Top 25 Songs of the First Half of 2005: #25-21
Enough dicking around. Let's do this.
25. M. Ward "Hi-Fi" from Transistor Radio (Matador)
As I sit here typing on my laptop in my kitchen, it feels about a million degrees. Matt Ward's raspy voice powers the breezy, laid back "Hi-Fi". It can't physically cool me down, but it comes pretty damn close. The falsetto-ed chorus with gently strummed guitars and lazy steel pedal puts me right on a remote tourist-less beach, wind blowin', sun shinin' and not a trace smell of the garbage I should have taken out days ago.
24. Antony and the Johnsons "Fistfull of Love" from I am a Bird Now (Secretly Canadian)
I know Lou Reed whispering "I was lying in my bed last night staring at a ceiling full of stars" is enough to make you drop a joyous load, but as soon as the main act is revealed with the raising of the velvet curtain, there is no denying who deserves your praise. Channelling Nina Simone over his grand piano and collage of Motown-esque horns, Antony and his glorious, transcdent pipes seriously cream. So much so that that phrase ("seriously cream") which I have no idea what it means in that context, makes total sense. Well, to me it does.
23. Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti "Jules Lost His Jewels" from Worn Copy (Paw Tracks)
This was a very late addition and I later found out it was actually released a couple years ago only to be rereleased by The Animal Collective's label this year. Fuck it, it deserves the spot. "Jules Lost His Jules" is recorded in a fashion that sounds like Mr. Pink put up a tape recorder to his radio . It's not so much grimy as it's muted, giving it an old classic sound. Even more Motown than the previous song, Pink manages to smash in a Supremes-type melody with a Marc Bolan style rock n roll. And oh yes, it is damn heavy on the cowbell.
22. Deerhoof "Spiral Golden Town" from Green Cosmos EP (Menlo Park)
Isn't it great to love band who a lot of people hate? Though there are plenty of people who love Deerhoof, and I'm not their biggest fanboy ever, one thing is for certain; Deerhoof is unique. As we find the quartet taking a more poppy sound in their last few releases, "Spiral Golden Town" stands as their most grandiose track to date. Fueled by a raucous hip-hop orchestral beat, the Bay Area natives present a juggernaut with an arsenal of noise-poppy guitars, dancy drums and strumming patterns and Satomi's all-too-japanese, high-pitched peep. If you hate it, I would consider hating you but mostly I thank you. Again, with the not making sense
21. Robbers on High Street "Bring On the Terror" from Tree City (New Line)
Spoon-lite they are, but slouches in songwriting they are not. Sure Ben Trokan does a killer Britt Daniel impression and the progression from Fine Lines EP to Tree City is like going from Series of Sneaks to Kill the Moonlight, but sometimes you have to let bygones be bygones and Spoon rip-offs be Spoon rip-offs. Especially when they can write a hit like "Bring on the Terror", a fun, punchy pop tune featuring banging pianos, harmonies and even slight danceability (awkward indie rock dance, that is). After all, the best part of being a Spoon rip-off is that ROHS sounds like Spoon, and sometimes better (than half of Gimme Fiction).
And we're off. #20-16 in a couple of days...
25. M. Ward "Hi-Fi" from Transistor Radio (Matador)
As I sit here typing on my laptop in my kitchen, it feels about a million degrees. Matt Ward's raspy voice powers the breezy, laid back "Hi-Fi". It can't physically cool me down, but it comes pretty damn close. The falsetto-ed chorus with gently strummed guitars and lazy steel pedal puts me right on a remote tourist-less beach, wind blowin', sun shinin' and not a trace smell of the garbage I should have taken out days ago.
24. Antony and the Johnsons "Fistfull of Love" from I am a Bird Now (Secretly Canadian)I know Lou Reed whispering "I was lying in my bed last night staring at a ceiling full of stars" is enough to make you drop a joyous load, but as soon as the main act is revealed with the raising of the velvet curtain, there is no denying who deserves your praise. Channelling Nina Simone over his grand piano and collage of Motown-esque horns, Antony and his glorious, transcdent pipes seriously cream. So much so that that phrase ("seriously cream") which I have no idea what it means in that context, makes total sense. Well, to me it does.
23. Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti "Jules Lost His Jewels" from Worn Copy (Paw Tracks)This was a very late addition and I later found out it was actually released a couple years ago only to be rereleased by The Animal Collective's label this year. Fuck it, it deserves the spot. "Jules Lost His Jules" is recorded in a fashion that sounds like Mr. Pink put up a tape recorder to his radio . It's not so much grimy as it's muted, giving it an old classic sound. Even more Motown than the previous song, Pink manages to smash in a Supremes-type melody with a Marc Bolan style rock n roll. And oh yes, it is damn heavy on the cowbell.
22. Deerhoof "Spiral Golden Town" from Green Cosmos EP (Menlo Park)Isn't it great to love band who a lot of people hate? Though there are plenty of people who love Deerhoof, and I'm not their biggest fanboy ever, one thing is for certain; Deerhoof is unique. As we find the quartet taking a more poppy sound in their last few releases, "Spiral Golden Town" stands as their most grandiose track to date. Fueled by a raucous hip-hop orchestral beat, the Bay Area natives present a juggernaut with an arsenal of noise-poppy guitars, dancy drums and strumming patterns and Satomi's all-too-japanese, high-pitched peep. If you hate it, I would consider hating you but mostly I thank you. Again, with the not making sense
21. Robbers on High Street "Bring On the Terror" from Tree City (New Line)Spoon-lite they are, but slouches in songwriting they are not. Sure Ben Trokan does a killer Britt Daniel impression and the progression from Fine Lines EP to Tree City is like going from Series of Sneaks to Kill the Moonlight, but sometimes you have to let bygones be bygones and Spoon rip-offs be Spoon rip-offs. Especially when they can write a hit like "Bring on the Terror", a fun, punchy pop tune featuring banging pianos, harmonies and even slight danceability (awkward indie rock dance, that is). After all, the best part of being a Spoon rip-off is that ROHS sounds like Spoon, and sometimes better (than half of Gimme Fiction).
And we're off. #20-16 in a couple of days...
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