Favorite Songs of 2024 - Songs 1-11

Overcoming a number of obstacles, at long last here are my 11 favorite songs of 2024.

1.    She's Leaving You by MJ Lenderman.

"You can put your clothes back on,

She's leaving you.

No time to apologize

For the things you do.

Go rent a Ferrari

And sing the blues.

Believe that Clapton was the second coming."

So this was going to be the year that we finally had a repeat artist with the "best song" on the List. From likely my favorite band ever, and certainly since the inception of the List. With a new album out and a song on it (actually several) that I loved. 

Then along came MJ Lenderman and kicked that plan right in the butt. The Ashville, NC native is a critical darling following his release of "Manning Fireworks" (along with his previously mentioned duet with Katie Crutchfield "Right Back to It" and his work in the band Wednesday). While I might pump the brakes a little on comparisons to The Boss, Manning Fireworks in general and "She's Leaving You" in particular are chock-full of great lyrics and excellent musicianship. Also highly recommended from the album are "Wristwatch" (with likely my favorite lyrics of 2024: "I've got a houseboat docked at the Himbo Dome; And a wristwatch that's a pocket knife and a megaphone; And a wristwatch that tells me I'm on my own") and the eponymous "Manning Fireworks." By all means, have a listen.

2.    Burial Ground by The Decemberists (with James Mercer).

"This world's 

All wrong

So let's go where we belong

Pack up the stereo

Meet at the burial ground."

The aforementioned favorite band, and favorite song from their latest album "As It Ever Was, So It Will Be Again." The addition of James Mercer (of The Shins fame) clinched the deal. Until it didn't. At the very least, also check out the salsa beat and horns on "Oh No!" from this excellent latest effort from our Portland friends.

The Decemberists in Durham in 2024.

3.    Weak In Your Light by Nation of Language.

"Funblin' friend and foe, we're in rotten light

Starin' down the simple somethin' that'll shape my whole life.

Breathin' and burnin' beleaguered and overthrown

I can feel myself come undone ... yet there's more ..."

Spotify tells me that this was my most-listened to song of 2024. Which makes sense, seeing that it came out in 2023 and was on my playlist from the start of the year. Not to mention that I really like it. I was curious to see if lead singer Ian Richard Devaney's voice was heavily overdubbed (as I suspected) or was really as pure live as on the recorded version. After viewing the above video, count me as convinced: he has a great voice.

4.    Ice Cream Piano by Vampire Weekend.

"Armistice, we never tried it

You're the soldier, I'm police.

Listen baby, we can't deny it:

You don't want to win this war

'Cause you don't want the peace."

Doesn't exactly sound like a healthy relationship, but love how we get there musically and lyrically. More songs to recommend from "Only God Was Above Us" than any other album released in 2024, including "Prep School Gangsters," "Capricorn," "Classical," and "Mary Boone" in addition to my favorite, Ice Cream Piano.

5.    Ain't No Love in Oklahoma by Luke Combs.

"I keep chasin' that same old devil

Down the same old dead end highway.

Riding that storm runnin' through my veins

Like a shot down, tail spun airplane."

Yup, a movie song. And a CMA Awards video. Deal with it. And rock out while you do.

6.    Snake Plant (The Past Is Still Alive) by Hurray For The Riff Raff.

"Tattoo with a needle and thread

Most of our old friends are dead

So, test your drugs, remember Narcan

There's a war on the people, what don't you understand?"

Just a guess that Hurray For The Riff Raff will not darken the CMA Awards' door anytime soon. But hey, that's what we're here for - variety! HFTRR's lead singer, Alynda Segarra, however, would certainly fit in well with the likes of Boxcar Willie.

7.    Sick Sweet by Wishy.

"Well it's a sick sweet life

and I'm gambling it all tonight

With every shade of me flying

like freaks on a free ride."

The kind of song this List was built on: straight ahead power pop. Wishy are apparently from Indianapolis, which is completely consistent with the previous sentence.

8.    Rewind by Rosali.

"I'm a gold light made of rhythm and space

She's a soft wind, you'll meet her someday.

I feel my whole life blowing away

Wanna be with you someday."

A pretty love song with some excellent horns. The video, however, is rather ... inscrutable.

9.     Fair Shake by Hanover.

"There's courage at my window

and doubt at my door

But it's the way you keep me guessing

that makes me so sure."

Another solid power pop song that puts me in mind of '90's groups like Matchbox 20, or even '70's rock like BTO. Apparently, Hanover have yet to be discovered by ... just about anyone but me, judging by the number of views of this song on YouTube.

