2007 officially begins ending... well, a few days ago, as it turns out, but here are my favorite songs of the year, in no order other than the order in which I thought of them. Enjoy.
Radiohead - "Bodysnatchers" - The big lyrical hook here is "I have no idea what you are talking about," which later turns into "I have no idea what I am talking about." It's kind of funny, and possibly accidental, that these two statements in conjunction form the basis of the vast majority of lyrics that Thom Yorke has written, at least from Ok Computer onward. It's paranoid and fearful, but ever acknowledging that there is perhaps nobody who's more full of shit than Yorke himself. We deify Yorke and Radiohead at our own risk, but who can blame us? This track rocks.
Brian Wilson - "Midnight's Another Day" - A good song with a New Year-appropriate title, right? I resisted the urge to try to include That Lucky Old Sun on my 2007 best of list, but I'm holding out for a studio release this year. Meanwhile, I can at least include this song, because we actually got a recorded studio version, which was uploaded to his website somewhere... I can't find it now. The important thing is that it's a gorgeous song, with a gorgeous melody, the gorgeous trademark Brian Wilson harmonies, and... God, it's just wonderful to know that the old guy still has it in him. I can't say for sure whether Van Dyke Parks was involved with this song, or if he just wrote the between song narratives for That Lucky Old Sun, but that'd be the icing on the cake.
Dr. Dog - "We All Belong" - There are worse things that could happen than for some scrappy, lo-fi Beatles enthusiasts to become ambitious, structurally complex Beatles enthusiasts. On a somewhat related note, it's amazing the difference a well-arranged string section can make.
The Apples in Stereo - "Same Old Drag" - And so Robert Schneider, blissfully unaware of how painfully unhip the Electric Light Orchestra is, soldiers on with his vocoder and big pompous layered arrangements. It's a song that sounds basically nothing like most popular music that's been recorded since the late 1970s, but it's got a bitchin' Rhodes piano part, some great melodies, and the production still sounds great, vocodered background vocals included.
Deerhoof - "The Perfect Me" - Perhaps one of the best album opening tracks ever (hyperbole alert!). "The Perfect Me" explodes out of the gate with some big fat guitar riffing, some great drumming, and the ridiculous musical schizophrenia and manic energy found in any good Deerhoof song.
The Polyphonic Spree - "Guaranteed Nightlite" - For their third album, the Spree largely abandoned the symphonic prog pop of Together We're Heavy in favor of some of the biggest, most bombastic pop anthems ever known to man. "Guaranteed Nightlite" more or less splits the difference, winding up with huge pop hooks and singalong choruses that are bounced back and forth between drastic tempo, key, and mood changes. The Fragile Army is essentially one huge chorus after another; here they're at least set in different contexts within the same song, and the approach is much more effective.
Wilco - "Walken" - When Yankee Hotel Foxtrot came out, I assumed that the song title "Jesus, Etc." had something to do with a weary atheist's perception of religious zealot types, or something like that. As it turned out, the song used to be called "Jesus Don't Cry," and was shortened when somebody in the band wrote "Jesus Etc" on a setlist, and it caught on. I bring this up now because "Walken" looks like a similar setlist-derived title, unless it actually has something to do with Christopher Walken, and not, you know, walkin'. Anyway, Sky Blue Sky has a lot of decent rock songs that take awhile to grow on you, but "Walken" isn't one of them, fitting more in line with the bouncy good-time pop of "Hummingbirds." It's also one of the few songs on the album that actually sells me on the whole "Nels Cline, guitar god" idea that a lot of people seem to have. Frankly, I think Jeff Tweedy may be more responsible...
Kanye West - "Champion" - Graduation featured more darkness and insecurity than Kanye's previous efforts, but "The Good Life" is a great example of the effortless pop brilliance that he can toss off when he wants to. Bonus points for the nearly unrecognizable sample of Michael Jackson's "P.Y.T.," which, in this context, suddenly becomes laid back funk.
Panda Bear - "Good Girl/Carrots" - When I was reading reviews of Panda Bear's Person Pitch, they all talked about "Bros" as a gorgeous sweeping 13 minute epic piece of brilliance. I would read this and nod my head in agreement. I never bother learning track names half the time, and as it turns out, I like the OTHER gorgeous sweeping 13 minute epic piece of brilliance on the album. The opening percussion loop alone, to say nothing of the beautiful backwards vocals that join it, is something I could listen to for an hour. The rest of it contains some of the most engaging hooks, loops, textures, and everything else that makes Person Pitch great on the whole album.
Bjork - "The Dull Flame of Desire" - Wow, I finally like this guy Antony. Sit him down in front of a piano and I want to punch him in the throat, but surround his voice with a typically over-the-top Bjork song and he fits right in. It's an oversimplification, but the point is, Bjork and Antony manage to squeeze an awful lot out of a couple short verses repeated over and over. "The Dull Flame of Desire" has more peaks and valleys than any other song I heard this year, and, as always, any time Bjork really cuts loose, it's a breathtakingly intense experience.
Animal Collective - "#1" - I wasn't entirely convinced when I first heard this song that it wasn't sampled from somewhere in Terry Riley's catalog. I'm still not entirely sure, but it's got enough of the trademark Animal Collective quirks that it's a moot point. Like all of Strawberry Jam, it bursts with energy even while seducing the listener into a trance. It's an improbably wonderful experience, and it's all based around a crazy arpeggiated organ part.
There you go. Sometime soon you'll get yourself a nice top 20 list from me. Yep, it's 20 this year. I heard THAT MUCH good stuff.
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