December 25th, 2004
Best Songs of 2004
According to me. I made this album, along with the below liner notes, as a present to someone who shares my love for tunes. If you too have a passion for music, or maybe your just one of those people who loves lists, read on. Below are the 17 best tracks of 2004.
17 Tracks of 2004
(album is ordered to be a listenable whole, not by my preference of one song over the others)
1. “The Angel’s Share” – Ted Leo and the Pharmacists – Shake the Sheets
The second song off of Ted Leo and the Pharmacists’ third full-length release is a perfect example of the catchy, almost peppy thoughtful pop-punk-indie rock that he’s known for. I love this song because of the guitar line which, in my experience, never fails to produce a head bop or a little wiggle dance. “The Angel’s Share” is also a great example of how talented Leo is as a singer. I love the way he stretches his voice to reach high notes at the beginnings of phrases and is able to almost speak the lyrics without losing their melodic qualities. Ted Leo and the Pharmacists is one of my favorite bands, and “The Angel’s Share” is their best song of 2004.
2. “I Believe In A Thing Called Love” – The Darkness – Permission to Land
This song is pure ridiculousness. The Darkness is an up-and-coming English band that decided that the days of Queen and hair metal where badly missed. The first time I heard this song, I hated it. The falsetto singing and over-the-top guitar solo made me want to puke. After listening to it once more, I couldn’t get it out of my head for the next week. One of my favorite things about this song is the details: the strange voices that appear when the singer screams “touching you, touching me”, the offbeat synthesizer chords that play when the guitars and bass drop out, the huge note bends that the guitar player indulges in. For me, this is the best thing that’s happened in glam rock since “Bohemian Rhapsody,” and the similarities in style and grandness are pretty striking.
3. “The Cloud Prayer” – A.C. Newman – The Slow Wonder
If you were listing the singles off of this album, this probably wouldn’t be in the top five. Even so, it’s my favorite song on what is one of my favorite albums of the year. Carl “A.C.” Newman is the lead singer of the New Pornographers, a pretty great band that didn’t quite make this CD. “The Cloud Prayer” is softer and less eccentric of much of the rest of the album. The song has a wonderfully soft quality to it, whether in Newman’s singing, the horn counter-melody or the harp. It’s one of those songs that you just kind of fall into to take a nap and let your mind wander. Probably a good muscle relaxer too.
4. “Float On” – Modest Mouse – Good News for People Who Love Bad News
Modest Mouse was one of the “indie” bands that went big this year by writing a catchy single that the mainstream found acceptable. Other than Franz Ferdinand’s “Take Me Out,” “Float On” is probably the biggest “indie” hit of the year. Luckily, it manages to be catchy and appealing to non-“indie” folk without giving up what makes Modest Mouse great: being really strange. While the guitar line and the chorus are the main reason that “Float On” sticks in your head, the song is really made by the rhythm section. The bass player hits the beat hard to drive the song forward and the drummer varies to shape the song. There were a few weeks in June where I listened to this song many, many times a day. It’s addicting.
5. “Maps” – The Yeah Yeah Yeahs – Fever to Tell
This song is not fun. It doesn’t have much of a melodic arc and pretty much plays the same lyric and chorus melodies over and over again. In fact, the song is completely defined by what is not there. Karen O, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs lead singer, holds back the intense fury that you hear on most of their songs. Listening to her do so is almost painful, and each time you hear her raise her voice you hope she’s finally going to let it all out. The frustration of what doesn’t happen, strangely, is what makes the song work. It’s painful, but it’s supposed to be.
6. “Set You Free” – The Black Keys – Thick Freakness
“Set You Free” is exactly the opposite of “Maps.” It’s pure release. The guitar grinds out and let’s loose, the singer growls and moans, the drums are all over the place, filling every empty moment. The Black Keys are an old school blues rock band from Akron, Ohio. Their brand of rock is fun specifically because it is so pure, so open, so… rockin’.
Note: Like some others on this list, this song actually came out in 2003. I count it for 2004, though, because it didn’t really reach my or the listening population’s collective consciousness until the beginning of this year. The Black Keys have a new album that I have, but haven’t listened to, called Rubber Factory.
7. “99 Problems” – DJ Dangermouse (Jay-Z and the Beatles) – The Grey Album
Throwing this song on is kind of cheating, because it lets me include a few things in one. First, the Grey Album was one of my favorite musical experiments of year: DJ Dangermouse combined Jay-Z’s Black Album with the Beatle’s White Album. In this case, Jay-Z’s song “99 Problems” is mashed with “Helter Skelter.” I expected the trick to get old, pure novelty or gimmick but, a credit to DJ Dangermouse, it actually works. I also get to include “99 Problems” which is, pre-Beatles mish-mash, one of the best hip hop songs of the year. Rick Rubin (at the end of the song Jay-Z yells “you crazy for this one, Rick”) produced it as a stripped down song, without the heavy synthesizer and annoying tricks of most modern pop/hip hop and the effect is powerful.
8. “Move Your Feet” – Junior Senior – Move Your Feet
This song is pure, goofy fun. I won’t claim that it’s any sort of artistic accomplishment, it’s not. However, it does succeed in its stated goal with some funky mixing, a cool funk guitar line an unabashed demand for dancing. Junior Senior is a Danish dance group that is very popular in England (as well as their home-country), especially in the gay club scene. This is a good tune to mix things up and the best tune of the year to dance to.