10.    Sunshine Getaway by JD McPherson.

"Oh neighbor, drag me out of the state I'm in

I need a tropical breeze over sun-kissed skin.

In the crystal blue seas where the palm trees sway

I'm stuck in the middle of the USA."

Sounds like our rockabilly friend JD needs a ... getaway.

11.    Dreams by Hana Vu.

"And every night is beautiful

And every song's your favorite one

And no it doesn't hurt to be alive

And love doesn't fade away

And everyone stays the same

And no it doesn't hurt to be alive."

A lovely, wishful song about the way things will never be. The song I heard latest in 2024 to make the List. On a t.v. show of all places ("High Potential" which I highly recommend).

That's it, at long last. I should say something about trying to be more diligent in posting the 2025 List, but it seems like it would be a hollow promise at this point. Hope you enjoyed it nonetheless!

Favorite Songs of the 2010's - Songs 1-25

I have to admit, I tinkered quite a bit with the top of this list, and even as I publish it am not convinced, that numbers two, three, or four in particular shouldn't be number one. But, hoping that you understand that the differences are minute and that while obviously I truly appreciate all of the songs on this list, I'm going to go with my heart. As with the last version, the * indicates artists I've seen in concert (in some cases multiple times).

1.  Swim Until You Can't See Land by Frightened Rabbit*.

"Up to my knees now, do I wade? Do I dive?
This sea has seen my like before, though it's my first and perhaps last time.
Let's call me a baptist, call this the drowning of the past.
She is there on the shoreline, throwing stones at my back."

I suppose those who follow the list won't be surprised by this choice. Hearing Frightened Rabbit for the first time (on the t.v. show "Chuck" - remember when we watched network t.v.? and it was good? and had great curated music?) in 2010 in many ways shaped my musical decade. While it might be easy to read "Swim" as yet another song where Scott Hutchison contemplated suicide, I find that, quite the opposite, it is a song of hope, as Scott the baptist cleanses himself of a relationship gone bad (while she throws stones at his back, of course). While Hutchison's passing was incredibly sad, I'm grateful that he lives on in music like this, my favorite song of 2010, and, as it turns out, the entire decade. Other FR songs on my list throughout the 2010's were "I Wish I Was Sober" (number five in 2016), "Holy" and "Late March, Death March" (seventh and twenty-eighth in 2013), "State Hospital" (number 12 in 2012), and "Nothing Like You" (number four, also in 2010).

2.  Young Fathers by Typhoon*.

"When you're young you're hot
You have your whole life before you
Everyone will adore
You'll grow up, you'll be an astronaut
(or anything you want)."

Typhoon's dawning of adulthood lament/cry for clarity has everything I love about a song - multi-percussionists, smart lyrics, group-shout choruses, and of course a horn section. Young Fathers was number one on my list in 2013, followed up by "Common Sentiments," which was eleventh in 2014. Also one of the best concerts I've ever seen. 

Typhoon at Cat's Cradle, March 2014 (photo by me)

3.  Old Friends by Pinegrove.

"My steps keep splitting my grief
Through these solipsistic moods
I should call my parents when I think of them
Should tell my friends when I love them."

Stripped down simplicity compared to Typhoon, Pinegrove's style is equally appealing - even to someone who is separated by many years from Gen Zers. Pinegrove has admirably soldiered on despite the social media uproar surrounding front man Evan Stephens Hall. And, in my opinion, we are all the better for it. The band from Jersey also appears on the list in 2019 ("Darkness" was 33), 2018 ("Easy Enough," number 14), and 2017 ("Then Again" was number 16, while Old Friends topped that year's list).

4.  Calamity Song by The Decemberists*.

"Hetty Green
Queen of supply-side bonhomie bone-drab
(If you know what I mean)
On the road
It's well-advised to follow your own path
In the year of the chewable Ambien tab."

If this were a list of my favorite artists of the decade, surely The Decemberists would be number one. But, alas, it's not. Calamity Song remains my favorite of the decade (it was number one in 2011) among all of those issued by our intrepid balladeers from the Northwest (although "Ben Franklin's Song" came pretty darn close). I usually like to include live versions of songs through the videos, but the above for Calamity Song so perfectly captures Colin Meloy's dark perspective and whimsical humor that I had to use it instead.  Joining Calamity Song in my catalogue of tunes were: "Down by the Water" (number 11 in 2011), "A Beginning Song" (number three in 2015), "Ben Franklin's Song" (number four in 2018), "Once in My Life" (number 11 in 2018), and "We All Die Young" (number 18 in 2018).

5.  Night Shift by Lucy Dacus.

"I feel no need to forgive, but I might as well
But let me kiss your lips, so I know how it felt
Pay for my coffee and leave before the sun goes down
Walk for hours in the dark feeling all hell."

