Wednesday, January 23, 2008
The Top 50 Songs of 2007 (#s 50-41)
50 "A Sentence of Sorts in Kongsvinger" Of Montreal Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer? [Polyvinyl]
"My mind rejects the frequency / it's just verbosity to me."
With their third song landing on a yearly countdown of mine (after "Your Magic is Working" and "So Begins Our Alabee"), Of Montreal have very sneakily become a staple in my life. They are consistent, prolific, and somehow still manage to top themselves in ridiculousness with every new album they put out. Without even mentioning the killer sugary keyboard swoops and skittery-to-the-max synthetic drum freakouts, there is an even bigger highlight. This song has one of those choruses that manages to flow so smoothly and unforgettably that it all goes by in the blink of an eye. The first time I heard this song I knew I was once again smitten with the wackiness of Kevin Barnes and his troupe of bubbly noisemakers.
49 "From Nothing to Nowhere" Pinback Autumn of the Seraphs [Touch & Go]
"Revision / Ray of vision / ray vision / cosign my letter."
Who knows what he's actually saying when this song gets pumping into action. Who cares. The fact is that it's Pinback (formerly on a countdown with "Fortress") masterly weaving countless plucky guitar melodies and cherubic angsty vocal harmonies together until it resembles the most complicated musical knot that anyone can untangle by just pulling one string at a time. Depending on what singer and/or instrument you're listening to, the song can mean anything from "I feel superhuman" to "I feel like a failure," or both. The fact that some genius with too much time on his hands synced this song up to the dancing scene from The Breakfast Club only makes the dichotomy of the song's power and meaning that much stronger. When else do you feel powerless and unstoppable? When you're a teenager.
48 "Reciting the Airships" Eluvium Copia [Temporary Residence]
Moment @ 0:23
I've always been interested in the keyboard, but no one artist has ever reinvigorated my interest in the traditional piano like Eluvium has. How his melodies are so simple yet so captivating and devastating is beyond me. This song in particular breathes like a cold winter sunset, expertly descending from its inception into a bed of airy strings only to climb ever so softly into a cloudy oblivion. Crumpled paper, creaking chairs, and swirled synths soon enter the picture and by that point, you're on a different planet, experiencing this song like you experience a sad memory that you're happy you still have, and will hopefully never let go.
47 "Oh Ana" Mother Mother Touch Up [Last Gang]
"I'll be God today / hold my head under that bath and breath away."
I have no idea how a band that recalls both Wheatus (the voice) and Primus (the spastic bass) made such a perfect song, but they did. The lightning-speed acoustic guitar is just another reason why this song should not work at all, but it's also the morose backbone for a great first-person perspective story that unfolds like some cross between a nightmare and the biggest drama your closest group of friends has ever undergone, testing relationships, boundaries, and how far one's willing to go without knowing why they are willing to go so far. It's the ultimate testament to feeling your life spinning out of control, having no choice but to let it spin violently and unconscionably until you had to settle for realizing the errors of your ways until it's too late.
46 "Last Night a DJ Saved My Life (Mirage Remix)" Indeep After Dark [Italians Do it Better]
"And if it wasn't for the music..."
Turns out the original version of this song is older than dirt - actually it was first released in 1983, the year I was born. If I knew this before I put this remix on the countdown, I probably would have disqualified it. But it's too late now as I always vow to never change the list after it's finalized and the playlist is burned to CD. I seriously thought this was just another Italian post-retro-disco-punk song on a compilation full of modern acts like Glass Candy and Chromatics, remixed by another modern post-retro-disco-punk artist, but it was just a post-disco band that had a modest hit that even Mariah Carey covered at one point. How postmodern of a world do we live in when a remix can make a song from 1983 sound like it just came out in 2007? Absolutely crazy, but regardless, you need to watch the TV performance of the original (hyperlinked above) and watch that bass player, who also plays the character of the DJ in the song. Pitch perfect in every possible way.
45 "With Friends Like These" Aqueduct Or Give Me Death [Barsuk]
"Who needs friends like these..."
