dumb

I guess I'm in the minority that prefers "What Goes Around" to "LoveStoned."

Both fab songs though.

Dam Deacon is really awesome, as long as we're sorta still talking about that.

Everyone who disagrees is pretty much terrible. As a person.

Sophie in the top 20, wow. Best surprise so far.


Okay, we get it. You're in Sweden.

It's You!
It's Me!
And There's Dancing!


#18.




Los Campesinos! – You! Me! Dancing! / It Started With A Mixx
(4437 Points, 20 Votes, One #1 Vote)

US Chart Position: n/a

UK Chart Position: n/a

SOMB Says: (Another) bi-gendered troupe of so-twee-it-hurts students out to teach us all how to dance? On principle alone, the only way I could hate this band more would be if they took on a foreign moniker and exlamatized it... ¡Aye caray! Maybe I’m just hung up on bands that garner this much Pitchfork/Hype Machine appeal, even if they really deserve it, and reluctant to join the herd of indie kids willing to crown Los Campesinos! as the next big thing. At least they have good music at their parties, but the thing is, “You! Me! Dancing!” is for everyone else who didn’t get an invitation, and wouldn’t even know what to do with it if they did.

In a year where alternative rock went disco, Youtube dance crazes swept the nation, and the post-punk dance revival finally evolved from a twinkle in bloggers’ eyes to the new paradigm of our times, could there be a more awkward confession for anyone than “I can’t dance a single step”? Closet wallflowers have more brothers and sisters than they could ever imagine, but “You! Me! Dancing!” gives them no more excuses for their awkwardness. With one of the best guitar riffs of 2007, the most addictive primal drumbeat in years that wasn’t pounded out by Meg White, and a chorus so earnest and joyful that you can’t help but be swept up in its proclamation of surprise, LC! might have just brought the last of the mixtape-makers out of their bedrooms and onto the dance floor. Maybe they are a young band that needs more time to “tighten up,” but this time around, that’s a criticism that’s missing the point completely. – undo

Ranked Highest By: Saskadelphia (#1)

Can Be Most Easily Found On: Sticking Fingers Into Sockets

^ Awesome.

So many great blurbs written, too.

Late At Night You Can Hear The Sound

#17.




Arcade Fire – Keep The Car Running / Broken Window
(4810 Points, 30 Votes)

US Chart Position: #32 Modern Rock

UK Chart Position: #56

SOMB Says: Remember in October when Win and Régine guested with Bruce on "Keep the Car Running"? Of course you do. There were all of those people who then kept saying, "That's clearly a Springsteen homage! It was only a matter of time until this happened!" Well, somewhere John Cafferty was probably cursing them as he listened to "On the Dark Side" over and over wondering "Why didn't Bruce ever ask me to play with him?!" (Who knows, this may've actually happened.)

From the build in intensity to the feverish handclaps and the dueling strings, this isn't just an impersonation, though. This is the mark of a band building off of what doubters figured would be a one-trick pony. The surging instrumentation and the paranoia-induced vocals exhibit the Arcade Fire comfortable enough to show off their influences and yet inject new flavor into a sound that they deeply adore. - no magnets

Artist's Previous Rankings on Our Singles Lists: "Neighborhood #3 (Power Out)" (#54 of 2005), "Rebellion (Lies)" (#21 of 2005)

Ranked Highest By: Campaigner (#3)

Can Be Most Easily Found On: Neon Bible

Gross.

And She Got That Ass, I Got To Look, Sorry

#16.




Kanye West – Good Life (feat. T-Pain)
(4959 Points, 28 Votes)

US Chart Position: #7 / #1 Rap Tracks

UK Chart Position: #23

SOMB Says: In a year dominated by two kings of pop, T-Pain and Kanye West, perhaps it is fitting that it's a Michael Jackson sample brings them together on "Good Life", Graduation's best track bar none. The P.Y.T. sample is the highlight of Kanye's production, but every single choice he made in producing this track is entirely perfect, top to bottom.