9. “I’m Shakin’” – Rooney – Rooney
Weezer didn’t come out with an album this year, so this is what we get instead. Rivers (Cuomo, Weezer’s lead singer) is busy going to class at my lovely school and generally being weird. Rooney does an excellent job stepping into the catchy-California-punk-pop mold. There’s not much to say about “I’m Shakin’,” other than the fact that it is a fun little diddy that is well written and performed and has little, if any, artistic value beyond head-bopping. Again, this song technically came out in 2003, but Rooney didn’t really get much publicity or attention until an appearance on possibly my least favorite popular TV show, the OC, in its first season. After that it got some buzz, and people paid attention to their album, including this song! Bop away.
10. “Could Well Be In” – The Streets – A Grand Don’t Come for Free
The Streets is an English hip hop group. The lyrics are simplistic and usually tell a pretty straight-forward story of explore a very commonplace theme. Mike Skinner (the MC) doesn’t go for clever phrases or florid language, but tells a story in sparse way that makes them feel more honest. This song, “Could Well Be In,” is a good, if a bit sappy, example. Skinner’s talent is translating those simple thoughts we all have and putting them together that tells a story (in this case, a date). The song works best within the context of the album, which itself is much better as a whole then as individual songs. The whole thing is a story and has a sort of simplistic, yet cinematic quality. Despite its sappiness, this is my song within the greater story.
11. “Two Way Monologue” – Sondre Lerche – Two Way Monologue
Sondre Lerche is Norwegian, but says that he can only write in English because he thinks that pop music demands it. He doesn’t exactly create a new approach to music: he pretty much writes pure bubblegum pop-rock songs. But he’s good at it and creates a florid pop music that has aspects of the Beatles, Burt Bacharach (in his non-nauseating moments) or Lerche’s favorite group: ABBA. In “Two Way Monologue”, Lerche creates chord changes that build to an expectant chorus that doesn’t disappoint. Bonus: watch the music video (you can find it online).
12. “Hey Julie” – Fountains of Wayne – Welcome Interstate Managers
The Fountains of Wayne are best known for their hit song (and more importantly, video) “Stacey’s Mom” about a teenager that lusts after his girlfriend’s mom. I prefer this song over that one, partially because the subject of “Stacey’s Mom”, while entertaining, gets a little old. “Hey Julie” has a kind of Simon and Garfunkel quality that makes it hard not to love. This is a great song for relaxing in the afternoon.
13. “Take Me Out” – Franz Ferdinand – Franz Ferdinand
This is, without a doubt, the biggest “indie” single of the year. Franz Ferdinand, a group of Scottish guys who formed a band with the sole purpose of “making girls dance,” went huge with this song. For those of us who listened to them before MTV, seeing them on TV or hearing them on the radio was one of those “what the hell!?” moments. The album has other great songs (check out “Matinee” and “Jacqueline,” as well as their new single “This Fire”), but only “Take Me Out” has the energy, randomly placed transition and marching drum beat to fully succeed in Franz Ferdinand’s self-proclaimed primary goal.
14. “Through the Wire” – Kanye West – College Dropout
I can’t claim to be ahead of the game on this one, I was very late to the Kanye West fad (I’m just now figuring out the full album). Even so, in terms of combining commercial success and critical acclaim, no one can claim to even come close to what College Dropout was able to do. Many have listed it as their favorite album (not so sure, I’ll let you know). “Through the Wire” is a song West recorded soon after surviving a car accident to tell of his experience. The title refers to the fact that he had to rap the whole song through the wire that held his jaw together and his mouth mostly shut. West in general combines catchy hooks with intelligent lyrics and for most of the year, this has been the song I most often listen to when I feel like indulging in some hip hop.
15. “Cold Hard Bitch” – Jet – Get Born
This is actually the second best song off of Get Born. “Are You Gonna Be My Girl?” is probably my favorite song of 2003 (it will make you dance, my friend, dance). But, “Cold Hard Bitch” was released as a single in 2004, so it slips onto my list. In this song, as well as many others, Jet does its best combo impersonation of the Rolling Stones and AC/DC with thumping drums and rippin’ guitar lines. Like AC/DC, Jet hails from Australia and while gaining popularity first in England and now in the States, are hailed as gods back home. This is just good fun classic rock-n-roll.
16. “Rebellion (Lies)” – Arcade Fire – Funeral
Funeral is, in my opinion, the best album of the year. Built around mourning a year of loss for two members of the band, Funeral is simply transcendent. The album is weird, orchestral and sincere. “Rebellion (Lies)” is, like some other songs I’ve picked for this list, not the most obvious single off the record. “Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels)” is the best pure single. Even so, “Rebellion (Lies)” is the best song. The pounding drum at the beginning feels like a quickening heart beat on which the other instruments gradually layer and build. The combination of strings, piano and guitars is kind of mystical. The other amazing thing about this song is that it starts out frenetic and inexplicably grows in energy without tiring out the listener. This is my favorite five minutes of music of the year.
17. “Somebody Told Me” – The Killers – Hot Fuss
The chorus of “Somebody Told Me” is the strangest and catchiest of the year: “somebody told me, that you had boyfriend, that looked like a girlfriend that I had in February of last year.” Sure, that makes sense… Despite the bizarreness of its message, the New Wave packaging is really fun: the weird synthesizers at the beginning, strange vibrating sound that you can just make out when the singer is singing (maybe it’s a weird guitar effect?), the bouncing chorus and the “woo hoo” background singers. The Killers are probably just some goofy band from Las Vegas who will disappear after the 15 minutes of fame provided by this song, but they earned those 15 minutes.