My top 10 20 28(that I can remember right now) from this year. Many of these are courtesy of the MP3 weblogs Said the Gramophone, Music for Robots, and Salon's Audiofile. Lots of poppy stuff. A little bit of electronica. And a whole lot of "twee." I don't feel like ranking them (I'm only 80% geek). But I will alphabetize. And unlike iTunes, I will alphabetize using last names. Yeah, I'm kicking it like an old school librarian.

You can find a bunch of these on an iMix on iTunes. Most of the rest of them can be found on eMusic. Yes there were links before. But MP3 blog decorum dictates that they only be up briefly.

Note: links are back up from March 20-24.

And let me know what you liked, too. Comment away.

Acid House Kings - "Do What You Want to Do"
A throwaway pop song. But its stuck around in my playlist for about three months.

American Analog Set - "Born on the Cusp"
This is what basement recordings should sound like. Trying to be quiet after everyone else in the house is asleep. The mix is nice, too. The power of the pan pot. The electric piano that bounces back and forth between the right and left.

Apparat Organ Quartet - "Romantica"
If Mogwai only played monophonic synths. The melodies are lovely. Played in an orchestral arrangement, this could be a big sweeping movie theme. Instead, they went with ringtone style. Go figure.

Architecture in Helsinki - "Scissor Paper Rock"
Crappy recording, but this could have been a Burt Bacharach melody.

Alan Braxe - "Rubicon"
Makes me want to roller skate.

The Boy Least Likely To - "I See Spiders When I Close My Eyes"
Of a piece with the Baxter Dury song. The production works well on this one. The xylophone and toy piano fatten up the riff, so it can almost stand up.

British Sea Power - "Please Stand Up"
British Sea Power should have been on a John Hughes soundtrack in 1986. Just between OMD and Flesh for Lulu. This doesn't belong in the aughts. But I like it anyway.

Broken Social Scene - "7/4 (Shoreline)"
The time signature is the song. It doesn't let you out. It's the same trick used in "Solisbury Hill". Overall, the new CD didn't do much for me. But this one rocks.

The Cardigans - "In the Round"
This gives the impression that they don't give a shit about their career any more. It just feels good to play. Just roll some tape.

The Clientele - "Since K Got Over Me"
For those who found the Acid House Kings too heavy.

The Cloud Room - "Hey, Now, Now"
Every one seems to have one good song in them (except, apparently, Coldplay). This is theirs. The "If you take the bus there, pay the bus fare" line the best Indie Rock supports Public Transportation line this year. You've got to give them that.

Baxter Dury - "Fungus Hedge"
If I listened to the lyrics, I'd hate this song. I have a low tolerance for whimsy. But this lands more in the territory of the Flaming Lips, where the lyrics are more for color.

Engineers - "Forgiveness"
Quasi-shoegazer. This one takes the place of Elbow for me this year.

Feist - "Mushaboom"
My female vocalist crush for the year. (Leslie) Feist was all over the last two Broken Social Scene CDs. Her version of "Lover's Spit" from the BSS' "Bee Hives" was last year's fave. Her solo CD is all over the highway. But 3-4 of the songs have been in constant rotation. She hits the notes (barely), just before she runs out of breath. The way they record her vocals puts her in an unusual space, where it sounds like she is next to you, or sitting across from you, but not right in the middle of the mix.

David Fridlund - "Circles"
The quiet verse/loud chorus thing has been done to death. This song starts so sweet, but turns dark so slowly that it feels true. Turning sour on a relationship, but trying to decide whether to bail or accept it as it is.

The Go! Team - "Bottle Rocket"
When I resume my career as a cheerleading choreographer, this will be my first project.

Imogen Heap - "Hide and Seek"
I don't know if this is a vocoder or not, but it's the first use of this kind of vocal processing that's made me like a song more.

LCD Soundsystem - "Daft Punk is Playing at My House"
A rocking, spare, dirty synth riff, with what sounds like an improvised, first-take vocal.

Stephen Malkmus - "Baby C'mon"
When I want to hurt my speakers. When my speakers want to be hurt. This'll do it.

Nada Surf - "Do It Again"
I never cared about Nada Surf before this year. This CD is pretty great. Not really a bad track on the thing. I wish the bass stayed out front a little more on this one. Kinda weird that I dislike the mix, as this is the only track here that sounds like it was done in a recording studio.

Orange Peels - "Something in You"
Guilty pleasure. It's the pauses and the middle string riffs. I'm a sucker for it. One of the 5-year-old Sysmidgets likes to sing this one.

Erland Øye - "The Black Keys Work"
From his "DJ Kicks" album. The basic track is a sweet little seduction song. Innocent lyric, strangely (deliberately) sexually ambiguous. This remix is a bit twisty, but you can still hear the song underneath.

The Spinto Band - "Oh, Mandy"
Everything is higher in this one. Capo on the guitar, the mandolin playing rhythm, and a keyboard out of the "NBC Mystery Movie" theme.

Stars - "Elevator Love Letter"
This is not from the latest Stars CD, "Set Yourself on Fire". It's from their 2003 release, "Heart." I got them both at the same time, so I think of both of them as one album. "Elevator Love Letter" is a perfect example of a Top 40 indie song. But nobody plays this kind of shit anymore.

Sufjan Stevens - "The Predatory Wasp of the Palisades is Out to Get Us"
I still can't listen to this CD from end-to-end. But I love it. I can't think of anyone who is this prolific these days. Except Ryan Adams, but he'll record a bowel movement. Seriously, this guy's the shit.

Team LG - "No Fun"
Another bleak relationship song, albeit one with fun pony sound effects.

Gordon Thomas - "Boogie Dancin'"
Said the Gramophone's description was perfect:

Imagine walking through a valley, mountains in the distance, lush and green, a bright day, and then God starts playing this song, his voice booming from the clouds. Just keep walking.

Andrew Thompson - "We're in Business"
Sometimes, the lyrics of a song make you realize something that you should have known all along. Thanks to this song, I've taken a fresh look at my life. I, too, will never trust robots.

This entry was posted on Monday, December 12, 2005 at 4:25 PM. You can skip to the end and leave a response.