Perhaps my all-time favorite breakup song because it starts as a lament (don't they all?) but ends with the "I think I'll be fine" sentiment conveyed by the lines: "In five years I hope the songs feel like covers; dedicated to new lovers." Along with Night Shift, my favorite song of 2018, my new "teacher's pet" (as one friend has described her) also had "Nonbeliever" (number 12 in 2018), "Forever Half Mast" (number 18 in 2019), and her cover of The Boss's "Dancing in the Dark" (number two cover song of 2019) on my lists.

6.  Bloodbuzz Ohio by The National*.

"I still owe money to the money to the money I owe
I never thought about love when I thought about home
I still owe money to the money to the money I owe
The floors are falling out from everybody I know."

Along with Sprawl II, the other song (not surprisingly also from 2010) that didn't make a list previously, Bloodbuzz Ohio is the perfect representation of The National's musicianship and Matt Berninger's great voice and inscrutable lyrics. Other songs by The National on my lists throughout the decade were "Quiet Light" (eighth in 2019), "The System Only Dreams in Total Darkness" (ninth in 2017), "Humiliation" (second in 2013), and "Don't Swallow the Cap" (twenty-third in 2013).

7.  Drunk Drivers/Killer Whales by Car Seat Headrest*.

"It's too late to articulate it
That empty feeling
You share the same fate
As the people you hate."

Again, a song to which I can only vaguely relate, through Car Seat Headrest mastermind Will Toledo, to my ear, captures perfectly the angst of younger folk these days. Drunk Drivers was my second favorite song of 2016, and, since my top song that year is twenty-eighth on this list, that's a pretty good indication that it's grown in my estimation over the last few years (or I got that year's list really, really wrong).  CSH's "Bodys" was also number two on my list in 2018, and "Fill In The Blank" was number eight in 2016.

8.  Die Young by Sylvan Esso* (Echo Mountain Sessions version).

"I had it all planned out before you met me
Was gonna leave early and so swiftly
Maybe in a fire or crash off a ravine
People would weep, 'How tragic, so early.'"

A twisted love song, the studio version is very good, but the Echo Mountain version is sublime. My second favorite song in 2017.

9.  Chocolate by The 1975.

"Now we run, run away from the boys in the blue
And my car smells like chocolate
Hey now think about what to do
I think about what to say, I think about how to think
Pause it, play it, pause it play it, pause it."

The 1975 has had more popular songs since they announced their presence (to me anyway) with this one, my third favorite song of 2013, but it still remains my favorite. They also made the list in 2018 ("Give Yourself a Try" was twenty-eighth that year).

10.  All Your Favorite Bands by Dawes.

"Now I’m just waking up and
I’m not thinking clearly so don’t quote me.
With one eye open, I'm writing you this song
Ain’t it funny how some people pop into your head so easily
I haven’t seen you in there for so long."

One of the songs I believe I seriously under-appreciated when it first debuted, ranking it ninth in 2015. Now it's only one place down for the entire decade. Just a beautiful song about about fondly recalled lost love.

11. Sister Cities by Hop Along*.

"See the old man on the bridge?
He's hauling up a sagging net.
It's full of eels twisting through
The eye sockets of a horse's head
And this fiend has no family
So he will outlive you and me."

Not exactly the sweet sentiment of "All Your Favorite Bands," now is it? Regardless of how real life "Sister Cities" is or not, front woman Frances Quinlan's lyrics and singing can't help but grab our attention. It was my favorite song of 2015, followed by "Waitress" (number 15 in 2015), and "How Simple" (number 20 in 2018). 

12.  Getting Ready to Get Down by Josh Ritter*.

"And now you come back sayin' you know a little bit about
Every little thing they ever hoped you'd never figure out
The Red Sea, The Dead Sea, the Sermon on the Mount
If you wanna see a miracle, watch me get down!"

Even though she "didn't like him then [and] probably won't like him now," Josh is entitled to take a shot, isn't he? Ritter's quick wit and sly humor shine through in Getting Ready ... a sort-of updated "Footloose" without John Lithgow's incredibly bad southern-Oklahoma accent. This was my sixth favorite song in 2015 (which, as I previously noted, was apparently my favorite year of the decade as far as music goes),  joined by "Homecoming" (number 14 in 2016), Ritter's cover of Frightened Rabbit's "Old Old Fashioned" (seventh on my 2019 covers list), and "Old Black Magic" (number 13 in 2019).

13.  Bros by Wolf Alice.

"I tell you all the time
I'm not mad
You tell me all the time
I got plans."

