While I initially envisioned the entry as a one time deal, I enjoyed compiling the list and appreciated having it available on my IPod as a playlist afterwards. Going forward, I now expect to write this entry each month. The wrinkle here is that I previously wrote that I no longer have the time to blog more than once a month which begs the question will this blog now consist of nothing more than a top 15 songs entry each month? My answer at this point is that I don’t know. I’m sure that if people bitch enough I will figure something out.
Finally, I’m trying to devise a good method to distribute the songs on this list to my readers. For now I will simply offer to send the tracks to any interested parties via an AIM file transfer. If anyone has a suggestion for different ways to distribute the songs, please let me know.
25. Juana Molina - Hay Que Ver Si Voy
- Apparently Juana Molina owes a debt to
24.
- My brother Nick astutely points out that he has yet to hear a Bjork cover that is anything short of tremendous.
23. Rogue Wave – Medicine Ball
- Whether it was my increased appreciation of the song over the last few months or Zach Rogue’s Bush-bashing intro at Logan Square Auditorium, Rogue Wave’s live performance of “Medicine Ball” went from bizarre and mediocre to one of the highlights of their set between March and September.
22. Adem – Launch Yourself
- Considering that as of a month ago, I had heard a total of one song by Adem and Juana Molina, I am quite psyched to see the two perform at the Lakeshore Theater on the 14th.
21. Asobi Seksu – Strings
- Damn straight I am using this list to punish Asobi Seksu for selling out Schubas prior to my arrival last Friday.
20. Sleater-Kinney – Get Up
- It’s all about the 1:54 mark where Carrie Brownstein begins to repeat the line “Fall Down On Your Own”.
19. The Hold Steady – First Night
- The Hold Steady have written ballads before (“Killer Parties”, “Don’t Let Me Explode), but nothing like this five minute long track updating us on Charlemagne, Holly, and Gideon and employing violin, female backing vocals, and a fierce crescendo.
18. Say Hi To Your Mom – Prefers Unhappy Endings
- This track brilliantly plays off “She Just Happens To Date The Prince Of Darkness,” the track immediately preceding it, in a manner similar to the way Maritime’s “Tearing Up The Oxygen” plays off “Calm”.
17. Adem – Something’s Going To Come
- While the phrase “always love” was more powerful the first time I heard it in Nada Surf’s “Always Love,” the lyrics “Don’t look so forlorn / something’s going to come / I don’t know where from / I just know” epitomize the somber, cautious optimism which elevates Love & Other Planets.
16. Forget Cassettes – Lonely Does It
- After performing “Lonely Does It,” Forget Cassettes Bassist Jay Leo Phillips told the audience at the Note that we snapped better than the crowds in
15. Adem – These Are Your Friends
- I am forever indebted to Mark Wheat for turning me on to Adem via this wistful epic.
14. Nirvana – Talk To Me [Live]
- While doing some preliminary work on a Nirvana rarities and b-sides mix, I found myself asking for the umpteenth time how it is possible that one of the band’s best rarities lacks a studio recording.
13. Forget Cassettes – Venison
- My life changed for the better from the moment Forget Cassettes opened their set with “Venison” at the Annex in
12. Rogue Wave – Endless Shovel
- A standout track off of Out Of The Shadow, due to the album’s lo-fi production, I failed to realize that the fierce instrumental outro existed prior to witnessing a blissful performance of the song a few weeks back.
11. Built To Spill – Untrustable, Part 2
- I nearly had a heart attack after discovering “Untrustable, Part 2” listed as the closer in Built To Spill’s Lollapalooza set list. I backed away from the ledge after being assured by some of my fellow concertgoers that it was not possible for the band to have played any additional songs, yet still would have preferred to remain ignorant about the missed opportunity to see such a powerful epic performed live. Finally beholding the song in a concert setting more than justified my expectations.
10. The Long Winters – Rich Wife
- While The Long Winters ultimately landed just two tracks on this list, the three final cuts were all songs from Putting The Days To Bed.
9. Adem – Love & Other Planets
- Adem sometimes employs a brilliant lyrical device where he unexpectedly attaches a second meaning to a phrase invoked elsewhere in a song. Example #1 comes from this breathtaking dirge: “But on a clear night, / If you look close enough / you can just make out love /and other planets / we are not alone.”
8. The Long Winters – Pushover
- I am going to put the over/under for the number of times Kevin has listened to Putting The Days To Bed at 0.5.
7. Adem – Everything You Need
- Example #2: after using the phrase “everything you need” throughout the song to refer to someone leaving behind the people and place that matter most, Adem croons “You got your stuff you packed your bags / you checked your things made sure you had / everything you need.”
6. Sufjan Stevens –
- I’m sure there are Sufjan lines better than “And if my wife took a bicycle ride / with a knife in her hand / I saw it coming,” but I can’t think of any right now.
5. Say Hi To Your Mom – She Just Happens To Date The Prince Of Darkness
- There is no better way to appeal to my music sensibilities than to write a seven minute song which begins with a reference to the Wisconsin Dells and ends with a three minute long instrumental build.
4. Forget Cassettes – My Maraschino
- If anyone can help me figure out what “On a ete tacher” means, it would be greatly appreciated.
3. Rogue Wave – Sewn Up
- A searing live number and one of most perfect pop songs ever written, this ditty would have easily snared the number one slot had this list existed six months ago.
2. Sleater-Kinney – Hot Rock
- Words can’t explain how exciting it is to know that there are still four Sleater-Kinney albums which I’ve never heard.
1. Forget Cassettes – Salt And Syncope
- …and Salt joins We, The Vehicles on the short list for my favorite album of the year.
