The Wednesday Countdown: 2010 Update

A nice relaxed return to my Wednesday Countdowns, this is my favourite twenty songs from albums released in 2010. As I’m sure you’re aware, this is a very important and noble endeavour. No limitations on number of tracks per artist/album, so expect a tad of High Violet appearing around the nether regions of this list (or, y’know, the top 12 tracks being High Violet. Whatever).

Tracks of 2010 (as of June):

20. LCD Soundsystem – Dance Yrself Clean

19. Joanna Newsom – Easy

18. The Tallest Man On Earth – Love Is All

17. Beach House – Zebra

16. The National – Bloodbuzz Ohio

15. Owen Pallett – Midnight Directives

14. Frightened Rabbit – The Loneliness And The Scream

13. Yeasayer – Ambling Alp

12. Laura Marling – I Speak Because I Can

11. Broken Social Scene – Forced To Love

10. The Tallest Man On Earth – King Of Spain

9. Broken Bells – October

8. The National – Afraid Of Everyone

7. Beach House – Silver Soul

6. Laura Marling – Goodbye England

5. Owen Pallett – Lewis Takes Off His Shirt

4. Massive Attack – Atlas Air

3. LCD Soundsystem – All I Want

2. The National – Runaway

1. Joanna Newsom – Good Intentions Paving Co.

The Wednesday Countdown: I Saw Animals, And They Saw Me

Musicians are well-known for talking in metaphors (I have already covered colours and countries in Wednesday Countdown form, notable examples of one thing representing another), and this week we turn to the animal world for inspiration. It isn’t difficult to see why writers would use the kingdom of beasts to draw a parallel to the human condition. In our culture there has always been certain archetypes that writers can allude to, the lion looking for lost courage, the primal wolf that was once a man, the bird longing to stretch its wings and fly away.

Rules for this particular countdown are as follows, only one song for each animal (otherwise “A Wolf at the Door”, “The Wolves” would have also made appearances), one song per artist (thus re-igniting the Pigs vs Dogs debate) and ten songs in total.

Top 10 Songs with an Animal in the title:

10. The National – Theory Of The Crows

9. Damien Rice – Elephant

8. Foo Fighters – Monkey Wrench

7. The Beatles – I Am The Walrus

6. Thom Yorke – Black Swan

5. REM – King Of Birds

4. Beach House – Zebra

3. Mumford & Sons – Little Lion Man

2. TV On The Radio – Wolf Like Me

1. Pink Floyd – Pigs (Three Different Ones)

~

Pigs > Dogs

(The title of this post is taken from Dead Clown Society’s “I Saw Animals”, whose miscellaneous projects can be found here)

The Wednesday Countdown: Post-Millennial Post-Party

The end of the end. A final track is always important, it can define whether an album starts well but falls into mediocrity, or whether it is consistent throughout. It also assists stepping an album up from being merely good to being great. The best closing tracks will offer a climax that makes the whole feel like an event, as well as working within their own right. They have to properly end the album, so as to make it the cohesive, accomplished whole many artists crave to create. A closing track that encourages the listener to go back to the start for another listen is always welcome.

My criteria here is that the song is a combination of three things, a good song in its own right, a track that sufficiently closes the album (thus the final 30 seconds are key) but it most also appear to raise the level of the rest of the album that has preceded it. I’ve decided that for starters I will make a list just of songs from 00s albums, and will maybe work my way backwards in the coming weeks. And, as ever, only one track per artist.

Top 10 Album Closers Of The 00’s

10. Fleet Foxes – Oliver James

9. My Morning Jacket – Dondante

8. My Brightest Diamond – Workhorse

7. Thom Yorke – Cymbal Rush

6. LCD Soundsystem – New York, I Love You But You’re Bringing Me Down

5. Laura Marling – Your Only Doll (Dora)

4. Radiohead – A Wolf At The Door

3. The National – Mr. November

2. Bon Iver – RE: Stacks

1. Portishead – Threads

The Wednesday Countdown: The English are waiting and I don’t know what to do

Annoyingly, by the time this is posted, it will be after 11pm, which according to the Laws of Time is Thursday. I may be a physicist, but I’m afraid even I can’t change the Laws of Time without reversing the polarity of the neutron flow. So let me assure you that although it may appear to be a Thursday Countdown it is, and always will be, a Wednesday Countdown.

Right, after last week’s Radiohead-fest I thought it would only be fair (for reasons of balance) to offer up a National-fest. By way of comparison, and such and such. I mean, I’m sure nearly everybody will claim that there is no comparing the two bands but still, my list is an awesome collection of tunes, and they are three albums down on Radiohead. So I dunno. Give them time. LP5 is just round the corner ‘n’ all.

So yes, here are my 20 favourite tracks by The National, complete with Last.FM links for persuing, and with an awesome live video of my favourite.

20. Theory Of The Crows (The National)
19. Slipping Husband (Sad Songs For Dirty Lovers)
18. Gospel (Boxer)
17. Lucky You (Sad Songs For Dirty Lovers)
16. 90 Mile Water Wall (Sad Song For Dirty Lovers)
15. Fake Empire (Boxer)
14. Available (Sad Songs For Dirty Lovers)
13. Mr. November (Alligator)
12. Mistaken For Strangers (Boxer)
11. Karen (Alligator)
10. Bitters & Absolut (The National)
9. Cherry Tree (Cherry Tree EP)
8. Abel (Alligator)
7. So Far Around The Bend (Dark Was The Night Compilation)
6. Secret Meeting (Alligator)
5. Murder Me Rachael (Sad Songs For Dirty Lovers)
4. Apartment Story (Boxer)
3. Friend Of Mine (Alligator)
2. All The Wine (Aligator)
1. Brainy (Boxer)

The Wednesday Countdown: The Beat Goes Round And Round

The year is coming to an end, and what that means to the people that matter, is that the popular Radiohead fan forum, Mortigi Tempo, are about to run the 5th of their annual polls to find the top 100 Radiohead songs of all time. This weeks Wednesday Countdown is dedicated to “Test Tones” Sam, who has gone through the great struggle of compiling all the lists from users on the forum and turning them into neat tables and graphs, and who we all hope will repeat these exertions this year. Here are my top 20 Radiohead songs, in order, with absolutely no shocks involved for anybody who knows me. Feel free to post your anger below. Oh, and make a note that for the title I used a lyric from a song that isn’t even on my list. I’m crazy, me!

20. The Amazing Sounds Of Orgy (Amnesiac B-Side)
19. No Surprises (OK Computer)
18. Bodysnatchers (In Rainbows)
17. True Love Waits (I Might Be Wrong Live)
16. Just (The Bends)
15. A Wolf At The Door (Hail To The Thief)
14. 2 + 2 = 5 (Hail To The Thief)
13. You And Whose Army? (Amnesiac)
12. Bangers & Mash (In Rainbows Disc 2)
11. Fake Plastic Trees (The Bends)
10. 15 Step (In Rainbows)
9. Weird Fishes/Arpeggi (In Rainbows)
8. Cuttooth (Amnesiac B-Side)
7. Airbag (OK Computer)
6. Idioteque (Kid A)
5. The National Anthem (Kid A)
4. Paranoid Android (OK Computer)
3. How To Disappear Completely (Kid A)
2. There There (Hail To The Thief)
1. Subterranean Homesick Alien (OK Computer)

This is the 42nd post I have made to this blog, interestingly. OK, it wasn’t that interesting. Anyway, leave angry comments below, and take a little time, if you will, to ponder the fact that there are more Amnesiac B-Sides on this list than actual Amnesiac tracks.