A great song about friendship, remembrance, and how things can never be the same, but memories can. Number seven on my list in 2016.

14.  Until the Night Turns by Lord Huron*.

"I got a helluva view for the end of the world
I've got a bottle of booze and a beautiful girl.
If I'm a'­goin' to die I'm gonna go in style."

Lord Huron went from cowboy-tinged rock to alt noir during the decade. But of course my favorite song from the boys from the Mitten State was their apocalyptic "Until the Night Turns," my second favorite of 2015. Also on various lists: "Ancient Names (Part I)" (twenty-fifth in 2018), "Fool for Love" (twenty-third in 2015), "Time to Run" (fourth in 2013), and "The Man Who Lives Forever" (twenty-first in 2013).

15.  Let Me Down Easy by Gang of Youths.

"Honey, it’s no secret that I’ve been losing my way
In the weirdest of moments and the stupidest of ways
But hey, I’m still young and it’s gonna be okay
I got solipsism, baby, and I brought lemonade."

One of several artists on this list that I regret having not (yet) seen live. Let Me Down Easy was my third favorite song in 2018, and the boys from Down Under had another song farther down the list that year ("The Heart is a Muscle" was number 13), and in 2016 ("The Diving Bell" was number 31).

16.  Fast Talk by Houses.

"So if you’re guilty and you know it, put your hands up.
Cause karma’s just a different word for bad luck, and
What if death is just another pair of handcuffs.
Well then we’d better run."

I should probably be too old to appreciate Houses. But I do nonetheless. Fast Talk was number nine in 2018, while "Left Alone" was seventeenth last year.

17.  Living the Dream by Sturgill Simpson.

"That old man upstairs, he wears a crooked smile
Staring down at the chaos he created
Said son if you ain't having fun just wait a little while
Momma's gonna wash it all away
And she thinks Mercy's overrated."

My, my what's happened to our man Sturgill the past few years? He went from an obscure country singer to a full-on one man industry. While Living the Dream (number 16 in 2015) remains a favorite, based on the above lyrics if nothing else, check out his new effort ("Sound and Fury") as well, kind of Lynyrd Skynyrd meets ... I dunno, Led Zeppelin? "Mercury in Retrograde" (fifteenth last year) made the list from that excellent album.

18.  Pompeii by Bastille.

"But if you close your eyes
Does it almost feel like nothing changed at all?
And if you close your eyes
Does it almost feel like you've been here before?"

Pompeii has over half a billion views on YouTube. So much for my eschewing popular songs ... It was number five in 2013, followed by "Good Grief" (eleventh in 2016), and "Quarter Past Midnight" (32 in 2018).

19.  a million other things by pronoun.

"Remember the night?
Even though we were sad
That we cried so hard that we started to laugh
Cried so hard that we started to laugh."

pronoun has gone from mysterious artist dribbling out a few songs to full on alt presence in the past year. But this is still my preference from the artist otherwise known as Alyse Vellturo. a million other things was my seventh favorite song in 2017, followed by "everybody knows" from "i'll show you stronger" (number 16 in 2019).

20.  Cleopatra by The Lumineers.

"The only gifts from my Lord
Were a birth and a divorce.
But I've read this script and the costume fits,
So I'll play my part."

I read somewhere that Cleopatra is based on a conversation that The Lumineers' lead singer Wesley Shultz had with a taxi driver in the Republic of Georgia. It was number three on my list in 2016, followed by "Ophelia" (twenty-first that year), and following "Ho Hey" (fifth in 2012).

21.  Depreston by Courtney Barnett.

"Then I see the handrail in the shower
A collection of those canisters for coffee, tea and flour
And a photo of a young man in a van in Vietnam."

Ms. Barnett's observational lyrics, chronicling what appears to be but certainly is not the mundane, are most brilliantly demonstrated (in my estimation) in Depreston, my tenth favorite song of 2015.

22.  Someone New by Hozier.

"I wake at the first cringe of morning,
And my heart's already sinned.
How pure, how sweet a love, Aretha,
That you would pray for him."

"Take Me to Church" was a bigger hit, but the contrary Someone New was my favorite Hozier song of the decade. this was number 12 on my list in 2015; others from the Irish crooner (how's that for music journalism cliche?) were Take Me to Church (number 29 in 2014), and "Nobody" (number seven last year).

23.  Blown to Bits by Charly Bliss.

"Your mom in the yard
Your dad's favorite team
Poised to fail,
Then somehow suddenly win."

My favorite song of 2019. I'd love to see them, and particularly lead singer Eva Hendricks, live some day soon.

24.  Love Is Mystical by Cold War Kids.

"Oh, can't you hear the future is calling

For heaven's sake

It's either hell or high water

Let's get outta this place."

