My Favorite Songs of 2007--Finally!
My first bright idea about my year-end list of favorite songs is that I'm not going to put any songs here by bands on my year-end top-ten favorite albums list. That way there'll be less repetition, plus it's a way to highlight bands that I liked but never got around to hearing enough of.
My second idea is that I'm going to separate them into "songs I listened to on the treadmill" and "songs that were too slow to listen to on the treadmill." Last year I did a whole seasons theme, but I think there's a natural division among these songs, so that's how I'm doing it.
The third thing I'd like to mention is that at the very beginning of 2007, I made a pledge to myself--you might even call it a resolution--to not seek out or listen to as much sad music as I'd been listening to. And I think I did pretty well in that regard, coz there's a whole lot more on the treadmill list than on the non-treadmill list, although I guess technically that has more to do with tempo than content, but I think I'll let that distinction slide for now. So, in no particular order, here we go.
Treadmill Tunes
Immaculate Machine--"Dear Confessor" mp3 off Fables (buy) Did you know Kathryn Calder, lead singer of I. M., is also in The New Pornographers? I love her clear, pure voice.
The Wombats--"Let's Dance to Joy Division" mp3 off Let's Dance to Joy Division (buy) Oh, the irony--and the joy--in this song. Very clever.
Mother and the Addicts--"So Tough" mp3 off Science Fiction Illustrated (buy) This is one catchy tune even though the guy singing it doesn't sound like such a great guy.
Taxi, Taxi--"Family Doctor" mp3 off Maps and Legends (buy) This is an album I really should pick up. Everything I've heard off it is terrific.
The Fratellis--"Creeping up the Backstairs" mp3 off Costello Music (buy) These guys were a whole lot of fun to watch at the XPN Music Festival.
Zookeeper--"I Live in the Mess You Are" mp3 off Zookeeper EP (buy) When I first posted this, I said you should imagine yourself singing it, because I am "the mess." It's still true, but now the part I love the most is when he sings "We are walking around that graveyard / we are making love again / we are drinking in the sunlight / we are seeing if we can / believe in the mess we are / conceive in the mess we are / find peace in the mess we are." Ain't that the truth?
Busdriver--"Kill Your Employer" mp3 off Roadkill Overcoat (buy) You've got to listen to the words in this. Every word.
Scenario Rock--"Perfect Love Antidote (Hey Champ Remix)" mp3 off Perfect Love Antidote (buy) A recent addition to the list but I couldn't stop playing it so here it is.
Calvin Harris--"Stillness in Time (Jamiroquai Cover)" mp3 off I still don't know what this is from or how to buy it. Sorry. The original is from Return of the Space Cowboy, which I've yet to hear.
Calvin Harris--"Merrymaking At My Place" mp3 off Vegas (10" single) (buy) This is the first track I talked about on blogfresh radio. I think I said something like, "if this song doesn't get you moving, you may be dead."
Low--"Hatchet" mp3 off Drums and Guns (buy) I love the simplicity of this song. If you need to make up with someone after a lengthy fight, this is the perfect track.
Leon Jean Marie--"Scratch" mp3 off Scratch Single (buy) Leon still makes me feel too juicy.
Laura Veirs--"Don't Lose Yourself" mp3 off Saltbreakers (buy) This was a case of I loved a couple of songs on the album but as a whole it didn't do it for me. This is one of those songs I loved.
Peel--"In the City" mp3 off Peel (buy) This is a loose and rambunctious song that just gets me going, no matter what.
Herman Jolly--"Days Are Long" mp3 off Bunker Life (buy) Bunker Life almost made the top-ten album list, and this is my favorite song from it.
Shout Out Louds--"Tonight I Have to Leave It" mp3 off Our Ill Wills (buy) More cowbell, please! And please, could I have some of your resolve as well?
