Ti sange

My ten -- okay, eleven (at the last minute, I remembered I’d forgotten one) -- favorite individual songs of 2007. Some of these songs were released only as singles or EPs; some were released on albums, but I either heard only a few tracks or didn’t fit the album into my top ten despite being mightily impressed by the one song. The following list is a bit different from what I presented on the show because, well, it’s difficult to pick favorite songs. There are ten more (more than ten more) which could just as easily be on here.

10. Sweden Hasn’t Changed (from the album Heart Geometry) – Fast Computers
Now that the Fast Computers’ bassist has shaved off his awful moustache, I feel it’s reasonable -- rather than a betrayal of my sensibilities -- to include this song on the list. Of course I was biased the first time I heard it, due to the inclusion of Sweden in the title. But even if this song sounds nothing like most of the stuff I usually listen to, I’ve continued listening to it. The words are so true.

9. Hip (from the album This is the One) – Marybell Katastropy
This song is contentious. I really only like the chorus. From the first song I heard by Marybell Katastrophy, I thought, ‘This band is weird.’ Their subsequent songs have not disappointed. But who’s to say that’s bad? The chorus just tears you up… this is the one, indeed.

8. Hungry Heart (from the album Plays the Hits) – Sexton Blake
Despite the fact that Sexton Blake is a Portland band, I have never seen them live, and I have heard very little of their music. But I have heard Hungry Heart (it’s a Bruce Springsteen cover) a whole, whole lot. Piano chimes and whiny guitars and soft, effected vocals were just what Hungry Heart needed to be a sad song, and everyone knows how I feel about sad songs.

7. Du og Meg (from the Suffer for Fashion single) – of Montreal
This is embarrassing. Unless I’m very mistaken, Du og Meg is the first song by of Montreal that I ever heard. I was attracted by the faux-Scandinavian title, and even though I’m not really sure why they chose that name (it doesn’t appear in the lyrics, nor does anything else Scan) I wasn’t disappointed by the song itself. Usually I dance around the kitchen listening to this, but once, late one night, I sat down in the dark and wrote a Peter Pan story about Du og Meg. Oddly fitting.

6. King Pop (from the album Quixotic/Taxidermy) – Kaspar Hauser
I don’t remember where I found out about this, but I’m very glad I did. This song, I think, utilizes all those random instruments and elements that pop up individually in other songs and individually sound really cool. In most cases, taking all those together would be a bad mistake; in King Pop, it works. Extremely well. On slow days at work, I used to draw Kaspar Hauser/King Pop pictures on the wrapping paper, and whenever I managed to get the song stuck in my head, I was so pleased. Plus they talk about vinyl.

5. Grammisgalan (from the 5-spårs EP) – Johan Hedberg
I wrote about this song not too long ago. Then, I’d heard it only a few times. Now that I’ve heard it a bit more, I feel pretty much the same way about it -- like Christmas… except in kind of a sleazy way. I now know what Grammisgalan means (it’s Swedish for the Grammy awards) but I have no idea what he’s saying the rest of the time. His voice reminds me just the teeniest bit of Baxter Dury’s, though (or at least I think it does), so I like to imagine it’s something foul… Nevertheless, this is a really endearing, and extremely catchy, song.

4. The Sound of You (from the Sound of You single) – Mono Taxi
I remember being absolutely obsessed with this song. And then I bought the record. Twice. The lyrics don’t really make any sense, but the construction of the song is just so well-done that that’s easy to overlook. Plus a ‘sound of you’ is just such a lovely idea. You know, when you hear something and it reminds you of some person? Or how ‘bout if you see someone and they remind you of a song? I’d like that. Unfortunately, neither of those things have happened in this case, but who’s to say? I especially like the ending.

3. Something New (from the Adrenaline single) – Oliver North Boy Choir
I’ll be honest -- any one of Oliver North Boy Choir’s songs could have been on here. They would certainly have been ranked (rather high) on the albums list -- except for the fact that they insist on releasing mp3 singles only. I had to pick one, so -- Something New was, I think, originally a demo, later released as the Adrenaline B-side. ‘I hope I dream of you’ -- one of the simplest lines imaginable, but it really is just perfect. I mean, that kind of thing is so obvious nobody thinks of it anymore. It’s so nice to hear that someone remembers… someone cares.

3. Kids (from the album Hey Trouble) – the Concretes
I feel like a horrible person for having forgotten Kids until I went back re-reading old emails… Then I remembered. I don’t own a copy of the song, so of course it could be easily overlooked – but that’s no excuse. Not when the song in question is Kids. It’s funny -- I’d been talking about lying on the floor -- and actually doing so -- for ages, and then this song came out, practically knocking me to the ground on first listen, and I realized it was all about everything I’d ever done with music. Aside from links to my last.fm page, the radio station where I work, and this blog, a line from this song is the only thing in the music section on my myspace page: ‘music just sounds better with you.’ Because really, what else is there?

2. I Was Definitely Made For These Times (from the Quiz single) – Hello Saferide
Over the course of the past five months, this song has become increasingly painful for me to listen to, even though it is quite the ‘happy’ song (especially for Hello Saferide). Hello Saferide wrote once that she worried about writing sad songs in case they came true -- I’m more interested in what to do when the less melancholy ones don’t.

1. Idyllwild (from the album The Last Holy Writer) – Trembling Blue Stars
I didn’t play this on the show -- not because I’d forgotten about it, not because I didn’t want to hear it, and certainly not because (even temporarily) I didn’t love it. I didn’t play it because I wasn’t sure -- I’ve never been sure -- if people ought to hear it. This is a serious song. As much as I may hate it -- because it hits so hard on everything that upsets me most -- I cannot stop loving it. Or listening to it. This is the only song I have ever asked someone not to listen to, out of love. This song hurts. So, please, don’t hurt yourself. Okay?

My favorite ten albums (there will be only ten this time) tomorrow. If you’re wondering why I’ve left something off, keep in mind that I’m not duplicating any of the bands or artists (for example, the Montt Mardié/Hello Saferide song (Pretenders) would be about number two, if I didn’t already have another Hello Saferide song there). So they may well show up in the album list tomorrow.

Feel free to let me know what you think of my selections, though. And sorry I couldn’t fit these all into the show for you to hear.