A Little Richard-esque piano and "Woo hoo ho" to boot? Oh yes. Love Is Mystical was my third favorite song of 2017.

25.  Little Trouble by Better Oblivion Community Center.

"Well, tell me, baby, what’s your biggest conceit?

Is it that you did it, or you did it with me?

I can't imagine what the problem could be

You found one song that you like, and you just play it on repeat."

Phoebe Bridgers is the only artist to appear on this list more than once, first solo with "Motion Sickness" and now with Conor Oberst as part of Better Oblivion Community Center. Little Trouble was my second favorite song in 2019.

Favorite Songs of 2018 - Songs 1-11

As indicated in the last installment of this year's list, I believe the top 11 (and actually 13) songs this year are particularly strong. As befits both of the previous posts, my favorite song this year is a breakup song, sung by my favorite new (to me) artist of 2018 - Lucy Dacus. I hope you enjoyed this year's list as much as i enjoyed listening, compiling, and bringing it to you!

1.  Night Shift by Lucy Dacus.

"You've got a nine to five, so I'll take the night shift
And I'll never see you again, if I can help it
In five years I hope the songs feel like covers
Dedicated to new lovers."

Since I first heard this song early in 2018, it was near the top of my favorites, and ended up perched above all of the others.  Great lyrics, perfectly constructed, building to a crescendo of fuzzy noise, which I think is a positive sign - Lucy's ready to move on. I've actually seen Night Shift at or near the top of "real" music critics' best songs of the year lists, but, as always, I assure you that is purely coincidental. 

2.  Bodys by Car Seat Headrest.

"Everybody's swinging their hips
Everybody's giving the waitress tips
Everybody's dancing all of the dances
Everybody's dancing every dance now (alright)."

Second best concert I saw this year, this one with my spouse and Richmond family. Will Toledo is a genius. But I think I've already told you that.

Car Seat Headrest, Carrboro, NC 9/21/18 (photo by me)

3.  Let Me Down Easy by Gang of Youths.

"Honey, it's no secret that I've been losing my way
In the weirdest of moments and stupidest of ways
But, hey, I'm still young and it's gonna be okay
I've got solipsism, baby, and I brought lemonade."

The lemonade reference works off of an earlier part of the song where frontman David Le'aupepe sings that "not everything is easy as making lemonade." This is the second time in two years that solipsism makes an appearance in lyrics on the list - hope that says more about our current times than me personally.

4.  Ben Franklin's Song by The Decemberists.

"I'm the only American the French want to see
They call me a genius, I can't disagree
They have guns, they have funds
They can set us free
Invest in my reputation."

What's not to like about a song co-written by Lin-Manual Miranda and Colin Meloy? Miranda wrote the lyrics for Hamilton, but it didn't make the cut for the show. He gifted them to Meloy, who put them to music and in turn gifted it to us. For a music loving history major, it can't get much better than that.

Big profanity warning on this one, kiddos.

5.  Bondurant Women by The Texas Gentlemen.

"There was a genuine act of celebration
On the corner of the freight train station
And the sweating man gave a benediction
Said you're looking for a giant (?) foundation."

Love the percussion in this song. No lyrics that I could find, so I did the best I could. Suggestions are welcomed, particularly with the uncertain word above (maybe "jive" instead of "giant?").

6.  Gold Rush by Death Cab for Cutie.

"Digging for gold in my neighborhood
For what they say is the greater good
But all I see is a long goodbye
A requiem for a skyline."

A requiem indeed for Ben Gibbard's Seattle neighborhood. I know, I know, a lot of us in Wild and Wonderful would love to have Ben's problems. But still, gentrification does come with its issues, in a "you kids get off of my lawn!" kind of way that I think he acknowledges as well.

7.  How to Socialise and Make Friends by Camp Cope.

"And I heard it from a friend
That he talks to the primary school kids through the fence
Yeah, you shoulda seen his book collection
It was all 'how to socialise and how to make friends'
Yeah I guess we both got our problems
And areas to improve
And I know one of mine is to go a night without sympathising with you."

As you might guess from the spellings, Camp Cope ain't from around here. Australia, to be exact, is their home. But the raw emotion heard in many of their songs, including this one, is universal.

8.  Not Abel by Hop Along.

"And yet it was not Abel but Cain who got to hear
The voice that for so long had been a stranger
Not one word of all the time they spent growing up brothers
Even love, yes, even love, yes even lose
Something to lose."

Starts out sounding like many Hop Along songs (which I believe to be a good thing), albeit with a less personal theme than most (indeed, the story of Cain and Abel). Then the last minute and a half take it to a whole new, sublime, level, kicked off by a classic rock guitar and bass line.