Shinichi Osawa--"Our Song (Ft. Ultra Brain)" mp3 off The One (buy) Someone told me this is his least favorite song on the album, so I'm thinking I need to hear the whole thing, coz I adore this one.
The A-Sides--"Cinematic" mp3 off Silver Storms (buy) A swirling, gorgeous cinematic chorus if I ever heard one.
The Mary Onettes--"Lost" mp3 off The Mary Onettes (buy) I swear I did not like this kind of music in the 80s, but now I do.
Polytechnic--"Cold-Hearted Business" mp3 off Down Til Dawn (buy) These guys came to New York and L.A. and I'm hoping they come back and make a few more stops along the way next time. I love them.
Bombay Bicycle Club--"Sixteen" mp3 off The Boy I Used to Be (buy) Can a group of 16/17 year-olds hang together to make more music as great as this? I guess all we can do is wait and see what happens when they grow up.
Earl Greyhound--"It's Over" mp3 off Soft Targets (buy) Coolest band at the XPN Music Festival, hands down.
Bella--"Give It a Night" mp3 off No One Will Know (buy) Tiny indie band makes song that should be all over the radio but probably never will be.
Patrick Wolf--"Accident and Emergency" mp3 off The Magic Position (buy) I would love to see him live. I hear he's rather flamboyant. Ha!
Flight of the Conchords--"Business Time" mp3 off The Distant Future (buy) This is like, a perfect song, coz it's funny and sexy at the same time.
Non-treadmill Tracks
Tanner Walle--"But Then" mp3 off Future of Tape LP (buy) Some songs just speak your truth, you know what I mean?
Barzin --"Just More Drugs" mp3 off Just More Drugs EP (buy) The words of this are spot on for when you are so down that you don't know what to do or what you'd say to someone even if you had someone to talk to.
Eugene Francis, Jr.--"Kites" mp3 off B-Side to "Poor Me" 7" (buy) I do so hope to hear more from him/them in the new year. This is an incredibly lovely and wise song.
Ola Podrida--"Instead" mp3 off Ola Podrida (buy) Turned out I only loved a couple songs off this album, but what a song this is. *sigh*
Division Day--"More Than This (Roxy Music Cover)" mp3 off Covers/Remixes (buy--this is a link to their album Beartrap Island. I don't think you can buy the covers.) You know I love a cover (and a remix), and I especially love ones that take the kernel of what the original is all about and make it their own.
Winterpills--"A Folded Cloth" mp3 off The Light Divides (buy) I love their layered sound and the vocal harmonies, and her voice is especially warm and smooth.
There you have it. Holy crap, there's been a lot of great music this year, hasn't there? There's no way I could rank these songs, though, I'm sorry. It's a case of each one touching a certain part of me at a particular time and to try to quantify it would be impossible. So take what you want, leave what you don't, and let me know what your favorites were this year, in no particular order, of course.
p.s. I actually have that songbook that's in the illustration. It was my mother's.
I loved every single song on your 2006 list - a feat not easily attained.
But Marcy, you managed to do it again. I am loving every track on here!
aw, thanks andy. and may i say what great taste in music you have? ;-)
Quite a list indeed my dear, you have out done yourself once again. This
has a whole bunch of great tracks on it. I will have to make a Marcy
playlist for the pod.
thanks. i guess i could have narrowed them down some, but i figured what
the hey, let's go wild! when are you putting up your album list? i'm aiming
for sunday.
Yes, you should make an effort to listen to fewer sad songs!
yay, nat's back! you know, that's a really good idea, to put all these
songs together on a playlist. i was thinking i'd do a zip file but i never
got around to it (and i'm not sure i remember how, either). are you doing a
top-ten year-end list?
I finally posted mine, but it's much more pop than yours is! We did
overlap one song, though! ;) It's Business Time!!!! HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Hey, nice list. I love this time of year for lists like these....I know
very few of the songs on your list. However I do like many of your
favorite albums, and those I don't I'm looking forweard to sampling from.
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