The Top Fifty Favorite Songs Of 2007 - Pt.3

III.
I hope the discerning listener public enjoyed The Process documentation in yesterday's post. It's about care and love and, I suppose ... obsession. As I've said before, this is the point in the countdown where things get interesting.

30. “Rock & Roll Renegade” by The Frantic
The Frantic exemplify the youthful exuberance that has informed the best rock n roll since the 1950s. It helps because this quartet is quite literally youthful - average age is 18.5. "Rock & Roll Renegade" is a rave up tale of nothing matters but rock n roll. Compact, dirty, lots of energy that channels Buddy Holly, Jerry Lee Lewis, and early Replacements.

29. “L’ours” by Tricot Machine
This Motreal francophone duo (Catherine Leduc and Matthieu Beaumont) crafts sophisticated organic-pop – can we not call it folk for fuck’s sake. Handclaps, gently strummed acoustic guitar, melancholy piano, plunky banjo, and a nervous pound-pound-beat mark the music while Leduc delivers a driving stunning melody. A killer move is when Beaumont joins in on the melody just slightly in the background, a perfect compliment to Leduc’s lead vocals.

28. “Change Your Mind” by Walker Kong
Minneapolis indie popsters tap directly into a Soft Boys source. The thing that this song delivers on so well is its drive. Always moving forward flirting with tempo, flipping cascading riffs, gorgeous lilting licks, perfectly placed transitions, and hooks galore. Check out the guitar work from 1:49 to 2:01. This is finely crafted pop where every note, every lick, every hook has a purpose.

27. “The Zoo” by The Broadway Hush
Twee – the term cannot be denied when it comes to this simple pop song with candied melodies and tasty hooks (note this very twee move: this is a duo of Whitney & Michael, no last names please), thus it’s easy to be put off. This very stylistic fact may even cause some to proudly proclaim The Broadway Hush losers. Well, fuck that! “The Zoo” is such an accomplishment because the execution is so solid, so seamless. There is a point (about the two-minute-mark) where Whitney asks, “Would you like to love me again?” and the song sticks (the keyboard, drums, and guitar) like a record skipping for about eight or so beats – giving a musical answer to her query. That is great songwriting.

26. “Objects Of My Affection” by Peter Bjorn & John
Talk about a huge fucking gnarly riff! Love it more than you could imagine! As you know, I love when songs play the dynamics very, very hard; when the push-and-pull is marked with extreme prejudice. Peter, Bjorn & John are obviously known more for that whistling song (I’ve already been there, check #6 on LY’s list). There is just something about triumph and sadness and self-esteem and brokenness and exuberance and anger and faith and absurdity wrapped in the song. No real melody, no definite hooks, just all this mess of emotion reflecting the severity of life.

25. “Barriers” by Aereogramme
This is an amazing piece of orch-guitar-pop where distinct movements interact like a piece of classical music: guitar distortion and chamber strings are connected in sublime perfection by lead singer’s Craig B’s voice. The melody is gorgeous and the song lush; the chorus shimmers and pulsates and soars heavy on emotion, recalling 2003’s stellar track, “The Black Path”. Aereogramme take the push-and-pull, the tension-and-release to the most effective point, a place of warm honesty and head-nodding understanding. It is the record’s best track.

24. “Under The Guillotine” by The Mary Onettes
The Mary Onettes are definitely on a retro kick, which can be pretty disgusting - luckily these Swedes do it right. This track recalls The Teardrop Explodes and The Chameleons (UK) in the best way possible (i.e. check the echo-y vocals). Compact verses give way to soaring hooks; the bridge is emotional and rich. I love how the song constantly threatens to roll onto itself.

23. “Bookshop Casanova” by The Clientele
The Clientele is a band that sneaks up on you. For example, when this track pops up on your random play you have no choice but to pause (this can be unsettling if your task requires attention, say, driving). It is the smooth-becoming-earnest melody that ensnares the faint Motown-ish guitar and steady backbeat, the way the cymbals ring on-and-on, the strings that go from staccato-to-drawn out, and the sheer movement from verse to hook to guitar solo to bridge to hook to verse and around-around we go.

22. “Matchbook Seeks Maniac” by Deerhoof
On this creative meditation on the desire for power, Deerhoof reaches into the 60s girl group cutesy merging with clanging post-punk drive. It's like Sonic Youth doing The Ronnettes. Musically, everything is here: melody, hooks, structure, but it's the lyrical content where they transcend. Lead singer, Satomi Matsuzaki coos, “Why does power make the crazy boy ...?” and then with a big snare smash her vocals soar, “I will sell my soul to devil, if I can be the top of the world.” Duhhhhhhhh duh-duh duh-duh duh-duh goes the riff. Awesome.

21. “We Throw Parties, You Throw Knives” by Los Campesinos!
It is exuberance amidst the throes of simple boy-girl twee micro-pop from lovely Cardiff, Wales; plunky guitar and cute melody give way to twinkly glockenspiel and big fuzzy guitars and a gorgeus chorus (sung by … I’m not sure which female – either Aleksandra or Ellen or Harriet – first names only … real twee move kids!). The real win is two-fold: the cacophony of double melody with a serious rock-out jam at the 1:25 mark and the violent silliness of the lyrics ("There's red stains all over the place/they're not blood, they're cherryade/We throw parties, you throw knives" and "It's your party, but I'll die if I want to").

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