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Friday, December 14

BEST SONGS OF 2007

Last year's giveaway was a lot of fun. Those that joined in are still enjoying their 2006 mix (3 CDs total!). This year the guidelines are the same: I start the list off with my favorite songs from 2007. You send me your lists of favorite songs from 2007 by posting in the comments section of this post. Then I compile all the lists, take some editorial license, track down the songs and burn some mix CDs. Email me your address and I'll send you the mix until all supplies run out.

Worried about the nitty-gritty? All songs must be off albums released in 2007.
Check iTunes if you're unsure of the date. It's not at challenging as it sounds. To be eligible for a mix CD you just have to submit a list with at least one (1) great song. I know some of you have been keeping these lists handy since last year so let's get it started!


Pudgy Girl's Best Songs of 2007 (since I'm anal - these are in order of release.)

1. "Satan Said Dance" Clap Your Hands Say Yeah - From the album Some Loud Thunder. It's just one of those albums you listen to all the way the through even when you weren't planning on it.

2. "Phantom Limb" The Shins - Every once in a while a band comes along that makes everyone who sings along to their songs copy the lead singer's style. I dare you not to pick up on it when you sing along to the Wincing The Night Away album where this track comes from.

3. "Young Folks" Peter Bjorn and John - This whistling tune is more reason to thank Scandinavia for importing cute culture to the States besides IKEA.

4. "Keep The Car Running" Arcade Fire - The influence of Bruce Springsteen is strong on this album. If you were lucky enough to see the Fire play this song with The Boss then you might possibly be part of the most fortunate people on earth. Us mere mortals can enjoy the extraordinary indie orchestra that is Arcade Fire in the comfort of our homes.

5. "Grace Kelly" Mika - Oh this is super gay. I need to wear a lot of purple and spandex just to keep up with all its Freddie Mercury stylings. So much fun.

6. "Everything I Cannot See" Charlotte Gainsbourg - She's French art royalty. She delighted audiences in The Science of Sleep and I'm Not There. Her fashion will go down as legendary. Did I mention she's French? Miss Gainsbourg's second album is a delicate acquired taste. I like this track especially when I'm in an obsessive, stay in bed all day mood.

7. "My Moon My Man" Feist - This little Canadian lady keeps gaining a bigger and bigger following and she is so deserving. The "1234" video featured in those iPod commercials is pretty nifty but the video for "My Moon My Man", the first single off her '07 hit album The Reminder, had me hooked and wanting to step in time just like her. Watch all of Feist's clever videos here.

8. "Home" Great Northern - This track started getting airtime on local L.A. stations early before the full album release. Everytime it came on I wished I could run to the radio station and beg them to play it again.

9. "Mistaken for Strangers" The National - '07 was the year that brought back Joy Division with the film Control and continued to promote all things neo-folk-pop. I like The National probably because they sound a little like Joy Division. Anytime a deep-voiced pretty boy sings sweet lyrics I get weak. I can't help it.

10. "Falling Slowly" Glen Hansard & Marketa Irglova - From the film Once. There is not a more a romantic song from this year. I dare you cynics not to get a little mushy.

11. "Tenderoni" Chromeo - More tongue-in cheek than truly legit, this electronica duo is like the post-modern Hall & Oats. Only into their first album, these boys promise much more booty shaking in the future.

12. "Conquest" The White Stripes - Jack Black is truly a rock historian. The entire Icky Thump album from this year is deceptively simple but stands out as a primer to rock and roll basics. Covering this Patti Page tune could not be more fun. Jack's voice is a little girly, a little gravely, and the beat is infectious. You can't go wring. I equate listening to the White Stripes as joyous as reaching a high score on Guitar Hero.

13. "Umbrella" Rihanna - This was practically the pop anthem of the summer. So catchy. So many covers. But the OG still stands up as one poppy delight.

14. "D.A.N.C.E." Justice - Little kids voices? Disco break-beats? What else could be the definitive party song of 2007?

15. "Earth Intruders" Bjork - Leave it to our petite Icelandic art princess to take on global warming with one very inspiring call to battle.

16. "Stop Me" Mark Ronson feat. Daniel Merriweather - Ronson produced 2006's darlings Lily Allen and Amy Winehouse and he made a great album of his own this year. Full of brass horns and upbeat tempos, Merriweather does a take on the medley covering both The Cure and The Supremes. The album's other brilliant cover is a completely instrumental version of "God Put A Smile On Your Face" by Coldplay.

17. "Pioneer To The Falls" Interpol - These indie-rockers are at their best when they embrace the showmanship of an epic song. "Pioneer.." takes the listener on a melodic journey proving that indie-rock is strong and staying at the top of the charts for good reason.

18. "Back In Your Head" Tegan and Sara - These sisters' repetitive ditties never fail to delight me. Both innocent and conniving at the same time, "Back in Your Head" is the type of song you listen to after a crush has gone sour.

19. "Paper Planes" MIA - In wartime it is refreshing to hear a strong woman's take on violence and greed. The schoolyard sounds mixed with gunfire puts MIA right up there with the more money more problems crew like vintage Jay-Z and Nas.

20. "Is There a Ghost" Band of Horses - The band's howling, folky shoe-gazer signature sound is strong on their opening track. I'll listen to this song ten times in a row and still want to hear it again.


So that's just 20 songs to get us started. What are your favorites?

