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Top Ten Singles of the Year According To No One
by Alex Carnevale
10. “She Can Do What She Wants” — Field Music (mp3)
Mashing good clean fun with indie verve, I also loved “In Context” but that was last year. Here’s an example of a band with bad timing. I think they would have been the biggest band in the world in any other decade but this one. I think I wrote that about another band this year, probably U2 or something.
9. “Foundations” — Kate Nash (mp3)
Deserves about a thousand remixes for its unstoppable beat and ensconcing narrative. We want to be ensconced in Kate.
you said i must eat so many lemons cause i am so bitter
8. “F-ked Up Kid” — Kevin Drew (mp3)
One of the great “if you drive a car while high and play this song you will die” kind of songs. Take my word for it. We loved this album.
If this song was recorded by Snow Patrol, it would win a frickin’ Grammy.
People are putting rings on other people’s fingers, in the back of their mind they’re like, “meh– I hope this works!” But fuck, this whole institution is telling you, “it will, it will, get the right chairs for the wedding, GET THE RIGHT CHAIRS.”
And then you meet the old school who are like, “yeah, we didn’t talk to each other for five years because she got sick and I had to do this and that, but look at us now!” Our school can’t stick around. It’s like, “this isn’t working, I’m in a bad mood, I’m not happy, I’ve gotta go. I’ll go find it again.” The older generation, most of them stuck together. And they stuck together through tough times. We just carry our shit as humans from next thing to next thing to next thing. I mean, look at the state of your country. It hasn’t changed, dude! But now, it’s almost as if every day is worse. We don’t really do much any more, we don’t really talk about it. It’s just, more and more comes down on you and you wonder why you have anxiety attacks and shit.
That’s one of the battles you have when you start out, like “you don’t fucking know me! How dare you write that!” Some 16-year-old kid blog is ruining your day, calling you every name he needs to so that he can validate himself.
7. “Last Leaf” — Lisa Hannigan (mp3)
Haunting upgrade on the usual Damien Rice sob story, Lisa does fine on her own here, in a track that appeared in The Cake Sale album. I know what it takes for me to be free is haunting business, and nobody’s better at that than her.
bonus track: “Starbound” — Altantean feat. Lisa Hannigan (mp3)
6. “Entertaining Us” — The Wish (mp3)
New act from Spain fuses dance with rock, an addictive combination. They are so much fun you barely even need to know any other bands, plus you can upset indie kids who haven’t heard of them. “What do you mean you don’t know The Wish? They’re essential.“ Then you can barf on the indie kids, they hate that.
5. “Must Be The Moon (Hot Chip remix)” — !!! (mp3)
This whole album has aspirations for being great. Here is the track that really opened me up to how enjoyable !!! can be. Sometimes they feel like fun you should be having, which is in the end good, too.
4. “Oxford Comma” — Vampire Weekend (mp3)
Totally different sound than anyone else on this list. Catchy, addictive, and downright moving in parts. You’re shocked they didn’t meet at Wesleyan, but then you realize they may as well have.
3. “Lesson Learned” — Alicia Keys feat. John Mayer (mp3)
Inspired ballad in a time in the history of the world when we really need ballads. Alicia is the real deal, we don’t care what people say. We feel she is the next Madonna and we will treasure her presence. We are hoping she will start dating Justin Timberlake and produce an offspring for us to abduct and name Mohammed.
it’s called the past cause she’s getting past and she ain’t nothing like she was before
Whenever I praise Alicia I feel like I’m getting in messageboard territory. I start blathering like “ther is something in the music every 1 can identify wit.” Alicia speaks to the white man as well, as she is also part Italian.
2. “Challengers” — The New Pornographers (mp3)
This is the one that makes the album, although I was one of the few that liked enjoyed the A.C. Newman focused-Challengers. Though there’s other great tracks (“Mutiny I Promise You” among others), this is the epic the album needed and will be remembered for once a commercial (probably for the iPod, probably about a farmgirl getting her first iPod) makes it more famous than it is now. Plus there’s the country western Molly, Neko.
It’s hard to be the first of your kind
1. “Bushels” — Frog Eyes (mp3)
A rambling classic running through every style of musical feeling imaginable. Our favorite song of the year goes here. Basically Wolf Parade for adults. Absolutely haunting, at times uplifting. A modern opera for the soul. A living rejoinder to the existence of Sasha Frere-Jones.
and lest we forget:
Alex Carnevale is the editor of This Recording. Honorable mention to Simple Kid’s “Serotonin” which I currently have on repeat.
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Wow! “Bushels” is definitely one of my favorite songs of the year, too– I’m very surprised to see it at the top of someone’s list.
Comment by Ry December 5, 2007 @ 11:54 pm[...] In Which Catholic People Will Change Your Life For The Better Or In The More Likely Scenario WorseIn Which My Top Ten Singles of the Year Are Revealed For Educated EarsIn Which We Analyze The Breakdown of Jakob and JuliaIn Which The New Museum Goes Hunting And Nearly [...]
Pingback by In Which We Instruct You To Read These Books Immediately, Or, Failing That, To Buy Them And Let Them Languish On Your Bookshelf « This Recording December 11, 2007 @ 4:12 pmThanks for that. Great blog, it´s funny.
Comment by campini May 27, 2008 @ 8:39 am