I'm going to be brutally honest. And so should you. No friendship I think is complete (anomalies exist, I will admit) without a moment where your eyes just bug out and you think to yourself, "whyyyy????" This is how friendships work, whether we like them to or not. If you're a close friend of mine, I've probably been mad/bewildered/confused/upset with you at some point in time to the Nth degree and vice versa. Everyone talks about how beautiful their friends are or why can't we be friends or what have you, but no one points out this very important facet of deep intimate friendships. You care about people, and just like lovers and family members, you're going to writhe them sometimes for whatever reason - they talked behind you behind your back, they dated someone that is a total douche, or they just ditched you when they promised to hang out with you. It's these kinds of deep hatreds that keep friends together and let people connect with each other and realize how much they love their friends in the first place.
44 "Drop Me Off" Pela Anytown Graffiti [Great Society]
"You are the fortunate one in this song."
Powerful voices seem to be rarity to me. Lyrical or instrumental intensity tends to usually pack the greater punch and the degree to which a singer actually utilizes their vocal chords doesn't often factor into my love for a song. The simplistic yet effective sparkling-turned-aggressive guitars and concentrating and rising drum work certainly complement Pela's vocalist, but it is the sweat and strength in the voice of Billy McCarthy that makes me hit the steering wheel at every chorus and my heart tremble as he breaks into falsetto at the climax/outro. Taking on all the pain that should be spread across two people into his one throat and becoming possessed by melancholic demons of solitude, McCarthy spews out enough emotional breakdown ecstasy for an entire room full of broken hearts. The listeners is indeed the fortunate one in this song.
43 "Panic Attack" Tunturia Maps [RCD]
Moment @ 2:27
I don't believe I've ever had a panic attack, but the closest I ever got to having one I believe was right before I, in a daze, took off driving in my car late at night and had this song (and the rest of the album for that matter) blasting through the stereo. I don't even think I knew this song was called "Panic Attack" when, after the unnamed incident, I shoved this CD into the play and this, the opening track, came tumbling out of the speakers as I sped angrily/confusedly through the pitch blackness. It's the feeling of being rushed, being crowded, being shoved into a place where nothing could ever feel right in a million years, and where no matter how far or how fast you drive away, you never feel more than an inch removed from unpleasantness. And all the while, I would have never wanted any other sound to graced my consciousness than this song, full of the best nervous guitar riff ever, taunting drums poking and prodding at your inflating sense of self, and the simultaneously noisiest and most graceful comedowns in between all the senseless mayhem.
42 "The Piano" PJ Harvey White Chalk [Island]
"Nobody's listening."
Singer-songwriters have never been my bag. Luckily, PJ Harvey knows that stamping your birth name on your music doesn't imply that you have to be subtle, modest, or boring. Ghost stories tend to come up a few times in the countdown this year, but this is probably the one ghost story on the list that actually sounds like a ghost story - creepy pitter patter percussion, lurking-in-the-next-room thumb piano loops, and even a respite for a keyboard that sounds like a dead child playing with its dusty toys from an ancient past. Oh and of course there's PJ's howling wail that anchors the multi-layered piece, desperately calling for peace when war has already broke out between four souls - the killer, the killed, and the shaking witnesses: mommy and daddy. Never has a song been able to give me the shivers, nightmares, and sounded so beautiful. Here's to realizing that music can be scary and enjoyable at the same time.
41 "The Opposite of Hallelujah" Jens Lekman Night Falls Over Kortedala [Secretly Canadian]
"I picked up a seashell / to illustrate my homelessness / but a crab crawled out of it / making it useless."
Also a theme on the countdown are songs that were played at what was quite certainly the event of the year (hell, probably of the past 4 years), Qualler and Brigitte's wedding. Sometimes it's infuriating when bright happy pop songs have depressing lyrics, but Lekman knows how to be depressed, find the humor in it, and make a funner-than-thou song about it all. It's a win-win-win situation. No matter how you feel about weddings, when this song came on, even if you didn't know how to dance to it, you wanted to. This marked the beginning of songs that most of the crowd didn't know, but kept the crowd in the mood of celebration nonetheless. All of a sudden everyone (yours truly included of course) dipped with every tambourine hit and smiles abounded every time the strings came in, and partners took arms with each other when the ukulele bumbles in like a cartoon broom sweeping up the joint. It was remarkably glorious, like the final scene in Rushmore, everyone being together, loving the togetherness of it all, and feeling pure joy in the moment, regardless of anyone's feelings before they walked onto that dance floor, depressed or not.
Next week: the countdown continues with #s 40-31.
