'Tis true, as 'tis the season. I manage to listen to boatloads of snipets from dozens of albums throughout the year, but the easiest way to find the hard-to-find best music of the year is to peruse the myriad of best-ofs out there this time of year. I can assure you, most of the following songs were on my iPod prior to this pillaging, but some were not. Someday, there will be a comprehensive website dedicated to keeping me updated with tunes specifically tailored to my tastes and some designed to expand them. It will be called -- well, I can't think quickly enough to invent a witty, Nils-oriented title. I'll take suggestions. Anyway, the lists.
TOP 50 SONGS OF 2006:
50. "Paradise Here Abouts," Howe Gelb. It's not Edwin McCain. It can't be Edwin McCain. Please don't let this actually be Edwin McCain.
49. "European Oils," Destroyer. I'm not fond of Dan Bejar's voice, but he can craft a song.
48. "Emily Kane," Art Brut. That first crush you obsessed over? Art can relate.
47. "You & I," Graham Coxon. Welcome to the British rock section of the countdown.
46. "Penny On the Train Track," Ben Kweller. It's something good, not something great, as Kweller seeks.
45. "Right In the Head," M. Ward. Sometimes you just like the sound and don't want to talk about it.
44. "Think I'm In Love," Beck. Maybe not the best song on the album, but one of the more easily-accessible.
43. "Lolita," Prince. Poster song for a PG Purple.
42. "On the Radio," Regina Spektor. First in a slew of fantastic female artists to grace this list.
41. "Time Bomb," The Format. Piano grooves that tickle, remind of the Zombies.
40. "Pull Shapes," The Pipettes. Just in time for Dreamgirls.
39. "Cowbell," Tapes 'n Tapes. Tight, well-paced song from Minni'e's breakout band.
38. "Girl In the War," Josh Ritter. One of the rare well-written, non-cliched ballads.
37. "Eanie Meanie," Jim Noir. Not gonna lie, it's here basically because of its presence in World Cup commercials.
36. "Chicago (Multiple Personality Version)," Sufjan Stevens. The most deviant and intriguing of his three alternate "Chicago" versions.
35. "Sister In Love," Envelopes. Hooked on male-female vocal harmonies from less-than-average vocalists.
34. "Ain't No Other Man," Christina Aguilera. I know. But if a song is catchy, it's catchy, and she is certainly not a less-than-average vocalist.
33. "Goodbye," Asobi Seksu. One of my favorite band names, one of the best album covers.
32. "I'm Ready," The Twilight Singers. Played often for motivation at the start of grueling weight-lifting sessions. That's something, right?
31. "Maneater," Nelly Furtado. Gets the nod over "Promiscuous" because of its hard edge.
30. "Long Distance Call," Phoenix. The slightly off-beat pulse is nauseating, but comfortable.
29. "Mothers, Sisters, Daughters and Wives," Voxtrot. Fathers, be good to your daughters. That's what I always say.
28. "Wolf Like Me," TV On the Radio. Everybody's buzz band was just good enough for me.
27. "We're From Barcelona," I'm From Barcelona. This is my style: catchy pop with a little glockenspiel.
26. "Orchids," Califone. Gentle voice and beautiful harmonies with simple orchestration.
25. "Phantom Limb," The Shins. At the moment, my favorite public radio staple.
24. "Chips Ahoy!" The Hold Steady. Power, power, power, and some nasty rock organ.
23. "Annie, Let's Not Wait," Guillemots. My favorite bassline of the year.
22. "Beanbag Chair," Yo La Tengo. Spent days trying to pinpoint female vs. male vocals.
21. "Crane Wife 3," The Decemberists. I wasn't sure a good song could be written using only the three guitar chords I can play. It can.
20. "Rise Up With Fists," Jenny Lewis and the Watson Twins. Beautiful, soulful...country? Doesn't matter, this is great music despite the genre linkage.
19. "Something Isn't Right," Herbert. Intriguing voice, as though he's singing as a muppet character or after choking down a multi-vitamin.
