i second the awesomeness of the blurb. getting in everything great about Sweden and having pictures? thats awesome.

actually, all these blurbs have been great.


as for the Shins, I've always been fond of "Know Your Onion" and "Saint Simon"

"Australia" is by far the best track off the new album, though.

You Hit Me On AIM, Tryin’ Flip Me On Some Game

#33.




M.I.A. - Jimmy
(2751 Points, 20 Votes)

US Chart Position: n/a

UK Chart Position: #66

SOMB Says: How often do you take a moment for yourself and realize that you’re living in the future? Think about it. We are the science fiction of yesterday. With all our communication gadgets, Web 2.0 savvy, GPS-enabled vehicles and mp3 players, we are the prophecy of a reliant high tech world fulfilled. This has to be the future, right? How else to explain the Bollydisco mindfuck that is M.I.A.’s “Jimmy”? It couldn’t have existed in any other time. Yes, it samples a two decade old movie, but its sound is still firmly rooted in 2007, or at least what our parents thought 2007 would probably sound like. It’s also a concept that probably couldn’t have existed in any other time either. Where else but in the 21st century can you hear a record that mixes genres so far apart globally like Bollywood, freestyle, disco and techno? And as scary as the thought of all those genres being mashed together might sound, they gel perfectly with one another. Indian pop melodies melding with strobelite grooves. Funky Eastern guitars shimmering underneath adrenalized synth strings. And at the center of it all is M.I.A.,cooing how the title character’s loving makes her crazy. If all that doesn’t give you a rush, the only explanation is that your DeLorean’s busted and Doc Brown can’t get you back to your home in 2035. –Midnight_Vulture

Artist's Previous Rankings on Our Singles Lists: "Galang" (#35 of 2004), "Bucky Done Gone" (#81 of 2005)

Ranked Highest By: Plate (#5)

Can Be Most Easily Found On: Kala

Have we got four songs from arcade fire and three from kanye to come?

So yeah, this list is getting really good right about now. "Can't Tell Me Nothing" - "I'm A Flirt" - "Jimmy" - ALL AWESOME

Yeah, ok.

JIMMY JIMMY JIMMY

Yeah, I was kinda hoping I'd get this one. Oh well - Paul did good with it

I Fixed The Hinges On Her Gate

#32.




Grinderman – No Pussy Blues
(2789 Points, 18 Votes, One #1 Vote)

US Chart Position: n/a

UK Chart Position: #64

SOMB Says: To be able to tap into the male psyche at its most frustrated, most desperate, most lustful is something to admire. Nick Cave doesn't so much sing his desire to fuck as discuss all his efforts over a beer and a shot with the listener. He wants a solution. And when we can't provide anything besides, "I hear you, man. I've been there before." the guitars don't exactly get louder. They rip you apart. We've all suffered through bad droughts. That's life. But it is the lessons learned that make those droughts shorter or less painful. Cave proves that sometimes playing Mr. Nice Guy or Mr. Bad Guy just isn't going to work. Sometimes nothing will & you have to admit defeat. You have to deal w/ a night of On Demand porn & your dick in your hand. You have to understand no amount of gate hinge fixing, white dove purchasing or ho-calling was going to land you that fuck & run. I guess that's why they call it the blues. Cave knows this. He's just like us.
–Nick

Ranked Highest By: Nick (#1)

Can Be Most Easily Found On: Grinderman

Kayne West - Cant tell me nothing is AWESOME.

Is "Black Mirror" really getting in? Why is that?

I had Swedish meatballs for breakfast and will do again come morning.

I used to work at IKEA. Don't eat the meatballs, just for the record. Not that yours are from IKEA.

That Grinderman track shreds.



Fuck yeah, it is.

Be careful--that kind of diet can make your writing impenetrable.

I refuse to believe that Nick wrote this. The Nick I know has neither experienced a drought nor admitted defeat.

Nice blurb, though.

Glad to see "No Pussy Blues" in top 40. When I go through a Nick Cave phase - soon, I imagine - I'll probably bump Grinderman 15-20 spots on my EOY list. "NPB" is song of the year when I'm angry and/or drunk.

#31.




My Chemical Romance - Teenagers
(2886 Points, 20 Votes)

US Chart Position: #67 / #13 Modern Rock

UK Chart Position: #9

SOMB Says:. I was honestly surprised I was given the assignment for blurbing this, for one I didn't think anyone on this board except maybe Good Dr. Bill and AlkalineDrown(who I don't even know if we count his votes or if he's even around these days,) even gave two shits or a glass of fuck about My Chemical Romance. I put together a top ten singles of the year in 2 seconds and put this on here despite the fact that I've only listened to it twice. However, I remember neither of those times being notably unpleasant(besides my usual disdain for every waking moment of my miserable and pathetic existence). The main reason I could see someone championing this song is to get some jailbait pussy. I know this one seventeen year old girl who really likes this song and this band. One time I said i "kinda" liked My Chemical Romance and she gave me a decent blow job. I would recommend My Chemical Romance if you're looking to score with some fresh meat. Remember guys, music isn't about expressing yourself or finding a part of yourself you never knew about before. It's always been about impressing other people. I know most of you guys are morbidly obese, balding, or registered sex offenders, but I guess what I'm trying to say is next time you're wandering around the High School pretending to look for your "daughter," blast this stuff in the mini van, I promise you'll get almost as much pre-teen ass as I do.