When I first heard the song on the radio, I didn't get it. The subtleties hadn't revealed themselves yet, its a grower, blah blah, etc. etc. However, my perception that the song was too simple proved itself to be dead wrong. Every whirring key, every looping clap, every hook T-Pain can throw at us is unique and constantly changing. Rather than go in circles, the song evolves in front of us as sounds change, and Kanye delivers his typically awkward flow, to great effect. This is happy Kanye. Rich Kanye. Ridiculous stunners with horizontal lines Kanye. Every slurred rhyme exudes fun and gives me an intense urge to DANCE LIKE NO ONE IS WATCHING ME.

Though he's rapping about the vanity of his success, you get the sense listening how truly grateful he is to have made it. Maybe that's reading into it, and say what you will about the Kanye persona, but he's living millions of little kids dreams, loving it, and living the good life with one of 2007's best tracks.

P.S. T-PAIN ROXXXX!!!!!!!!!<3<3<3FUQQ DA H8ERZ. – Chrono

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: Paul (#3)

Can Be Most Easily Found On: Graduation

Oddly enough, I don't think I have ever heard "Broken Window", checking it out now, thanks!

And man oh man, do we love our kayne!

Light Touch My Hands

#15.




Klaxons – Golden Skans / Golden Skans (Erol’s Ekstra Spektral Remix)
(4984 Points, 25 Votes, One #1 Vote)

US Chart Position: n/a

UK Chart Position: #7

SOMB Says: Come with me, come with me, we'll travel to infinity sang The Klaxons on last year’s single “Gravity’s Rainbow” and by starting the year with their forth and most accessible single to date they treat us to a song that simultaneously manages to begin unnervingly like Baby D’s “Let Me Be Your Fantasy” and quotes from JG Ballard’s Myths of The Near Future which is a lot closer to infinity then most bands achieve. With so many looping, dizzying elements spinning around song like the strands of silk in the Jackson 5 inspired video or the shards of light piercing the ozone layer in Ballard’s novella it’s success lies in it’s ability to slowly bring the individual parts together to a tumultuous crescendo with the plodding bass-line, the smattering of the lightweight drums, the piano, the ohhing, the ahhing, the bit they nicked from Madonna that she nicked from Abba and the urgency of the delivery of the bridge before the entire song explodes into the sun and beams it self across the known and unknown universe. You can forget all future plans. – MitchellStirling

Artist's Previous Rankings on Our Singles Lists: "Gravity's Rainbow" / "The Bouncer" (#87 of 2006)

Ranked Highest By: MitchellStirling (#1)

Can Be Most Easily Found On: Myths of the Near Future

we might love our Kanye singles, but did we really love Graduation? I don't remember seeing it so highly on many people's lists, but that could just be my bad memory.

Not bad choices, even if they were expected.

"You! Me! Dancing!" is much better than it really has a right to be.

Well, You Can't Be A Pimp And A Prostitute Too

#14.




The White Stripes – Icky Thump / Rag & Bone
(5067 Points, 28 Votes)

US Chart Position: #26 / #1 Modern Rock

UK Chart Position: #2

SOMB Says: Of all the things to say about the White Stripes, "influential" might be the hardest to pin on. In 2002, they came on the scene with "Fell in Love With a Girl," which was more or less the only thing of interest going on on alternative radio. Everyone talked of revolution, how something might finally be happening. This year they dropped "Icky Thump," which was more or less the only thing of interest going on on alternative radio. Oh well. At least the Stripes keep it fresh, bringing throbbing distortion, pounding drums, Jimmy Page guitar licks, out-of-nowhere political commentary, and it all ends like most White Stripes songs do, with Jack White handcuffed to a bed in Mexico having just been swindled by a one-eyed woman we can only assume is Meg. Rock-n-roll, mother fuckers. – Duff.

Artist's Previous Rankings on Our Singles Lists: "My Doorbell" (#29 of 2005), "Blue Orchid" (#22 of 2005)

Ranked Highest By: AsherFord (#2)

Can Be Most Easily Found On: Icky Thump

Graduation was most certainly the year's letdown. The singles - "Stronger" excepted - aren't all that either. Y'all midwesterners got some generous ears for your local boys.

