For this year's wrap-up, I originally intended to write a fire-and-brimstone end-of-the-world article that summarized how we're all going to drown in a sea of mediocre, American Idol-inspired pap music, while the dreams of a rising indie nation lies dashed and broken upon a shore of iPods.

But you know what? I'm getting tired of all this bummer-filled news. Every day it's something else -- a band breaks up, a club closes, our local government does something else to screw things up. Add to that the impending Great Depression and a guy could give up hope altogether. Yeah, things are bad these days, but it could be a whole lot worse. From a music standpoint, we're lucky we have what we have -- a nationally recognized music scene populated by talented singer-songwriters with plenty of great venues at their fingertips. Do not lose hope, gentle reader.

That said, we simply cannot ignore what happened in this, the Year of Our Lord 2008. Here are the Top 5 stories that impacted the local music landscape:

1. Them Legal Blues -- The nature of all-ages shows changed forever when in mid-April the Omaha City Council enacted an ordinance that created a new category of businesses called "music venues." The ordinance said that designated bars with a fixed stage and lighting could allow those under the age of 18 to attend rock shows as long as they have a notarized parental consent form on file. All the major venues quickly signed up, and in the end, the new law probably didn't impact the scene that much. Ah, but Johnny Law didn't stop there.

Omaha's smoking ban was expected to go into effect with the statewide ban at the beginning of '09. Bars got a surprise in mid-June when some judicial gymnastics put the ban in place in Omaha literally overnight, making smoke-holes like O'Leaver's and The Waiting Room smoke-free -- or else. Venue owners scrambled to figure out ways to create smokers' beer gardens, while those with no such options worried that the ban would kill their business. Six months later and the jury's still out. Meanwhile the Douglas County Health Department is registering an odd spike in pneumonia cases suffered by poor bastards forced to shiver in the 30-below-zero wind chill to get their fix.

2. Benson Rising -- If the opening of Slowdown and The Waiting Room changed the music landscape in '07, the emergence of Benson as a vibrant music center was the story of '08. Maple Street was turning into Omaha's version of Austin's 6th St. On any given weekend, there were quality shows at The Waiting Room, Mick's, The Barley St. Tavern, PS Collective, The Foundry, Espana, even hole-in-the-wall regulars bar Burke's Pub. The vibe culminated in two high-point events -- the Mid America Music Festival and the Omaha Entertainment Awards showcase-- nights that had the streets filled with drunks stumbling from venue to venue. Benson's future, however, was dealt a potentially devastating blow in early December when Mick's was sold to new owners who plan on dropping live music in '09.

3. The Eclipse of Saddle Creek -- No organization was more under siege this past year than Saddle Creek Records. First there was the music venue ordinance that took a stab at Slowdown -- a club designed for all-ages shows. Then Creek watched as two of its crown jewels -- Bright Eyes' Conor Oberst and The Faint -- flew the coop with their next records. Conor released his self-titled solo album on Merge, while The Faint released Fasciinatiion on its own blank.wav label. Creek countered by signing a number of new acts, including breakthrough band Tokyo Police Club. Next, the city announced plans for a new College World Series ballpark -- located in North Downtown. It looked like a homerun until the city changed its location and came up with a new design that turned the ballpark into an impenetrable fortress whose brick walls resembled a penitentiary -- from Slowdown's vantage point. NoDo's only hope is that neighborhood-friendly recommendations by the Urban Design Review Board become a reality. Can Saddle Creek survive another year like '08?

4. What Next Wave? -- As a generation of Saddle Creek bands entered their late 20s and 30s, a handful of musicians weaned on house shows at Hotel Frank began to emerge as the city's Next Wave of important indie bands. Spurred along by Slumber Party Records, which signed a distribution deal with Saddle Creek, hope sprang eternal for acts like Capgun Coup, Baby Walrus, Bear Country, Honeybee, The Family Radio, Hyannis and Talkin' Mountain. But as the year wore on, Slumber Party seemed to fall asleep, along with all those bands. Will they finally catch fire in '09?

5. The Great Depression and a New Hope -- We thought we were immune to the current economic malaise that has fallen over the rest of the country. We were wrong. Venues began complaining about attendance at shows. Bands gave up touring, leaving the road in droves. And forget about making a living off selling CDs -- those days were long gone. All hope for the future came in the shape of an Illinois Senator chosen to pull this country out of a Mariana Trench-sized rut. Can he do it before the music stops?

Wow, I guess that turned out to be a bummer after all! Now the good news: Here are my favorite albums of 2008, in no particular order:

• Brad Hoshaw, Live at Mick's Music & Bar (self-release) – Special not only because I was there when it was recorded, but because it captured Omaha's newest/best beardo-songwriter at his nonchalant best, assuming no one in the noisy crowd was listening, anyway. He was wrong.
  

• Deerhunter, Microcastle (Kranky) – If Titus Andronicus is the new Arcade Fire than this is the new Interpol, or new Pixies. Spaced-out drone rock with a beat -- is there anything better? No.

• Neva Dinova, You May Already Be Dreaming (Saddle Creek) -- Shimmering, country-fied backbeat melodies with an electric rumble that underlies frontman/mastermind Jake Bellows' often dark, often desperate lyrics of love, loss and death.