Again, keeping in mind that we’re not making “top 5” lists…

1. Matt Pond PA- Closest (Look Out)
This is by far the best song on an album of not-so-great songs. Just listen to it and imagine that you’re in your backyard (at your real home, not your college home… if the two are still distinct places for you) on a summer evening. There’s a heck of a storm brewing, and it’s windy, but you’re grilling hamburgers with slices of pineapple. Oh yeah, and a friend from high school is visiting, but that friend is leaving, and you’re not going to see that friend for a long time. That’s kind of what this song is like.

2. The Polyphonic Spree- Section 12 (Hold Me Now)
Wow. This is pop music perfection, part 2. If you asked me “why do you like the music that you like?” I’d play you this song. If you still wondered, and if you weren’t grinning and feeling like everything is all right again!, well, maybe Slipknot would be more your thing.

3. Queens of the Stone Age- Go With the Flow
Sorry. Here’s some of my indie cred back. Okay, so they were Alternative Rock radio darlings. (so were RHCP and SOAD, so that doesn’t prove anything, but that’s another argument…) This song is repetitive, kind of heavy, and not particularly inspired. But it does kind of sound a little bit like all the devil-may-care freewheeling spirit that may be missing from a lot of the rest of my music. Also, it’s got a great color scheme; the video’s neat. It’s black and red. The rest of the music I own is probably shades of blue and green.

4. Ekoostik Hookah- Thief
You can get this song here (in FLAC only, sorry). That’s a testament to their hippie love-everyone song distribution style. I feel like jam bands are salvageable! Really! But listening to them is like going to the world’s largest spaghetti dinner, featuring a chef who wears a loose diamond ring on each finger. Yeah, if you stick around long enough, you might find some gems in your noodles. But you have to wait a while. Oh yeah, and since they tend to record every concert, the pile of spaghetti grows without end. All that said, this song is one of those gems. If I happen across any more, I’ll let you know.

5. Talking Heads- Once in a Lifetime
Everything about this song is good. David Byrne’s his halting, nerdly, semi-stuttering delivery of the spoken vocals rocks like a grandparent on a porch. The lyrics are pretty nice. The bassline punctuates everything nicely without getting in the way. And have you seen the video?! If I could perform any one song like the original artist, it’d be this one.

I’d post Five Great Albums next, but that’s enough pretension for me for a while. Thanks for listening, and tune in next week!

Comments:

Anonymous - Nov 1, 2006

I wholeheartedly second those selections. I wish you could see the Polyphonic Spree live sometime, they’re from Dallas and their shows are seriously like religious experiences. It’s crazy.