No kidding...

LOL this is crazy talk, "Stronger" is actually the worst single!

perhaps the most common misspelling on the internet.

or #2 to "loose" (when people mean "lose")

Good stuff, although I must protest at the inclusion of Sophie Ellis-Bextor. Awful.

btw, here's an mp3 of 'Fireworks' by Animal Collective if anyone wants it. I noticed there wasn't an upload. Sorry, I forgot to tag it properly.

http://www.sendspace.com/file/fdi450

Also, that Los Campesinos! song is terrific. I'd never heard of these guys up until now. A triumph!

In two months, "Good Life" could very well be in my top 5 for 2007. It keeps getting better.

This is like the opposite of what's true, although Stronger kinda grew on me as an album track

yeah, truly. "stronger" kinda sucks really, really hard compared to every other single.

I wonder how many people voted for the Icky Thump/Rag and Bone single, for Rag and Bone. Certainly the best song on the album.
Also shocked that this the highest placing White Stripes single on this board.

theres a little truth to all lies

Wow, how many times did I spell it wrong before this...

Oh, most certainly every one would agree, no room for debate there at all. Critics everywhere derided it for its lack of musical and lyrical depth and fans everywhere agreed, leaving copies on the shelves in shops and keeping the singles off the upper reaches of the charts. One of the year's biggest letdowns.

I really liked Kanye's first two albums, with their mix of his gratuitous baller persona and social commentary, like on "All Falls Down." Graduation, while musically competent, is just flaccid when compared to those albums lyrically. I like "Stronger" cause it doesn't make any socio-political pretenses; it just brings it all gratuitous and shit. To each her own and all that, etc.

And For Those Of You Who Still Think We're From England
We're Not, No.

#13.




LCD Soundsystem – North American Scum / North American Scum (Kris Menace Remix) / North American Scum (Onastic Dub) / Hippie Priest Bum-Out
(5129 Points, 31 Votes, One #1 Vote)

US Chart Position: n/a

UK Chart Position: #40

SOMB Says: Oh I don’t know, I don’t know, oh, where to begin. It’s perhaps as difficult to convey the ambiguous meanings and myriad emotions aroused by North American Scum in a small blurb as it would be for James Murphy to casually reply to anti-American sentiment he gleans on world tours. And while it may be easier in the moment for the LCD frontman to “act all shy (because) it’ll make it ok…make it go away,” Murphy has this gloriously maniacal 5 minute song to remind foreigners that, while there are certainly valid objections to much of Western culture and politics, the generalizations used by many Europeans represent the same sort of cultural arrogance and ignorance of which America is accused.

Done with more than a dose or two of well-placed humor, Scum is a back-handed defense of individualism and a burst of true leftist patriotism…a casually stinging social critique that happens to be infectiously catchy and meticulously crafted. Scum recalls Remain In Light era Talking Heads in more ways than one, dabbling in taut funk and disco-punk.

There’s nothing quite like those moments when the sweet noise glides and burns from the player, snakes through the wires and slides into the brain and in an instant a part of the self…one that’s just crazy enough to believe that life is stranger than fiction…feels not so alone in the world. My wife calls this ‘musical serendipity’:
So I was feeling blue recently…one of those weeks where my clients seemed particularly stuck or regressing and we got some bad news concerning the poor health of a family member. Perhaps that’s why some of my depressive tendencies surfaced and I became the fish suddenly unable to swim upstream without biting into every hook. At times like these I tend to notice every house as too big, with people in rooms too far apart and large empty spaces in between. At times like this, it’s easy to relate to a song like Scum in a manner of self-loathing, neurotically unaware of the irony. I’ve got some 3,000 songs on my ipod, so it was with great delight that Scum popped up on shuffle just as I was stopped in the hallway of the local high school where I was to attend a meeting. It was the “Pledge of Allegiance”. What so proudly I hail’d. – Elemeno P.T.

