TOP 100 SONGS OF 2007: 11-20

Almost 2 months late, but we're finally getting to the gold at the end of the rainbow. This is where you'll begin finding the songs I expect to be listening to for years to come. This is were repetition starts to come in, as the truly exceptional albums all have 5-6 songs that deserve charting high. You'll see The pierces, Dragonette and Arcade Fire duplicate within this entry alone! But let that not sway you, as they are all utterly soulbreaking songs.

20. The Pierces - Sticks & Stones (Sendspace)
Album: Thirteen Tales of Love and Revenge

An eery, creepy and greatly fun song as the girls take on the guise of witches as they tease a fearful, and have much too much fun doing it. Whether they're actual witches or just pretending to be for the sake of a prank, it's still excellent. The girls' unique harmony works especially well here, giving it a bizarre mystic feel.

19. Patrick Park - Pawn Song (Sendspace)
Album: Everyone's In Everyone

A rousing anti-war song, Park shows his cool rage and disappointment toward anyone 'thinking there's peace at the end of a gun'. He looks on soldiers and revolutionaries both as pawns in the war between leaders to scared to do anything themselves. Park's voice here is tight, pain-filled but determined to make a change, much like his song.

18. Beirut - Cliquot (Sendspace)
Album: The Flying Club Cup

While Beirut is often beautiful, finding connections with their music is often hit or miss for me. However, "Cliquot" is one of the best exceptions I could find, wrapping itself in my soul and tugging it high into the sky. The vocals are stricken, with the rhythms behind it recalling a time long, long ago as it tells the story of a dying man and his love living on without him. Truly epic and gorgeous.

17. Arcade Fire - Keep the Car Running (Sendspace)
Album: Neon Bible

This song can be summed up in one word: exciting. Everything within me seems to race forward listening to it, and I'm grinning the entire way. It's just a song that makes you happy, even if the lyrics don't hint to much joy in the situation. Produced differently, this song could've been far too heavy, but the tack Arcade Fire have taken with it here makes it one of the most enjoyable tracks on the album.

16. Dragonette - True Believer (Sendspace)
Album: Galore

Of all the songs on Dragonette's shamelessly sexy album, this might be the most interesting, coming from the typical Dragonette protagonist with a twist - she's been 'saved', though with love instead of religion. A former bad girl with a string of one-time beaus, she's almost ashamed to be involved in an actual relationship, and you can see that she's loving it despite feeling as if she's losing something in the deal. In a quieter part, she even admits insecurity, wondering if she's just "the new girl curled round your finger", then soon after yells, "It's you who's done this thing to me; I used to be so bad!". There's a lot of complexity here, much more than the typical Dragonette song, and I love it.

15. The Pierces - Secret (Sendspace)
Album: Thirteen Tales of Love and Revenge

The most overtly-threatening song of the bunch, this is a song about the dangers of entrusting your deepest secrets to anyone else, throwing out the tagline, "Two can keep a secret if one of them is dead". The two have made a darkly beautiful song, and when the spoken dialogue comes in the middle, it seems like a natural part in the song that leads into its climax perfectly.

14. Scala & Kolacny Brothers - The Beautiful People (Marilyn Manson cover) (Sendspace)
Album: One-Winged Angel

I'm definitely no fan of Marylin Manson. While I recognise the skill with which he constructs his songs, his style is my antithesis. That said, taking the angelic vocals of Scala and applying them to this vicious attack on capitalism is a brilliant move, as they bring a new dimension to the song with the choral, female tone. It sends shivers down your spine, to hear this coming from a group such as Scala.

13. Arcade Fire - Intervention (Sendspace)
Album: Neon Bible

A truly epic song, showcasing church-style organs to skyrocket the song into the stratosphere while vocalist Win Butler tells a story of poverty and family in his distinctive way. It's soaring, pulling you in and dragging you up and throwing you into a free fall toward the sky. The pain and desperation in Butler's voice is compelling, and this is a song that practically hurts to listen to. And yet, every time, I feel the need to charge the volume so high I'll be deaf by 25. Best lyrics: "Singing hallelujah with the fear in your heart."

12. Dragonette – The Boys (Calvin Harris cover) (Sendspace)
Album: Single

A new take on Calvin Harris' 'The Girls', this song reverses the gender role and, even better, rearranges some parts. For example, the segue from the first part to the second always amuses me. This is the perfect song for Dragonette to take on, actually, as is follows the themes of joyful promiscuity from Galore while also being a fun counterpoint to Harris' version.