9.  Fast Talk by Houses.

"So maybe heaven is a ghetto with no bad blocks
Shangri-La dealers at the bus stops
And maybe god is just a cop that we can fast talk
So if you're guilty and you know it, put your hands up
'Cause karma's just a different word for bad luck
And what if death is just another pair of handcuffs?
Then we'd better run."

Heard this song first (and repeatedly) while on vacation in late summer with my better half on Sirius. The above lyrics are among my very favorites of the entire year.

10.  Born in Love by Horse Feathers.

"So color came from grey
It's gone from worse to good then great
Something realigned
Was it destiny and not fate?"

Yep, an honest-to-goodness love song! Sung by a guy in a Carhartt cap and denim shearling vest, no less.

11.  Once in My Life by The Decemberists.

"Oh for once in my
Oh, for once in my life
Could just something go
Could just something go right?"

Very different from most of Mr. Meloy's songs, when I first heard it I thought of it as more of a secular prayer than an ordinary song. I think the video, and Colin's notes about the video, confirm my feelings.

And, yes, we end this year's list with yet another song from The Decemberists. I'm an aged fanboy, what other defense do I have?

Favorite Songs of 2018: Songs 12-22

And the list rolls on, with the often (unfairly) overlooked middle kids (which happens to include the band Middle Kids ... ). And, unsurprisingly, The Decemberists.

Colin Meloy and The Decemberists in concert (photo by me)

12.  Nonbeliever by Lucy Dacus.

"You deal an unspoken debt
No kindness without wanting something back
What do I owe you? What did I forget?
Are we even after all of that?"

Nonbeliever in God? In a (human) relationship? In self-worth? I'm not exactly sure. But I'm not a nonbeliever in Lucy; she has a beautiful voice, can construct a great song, and can play a mean guitar.

13.  The Heart Is a Muscle by Gang of Youths.

"I wanna be loved, I wanna be whole again

So tuck my hair behind my ears and touch my soul again

The window is wide, the post unfulfilled

And I just ask you to be patient if you'll have me still."

Every year my list contains an invisible dividing line between the songs I like and those I really, really like. This year that line starts here. Songs 13-2 are, in my humble opinion, exceedingly good and pretty much interchangeable (number 1 has been number 1 since early in 2018 and has budged since). Gang of Youths was recently in D.C., and I'm very sorry I missed them. The video will give you a good idea as to why.

14.  Easy Enough by Pinegrove.

"All my limits have held me back

I hold my head and I let it ask

Why

I'm altogether down

And when will it end now?

Back after a year-long, self-imposed hiatus (you can read the long, strange story here) the kids from Jersey are back with a new record. Thank goodness for that.

15.  High Beam by Sjowgren.

"And I don't wanna spend a lifetime

Worried about the sidelines

What other people are say about me

About me

About me."

Their second appearance on this year's list (and the fourth overall, I believe) as the mystery band from San Fran has stepped up what seemed to be a slow drip of their great music.

16.  Dancing's Not a Crime by Panic!At the Disco.

"Dancing, dancing, dancing's not a crime
Unless you do it without me
Unless you do it without me."

Go ahead, laugh, I can take the heat. And do repeatedly from family and friends for my fondness for this band (which roughly places me 45 years pre-my current age and seemingly forced to defend the "!" in its name). I dare you to listen and not bebop just a little while you do.

17.   Mistake by Middle Kids.

"You're standing out in the rain, tonight
Like you got something to say, to God
And you got a debt to pay back
For something you did way back

You wanna make it okay."

These Kids made last year's list as well (as did Cold War Kids, absent this year). I believe the title of the song is exactly what it's about - a mistake that someone made, maybe a long time ago. I'm okay with that (the straightforwardness, not necessarily the mistake).

18.  We All Die Young by The Decemberists.

"And in this dream, Bill Tecumseh Sherman
Glowered at the foot of my bed
He was long and lean, he spoke in perfect German
And I recorded all that he said
Yeah, I recorded all that he said

And he said:
'We all die young
We all die young
We all die young
We all die young."

More lyrical magic from the "hyper-literate" Colin Meloy and his band. While I'm including a "live" recording of the song here, check out the studio version as well. Definitely a touch of Pink Floyd in the children joining in on the chorus.

19.  In a River by Rostam.

"We are swimming with no clothes on
In a river in the dark
And I am holding on to you, boy
In the faint light of the stars."

One of several songs on this year's list either recommended by or heard for the first time with my comely spouse. I love the music in this song, which borders on orchestral.

