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December 14, 2007
Our Top 50 Songs of 2007: #30-21
I refuse to believe that I'm the only one to realize the completely unsubtle awesomeness of this track, although my lone voice of reason accounts for its list placement. I prefer to believe that its white label advance nature has caused some eligibility confusion. You see, '08 will be the year of the Chip. The year their geek disco shtick gives way to serious, serious ass shaking dominance worthy of the D-F-A scrawled on their records' sleeves. I'll wait here silently for my apology. - J. Klingman
Black Kids - "I'm Not Going to Teach Your Boyfriend How to Dance With You"
My first thought upon hearing this band was, "Man, I sure hope that there's at least one actual black kid in the group." Second, my mind turned to the obvious cultural touchstones of Morrissey and the Go Team! Third and henceforth, "Holy crap, this is a perfect running/driving/drunk dancing/dorking out song!" (It's funny how often those four meet.) - R. Monty
Chromatics - "Running Up That Hill"
Kate Bush's original is a force and all, but God, this just melts me to a puddle. In a year when producer Johnny Jewel basically made the Italians Do it Better label a thriving disco force all by himself, his knob twiddling was never this graceful. But let's not pretend that Ruth Radelet, the coyest bride in his vocalist harem, isn't vital. Whatever pills she's just taken must have been dreamy. - J.K.
Dear Coda:
I can’t believe we’ve never met! I’ve heard so much about you and your catchy “Oh Oh Oh's" that I thought it was time for us to finally come together.
Sincerely,
The First Part of Phantom Limb - Y. Korngold
Two songs for one... A bit of a postmodern trip. Disjointed sounds, seemingly from a commune, provide sonic stimuli while Panda Bear's voice serves the serene melody, slowly carrying on, until you reach pt. 2 - a fast-paced round-robin sing-along. It's sexier than it seems. - K. O'Brien
Adam Smith might have been wise on Capitalism but his band was way over the top. Radiohead not only stuck it to Smith by selling their album for free but proved the Western world wrong with “House of Cards” and their famed theorem "Less = More." - Y.K.
Just getting a stew on, man. - Forget mashups, Bamboo Banger is killah because it seamlessly works in so many different elements. In the first 5 seconds alone, there's disaffected indie rock intonation, freeway-speeding Miami bass sample, and North VA Timbaland/Neptunes hand claps. But no song gets you as amped as when the bass drum kicks in as M.I.A. assures for the second time "M.I.A. coming back with power-power." - K. O.
Matt Berninger's talents as songwriter trump his vocal ability chiefly in the way he sets an indirect, some would say roundabout, storytelling rhythm. More is gained from his treatment of words than from the indulgences afforded by his forlorn singing style. Shouldn't come as too much of a surprise that his band's '07 emergence into the broader awareness (behind the solid Boxer) comes along with the manifestation of Bruce Springsteen's instrumental influence on certain corners of indie rock. Rather than a simple 'apple pie' to signify Americana, Berninger chooses "picking apples, making pies." Clever. I'm still not sure whether "Fake Empire" references an overwhelmed perspective with regard to sociopolitics, or a sweet, and completely unrelated, reflective song about youth's blissful ignorance. - M. Swankster
LCD Soundsystem - "North American Scum"
In a world rife with songs you can't help singing along to, no matter what they might actually be saying, "North American Scum" proves we're all putty in James Murphy's hands. While people who pump their fists in the air for "Born in the U.S.A." or Pearl Jam's "Better Man," can be accused of not paying attention to the lyrics, which only sound like they're saying something positive, this one is not vague in the least. But with a backbeat this spine-loosening, potshots at Spanish raves and even a reference to mimes, it hardly seems to matter. - D. Klein
Of Montreal - "Heimdalsgate Like a Promethean Curse"
The melodic call of "Chem-i-cals" is the most immediately inviting segment of this album, but the jubilant feel is a farce; there's some serious stuff going on behind the curtain. Kevin Barnes lyrics follow the unfortunately-logical path from breakup to depression to addiction that affects hundreds of thousands of people every year. A pertinent, dreamy, hyperbolic pscyh-pop gem. - R.M.
Posted by Merry Swankster at December 14, 2007 12:07 PM
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Comments
Nice choices. I never realized how much the singer in Black Kids looks like Phil Lynott.
Posted by: Jeff at December 14, 2007 07:20 PM
Heimdalsgate Like a Promethean Curse tortured me for months. Ugh.
My "Best of" List Strikes Again. 2007 Edition.
Posted by: Christopher at December 14, 2007 07:40 PM
I like Shake A Fist fine, but I don't think it's better than some of the songs from 2006's The Warning. Don't make the rest of us out to be Hot Chip haters... It makes me want to rewrite my Bamboo Banga entry to talk about how you all missed the boat on that one.
Posted by: Keith at December 15, 2007 01:09 PM
I love Bamboo, we just had to put a cap somewhere, and I liked three of Kala's tracks better. I don't think Hot Chip's been better ever, really. But I'll take a chiding for smugness.
P.S. I read somewhere else that "North American Scum" was ripped from Pete Shelley's "Homosapien." They had a point, but Shelley's song is nowhere near as good, so Murphy still wins.
Posted by: Jeff K at December 15, 2007 02:12 PM
may be redundant to say, but seldom does Murphy not win
Posted by: Sebastian at December 15, 2007 03:55 PM
I think "Homosapien" is an awesome song, and that rare homo anthem that rocks. Murphy nicked it, which is fine, and made something new out of it, but I don't understand the zeal to give no credit at all to the original, which the hallowed Mr. M saw fit to use as the basis of a song in the first place.
Posted by: david at December 16, 2007 11:41 AM