Now if you excuse me, I have to go to prison. – Sausage

Artist's Previous Rankings on Our Singles Lists: "Helena" (#58 of 2005), "Welcome To The Black Parade" (#36 of 2006)

Ranked Highest By: Wolfgang, lolcat revolution (#6)

Can Be Most Easily Found On: The Black Parade

I guess I should listen to these MCR songs eventually. Sigh.

Never doubt meeeeee.

But seriously, it's nice that people (person) are warming to the song.

Sausage just fucking rules this joint.

I can't even begin to complain about the archetypal yancyband placing "only" at #38. With a fucking grand slam blurb to match. Way to go, HD. Everything about this entry warms my gay Scandinavian heart.

I write for the people. About the people. I'm not the people.

It's fun to see him becoming a man and harnessing his gift for non-evil purposes.

I'd love to harness his gift.

I'm not that big on the song, but Nick's Grinderman blurb is fantastic.

Cave is one of us. Nick is not.

There really is no reason to not own their last album. great stuff.

All the allegations of blurb shenanigans aside, this is a stellar job by everyone and a great read. Thanks for all the work, Paul.

I'm listening to "famous last words" for the first time.

It doesn't suck. Does it have as awesome a video as "black parade" did?

"Famous Last Words" would be strangely affecting coming from an embarrassingly earnest drama club doofus kid, I'm not sure whether the fact that it is actually the work of a 30-year-old man makes it more or less so

She's Standing In The Ashes At The End Of The World

#30.




Bright Eyes – Four Winds
(2890 Points, 16 Votes)

US Chart Position: n/a

UK Chart Position: n/a

SOMB Says: Time and time again, Conor Oberst has let me the fuck down. I was a huge fan of the Bright Eyes side project Desaparecidos, which saw him amping up his preternatural insight and scathing invective in a way he hasn’t since. Each subsequent Bright Eyes effort felt more tepid and lifeless to me, to the point where I couldn’t distinguish “First Day of My Life” from “I’ll Follow You Into the Dark.”

“Four Winds” is the first Bright Eyes track that’s made me thankful he dropped the side project. It arrives in a full alt-country crescendo mode (think any-Jayhawks-song-at-the-3:33 mark), all fiddle and organ and passion, before launching into some of the most mind-bogglingly literate and relevant verses I’ve heard in forever. With precision and audacity, Oberst spins a tale of apocalyptic foreboding infused with decidedly post-teen-angst and palpable longing. It’s nice to see Americana finally being employed to say something relevant about America, and thrilling to know there’s still someone out there with a conscience and a pulse.

I’ll follow you into the dark, Conor. – Slackmo

Ranked Highest By: Wolfgang (#3)

Can Be Most Easily Found On: Cassadega

I'm biased b/c it was my #1 but "No Pussy Blues" was way too low.

EDIT: A Bright Eyes song ranked higher than Grinderman?!?!?! You should all be fucking ashamed!!!

The video isn't as epic but it's still pretty lol

That's good.

Is he 30? I remember when I was a senior in HS, and my gf at the time was all like "i love thrice and MCR!" and I was like "you gay". They are like The Killers little cousins with anger management issues that always do tech for their schools musicals.

Sausage should blurb everything tbh.

I wish I'd made a singles list now. Still, nice to see 'Teenagers' doing well, such a brilliant song. Pop-punk at its best.

singles tracks

Due to a clerical mix-up, you get two blurbs for this one.



Your Smile It Melts Away Again

#29.




Caribou – Melody Day
(2999 Points, 17 Votes)

US Chart Position: n/a

UK Chart Position: n/a

SOMB Says: Before you know it, "Melody Day" has already jumped out of the gate and is happily cruising away, leaving you running to catch up; or, in my case, starting the song over again to figure out what I might have missed. Once oriented, I feel like I've been dropped into the middle of some sunny, Southern California 60's joyride, fueled by 21st Century craft and those fantastically soulful, hyperkinetic, drums. Flute flourishes and sleighbell cheer evoke Day-Glo colors, but the lyrics ( "melody day what have I done") hint at darker shades. This isn't the bogus, angelic image that the Mamas & Papas sold to American families; this isn't even a blissed-out pot party by the pool. This is racing through Laurel Canyon after coke hit the scene: an at first exhilerating, then harrowing ride when hopped-up, euphoric smiles masked a growing sense of melancholy & regret. But no sooner are we slowing for a moment of sober reflection when an explosion of drums hurtles us back into the fast lane. Yes, we're still cruising, but in our rearview mirror is the memory of happier times. – DrJImmy

