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July 21, 2005
Top 20 Songs of 2005 So Far
I was inspired by my buddy Wu over at Backfield in Motion to make a list of my favorite twenty songs released so far in 2005. Since I'm too lazy to write something about each one, I chose instead to let part of each song do the talking. Hope you enjoy; click below to see the list.
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'Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks',
'title' => 'It Kills',
'album' => 'Face the Truth',
'label' => 'Matador',
'labelurl' => 'http://www.matadorrecords.com/',
'artisturl' => 'http://www.stephenmalkmus.com',
'line' =>
'It kills the time
Until you fill your heart
You'll see
There's more to you than what you think of me' ), array( 'artist' => 'Edan', 'title' => 'Funky Voltron Ft. Insight', 'album' => 'Beauty and the Beat', 'label' => 'Lewis', 'labelurl' => 'http://www.lewisrecordings.com/', 'artisturl' => 'http://www.thehumblemagnificent.com/', 'line' => 'Somebody throws a baby
Oh shit
Do a spin move and catch it
And the crowd goes crazy' ), array( 'artist' => 'The Oranges Band', 'title' => 'Ride the Wild Wave', 'album' => 'The World And Everything In It', 'label' => 'Lookout!', 'labelurl' => 'http://www.lookoutrecords.com/', 'artisturl' => 'http://www.theorangesband.com', 'line' => 'We'll ride the wild wave
All around the world' ), array( 'artist' => 'The New Pornographers', 'title' => 'The Bleeding Heart Show', 'album' => 'Twin Cinema', 'label' => 'Matador', 'labelurl' => 'http://www.matadorrecords.com/', 'artisturl' => 'http://www.thenewpornographers.com', 'line' => 'We have arrived
to late to play
the bleeding heart show' ), array( 'artist' => 'The Decemberists', 'title' => 'The Mariner's Revenge Song', 'album' => 'Picaresque', 'label' => 'Kill Rock Stars', 'labelurl' => 'http://www.killrockstars.com/', 'artisturl' => 'http://www.decemberists.com', 'line' => 'Find him, find him
Tie him to a pole and break
His fingers to splinters
Drag him to a hole until he
Wakes up naked
Clawing at the ceiling
Of his grave' ), array( 'artist' => 'Clap Your Hands Say Yeah', 'title' => 'Let the Cool Goddess Rust Away', 'album' => 'S/T LP', 'label' => 'Clap Your Hands Say Yeah', 'labelurl' => 'http://www.clapyourhandssayyeah.com/', 'artisturl' => 'http://www.clapyourhandssayyeah.com/', 'line' => 'So we'll salvage some of that human dignity
It'll be a long hard road' ), array( 'artist' => 'Common', 'title' => 'Faithful', 'album' => 'Be', 'label' => 'Geffen', 'labelurl' => 'http://www.geffen.com/', 'artisturl' => 'http://www.common-music.com', 'line' => 'She asked, "Why do men always have to stray?"
He said, "I'm bad, not as bad as Eric Benet"' ), array( 'artist' => 'Art Brut', 'title' => 'Bad Weekend', 'album' => 'Bang Bang Rock and Roll', 'label' => 'Fierce Panda', 'labelurl' => 'http://www.fiercepanda.co.uk/', 'artisturl' => 'http://www.artbrut.org.uk', 'line' => 'Popular culture no longer applies to me' ), array( 'artist' => 'Lyrics Born', 'title' => 'I'm Just Raw', 'album' => 'Same !@#$ Different Day', 'label' => 'Quannum Projects', 'labelurl' => 'http://www.quannum.com/', 'artisturl' => 'http://www.lyricsborn.com/', 'line' => 'The Loch ness monster up against a crawdad
Talkin Sly Stalone in Rocky versus Sly Stalone in Copland
' ), array( 'artist' => 'Iron and Wine', 'title' => 'Jezebel', 'album' => 'Woman King EP', 'label' => 'SubPop', 'labelurl' => 'http://www.subpop.com/', 'artisturl' => 'http://www.ironandwine.com', 'line' => 'wait
we swear we'll love you more
and holy jezebel
it's we that you are for, only' ), array( 'artist' => 'Sleater-Kinney', 'title' => 'Entertain', 'album' => 'The Woods', 'label' => 'SubPop', 'labelurl' => 'http://www.subpop.com/', 'artisturl' => 'http://www.sleater-kinney.com', 'line' => 'If your art is done