20.  How Simple by Hop Along.

"Don't worry we will both find out

Just not together."

One of my favorite couplets (if that term can apply to two, non-rhyming verses) of the year. Matched by the year's best album name "Bark Your Head Off, Dog."

21.  Motion Sickness by Phoebe Bridgers.

"I'm on the outside looking through
You're throwing rocks around your room
And while you're bleeding on your back in the glass
I'll be glad that I made it out
And sorry that all went down like it did."

I love the imagery of "emotional motion sickness."

22.  Causing Trouble by Saint Sister.

"But honey I know you
We dance to Elvis in the kitchen
At least we used to
And honey you know me
We danced from Belfast to the Basin
When you sang And it Stoned Me
Well, it stoned me.'

A harp, two beautiful voices, and a Van Morrison reference? Yes, please.

Stay tuned for my Top 11 songs, coming soon!

Favorite Songs of 2015 - Songs 1-11

Some years I go back-and-forth between my top five or ten songs and this year was no different -- as it should be I suppose as my "favorites" change as I hear new songs throughout the year. The top three songs this year have been there for quite some time however, although their order changed at one point or the other.

In the end, though, I couldn't escape the fact that one song, however unusual the lyrics, or occasionally (how to say this politely?) screechy (okay, that's not polite) the singing, is my favorite of 2015. And it's this one:

1. Sister Cities by Hop Along.

"In the hospital,
You talked about thumbing down that
truck ride for the first time ...
And the false friend
kept his back turned,
that’s when you learned
The fierceness of man,
again.
How long it took to reach the sister cities.
And then somehow make it back
Just to tell me
'Yeah, I guess I’m still
pretty mad.'"

It's hard to explain why exactly this is my favorite song. The lyrics are sad and disturbing, the vocals lovely at times, grating at others. And yet it's still there. Over and over in my head, on my playlist, on my list. Maybe it's the xylophone ...

2. Until the Night Turns by Lord Huron.

"I had a vision tonight that the world was ending.
Yeah the sky was falling and time was bending.
We spent our last night in the moonlight...
Baby it's so bright we'll be up all night.
I got a helluva view for the end of the world.
I've got a bottle of booze and a beautiful girl.
If I'm going to die I'm gonna go in style."

The second best concert I saw in 2015. And the second best song of 2015 by my estimation. Don't know what is with me and apocalyptic songs ...

3. A Beginning Song by The Decemberists.

"And I am waiting
Should I be waiting?
And I am wanting...
Should I be wanting?
When all around me
When all around me ..."

 Perhaps the sweetest, most hopeful song ever written by the "hyperliterate" (I read that somewhere and thought it suits him) Colin Meloy. Saw them with brother and son in Charlotte the day after my birthday this year. One of the five best concerts I've ever seen.

Colin Meloy at The Filmore in Charlotte. (photo from me)

4. Jackson by The Pollies.

"Wake up mama we got a little
We got a little to do.
Get the children they gonna...
Wanna hear it too.
Six Hundred Strong across that
Edmund Pettus Bridge.
We won't stop for the lawman
'Til it gets fixed."

A soaring song of tragedy and perseverance about a forgotten hero of the Civil Rights movement, Jimmie Lee Jackson. By four white guys from Alabama. Sounds like progress to me.

5. Seventeen by Sjowgren.

"If you want a second to breathe,
I'll give you all of my love,
I'll give you all that you need....
Don't worry,
I'm not in a hurry.
Not going nowhere,
I'm not going nowhere."

No, I don't even know how to pronounce the band's name. But this song is completely addictive from the first piano chords to the crescendo. More please!

6. Getting Ready to Get Down by Josh Ritter.

"Momma got a look at you and got a little worried.
Papa got a look at you and got a little worried.
Pastor got a look and said 'y'all had better hurry...
Send her off to a little Bible college in Missouri.'

And now you come back sayin' you know a little bit about
Every little thing they hoped you'd never figure out.
The Red Sea
The Dead Sea
The Sermon on the Mount.
If you want to see a miracle watch me get down!"

Almost another spoken word song, but mostly because there are so many words ... Saw him live at Mountain Stage recently -- the only other artist I can ever remember being so genuinely happy to perform was Bruce Hornsby. If Ritter is performing live somewhere near you, go see him!

7. Pretty Pimpin' by Kurt Vile.

"But I couldn’t tell you what the hell it was supposed to mean.
Because it was a Monday, no a Tuesday, no Wednesday, Thursday, Friday ...
Then Saturday came around and I said “Who’s this stupid clown blocking the bathroom sink?”...
But he was sporting all my clothes;
I gotta say
Pretty pimpin'."

