Let's Not Try To Figure Out Everything At Once.....

Well, I may as well start the first of the "End of The Year Lists."

If you read Entertainment Weekly, I can tell you that I was so mad at Stephen King for stealing some of my thoughts (He did this once before when he wrote some book called "Cujo" which I totally thought of before him). But anyways, here are the 39 (In honor of Mike Greenwell) songs of 2007 that you absolutely need to download. That's a mere $32.61 and it is money well spent, because you won't regret any of these selections. They are in order and I tried not to have any repeat bands, (although I had to break that rule on a couple of occassions because some singles were just SOOOOOO good). Plus I cheated twice, but we'll get to that. Also, I've got to thank my boy McLoughlin and my little Bro Mike for introducing me to so much of this music. In fact, I half expect to challenge my brother to a music light saber duel and hear him say, "The circle is now complete. When I left you, I was but the learner; now I am the master."

Hey, at least I still introduced you to Pearl Jam back in the day kid.

Let the debates begin. Or at least, I hope I'm important and controversial enough to start a debate (And yeah, it's long. I'm doing my best Bill Simmons. So shut up, grab a beer and read away).....

39. "You'll Never Catch Him"- Buffalo Tom: Torch Singer and Sodajerk it is not, but a good solid tune from a good solid band. Plus, they be old, which I am slowly but surely starting to appreciate.

38. "Last Light"- Matt Pond: These guys lost a few spots for being ass clowns in concert, but you can't deny this song. I wish the lead singer didn't take himself so seriously. He makes Chris Martin look like Will Ferrell.

37. "Apologize"- One Republic: The first of the debatable selections. I'm sorry to say that I heard it at a high school dance (not my own) and liked it. Plus, the lyrics are awfully sincere. ;)

36. "The Moneymaker"- Rilo Kiley: A Black Crowes tune this is not. It's the first of my many female entries on the list. It appears I'm going soft. But try not singing along to the chorus. And Spin magazine had a great piece about them that will make you like them more.

35. "Your English Is Good"- Tokyo Police Club: A great catchy little jingle for your iPod. I'm sure it'll show up on The Hills sometime soon, if it already hasn't.

34. "My Brooklyn"- Jay-Z: As the say in the biz, what a hook. Definitely the best song on a solid, if unspectacular album. I wanted to put a Kanye tune here, but Stronger was the best song on the album and you probably already have that downloaded. Not that that rule will stop me later, but consistency was never a strength.

33. "Bodysnatchers"- Radiohead: Let Down it is not, but that opening distortion filled/synthesized riff is incredible.

32. "Hollywood"- Collective Soul: No, you are not taking a trip back to 1993. And yes, I put the band that had the lyrics, "Whoaaaaa, Heaven Let Your Light Shine Down!" ahead of Radiohead. But a list is all relative. Roger Ebert gives Die Hard four stars and No Country For Old Men four stars. Does that mean they are equally as good? No, but when you factor in expectations...... And with that in mind, what expectations do you have of Collective Soul? Exactly. And so this song will surprise you.

31. "Universal Speech"- The Go! Team: You can't go wrong with so many songs on this CD. Keys To The City, Titanic Vandalism, Grip Like A Vice. They will all help you power through that run. But I'll go with this one, just because it has the patented Go! Team cheering section.

30. "Missed The Boat"- Modest Mouse: Not as good as the last album, but when almost all the music stops and you hear Isaac Brock sing, "Tiny curtains open, and we heard the tiny clap of little hands," you remember why you love Modest Mouse so much.

29. "Electable"- Jimmy Eat World: Yeah they're emo. Yeah they're cheesey. But if you don't know that I love cheesey, then you should immediately stop reading this blog because you have no idea who I am. Another great album from my boys who will one day write an album called, One Tree Hill, The Lost Tracks. You can't go wrong with Carry You either.

28. "Paper Planes"- M.I.A.: More chicks! If this song doesn't show up on every Christmas party playlist you attend this holiday season, then your hosts have no idea how to get a room moving. After enough cups of eggnog, everybody will be singing "All I wanna do is....."

27. "Signal Fire"- Snow Patrol: More cheese from G- Money! I have such a soft spot for these guys. If they didn't show up on KISS 108, there wouldn't be near the backlash there is to them. They can't help writing great music. And this one- while no Hands Open or Chocolate- is great. And youtube the video. So good.

