then check out Travis and Paul breaking down 10 more in the January 2009 issue of SPIN, on newsstands now! VAMPIRE WEEKEND, "OXFORD COMMA" Blog-fueled smarty-pants phenoms declare their disregard for punctuation particulars atop a spare, breezy groove. McCOY: This song is really pussy, for lack of a better word. I don't understand the buzz about this band. I just remember going to the bodega and all of sudden seeing them on the cover ... (link)