Mike Clarke:
January/February, 2007

Revisiting the Choices of 2005

Here are my personal picks from one year ago. These songs were picked for various reasons: a great melody, excellent lyrics, superb musicianship, a remarkable riff, outstanding vocals and harmonies, etc. The common factor is that these songs have stayed with me, and I continue to enjoy them long after they have become familiar.

I have ranked the first ten songs in order, beginning with the best songs of the year at #1. The second ten songs are certainly deserving of top twenty inclusions, but I did not consciously try to rank them in order. What position would you place them in? (Bonus: there are actually 21 songs mentioned here - as many as I could burn onto one CD.)

1. "Soul Meets Body" by DEATH CAB FOR CUTIE ("indie pop"). This is a perfectly crafted song. Everything works together, and nothing is wasted in this sad story capable of making the eyes water. "Cause in my head there's a Greyhound station / Where I send my thoughts to far-off destinations" The lyrics are cryptic enough that they could mean anything, leaving it open to personal interpretation (purgatory, suicide contemplation, deeply rooted love, etc.).

2. "Sister Jack" SPOON ("alternative pop/rock"). It's one of the catchiest songs of the year. The riff stays with you. I'm not sure what this is about but it doesn't matter. I think it may be autobiographical. "But I can't relax / With my knees on the ground and a stick in my back." The electronics/guitar feedback near the end makes it sound like someone is trying to take apart the stage while the band continues to play on.

3. "Black & White Town" DOVES ("dream pop"). It begins with the beat -- aneurism inducing drums that carry you forward to the end of the song. No, it's not a drum machine. The drummer always plays with steady, vein-popping intensity. Add piano, then background electronics and keep piling on the layers of sound. "When you leave to find your place in the world / You better make sure you don't crack your head on the pavement." Motown soul tribute. Martha and the Vandellas = "Heat Wave!" Sweet guitar solo.

4. "Anytime" MY MORNING JACKET ("alternative country-rock"). Without a doubt, the most accessible song from their genre-defying album "Z". They love reverb. Just listen to the enhanced vocals. It's a reverb wall o' sound. Catch the guitar fadeout at the end. "I hope I didn't wait too long."
5. "Use It" THE NEW PORNOGRAPHERS ("indie rock/pop"). Yet another crazy drummer leading the way throughout the song. An incredible example of pop song craft. Multiple singers, superb harmonies. "Two sips from the cup of human kindness / And I'm shit-faced, just laid to waste."

6. "Amazing Glow" THE PERNICE BROTHERS ("indie pop"). As soon as you hear the plaintive guitar intro, you know to pass the hankies around. A sad tale of a broken relationship. "And when it came to the wrecking ball / She swung it effortlessly like it had no weight at all."

7. "Born In The 70's" ED HARCOURT ("adult alternative pop/rock"). This takes me back to those pop masterpieces of the '70's. Put this on the car radio, wind the windows down, and crank it up. "My parents named me Ed / I tried my hardest to smile."

8. "The Hand That Feeds" NINE INCH NAILS ("industrial"). The most accessible song yet from the man who put industrial music on the map in the 90's. A rebellious theme set to a dance-club beat. Don't listen to the lyrics too closely, parents. "Will you bite the hand that feeds you?/ Will you stay down on your knees?"
9. "I Was Never Young" OF MONTREAL ("neo-psychedelic"). Drum looped, multi-instrument, tongue-in-cheek distorted calypso rhythmic tune of lost youth. "I was never young / Even as a child."

10. "It's All In My Mind" TEENAGE FANCLUB ("alternative pop/rock"). I am a sucker for multi-part harmonies (Byrds, Crosby/Stills/Nash/Young, Thorns) and the twelve-string guitars slay me. "My life is going fast / It's make believe". Don't listen to this when you're in a contemplative mood, unless you feel like weeping.

11. "Little Sister" QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE ("alternative metal"). Metal with intelligence. It makes a difference when the musicians are skilled. Start with a variation on the old MTV theme music and build from there. When it gets past the first verses it becomes a new creation, with a little tribute throughout to the Blue Oyster Cult (especially on the bridges). "Little sister can't you find another way?"

12. "Everyday I Love You Less And Less" THE KAISER CHIEFS ("post-punk"). A return to the addictive jerky rhythms once popularized by XTC and other New Wave artists in the late 70's. "I'm stressed / I'm sorry I digress."
13. "Finding Out True Love Is Blind" LOUIS XIV ("neo-glam"). An overtly sleazy song from a band earning part of its notoriety from its tongue-in-cheek sexual braggadocio. The other part is the music, in particular this song. Very inventive - just five notes and a refrain repeated over and over behind a breathy backbeat. "Hey, carrot-top".

14. "Radio" PITTY SING ("techno-pop"). Super-catchy hooks and pulsating beat make this a sure-fire hit, especially at clubs. You won't hear it on the "radio" because of one single word - hold your ears when it comes up if you're offended. I happened to hear a clean version of this on national public radio, with either "touch" or "dance" substituted for the offending word. In my opinion, it takes a little bit away. A great song no matter what.

15. "Empty Room" MARJORIE FAIR ("adult alternative pop/rock"). The writer/singer/guitarist pours himself into every note of this sad, sad song. "I don't want to go / But if I die young / Fill my empty room with the sun."
16. "Spit It Out" BRENDAN BENSON ("power-pop"). Another fine example of song craftsmanship. Long live pop rock. Making something old and familiar still sound new and fresh. "What's on your mind / Spit it out now."

17. "Born To A Family" THE GO-BETWEENS ("new wave"). Through clever lyrics and an appropriate melody we get a summation of a personal life story in 3 minutes and 8 seconds. The guitar sound anchors it. "I was square into the hole / There was something in my soul / What could I do?"

18. "Wash In The Rain" A BAND OF BEES ("British trad-rock"). A throwback to the good time rock n roll of the mid to late sixties. Just a feel good song. "And it is all the same / When you're holding out / You can wash in the rain."

19. "Sweet Illusions" RYAN ADAMS & THE CARDINALS ("alt-country"). The prolific songwriter returns to his alt-country beginnings with a tight new band. If more country sounded like this, I would listen more. Amazing vocals. "I can feel the sweet illusion / Sweet confusion / Coming down".

20. "Left Behind" AQUALUNG ("adult alternative pop/rock"). Classically trained singer/songwriter Matt Hales outplays Coldplay. "Ooo, open the window / Let some air in / I feel so old."

21. "Heading For a Breakdown" SOUNDTRACK OF OUR LIVES ("psych-pop"). Nice psychedelic touches throughout. "There's never time / Unless you're headed for a breakdown / We did not put you on this road."

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