“Melody Day” is quite the raucous psychedelic pop explosion for having been done completely by one dude. Luckily, as evidenced by previous sonically head-spinning concoctions, Dan Snaith is a fine enough slut to assemble such a jam. While having before displayed an obvious affinity for IDM, Stereolab, and Boces-era Mercury Rev, Snaith has now turned his mind to full-on 60s retro flower power crap. And that means he wants to write pop songs now. And goddamn, what better way to announce these sudden ambitions than with a track as gloriously blooming with ideas as “Melody Day”? At times conjuring thoughts of the Zombies, Syd Barrett-era Pink Floyd, and the Beatles’s “It’s All Too Much,” “Melody Day” nearly renders the very idea of the Elephant 6 Recording Company completely worthless. Snaith unleashes some of the most rollicking drumming this side of Keith Moon, delicately breezy snatches of flute, distorted organ drones, electric guitar assaults that soar even higher than 8 miles, and a billion other elements that reflect one of the most ambitious masteries of the recording studio to be found in music today. And it’s catchy as fuck, too. Multiple parts of it. Also, is he saying “B.J.” in the chorus? Who does this dude think he is, Kevin Drew? Anyways, yeah, it’s a really good song, I need to take a shower and write my album blurb. Later. - Pavement Ist Rad

Ranked Highest By: red, Bobzilla (#2)

Can Be Most Easily Found On: Andorra

looks like a hell of a top 40 so far...though the lack of Arcade Fire thusfar is def. somewhat disconcerting.

Bright Eyes, too...figures.

As much as I like MIA's "Jimmy", when you hear the original song, MIA's version is pretty much a straightforward cover. So out of her singles, I had that one ranked the lowest.

^^Best song so far I reckon. If the seasons were turned on their head and summer was in place of winter, I reckon this would be even higher. Such a summer song/album.

I don't know why I tried out that R Kelly thing. Man, do I hate modern R&B.

She Believes In Shoes And Cars

#28.




Kanye West – Flashing Lights (feat. Dwele)
(3072 Points, 20 Votes)

US Chart Position: #39

UK Chart Position: n/a

SOMB Says: In which Kanye creates his end-of-the-night melancholy jam. It's almost like Kanye's version of the Streets' "Blinded by the Lights", with its stuttering disco vibe, female vocals drifting in and out for the chorus and um, the word "lights" in the title. For all his awkward referencing ("Katrina with no FEMA/Like Martin with no Gina"), there's always a heart behind it all with Mr. West. –UselessRocker

Artist's Previous Rankings on Our Singles Lists: "Jesus Walks" (#10 of 2004), "Slow Jamz" (#16 of 2004), "All Falls Down" (#44 of 2004), "The New Workout Plan" (#51 of 2004), "Diamonds From Sierra Leone" / Remix (feat. Jay-Z) (#82 of 2005), "Heard 'em Say" / "Touch The Sky" (#69 of 2005), "Gold Digger" (#7 of 2005), "Drive Slow" (#67 of 2006)

Ranked Highest By: Andyroo (#4)

Can Be Most Easily Found On: Graduation

hewlett...the swedish chef is far too low on your equation. nice blurb though, maybe i'll actually get around to listening to that one.

early on i joked about the good dr. podcasting the singles list last year. this year i'm thinking maybe someone could pull this off. top 40, preceeded by the somb blurbs written about them? who's capable of this? anyone?

Damn! SOMB loves Kanye.

I can't really complain about that song making the list, but I kind of wish people had held off on it...it's gonna be so much bigger for next year, and it'll be annoying to have it ineligible. "I'm a Flirt" making the top 40 definitely exceeded expectations, though. Right fuckin' on, board.

Should I be worried about the absence of "Girlfriend" thusfar? Still have a chance of making it?

"Girlfriend" is definitely still in the game, possibly even top 10

"Girlfriend" is a lock, GDB. Don't fear.

This Caribou song is really cool, I'm gonna have to check out their album. Should hold me over until the new Broadcast album is released next year.

Fill Yourself With Quarters

#27.




The National – Mistaken For Strangers
(3095 Points, 20 Votes)

US Chart Position: n/a

UK Chart Position: n/a

SOMB Says: The musical strengths of "Mistaken for Strangers" are immediately apparent--the clanging guitar, the thundering drums, and the smoky production make for an atmosphere that's instantly mysterious and entrancing, setting the stage perfectly for Matt Berninger's piercing baritone. The real key to the song, though, is the title. People don't talk about its importance much, but an obscure title can do amazing things for a song. With a title like "Mistaken for Strangers," you're not really sure what to be prepared for--you know it probably fits into a larger sentence somewhere, but you're not sure how or where, so when the title finally emerges in the form of indie rock's most memorable chorus line of the year ("You get mistaken for strangers by your own friends"), it blindsides you, while stimultaneously sliding the final piece of the song's puzzle into place. I think this song is what we all sort of hoped Interpol would one day be capable of, but since that's not looking too likely these days, it's a good thing we have The National. –The Good Dr Bill

Artist's Previous Rankings on Our Singles Lists: "Abel" (#60 of 2005)

Ranked Highest By: The Good Dr Bill, Nick (#7)

Can Be Most Easily Found On: Boxer

all right. I intentionally held off on looking at most of the lists so I'd be surprised by some of the selections (which has definitely worked so far), so I didn't know if it was showing up on lists besides mine.