[Got Miikka?]

I posted this elsewhere. Like troutman I like to make a compilation of the year's better songs to give out as gifts (whether they're charitably received is another matter, ha ha). And here it is (it's rather long including all my rationale!):

"Don't Tase Me, Bro! - The Best of 2007"

Side A
Pioneer To The Falls - Interpol (from Our Love To Admire)
Bodysnatchers - Radiohead (In Rainbows)
Hold My Hand - UNKLE (War Stories)
Start A War - The National (Boxer)
Don't Make Me A Target - Spoon (Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga)
The Pills Won't Help You Now - Chemical Brothers (We Are The Night)
What I've Done - Linkin Park (Minutes To Midnight)

Side B
The Beatific - Buck 65 (Situation)
Mer Du Japon - Air (Pocket Symphony)
You Are My Face - Wilco (Sky Blue Sky)
Down On The Ground - British Sea Power (Krankenhaus? EP)
Only Ones Who Know - Arctic Monkeys (Favorite Worst Nightmare)
Pick Me Up - Dinosaur Jr. (Beyond)


Why?

Pioneer To The Falls - Interpol - Although I feel that Interpol has been on a steady decline since their highly auspicious debut record, their most recent records have had some fantastic tracks. The opening cut on "Our Love To Admire" is vintage Interpol: the basic note structure that kicks things off leads into a hard-rocking two guitar interplay, paced perfectly by Paul Banks' haunting Ian Curtis-esque vocals.

Bodysnatchers - Radiohead - Thanks to my man-crush on this band I can't really make an objective commentary. Suffice it to say I think "In Rainbows" is far and away the best record of 2007, but who am I to judge. I fell in love with most of the songs in 2006, when I played bootlegs of the live versions until the cows came home; the structure of Bodysnatchers, with its catchy riff and heavy guitars leading into an acoustic interlude about halfway through, leaves the most lasting impression of any on this record, and indeed this is the song that was translated most faithfully from stage to studio (not that I disapprove of those Radiohead songs that take on an entirely different life in one forum or the other).

Hold My Hand - UNKLE - I don't really know what to make of UNKLE, who won acclaim with "Psyence Fiction" in the late '90s but have had a rather lukewarm reception since; this latest album has several tracks that don't exactly float my boat, but I really like this one, mostly just because it sounds like something that would work really well as a soundtrack to a bloody rampage scene in a Robert Rodriguez movie. He should consider using this song in Sin City 2.

Start A War - The National - This track perfectly embodies the heavily vaunted "Boxer" - a gentle acoustic number that marries romantic and political themes. It has such a bittersweet mood; I love it.

Don't Make Me A Target - Spoon - Spoon is just so ing awesome. I wish more people would take note of this band. Crunchy guitars, heavy bass, piano, Britt Daniels' raspy, playful vocals; they're indie-punk at its finest and this song is proof. Listen to Spoon!

The Pills Won't Help You Now - Chemical Brothers - A song that seems to be about getting over drug addiction. We'll skip the content and focus on how this epic track builds from a rather heavy-hearted mood into something uplifting and divine, even if its subject is a rather morbid.

What I've Done - Linkin Park - You're marketing the summer's biggest blockbuster movie, and you need music for the trailer. As evidenced over the last two or three years, your clear choice is a Linkin Park track. This song is by no means virtuoso work but for me it is somewhat emblematic of 2007's warm months, and I gotta give props to these guys for writing songs that just sound awesome pumped up loud in a dark theatre.

The Beatific - Buck 65 - Some years ago I was watching "Evening At The Improv" on A&E and a comedian did a bit about marrying country music and rap - he called it 'Crap'. Apparently Buck 65 was watching the same bit, and found some inspiration; he must be the only folk rapper out there. This man's work is best appreciated live, when he stands solo on a stage with an Ipod and 'raps' over tracks built from samples and basic beats. Buck 65 hits all kinds of subjects, often in the same song. It's eclectic and cool and I dig it.

Mer Du Japon - Air - I am not so hot on Air's latest record, especially when I go back and listen to their older albums (even 2004's Talkie Walkie kicks the out of this one; in fact, "Pocket Symphony" at times sounds a lot like a collection of throwaway tracks from the same sessions). This is the one song on this record that works for me.

You Are My Face - Wilco - One of my all-time favorites, Wilco is a band that has been on an evolutionary curve. Members have come and gone but through it all Jeff Tweedy's sublime genius has remained constant, unresistant to change. "Sky Blue Sky" didn't blow me away the way "A Ghost Is Born" did, but this is still a solid record I find myself listening to over and over. "You Are My Face" seems to exemplify Wilco's current groove, complete with a harder-hitting middle section courtesy of Nels Cline's guitars and mellow denouement that restores Tweedy's gentle melody. Superb.

Down On The Ground - British Sea Power - BSP released a five-track EP this year to satiate its fans, rabid for a new longplay. Their next full-length record is due out in 2008 - I can't ing wait - and I pretty much just stuck this song on here as an excuse to have BSP tracks on my top-songs list two years running. God bless em.

Only Ones Who Know - Arctic Monkeys - Depending who you ask these guys are either the second coming or an overrated circus sideshow; I had to warm up to their first record, while their latest had the opposite effect. "My Favorite Worst Nightmare" is a very decent collection of muscular riffs that don't overstay their welcome while not leaving a really lasting impression, interrupted only once at the album's midpoint by this slower-paced lovesong that really lets Alex Turner's often Damon Albarn-esque vocals shine through, accompanied by some lovely strings. This record shows that Arctic Monkeys are a band on the rise, and, based on the performance I saw them make on Conan O'Brien, they'd make for one hell of a concert.

Pick Me Up - Dinosaur Jr. - I am by no means Dinosaur Jr.'s biggest fan, but I love J. Mascis' solo outro on this track. These guys have been rocking for many years now, and they've still got it, even if they actually are starting to look like dinosaurs.

For Your Consideration...
!!! - Myth Takes, Amon Tobin - Foley Room, Arcade Fire - Neon Bible (give me another "Funeral"!), Bjork - Volta (no matter how hard I try, I just don't GET Bjork), Black Francis - Bluefinger (every year has 365 days, and every year has a Frank Black project), Bloc Party - Weekend in the City (what a letdown), Blond Redhead - 23, Burial - Untrue, Caribou - Andorra, Dntel - Dumb Luck, Editors - End Has a Start, Foo Fighters - Echoes, Silence, Patience and Grace, Jay-Z - American Gangster, Jonny Greenwood is the Controller, Kanye West - Graduation, LCD Soundsystem - Sound of Silver, MIA - Kala, M83 - Digital Shades (or, in my case, digital watermark), Modest Mouse - We Were Dead..., RJD2 - Third Hand, Silverchair - Young Modern, Smashing Pumpkins - Zeitgeist (time for Corgan to remain a geist), Super Furry Animals - Hey Venus, The Aliens - Astronomy For Dogs (RIP Beta Band), The Good, The Bad and The Queen (time for Albarn and Graham Coxon to kiss and make-up methinks), The Shins - Wincing The Night Away, The White Stripes - Icky Thump, Velvet Revolver - Libertad (LOL).

Thanks to this forum for the inspiration for the title of the collection