¶ posted by chris at 2:16 PM
50 "A Sentence of Sorts in Kongsvinger" Of Montreal Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer? [Polyvinyl]"My mind rejects the frequency / it's just verbosity to me."
With their third song landing on a yearly countdown of mine (after "Your Magic is Working" and "So Begins Our Alabee"), Of Montreal have very sneakily become a staple in my life. They are consistent, prolific, and somehow still manage to top themselves in ridiculousness with every new album they put out. Without even mentioning the killer sugary keyboard swoops and skittery-to-the-max synthetic drum freakouts, there is an even bigger highlight. This song has one of those choruses that manages to flow so smoothly and unforgettably that it all goes by in the blink of an eye. The first time I heard this song I knew I was once again smitten with the wackiness of Kevin Barnes and his troupe of bubbly noisemakers.
49 "From Nothing to Nowhere" Pinback Autumn of the Seraphs [Touch & Go]"Revision / Ray of vision / ray vision / cosign my letter."
Who knows what he's actually saying when this song gets pumping into action. Who cares. The fact is that it's Pinback (formerly on a countdown with "Fortress") masterly weaving countless plucky guitar melodies and cherubic angsty vocal harmonies together until it resembles the most complicated musical knot that anyone can untangle by just pulling one string at a time. Depending on what singer and/or instrument you're listening to, the song can mean anything from "I feel superhuman" to "I feel like a failure," or both. The fact that some genius with too much time on his hands synced this song up to the dancing scene from The Breakfast Club only makes the dichotomy of the song's power and meaning that much stronger. When else do you feel powerless and unstoppable? When you're a teenager.
48 "Reciting the Airships" Eluvium Copia [Temporary Residence]Moment @ 0:23
I've always been interested in the keyboard, but no one artist has ever reinvigorated my interest in the traditional piano like Eluvium has. How his melodies are so simple yet so captivating and devastating is beyond me. This song in particular breathes like a cold winter sunset, expertly descending from its inception into a bed of airy strings only to climb ever so softly into a cloudy oblivion. Crumpled paper, creaking chairs, and swirled synths soon enter the picture and by that point, you're on a different planet, experiencing this song like you experience a sad memory that you're happy you still have, and will hopefully never let go.
47 "Oh Ana" Mother Mother Touch Up [Last Gang]"I'll be God today / hold my head under that bath and breath away."
I have no idea how a band that recalls both Wheatus (the voice) and Primus (the spastic bass) made such a perfect song, but they did. The lightning-speed acoustic guitar is just another reason why this song should not work at all, but it's also the morose backbone for a great first-person perspective story that unfolds like some cross between a nightmare and the biggest drama your closest group of friends has ever undergone, testing relationships, boundaries, and how far one's willing to go without knowing why they are willing to go so far. It's the ultimate testament to feeling your life spinning out of control, having no choice but to let it spin violently and unconscionably until you had to settle for realizing the errors of your ways until it's too late.
46 "Last Night a DJ Saved My Life (Mirage Remix)" Indeep After Dark [Italians Do it Better]"And if it wasn't for the music..."
Turns out the original version of this song is older than dirt - actually it was first released in 1983, the year I was born. If I knew this before I put this remix on the countdown, I probably would have disqualified it. But it's too late now as I always vow to never change the list after it's finalized and the playlist is burned to CD. I seriously thought this was just another Italian post-retro-disco-punk song on a compilation full of modern acts like Glass Candy and Chromatics, remixed by another modern post-retro-disco-punk artist, but it was just a post-disco band that had a modest hit that even Mariah Carey covered at one point. How postmodern of a world do we live in when a remix can make a song from 1983 sound like it just came out in 2007? Absolutely crazy, but regardless, you need to watch the TV performance of the original (hyperlinked above) and watch that bass player, who also plays the character of the DJ in the song. Pitch perfect in every possible way.
45 "With Friends Like These" Aqueduct Or Give Me Death [Barsuk]"Who needs friends like these..."