Labels: ,

Pudgy Girl at 10:43

11 comments

11 Comments

at 17:21 Blogger The Professor said...

okay, you read my mind on some of this stuff. but you read it just a little haywire. I think the best song off Wincing the Night Away was "Turn on Me", and I think the best song off Kala by M.I.A. was "Bamboo Banga". I also think the best song off the Once Soundtrack was "Say it to me Now". I'm much more in favor of angst over romance. Also, "Big Girl" is better than "Grace Kelly".
My other 2007 contributions might be:
"World's Greatest" the R.Kelly cover by Bonnie Prince Billy on Ask Forgiveness.
"The Underdog" by Spoon on Gagagaga
and
"I Still Remember" by Bloc Party from A Weekend in the City.
You're the best. I was getting so antsy for this mix. The ants are temporarily soothed.
-j day

 
at 23:25 Blogger Matthew said...

I couldn't pick just one in some cases, but that's for you and your mix to figure out:

"A Violent Yet Flammable World"
"Lark" - Au Revoir Simone - The Bird Of Music

"Section 23 [Get Up And Go]"
"Section 25 [Younger Yesterday]" - The Polyphonic Spree - The Fragile Army

"Stuck Inside of Mobile With the Memphis Blues Again" - Cat Power - I'm Not There

"(Just Like) Starting Over" - The Flaming Lips
"Real Love" - Regina Spektor - Instant Karma

"Mossback"
"Traveling To Different Planets" - The Parson Red Heads - King Giraffe

"Seen How Things Are Hard" - Elliott Smith - New Moon

"Nighttiming" - Coconut Records - Nighttiming

"Mother Of Pearl"
"Zombie" - Nellie McKay - Obligatory Villagers

"Somewhere Between Waking And Sleeping" - Air - Pocket Symphony

"Lovesong Of The Buzzard" - Iron & Wine - The Shepherd's Dog

"Love Song No. 7" - Clap Your Hands Say Yeah - Some Loud Thunder (...wait, was this on last year's mix?)

"You Really Got A Hold On Me" - Zooey Deshanel & M Ward

"She's Fantastic" - Sondre Lerche - Phantom Punch

"House Of Cards" - Radiohead - In Rainbows

"The Swagga" - Gorillaz - D-Sides

"And I Remember Every Kiss"
"A Postcard To Nina" - Jens Lekman - Night Falls Over Kortedala

"Anyone Else But You" - Michael Cera & Ellen Page - Juno

"Boy On The Moon" - Matias Tellez - Tamias Mellez

That was long...can you tell I'm working on a 2007 mix right now too?

 
at 23:29 Blogger Matthew said...

OH SHIT

I almost forgot the greatest song of the year (possibly ever):

"Spider Pig" - Hans Zimmer - The Simpsons Movie

 
at 09:26 Blogger Matthew said...

Ok, I've got some day after regrets here, Cat Power's "Stuck Inside of Mobil" ...scratch that. Well unless other people want it, but don't keep it on my account.

It's about as good a cover of that song as can be, but seven friggin' minutes? What a jerk. Cate Blanchett's gotta write shorter songs.

 
at 16:01 Anonymous Constance said...

Awesome list - I feel like all the good songs have been taken already! But I have a few of my own:

Good Distance - Northern State
I love seeing a band I have never heard of before live and falling in love with them.

Piece of Me - Britney Spears.
Hate all you want. But the sadest thing with the whole Britney non-stop circus is that it largely overshadowed the fact that she made a really good dance album this year.

LDN - Lilly Allen
Was this released in 2007? I'm too lazy to look it up. If not - scratch it!

 
at 15:35 Anonymous Richie said...

Awwww yeah...

"See My Side" Jordin Sparks. Don't hate, it's great.
"Teenage Love Affair" Alicia Keys.
"Do You Feel Me" Anthony Hamilton.
"Nobody's Baby" Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings.
"Good Morning" Kanye West.
"Lights Get Low" Freeway w/ Rick Ross
"Life to Me" Hi-Tek w/ Estelle
"Desire" Pharoahe Monch
"Stick Me for My Riches" Wu-Tang Clan
"Trapeze" Patty Griffin w/ Emmylou Harris
"Fancy Funeral" Lucinda Williams
"Catch Hell Blues" White Stripes
"Isis" Yeah Yeah Yeahs
"Too Much to Lose" Kelly Willis
"These Girls" Ryan Adams

 
at 22:25 Blogger Pudgy Girl said...

Nice nice nice. These choices are all so good I'm getting mighty excited to make the CDs. Get your picks in while the time lasts.

 
at 09:24 Anonymous Radar said...

For my money it doesn't get any better than the MGMT single Time to Pretend from the EP of the same name. It's like the Flamming Lips with a fun infussion.

 
at 14:27 Anonymous J.R. said...

I'm sure it's too late, but I would pick 'your party' by ween for best song of 2007.
Pedra wants a Latino song called Le Mini, but I can't figure out who that is at all.

 
at 22:34 Blogger Pudgy Girl said...

You're not too late. Compilations will go out the end of this month. Maybe sooner? We've got a lot of great music. It's gonna be another 3-disc-er this year.

 
at 10:46 Blogger Pudgy Girl said...

The CDs are finally done. Sorry my school stuff took priority. Thanks to all who contributed and make sure I have your address so I can send you them soon!

 

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