A song with really clever lyrics but if you just listen to the lyrics, you'll miss how beautiful, and complex, the music is.

8. No No No by Beirut.

"Don't know the first thing about who you are.
My heart is waiting, taken in from the start.
If we don't go now, we won't get very far....
Don't know the first thing about who you are."

I love Beirut's sound, although I'm hard pressed to describe it.

9. All Your Favorite Bands by Dawes.

"I hope that life without a chaperone is what you thought it’d be.
I hope your brother’s El Camino runs forever.
I hope the world sees the same person that you always were to me....
And may all your favorite bands stay together."

I missed them at their latest Mountain Stage appearance and am the poorer for it, but saw them on what I believe to be their first time on the show. A great song of love lost, but remembered, and appreciated.

10. Depreston by Courtney Barnett.

"You said we should look out further;
I guess it wouldn't hurt us.
We don't have to be around all these coffee shops....
Now we've got that percolator,
Never made a latte greater.
I'm saving
Twenty-three dollars a week."

A song with great lyrics that make the banal interesting and the unknown sad. Really doesn't do it justice to only post some of the lyrics. Great album title as well ("Sometimes I Sit And Think, And Sometimes I Just Sit").

11. Rock & Roll is Cold by Matthew E. White.


"You said you found the soul of rock and roll
You said you found the soul of rock and roll
Hey hey, rock and roll it don't have no soul...
Everybody knows that
Everyone knows.
Everyone knows that rock and roll is cold."

Great gospel/blues sound here. Plus my love of choruses singing things like "ooo la la la la ooo la la" is well documented.

Hope you enjoyed this year's list -- see you next November!

Favorite Songs of 2011 - Songs 1-10

And now the Top Ten. Happy New Year all!

1. Calamity Song by The Decemberists.

"Had a dream.
You and me and the war of the end-times.
And I believe; California succumbed to the fault line.
We heaved relief.
As scores of innocents died."

The second "new" song that I heard in 2011 (the second track on "The King is Dead") and still my favorite 11 1/2 months later. Only Colin Meloy (okay, and maybe Michael Stipe and Florence Welch) could write such a bouncy, upbeat song about the apocalypse.

2. Bushwick Blues by The Delta Spirit.

"So maybe I'm the fool
for feeling used.
Well, the way we kissed that night -
I thought you knew.
Because my love is strong.
And my heart is weak.
After all."

 Thanks to my brother Jeff for turning me on to them. I'm sorry I missed them at Mountain Stage last year.

3. Yer Spring by Hey Rosetta!

"Oh man I hate this part -
When the car sails off the bridge.
Am I the knuckles white inside?
Am I the water rushing in?"
 

 Probably my favorite lines from any song all year long.

4. Barton Hollow by The Civil Wars.

"Ain't going back to Barton Hollow;
Devil gonna follow me 'ere I go.
Won't do me no good washing in the river;
Can't no preacher man save my . . . soul."

The video HAD to be black and white, didn't it? I love the way the singers' voices blend.

5. We Will All be Changed by Seryn. 

"We can write with ink and pen,
But we will sow with seeds instead.
Starting with words we've said.
We will all be changed."

I think I first saw mention of this song this summer on someone's "Best Songs of 2011 So Far" list.

6. Smart by Girl in a Coma.

"Hold your head up though you're shaking.
I've never felt a rush like this; not quite like this.
You were never one to fake it.
I've never felt a lust like this; not quite like this."

Just love the vocals on this song.

7. 100 Other Lovers by Devotchka.

"I know it's coming;
I can feel it in my bones.
This is information you already know.
Even if it's only temporarily;
Give the illusion tonight you belong to me."

I saw them at Bonnaroo too, and while they were great, they, somewhat disappointingly, didn't play this song.

8. Under Cover of Darkness by The Strokes.

"Get dressed, jump out of bed and do it best.
Are you OK?
I’ve been out around this town
And everybody’s been singing the same song, ten years."

I wanna be Julian Casablancas when I grow up.

9. Too Dramatic by Ra Ra Riot.

"Don't listen when you're weary.
Oh, but I wanna talk about it.
You and me weren't made for that, I'm sure."

Love the strings; not crazy about the video.

10. Down in the Valley by The Head and the Heart.

"Call it one drink too many; call it pride of a man.
But it don't make no difference if you sit or you stand.
'Cause they both end in trouble and start with a grin.
Yeah they both end in trouble and start with a grin."
 

The only group with more than one song in the Top Thirty other than The Decemberists, The Head and the Heart is a must-see in concert if you get the chance. Even if it's under a tent in 95 degree heat in the middle of a dusty field in Tennessee.