26. "First Time"- Lifehouse: May as well get ALL the cheese out of the way now...... And thanks for showing me this one Gees.

BIG FAT CHEAT #1!!!!! "Who Knew"- Pink: Who knew (I'm so clever) that this song was over a year old? Not me! Stephen King's list (why am I using him as the model for an end of year MUSIC list?) had ANY song he heard THIS YEAR! I thought that was cheating. But I did it anyways. I love this song so much. I wish it came out in 2007.

25. "Better"- Regina Spektor: Not only am I clever, but I'm progressive. Another woman. While it was Fidelity that got most of the airplay, this is the better song.

24. "The One You Wanna C"- Prince: Nice bounce back with this album. This song is so fun. Drop this on your holiday playlist and you (and the guests) won't be disappointed.

23. "Honest James"- Thurston Moore: Who knew an old dude from a band I don't like very much would bust out one of the most heartfelt tunes of the year? Great stuff. And I'm glad you put away the distortion pedal Thurston.

22. "All My Friends"- LCD Soundsystem: The slow build of this song is incredible. It's long, so it won't be for everyone (I'm talking about you McLoughlin), but it's especially nice for the middle part of that long run you're on.

21. "Can't Believe A Single Word"- VHS or Beta: Another really solid disc. This is the first single, but it's the first single for a reason. And the reason is that it is awesome. Definitely download this if you are new to the "alt rock" scene as it's super friendly and super catchy.

20. "Whatever"- Elliot Smith: I wish I could say I got to the Elliot Smith party pre Good Will Hunting, but I didn't. Since then, I have purchased every album and I can't get over how good he is. "Whatever" fits right in with the greats like Angeles, Speed Trials, Coast To Coast, and Pretty.

19. "Chips Ahoy"- The Hold Steady: What a song!

18. "Missed"- Rogue Wave: "Lake Michigan" is getting plenty of play from that Zune commercial, but "Missed" is phenomenal. The lyrics and vocals are simply stunning. If this doesn't show up at the end of a Grey's episode then I'll eat my hat. Download it. You won't be disappointed.

17. "Tears Dry On Their Own"- Amy Winehouse: Yes, you sang "Try to make me go to rehab, I said no, no, NO!" all summer, but this song straight up gives you the chills. It's right out of the 60s and it could have shown up on any Vietnam film's soundtrack. I hope you get it figured out Amy because you're ridic.

16. "Patty Lee"- Les Savy Fav: I owe this one to my bro. Never heard of this band in my life, but as soon as you hear that opening riff, you'll be hooked. And what harmonizing.

15. "Hard Rain"-The Shout Out Louds: A HUGELY underrated band (go get "Very Loud" and "The Comeback" off of Howl Howl Gaff Gaff) came back with an awesome album. It was tough picking one from here, but I went with this. It's long, but the changes and the just right amount of jamming make it a tremendous song. Honorable mention goes to "Tonight I have To Leave It."

14. "Under The Gun"- The Killers: Yeah, yeah, yeah. I know it was a B Side from years ago, but this year marked the first OFFICIAL release of the song. And yeah, I know this version isn't as good. But shut up. This is as great a 2:31 of the year as you'll find. I gotta give in to Brandon Flowers. I often want to punch him, but he did nice work here.

13. "Thrash Unreal"- Against Me!: Ba, ba, ba, baba, ba, ba, baba, ba, ba, ba..... If he don't tap your foot along to this song, then you don't like fun. Another solid all around album by the way.

Side Note: Against Me! is the second band on this list with an ! in it's name. Who woulda thunk?

12. "Radio Nowhere"- Bruce: The best Bruce song since "Tunnel Of Love(Go ahead and fight me on THAT one! I know some of you hate Tunnel. I've never heard lyrics weather time better in my entire life so shut it)." And is there anybody alive out there?

11. "Lazy Eye"- Silversun Pickups: Yeah, FNX played it nonstop, but ask yourself. Have you EVER turned it off? No way! I can't wait for more from these cats.