11. Spoon - The Underdog (Sendspace)
Album: Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga

If exciting summed up 'Keep the Car Running', then 'fun' sums up this one. I love the message not to underestimate the underdog, because they always do spoil your plans. This tearing down of the self-superior and stuck up is great for the everyman who has to live in this world, getting stepped on in turn by all those above him. A song that will not be forgotten. "You've got no fear of the underdog; that's why you will not survive." Hell yeah.

If you enjoy these songs, I really think you should check out their albums! If a song's up this high, the album they're on is probably pretty damn exceptional.

TOP 100 SONGS 0F 2007: 71-80

We're just starting to gain some momentum. so I'm gonna cut to the chase and keep going...

80. Remi Nicole - Right Side of Me (Rapidshare link)
Album: My Conscience & I

A really sweet love song about feeling accepted and loved, even at her worst. It's so honest, very downbeat and low and showcases Remi's voice and lyrics instead of the music. I enjoy the little dialogues Remi relates, and when she finally says, "I think you're amazing," we believe that she does.

79. Tori Amos - The Beauty of Speed (Rapidshare link)
Album: American Doll Posse

I fell in love with this song through a live version, actually, which moved a little slower and forced Tori to sing normally all through the chorus, something I initially disliked, but have grown to love. The lyrics and her vocals here are spine-tingling, and her piano is, just as always, beautiful. While this album has been slow to grow on me, this song readily demanded to be acknowledged.

78. Klaxons - Golden Skans (Rapidshare link)
Album: Myths of the Near Future

One of the catchiest songs of the year, it spread through the blogs like wildfire. I have no idea what it means, but it doesn't really matter to you when you're listening to it and getting caught up in its craziness. Kicks off like one of the bands titular klaxons, demanding your attention as it pounds forward, then

77. Rilo Kiley - Smoke Detector (Rapidshare link)
Album: Under the Blacklight

I have to admit, as a Rilo Kiley song, this is disappointing; in fact, the entirety of Under the Blacklight was. It should have crammed itself all into my Top 20 instead of straggling down here in the 70's. That said, if I forget what this should be, I enjoy Jenny Lewis' fun vocals and the not-bad lyrics.

76. Bowerbirds – Human Hands (Rapidshare link)
Album: Hymns of a Dark Horse

Another quiet Bowerbirds song, wonderful in its simplicity. They showcase their environmental focus here again, speaking about how despite the danger nature may pose, there is no hate; that is unique to humanity, a fact we should be both ashamed and proud of. We are different, Bowerbirds tell us, and it's up to us to realise how to use it for good and not evil.

75. Spoon - The Ghost of You Lingers (Rapidshare link)
Album: Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga

Unlike Spoon's usual style, this song is genuinely creepy, with vocals quite and sounding distant and far away like a ghost's, while the music itself pounds on relentlessly. Impressive atmosphere used here, to great effect. Few songs do creepy well, and I like how this one does it.

74. Mgmt - The Youth (Rapidshare link)
Album: Oracular Spectacular

From intriguing newbies to my collection, Mgmt (sometimes called 'The Management') bring a song with layers that is quite mysterious as to its meaning. I believe it's about the core value differences between our generation and those before us, though I can feel a note of paranoia here as well. It makes me curious, and either way it's a fun listen.

73. Tegan and Sara - Soil, Soil (Rapidshare link)
Album: The Con

For a long time 'The Con's redeeming note in my eyes, a really sweet song about waiting on a call from someone important. 'Buried in my yard, a letter to send to you. And if I forget, or God forbid die too soon, hope that you'll hear me, know that I wrote to you." Those lines, the desperation and sadness within them, caught my heart in a big way and held there whiule the rest of the album grew on me.

72. Remi Nicole - Go Mr. Sunshine (Rapidshare link)
Album: My Conscience & I

Bookending young Ms. Nicole's oddly similar spots on this section of this list is this wonderful anthem to summer, the song that introduced her to me and got me excited for her debut (which I ended up loving). It's full of just those little details you love about summer. I'm expecting this song will be on every commercial imaginable.c

71. Modest Mouse - Little Motel (Rapidshare link)

An oddly tender, if at first seemingly nonsensical, song from a band I often associate with, well, songs I don't like too much. The self-perspective the protagonist shows here is impressive, and it's a nice song about the regret of the destruction of a relationship. Regret fills every word of this song, pours through it. It seems remarkably mature for a band that too often fills their songs with screaming and/or whining.

Just remember, if you love any of this music, I urge you to check it out elsewhere! A lot of these artists are still growing, especially Dragonette, Bowerbirds, Remi and Mgmt, who all just released their debut albums in 2007. Apologies for posting this section late. I may post the next today to catch up.

