Dec 11 2010

My Top 300 Songs of the 2000s – 90-81

Today I continue my ongoing feature showcasing my personal picks for the best songs of the past decade, posting ten songs at a time.

90. AC Newman – Drink to Me Babe Then

The head writer for the New Pornographers had an impressive first solo outing – The Slow Wonder combines the melodic superiority with a mellow, easygoing feel.  “Drink to Me Babe Then,” introduced to me by my dear friend Kim way back when we were still on college radio, is a gem and the highlight from the album.  Adding an acoustic sway to the sweet pop Newman is known for, the song easily peaks with a sweet whistling interlude.

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Sep 28 2010

My Top 300 Songs of the 2000s – 160-151

Today I continue my ongoing feature showcasing my personal picks for the best songs of the past decade, posting ten songs at a time.

160. Jimmy Eat World – Authority Song

The band’s breakthrough was in the form of a pretty spectacular power pop album, and while their new sounds reveal the group to have eased into generic territory, this self-titled disc (originally called Bleed American, but changed due to the post-9/11 attack on media and music) was a welcome escape from the over-saturation of bland hip-hop and post nu-metal radio dreck.  “Authority Song” is a forgotten album track that has more hooks than the uplifting, cheesy lead single “The Middle.”

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Apr 15 2010

5 Things That Can Do No Wrong In My Book (And 2 Other Related Lists)

Some of the things I love come under intense fire and scrutiny, and I am forced to intensely defend them.  Conversely, there are things that I am done defending – they have crossed a certain line of mediocrity that I cannot follow.  And then there are a few things that certainly have made mistakes, but I have not given up on yet.

So, because, as you know, I love lists, after the jump you will be treated to five things I constantly defend, five things I’m done defending, and five things that I feel still deserve defense, even if they’ve slipped up recently.

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Apr 9 2010

My Top 100 Songs of 2009 – 80-71

Today I continue my ten-part series showcasing my personal picks for the best songs of last year.

80. Nickel Eye – Brandy of the Damned

Seems like all last year, the Strokes were running around doing all kinds of different things unrelated to their core band.  Julian and Albert pursued solo projects, while Fabrizio started Little Joy.  The only one that sat around and counted money was Nick Valensi.  Bassist Nikolai Fraiture started the Nickel Eye project, churning out a debut album in January of 2009.  While I was mostly underwhelmed with the majority of the disc, “Brandy of the Damned” is the ultra-repetitive, ultra-catchy standout.

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