18. "Boy From School," Hot Chip. The only techno song on the list, I promise.
17. "Thursday," Asobi Seksu. Fabulous echoing vocals and great second-verse instrumental intro.
16. "Smile," Lilly Allen. Possibly a knee-jerk reaction, but like I said, catchy is catchy.
15. "Another Sunny Day," Belle & Sebastian. Just a feel-good, Scottish country song.
14. "My Love," Justin Timberlake. Producer Timbaland probably deserves much of the credit, but JT makes it move.
13. "When You Were Young," The Killers. Why couldn't the rest of the album follow this blueprint?
12. "Goin' On," Flaming Lips. The lone bright spot on a vastly disappointing effort.
11. "Crane Wife 1 & 2," The Decemberists. Colin Meloy can write a beautiful, ten-minute song about perhaps anything.
10. "Weed Party," Band of Horses. Tightest song on a great CD that could place more on this list.
9. "Hold On, Hold On," Neko Case. Right up there with Fiona Apple for best female voice.
8. "There's Been An Accident," The Twilight Singers. The most massive climax of any song on this list, and the pathway is hair-raising.
7. "Crazy," Gnarls Barkley. An undeniably great song. Well-planned, executed and sung.
6. "Sukie In the Graveyard," Belle & Sebastian. Of all the songs on this list, the one that makes my head bounce the liveliest.
5. "Trains To Brazil," Guillemots. Solid vocal, great pace, perfectly-placed horns.
4. "Lloyd, I'm Ready To Be Heartbroken," Camera Obscura. Love the organ intro, love the strings, best female vocal of the year. Stunning.
3. "Mr. Tough," Yo La Tengo. I love the mindset of anyone who can sing a song taunting "Mr. Tough" entirely in falsetto.
2. "The Island, Come and See, The Landlord's Daughter, You'll Not Feel the Drowning," The Decemberists. A fittingly-long title for a twelve-minute romp. Contains easily the most exciting 45 seconds of music this year at around the 8:40 mark. I turn it way up every time.
1. "Stuck Between Stations," The Hold Steady. A song about partying, being young, spontaneous and lost, and done with pure power and guts. Craig Finn's voice complements perfectly, like a don't-give-a-you-know-what punk with brains. Most fun line of the year: "She was a really cool kisser and she wasn't all that strict of a Christian. She was a damn good dancer but she wasn't all that great of a girlfriend." The song's lyrical, storytelling genius goes far beyond what I can explain. For more information, read Stations' lyrics and learn about John Berryhill.
Now, for the other side of the coin...
TEN WORST SONGS OF THE YEAR:
10. "You and Me," Lifehouse. Guy's voice sounds like he's constantly giving birth to a horrible, ugly soft-rock ballad of a baby.
9. "Stars Are Blind," Paris Hilton. Probably could have been the best song in history and still ended up on this list.
8. "Chain Hang Low," Jibbs. The worst sample of all time, until I heard the #3 song on this list.
7. "Move Along," All American Rejects. They obviously took their own advice; all hope is gone for them, yet they keep making music.
6. "You're Beautiful," James Blunt. Say it with me: OVERKILL.
5. "Savin' Me," Nickelback. Surpassed Creed as my least favorite rock band of all time.
4. "Black Horse and the Cherry Tree," KT Tunstall. I don't even care enough to double-check the spelling of her name.
3. "Wind It Up," Gwen Stefani. First I heard "Edelweiss" at a wedding with churchy lyrics. Now, a pop song with a "Lonely Goatherd" sample and yodeling? I give up. Is nothing sacred?
2. "Dance, Dance," Fall Out Boy. This high because of the massive number of times I heard it at bad parties. Bad music makes bad parties awful.
1. Anything touched by Fergie. "My Humps," "London Bridge," "Fergalicious," bring it all on. She is an absolute disgrace to music everywhere.
Tell your friends, Valblogski is back.
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