TOP 100 SONGS 0F 2007: 91-100

Everyone has them, those lists of what song rocked the hardest, made your heart beat the fastest, made you grin the longest. The music that made 2007 stand out from any year before or after it. After much deliberation, I'm set to share with you guys my top 100 songs of 2007, piece by piece.

(Also, check out Marelly's list, as there shall be some interesting stuff on it.)

100. Jon McLaughlin - Amelia's Missing (Rapidshare link)
Album: Indiana

A sweet song with an interesting hook, dropping names of famous missing persons to express the difficulty of finding the love of one's life in a sea of possibilities. Not perfect by a long shot, with some parts grating, but a nice, enjoyable song

99. The Bird and the Bee – Carol of the Bells (Rapidshare link)
Album: Internet Release

I'm not a huge Christmas music lover by a long shot, but Inara George and her merry band bring a gorgeous version of the well-known carol. It's a dreamy, sweet version of a song that, due to overexposure, often threatens to grate.

98. Spoon – Eddie’s Ragga (Rapidshare link)
Album: Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga

Though Spoon is a band I've yet to properly fall for, this is one of the songs I really like despite the relatively few times I've listened to it. The classic Spoon sound doesn't interfere with itself here, which makes it quite enjoyable. I expect to like this even more after a few more listens.

97. Bjork - Earth Intruders (Mark Stent Extended Mix) (Rapidshare link)
Album: Volta

Though Volta was, not to mince words, a great disappointment considering how great Bjork can be, it wasn't without its bright spots. Well, one bright spot. An intriguing song pounding forwards, unapologetic about its weirdness. Mark Stent's additions make this a Bjork song to remember, even if Volta was an album to forget.

96. Dolores O’Riordan – Ordinary Day (Rapidshare link)
Album: Are You Listening?

Oddly enough, the solo debut of Cranberries' lead singer didn't get much in the way of buzz, something I found sad considering how much I, personally, loved them. O'Riordan's made a great album here ("Black Widow" just barely missed the list as well), one I've overlooked on many an occasion, and Ordinary Day is a great song, easy to listen to.

95. Of Montreal - Heimdalsgate Like A Promethean Curse (Rapidshare link)
Album: Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer?

The song that showed me exactly what everyone saw in Of Montreal, even if I was slow to love it. Desperation coats the vocals of this song, desperation for normalcy and control, a sad state of affairs even as the song throws itself into a beat that makes it hard not to tap your feet along. Somehow, the beat and the melancholy work together instead of odds, giving it a shade of the manic that it needs to properly sell itself.

94. Sophie Ellis-Bextor - Colour Me In (Rapidshare link)
Album: Unreleased

This unreleased track, presumably a b-side from new album Trip the Light Fantastic, is delightfully visual. Ellis-Bextor is remarkable in her ability to make a great dance song with interesting lyrics, and this is no exception as it draws on colour to express feeling. The synthesizers and electric guitar (I believe), the enthusiasm of the vocals, just makes this song exciting, and that's a win for Sophie.

(* Please note that the file is from a collections of B-sides and other songs someone pieced together before 'Fantastic' was released as a sort of guess, and isn't from the actual album despite the mp3's label.)

93. Modest Mouse - Dashboard (Rapidshare link)
Album: We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank

A good beat, nonsensical lyrics declaring "the dashboard melted but we still have the radio", which is some consolation as this reminds why one would enjoy having a source of music despite a melted dashboard. At their best, Modest Mouse can make me move in my seat, and this one does so quite well.

92. A Fine Frenzy - The Minnow & the Trout (Rapidshare link)
Album: One Cell in the Sea

A tender song about acceptance and forgiveness, using (in my mind, Disney-esque) animals as stories to illustrate themes about equality among all who are different, even enemies. No matter how cheesy it sounds, it's a genuinely pretty song, and despite my better instincts hits somewhere deep inside.

91. Tegan and Sara - Floorplan (Rapidshare link)
Album: The Con

A nice T&S song, what could be considered a standard of The Con. While the lyrics don't seem to add up to a specific story, each part of this song ("I want to draw you a floorplan..." / "I'll hold this pain in my heart forever..." / "All eyes are on me now...") works both independently and with the others to make a beautiful song that just flows through you.

That's the beginning of what's been a pretty insane project these past weeks, alongside the Top 10 albums. These are often the tests by which blogs live, and I'm hoping this will properly establish at least my half of tBoS.

And as always, if you like the artists, feel free to check them out elsewhere. And enjoy!