Artist's Previous Rankings on Our Singles Lists: "Yeah" (#14 of 2004), "Disco Infiltrator" (#85 of 2005), "Tribulations" / Tiga Remix (#10 of 2005), "Daft Punk Is Playing At My House" / Soulwax Remix (#8 of 2005)

Ranked Highest By: Elemeno P.T. (#1)

Can Be Most Easily Found On: Sound Of Silver

clearly Stronger benefits on the revival of Daft Punk. Kanye knows his timing.

great blurb elemeno

Fixed, I guess. Just thought opinions were implied and all that when it came down to matters of opinion. Enough talk of Kanye. More listing.

Fair enough.

wow, so 1/3 of LCD's album will be in our top fifteen. That's splendid. Dude had quite a year.

Us Kids Know

#12.




Arcade Fire – No Cars Go / Surf City Eastern Bloc
(5304 Points, 22 Votes, One #1 Vote)

US Chart Position: n/a

UK Chart Position: #85

SOMB Says: What The Arcade Fire does perfectly is epic, tragic pop. Whether or not this is your style, you’ve got to admit they do it well. By rerecording “No Cars Go”, the band had a chance to take a delicate but confident earlier recording and steamroll it with schmaltz. However, even with more polished production, the original charm of the song remains, and the new additions add a sense of urgency and wistfulness to the proceedings. On the 2007 version, Win Butler’s call to arms for the women, children, and old folks out there rings loud and clear, where the original’s production muffled the cries to a near whisper. I guess the comparison between the earlier whispers and the later shouts perfectly encapsulate the changes that The Arcade Fire has gone through since 2003, but the song rules regardless. – killerparties

Artist's Previous Rankings on Our Singles Lists: "Neighborhood #3 (Power Out)" (#54 of 2005), "Rebellion (Lies)" (#21 of 2005)

Ranked Highest By: concertgoer (#1)

Can Be Most Easily Found On: Neon Bible

I'm not completely convinced Paul didn't pull some strings to juxtapose Pink's and Midnight's blurbs.

If my guesses are right, our top ten is going to be amazing.

We Still Have The Radio

#11.




Modest Mouse - Dashboard
(5364 Points, 31 Votes, One #1 Vote)

US Chart Position: #59 / #5 Modern Rock

UK Chart Position: n/a

SOMB Says: For years I've disliked Modest Mouse. I didn't like their music, bands that influenced them, Isaac Brock, their name or even the source material for their name. When their music would play, I would leave the room. I even left a show once because they were headlining. (The openers were good, though.) I heard nothing of value in what they offered. It just didn't have any effect on me. Then on January 27 I heard "Dashboard" and mistook it as a great XTC derivative. When I found out I'd actually enjoyed a Modest Mouse jam, I was floored because this was not the Modest Mouse that I'd disliked intensely for years. This was a fun Modest Mouse song with jangly guitars, big hooks and a prominent horn arrangement. The inane lyrics are still there, but it was at least enjoyable. The fact of the matter is I still want to dislike them, but I just can't right now because "Dashboard" is so catchy. - no mangets

Artist's Previous Rankings on Our Singles Lists: "Float On" (#1 of 2004), "Ocean Breathes Salty" (#55 of 2004)

Ranked Highest By: Hero (#1)

Can Be Most Easily Found On: We Were Dead Before The Ship Even Sank

whoa. this is actually surprising. figured it would be top ten for sure.

Whoa, "Dashboard" went to #59???

Wow, I completely forgot about Dashboard. And the new album in general. Great song and album, could have sworn they were from 2006. Well then.

Stronger
Someone Great
All My Friends


I know what the others are subconciously, but I'm totally blanking.

Am actually considering sacrificing my friends to witness the conclusion.

What have I become?

I think that was pretty much just from digital sales the first week it was available.

Paper Planes
1234


Fuck, what else. Our Life is Not a Movie or Maybe?

Just keep ruining it, Chrono.

p.s. you're missing um-buh-rella.

and two more LCD tracks

True tales.

It's how we do. The only real surprise left will be the order.

"Rockstar?"