10. "Atlas"- Battles: Just getting in on the top ten (I'm sure Battles was really sweating this out) and not higher because of it's length, this has to be one of the most polarizing songs on the list. Some of you will hate it. But you will run VERY FAST when the last 2:45 kicks in. And there's no way you can hate this video.



9. "Is There A Ghost?"- Band of Horses: How could a band, who I dislike very much, possibly create this song? Many of you know I love the crescendo(and believe me, this isn't the last time you'll see "crescendo" referenced) and this song absolutely crushes it. Makes me actually want to see them at the Dice next month.

8. "Back In Your Head"- Tegan and Sara: There is nothing better than hearing a song for the first time and going "Who is this?" Although I knew them from their previous disc, I was annoyed by them. Like the band above, who knew they'd crank out one of my favorite songs of the year? And no, Marissa, I don't like it because of the lyrics.

7. "No Cars Go"- Arcade Fire: Speaking of Bruce, how could a Canadien band with a church organ, accordian, and flute literally BE Bruce Sprinsteen? This song is incredible. You'll shout out that "HEY!" in your car, I guarantee it. And it isn't the last you heard from these guys.....

6. "Fans"- Kings Of Leon: It pains me to put these guys here because the lead singer is such a wanker, but man, what a song! What decade did it come out of? What genre is it? It' so good. And it may have been even better in concert. Definitely a must for that $10 iTunes Gift Card you get.

5. "On"- Bloc Party: These guys have been my boys since "Banquet" absolutely destroyed me three years ago. Lots of people were down on their sophomore album, but I love it. It's chalk full of unbelievable songs (The Prayer, Uniform, Sunday) and I should probably actually put "I Still Remember" in this spot (it is my ringtone), but the four people who actually read this blog probably already know "I Still Remember." So I'll go with this absolute gem. A chills song, no doubt.

4. "Apartment Story"- The National: Not since my days of listening to Appetite in Mike Archer's car in 91-92 have I loved a band as much as I love these guys. This disc (Boxer) is full of gems. At number four on my year end list, you'd think this is their best song. But it is not. But get it anyways because it's better than 95% of what's currently on your iPod. And if you're a high schooler whose actually reading this, then it's better than 100% of your iPod. You could put Mistaken for Strangers and Start a War on here too, but I didn't want to saturate the list with The National.

3. "I Feel It All"- Feist: Absolutely one of the best things to come out of 2007. While 1234 might be catchier and was certainly more popular, it is this gem that is the pick of the CD. And it has the best line of the year ("I'll be the one who'll break my heart"). If this performance doesn't give you the chills, then you aren't alive.



2. "Keep The Car Running"- Arcade Fire: Remember when I said earlier that there is nothing better than hearing a song for the first time and saying who is this? Well, the only thing better is hearing a song and saying who THE HELL is this? I remember hearing this at The Blue Shirt Cafe. Some dude making my sandwich had an advanced copy of Neon Bible and I almost DIED when I heard it. Talk about Springsteen. And this song is 3:30 in length. And if you listen to this song while running, you might complete two miles in that 3:30. That's how fired up this song will get you. Enjoy.



BIG FAT CHEAT #2!!!!! "Hang Me Up To Dry"- Cold War Kids: I swear this song came out this year. It had to. Or maybe I just heard it late and I'm not the music maven I once thought I was. Either way, if you've never heard this song, click below and look out. And if you have heard this song and don't like it, then we can't be friends. I'd prefer you to tell me you campaign for Mitt Romney or something. If you don't like this song, please don't tell me. Just keep it to yourself. I'm serious.



And the moment you've all been waiting for.....

1. "Fake Empire"- The National: Seriously, I can't say enough about this band. Not only have the released the two best albums of the past five years (Alligator in 04 and Boxer now), but they are lights out in concert. There is no "playing what they want" or opining onstage about the war in Iraq. They rip through all their best tunes (while sipping wine mind you) and close with either Mr. November or Abel (two old songs that immediately need to be downloaded by you). They are just phenomenal. The lyrics. Matt Beringer's voice. The harmonizing. The perfect amount of jamming. The fact that they are old. The musical arrangement. The picture perfect crescendo. The Piano. The horns. I get so giddy I can't even write. Whatever. I can't even say anymore. Just see it for yourself now.

Oh. My. God.