Johnny get your gun
Join the rank and file
on your TV dial' ), array( 'artist' => 'Maxïmo Park', 'title' => 'Apply Some Pressure', 'album' => 'A Certain Trigger', 'label' => 'Warp', 'labelurl' => 'http://www.warprecords.com/', 'artisturl' => 'http://www.maximopark.com', 'line' => 'What happens when you lose everything
You just start again
You start all over again' ), array( 'artist' => 'Okkervil River', 'title' => 'The Latest Toughs', 'album' => 'Black Sheep Boy', 'label' => 'Jagjaguwar', 'labelurl' => 'http://www.jagjaguwar.com/', 'artisturl' => 'http://www.okkervilriver.com/', 'line' => 'All the latest toughs
Well we have seen that stuff
And we have seen enough
Blood in dying coughs
Which means that we have lost' ), array( 'artist' => 'Marathon', 'title' => 'Painting by Numbers', 'album' => 'Marathon', 'label' => 'Law of Inertia', 'labelurl' => 'http://www.lawofinertia.com/', 'artisturl' => 'http://www.marathonarmy.org', 'line' => 'Let's start a war' ), array( 'artist' => 'LCD Soundsystem', 'title' => 'Disco Infiltrator', 'album' => 'LCD Soundsystem', 'label' => 'DFA', 'labelurl' => 'http://www.dfarecords.com/', 'artisturl' => 'http://www.lcdsoundsystem.com', 'line' => 'Oh, stop
You gotta shake your waist - uggh' ), array( 'artist' => 'Sufjan Stevens', 'title' => 'Decatur, Or, Round of Applause for Your Step Mother!', 'album' => 'Illinois', 'label' => 'Asthmatic Kitty', 'labelurl' => 'http://www.asthmatickitty.com/', 'artisturl' => 'http://www.sufjan.com/', 'line' => 'The sound of the engines and the smell of the grain
We go riding on the abolition grain train
Stephen A. Douglas was a great debator
But Abraham Lincoln was the great emancipator' ), array( 'artist' => 'The Hold Steady', 'title' => 'How a Resurrection Really Feels', 'album' => 'Separation Sunday', 'label' => 'French Kiss', 'labelurl' => 'http://www.frenchkissrecords.com/', 'artisturl' => 'http://www.theholdsteady.com', 'line' => 'She crashed into the easter mass
With her hair done up in broken glass
She was limping left on broken heels
And she said, "Father, can I tell your congregation
How a resurrection really feels?"' ), array( 'artist' => 'The Mountain Goats', 'title' => 'This Year', 'album' => 'The Sunset Tree', 'label' => '4AD', 'labelurl' => 'http://www.themountaingoats.net/', 'artisturl' => 'http://www.4ad.com/', 'line' => 'And then Kathy showed up and we hung out
Trading swigs from the bottle all bitter and clean
Locking eyes, holding hands
Twin high-maintenance machines
I am gonna make it through this year if it kills me' ), array( 'artist' => 'The Fiery Furnaces', 'title' => 'Evergreen', 'album' => 'EP', 'label' => 'Merge', 'labelurl' => 'http://www.roughtraderecords.com/', 'artisturl' => 'http://www.thefieryfurnaces.com', 'line' => 'Needle prick my spruce root
Dear little hemlock shoot
Make me stay sharp and keen, evergreen' ), array( 'artist' => 'Spoon', 'title' => 'I Summon You', 'album' => 'Gimme Fiction', 'label' => 'Merge', 'labelurl' => 'http://www.mergerecords.com/', 'artisturl' => 'http://www.spoontheband.com', 'line' => 'But aww no where are you tonight
And how'd we get here
It's too late to break it off
I need a release
The signal's a cough
But that don't get me off
I summon you to appear my love
' ), ); $i = 0; while ($i < count($top20)) { $dispcount = count($top20) - $i ; echo<<
#$dispcount
{$top20[$i]['artist']} - {$top20[$i]['title']}
{$top20[$i]['album']}
{$top20[$i]['line']}END_OF_HTML; $i++; } ?>
Posted by jake at July 21, 2005 10:38 PM
Comments
i love it. great #1. (though i wish I had put edan "I see colours" on my list)
Posted by: christopher wu at July 23, 2005 10:26 AM
it came down to a debate whether to put funky voltron or i see colours... i went with voltron because someone throws a baby in it... holy shit
Posted by: Jacob Rosenberg at July 25, 2005 02:50 PM