Today I continue my ongoing feature showcasing my personal picks for the best songs of the past decade, posting ten songs at a time.
20. The Postal Service – Such Great Heights
My favorite Ben Gibbard album is Give Up, even amongst all those great early Death Cab masterpieces. Before the twee synth became commonplace, Gibbard took it to every first-generation iPod, car commercial, and teen soap montage (I’m looking at you, The O.C.). And of course, he did so with this song, still as beautiful as I remember it back on WOXY-FM my sophomore year of high school.
Today I continue my ongoing feature showcasing my personal picks for the best songs of the past decade, posting ten songs at a time.
130. Flaming Lips – Do You Realize?
Just a couple of days ago, I talked about how awesome this song is, but as fate would have it, the list compels me to elaborate. In three-and-a-half glorious minutes, Wayne Coyne sums up our life….or at least it feels like he does. With a simple question, he gives the most personal compliment to everyone listening, then continues to examine the beauty we take for granted – the sun, our friendships, our life. It’s a sweet call for a simple enjoyment of who we are and what we’re doing, in this very moment of our fleeting lives. Because it’s hard to make the good things last….
Today I continue my ongoing feature showcasing my personal picks for the best songs of the past decade, posting ten songs at a time.
270. The Shins – New Slang
I heard all the brouhaha about Garden State and the hype surrounding this band, but I didn’t actually see the film until I met my good friend Kim in college. I believe it is still one of her favorite movies, and it is one that I enjoyed immensely, though I haven’t watched it since. I managed to get my hands on a copy of Oh, Inverted World back in high school, and, honestly, I didn’t really get it. Sure, the songs were pretty and soft, but I was initially bored. And dumb. It took repeated listens and a few years for me to appreciate it; what a brilliant little debut from a band that would, along with Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, probably be the first in the new indie-Internet age to become too popular too quick.
