2005 Singles, Pt. 5

This is it, the last singles entry. If there are glaring holes, let me know.

Cat Power-The Greatest
I'm counting this song, like the Strokes song, because (I think) it was released as a single in 2005. I don't think it's the best song on the album, but it very well may be the best single on the album. By no means am I normally a Cat Power fan; her songs are usually too slow, drawn-out, and nonmelodic for me to get into, even though I respect her. The new album, on the other hand, is full of lush, warm melodies, and Memphis-style instrumentation that accenuates her sexy purr. This song shows all of these great aspects of the album, and makes a perfect single from the early #1 album of 2006 (yes, better than Belle and Sebastian).

Black Rebel Motorcycle Club-Ain't No Easy Way
If I were honest with myself and gave this album the number of listens that I would deep down want to, it would probably be in my top 25. Unfortunately, this release was overshadowed byt Junior Senior and Broken Social Scene, and kind of got lost in the shuffle. The album is so different from the first two BRMC albums, and the changes are so many things that I like: gospel-rock ballads, a (faux) bohemian feel, garage influences. This song is a fun romp, something that sounds timeless, or at least a good imitation of something timeless. I know that the aesthetic of BRMC is always change and "fake," but so was the Dandy Warhols' aesthetic before they started sucking, so are all the Ryan Adams albums, and so was the Strokes' aesthetic. I like fake sounds, as long as they are well done, and this song is a perfect example of a sound being captured to perfection.

Okkervil River-A Stone
This song is the most glaring exception to my fun-goofy-song theme for the year in singles. It is emotional, serious, almost melodramatic. I love it for emotional, serious, and melodramatic reasons. The last verse puts me to the edge of tears, when I'm in the right mood. Taken within the album it is much more meaningful, and maybe "For Real" is a better single, but this song blows me away. It is the perfect album track on a near-perfect album, one that shakes with emotioanl content without exploding into gross emo shit, one that is powerful without destroying itself.

Revolution 9-Computer Girl/Computer Girl [Erotic Robotic Remix]
Now that i've given the exception, let me return to the rule. This song is undeniably the zaniest, funniest, you-very-well-might-not-like-it goofiest song on the list. The lyrics are absurd and laughable, the beats are so new wave it's gross, and the guy's vocals sound like he's in a Soft Cell tribute band. I love it. The remix is great too, so I included it here (it also has a great remix name). The song's premise is perfect for a dance song: the speaker is in love with a female robot made for his pleasure, and he explains how great she is. You have to hear it to believe it, so i'll just close with a sample lyric "She can make me laugh / though she doesn't have / any funny bone / underneath." I'm laughing now.

Sigur Ros-Hoppipolla
Sigur Ros certainly wasn't a band that is single-friendly at all. Until this song. In the case of the new album it was the single that hooked me and drew me in to the rest of the soundscapes. That isn't supposed to happen with avant-garde European bands like Sigur Ros. I'm glad it did, though. Beautiful vocals, as always.

Ryan Adams-Trains
In 2005 Ryan Adams was all over the map, in both content and (sigh) quality (I'll write an entry about this later). For me, Jacksonville City Nights was undeniably the highlight of the year: an album full of honky-tonk anthems, pretty lullabyes, and country romps like this one. The hook is great, the lyrics are entertaining if not genuine or heartbreaking (ha!). The rhythm of the song, though, really drives it to the end and brings me back for more; I like where Ry-Ry went with this song and this album, and hope he explores it more before running off and doing something completely different.

Bloc Party-Banquet [Phones Disco Edit]
Wow. Everyone loves this song, whether they are crazy music geeks or first-time listeners. You can play it for your parents, your girlfriend, a frat guy, a high school girl, and your little brother, and they should all like it. I love it. The original is a very good song, but Phones makes it magic. This was the undeniable favorite at SCHOLARTRON, as expected; as the song closed, someone shouted in my ear: "that song kicked my ass." For a short while, everyone in the room was brought together by a song that everyone could appreciate; a song that does that has to be something special.

Royksopp-What Else is There? (Trentemoller Remix)
This is one of the songs that the pitchfork year-end list would have been good for. Unfortunately for pitchfork and fortunately for me, thanks to Dan, I had already heard this song many times and already fallen in love with it. I have never really gotten into Royksopp (I know Dan would kill me for this, but I've never heard him listen to Jesus and Mary Chain, so we're even). Still, the few songs I've heard of theirs I like enough. This song I love; the beats are crazy, the vocals are perfectly used, the song is wonderfully mature. I've decided that what separates a great remix from a good remix is the details; on repeat listens all the little things make this track so great, from the background synths to the great beats on the fade out. This is a fairly rave-y song, but it is so good to make me reconsider the worth or rave-techno music.

Antony and the Johnsons-Hope There's Someone
My favorite track of the year is somewhat an anti-climaz; it's so obvious. What a beautiful song. I fell in love with it as soon as I heard it, but the emotional atmosphere of the winter/spring 2005 was too much for me to handle this song, so I didn't listen to it all the time. In the early summer I was somewhat better equipped to handle it, although the raw emotion and sadness still made me uncomfortable. Then, on the first day of Depauw in the fall, I finally just let the song in, embraced it; it was during a nap, and I had some crazy dreams, only to be woken by the piano poundings at the end of the song. From then on, it was done; this song was it. I know I'm sounding somewhat evangelical talking about this song, but that's how it makes me feel: it's something so beautiful and powerful that you want to go out and share it with other people. I guess that's why I listen to pop music instead of go to church.