I'm going to be brutally honest. And so should you. No friendship I think is complete (anomalies exist, I will admit) without a moment where your eyes just bug out and you think to yourself, "whyyyy????" This is how friendships work, whether we like them to or not. If you're a close friend of mine, I've probably been mad/bewildered/confused/upset with you at some point in time to the Nth degree and vice versa. Everyone talks about how beautiful their friends are or why can't we be friends or what have you, but no one points out this very important facet of deep intimate friendships. You care about people, and just like lovers and family members, you're going to writhe them sometimes for whatever reason - they talked behind you behind your back, they dated someone that is a total douche, or they just ditched you when they promised to hang out with you. It's these kinds of deep hatreds that keep friends together and let people connect with each other and realize how much they love their friends in the first place.
44 "Drop Me Off" Pela Anytown Graffiti [Great Society]"You are the fortunate one in this song."
Powerful voices seem to be rarity to me. Lyrical or instrumental intensity tends to usually pack the greater punch and the degree to which a singer actually utilizes their vocal chords doesn't often factor into my love for a song. The simplistic yet effective sparkling-turned-aggressive guitars and concentrating and rising drum work certainly complement Pela's vocalist, but it is the sweat and strength in the voice of Billy McCarthy that makes me hit the steering wheel at every chorus and my heart tremble as he breaks into falsetto at the climax/outro. Taking on all the pain that should be spread across two people into his one throat and becoming possessed by melancholic demons of solitude, McCarthy spews out enough emotional breakdown ecstasy for an entire room full of broken hearts. The listeners is indeed the fortunate one in this song.
43 "Panic Attack" Tunturia Maps [RCD]Moment @ 2:27
I don't believe I've ever had a panic attack, but the closest I ever got to having one I believe was right before I, in a daze, took off driving in my car late at night and had this song (and the rest of the album for that matter) blasting through the stereo. I don't even think I knew this song was called "Panic Attack" when, after the unnamed incident, I shoved this CD into the play and this, the opening track, came tumbling out of the speakers as I sped angrily/confusedly through the pitch blackness. It's the feeling of being rushed, being crowded, being shoved into a place where nothing could ever feel right in a million years, and where no matter how far or how fast you drive away, you never feel more than an inch removed from unpleasantness. And all the while, I would have never wanted any other sound to graced my consciousness than this song, full of the best nervous guitar riff ever, taunting drums poking and prodding at your inflating sense of self, and the simultaneously noisiest and most graceful comedowns in between all the senseless mayhem.
42 "The Piano" PJ Harvey White Chalk [Island]"Nobody's listening."
Singer-songwriters have never been my bag. Luckily, PJ Harvey knows that stamping your birth name on your music doesn't imply that you have to be subtle, modest, or boring. Ghost stories tend to come up a few times in the countdown this year, but this is probably the one ghost story on the list that actually sounds like a ghost story - creepy pitter patter percussion, lurking-in-the-next-room thumb piano loops, and even a respite for a keyboard that sounds like a dead child playing with its dusty toys from an ancient past. Oh and of course there's PJ's howling wail that anchors the multi-layered piece, desperately calling for peace when war has already broke out between four souls - the killer, the killed, and the shaking witnesses: mommy and daddy. Never has a song been able to give me the shivers, nightmares, and sounded so beautiful. Here's to realizing that music can be scary and enjoyable at the same time.
41 "The Opposite of Hallelujah" Jens Lekman Night Falls Over Kortedala [Secretly Canadian]"I picked up a seashell / to illustrate my homelessness / but a crab crawled out of it / making it useless."
Also a theme on the countdown are songs that were played at what was quite certainly the event of the year (hell, probably of the past 4 years), Qualler and Brigitte's wedding. Sometimes it's infuriating when bright happy pop songs have depressing lyrics, but Lekman knows how to be depressed, find the humor in it, and make a funner-than-thou song about it all. It's a win-win-win situation. No matter how you feel about weddings, when this song came on, even if you didn't know how to dance to it, you wanted to. This marked the beginning of songs that most of the crowd didn't know, but kept the crowd in the mood of celebration nonetheless. All of a sudden everyone (yours truly included of course) dipped with every tambourine hit and smiles abounded every time the strings came in, and partners took arms with each other when the ukulele bumbles in like a cartoon broom sweeping up the joint. It was remarkably glorious, like the final scene in Rushmore, everyone being together, loving the togetherness of it all, and feeling pure joy in the moment, regardless of anyone's feelings before they walked onto that dance floor, depressed or not.
Next week: the countdown continues with #s 40-31.
¶ posted by chris at 2:16 PM
