The Pulse published its Top Ten issue today. It's a handsome devil. Included is a list of top music singles. It was published anonymously, officially compiled by the Pulse staff entire. Far be it from me to say who wrote it, but I imagine you're not having trouble guessing. So here she is:
’04 on the Floor: The Year’s Top Ten Songs
In a year when truth seemed as clandestine as a campaign ad or a covert operation, the best singles of the year all concentrated on holding on to – or letting go of – the few things we thought we still knew.
Whether it was Sam Bean reminding a lover to remember him “when I’m gone away,” or Jeff Tweedy declaring that “no one is ever gonna take my life from me / I lay it down,” the question argued in pop music was whether we should cling to what we believed or admit how little we knew. The year’s sweetest tunes searched the heart of the much-bandied Blue State-Red State Divide, and found that America’s great challenge was finding a balance between doubt and belief. Little wonder that so many songwriters talked about (and walked about) Jesus for the first time in years.
But it was a Canadian band, The Arcade Fire, which provided the resonant instructions for 2005, warning us to simply keep our eyes open. We may not believe what we’ll see, but we should watch for it anyway.
1. The Arcade Fire – Rebellion (Lies)
Key line: “Sleeping is giving in… Every time you close your eyes: Lies! Lies!”
2. Iron and Wine – Each Coming Night
Key line: “Your face is faded but lingers on / ‘Cause light strikes a deal with each coming night.”
3. Modest Mouse – Float On
Key line: “Even if things end up a bit too heavy / We’ll all float on alright.”
4. Wilco – Theologians
Key line: “Illiterati lumen fidei / God is with us every day / That illiterate light / Is with us every night.”
5. Sufjan Stevens – The Transfiguration
Key line: “Lost in the cloud, a voice: Have no fear, we draw near.”
6. Kanye West – Jesus Walks
Key line: “To the hustlers, killers, murderers, drug dealers, even the strippers / Jesus walks with them.”
7. The Magnetic Fields – I Thought You Were My Boyfriend
Key line: “I thought I was just the guy for you and it would never end.”
8. Jon Brion – Knock Yourself Out
Key line: “Why we’re put in this mess / Is anybody’s guess / It might be a test / Or it might not be anything you need to worry about.”
9. Devendra Banhart – At the Hop
Key line: “Put me in your suitcase, let me help you pack / ‘Cause you’re never coming back.”
10. The Mountain Goats – Palmcorder Yanja
Key line: “Every couple minutes, someone says he can’t stand it anymore.”
Honorable mentions: The Quiet Ones – Come Back Home; Franz Ferdinand – Take Me Out; The Dropkick Murphys – Tessie; Isaac Wardell – Happy All the Time; Loretta Lynn – Portland, Oregon
Mesh, you've become a really good writer.
Posted by: Nick at January 25, 2005 12:30 PM