"Alison"Elvis Costello
My Aim Is True
As with most people, I like "Alison" a lot. However, I'm going to argue that this is actually a case of the whole being LESS than the sum of its parts. The song's tagline is fantastic: "Alllllllllison, I know - this world - is killing you / Ohhh!" But everything that comes before and after that is exceptionally ordinary. And it's not that this is a phenomenon exclusive to only this one song -- countless great songs are, in reality, entirely carried by the strength of one single aspect, like a memorable chorus or whatever -- but this just may be one of the most famous examples.
And in High Fidelity, Rob ranks "Alison" at #1 on his Top 5 list of Elvis Costello songs; for the sake of argument, I'd put "Radio, Radio" at the top of my list.
"I Want You Back"The Jackson 5
Anthology
I have a sneaking suspicion that "I Want You Back" has already come up in a past blog entry I did, but it's alright because I'm too lazy to check through the archives, and because it's such a great song.
Of course Michael Jackson hit his peak as a peformer/dancer circa-Thriller, but I honestly don't think he's ever sounded better than this. Whenever this song comes up, I always replay the "Ohh!"s he belts out at the very end as the track fades out. His pipes are/were amazing.
"Okay I Believe You, But My Tommy Gun Don't"Brand New
Deja Entendu
Not only were these lines well-written, but more to the point, they were well-delivered.
"I am heaven sent / Don't you dare forget"
"We are entirely smooth"
"This is the way you wish your voice sounds / Handsome and smart"
These are the acidic lines spit out by a man who's confident, mean-spirited, vindictive, and completely paranoid. It's an awesome song.
"God in Training"Breaking Laces
Socahatoa
Evident by the tongue-firmly-in-cheek line "It's time to turn this mother out!" (along with the dancing cheerleaders in the video) this is just a fun and ridiculous song.
And the highlight of this track comes in at the 1:27 mark when the guitars get all crunchy and distorted.
"Blue in the Face"Alkaline Trio
Good Mourning
With frenzied power chords played over an entire wall of sound being so prevalent in nearly all of their work, it's nice to slow the pace and get a stripped down acoustic song from them every once and a while. And it's a good song, too.
"Can't Stand Me Now"The Libertines
The Libertines
I like Pete Doherty, but I'm also tired of him. I don't want to read anymore Rolling Stone exposes on what drugs he's abusing, what laws he's breaking, or what supermodel he's dating. I feel too many music journalists are martyring him, glorifying him for basically being a waste of time. He's a very talented and underrated songwriter, but if he wants to implode himself from the inside out, go ahead and let him do it in private. No need to waste any more ink telling us about all the great music he could be making but isn't.
That being said, this is an infectious song. Lots of energy.
"One Mic"Nas
Stillmatic
This reminds me, I think his new album is due out soon.
"Boombox"
The Mosquitos
The Mosquitos
One of my favorite songs sung (at least partially) in Portuguese.
And for me, any attempt to incorporate the musical stylings of bossa nova and samba -- no matter how thinly veiled it may be -- into contemporary indie pop is well-appreciated.
"Arc Arsenal"At the Drive-In
Relationship of Command
The Mars Volta may get the critical acclaim (or at least, their first album), but from an enjoyment standpoint, I'll always completely and absolutely prefer the unpretentious energy of At the Drive-In. I'm old now, so I'm easily frightened by loud guitars, shrieking into the microphone, and amplifier feedback. But this is one of the few remaining, unapologetically deafening bands from my post-hardcore youth that I can still listen to at any given time.
And yeah, I guess Sparta is alright too.
"My Cherie Amour"Stevie Wonder
My Cherie Amour
I like Stevie Wonder a lot more than I like Ray Charles.
(Disclaimer: Weezer's "Across the Sea" off of Pinkerton came up next but I already blogged about it, so I'll just skip ahead.)
"I'm Happy Just To Dance With You"The Beatles
A Hard Day's Night
By the sheer quality of their entire body of work, nearly every Beatles song is "one of my favorite Beatles song." And I'm guessing most people are the same way. But this is honestly and truly one of my favorite Beatles song. It was written early in their career, so there isn't anything fancy. Just a straight-forward, verse-chorus-verse-chorus 2:00 minute pop song. But it's done so well. And it's sung so earnestly. "If somebody tries to take my place / Then let's just pretend we can't see his face" is an otherwise sappy line, but George sings it so convincingly, it might as well be a line taken directly from Hamlet.
And then there are the great booming drums, crystal clear melody and harmony, and busy, frantic guitars.
"Something That Produces Results"The Early November
The Room's Too Cold
I'm not always in the mood for this -- and most early 2000s Drive-Thru Records stuff in general -- because I've mostly grown out of being an immature 18-year-old and grown into an immature 23-year-old. But I haven't heard this song in forever, so I actually enjoyed hearing it again.
"Goodnight and Go"Imogen Heap
Speak For Yourself
Yeah yeah, we all love Frou Frou's "Let Go," but this is unbearable.
"Nice Guys Finish Last"Green Day
Nimrod
Haha, I remember that this was on the Varsity Blues soundtrack.
"Another Boy"Midtown
Save The World Lose The Girl
This song is a perfect :44 seconds. If it were any longer, I would like it exponentially less for every extra second tacked on. But as it stands, it's great.
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