Top 20 Songs of 2007, Part 3

As promised (though perhaps technically late), Part 3, #10-6. Big finish tommorow! Snap!

10. Kings of Leon - Black Thumbnail
I found Kings of Leon’s album “Because of the Times” to be fairly disappointing overall, but it's hard to shy away from “Black Thumbnail.” Here, Kings put their larger production budget to good use, as the band sounds bigger than ever. There’s reverb on just about everything except that persistent two-chord chugging rhythm guitar. The chorus is also as powerful as KoL have ever been, playing like veteran stadium rock heroes. The crowning moment of the song is the guitar solo, and it’s lead-up: “NOW GITAR, GO GITAR.”
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9. M.I.A. - Paper Planes
I’d like to think that this is the first time Joe Strummer is NOT rolling in his grave. It’s at least the first time people are saying he isn’t. M.I.A. takes The Clash’s criminally underrated “Straight To Hell” and turns it into one hell of a banger. Instead of singing about war in the East, she’d rather talk about sticking you. She makes the message pretty clear on the chorus, “All I want to do is *gun shots* and uh*gun cock* *cash register ring* and take your money.” It’s incredibly effective though, as the words, sound effects, and beat make you really think that if you ever saw M.I.A. on the street, she’s going to hustle you for everything you’ve got. Check the Diplo remix in the download, where he adds some crazy sound effects over verses by UGK’s Bun B and everyone’s favorite D-thrower Rich Boy. It’s not much of an improvement on the original, but it don’t hurt either.
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8. Grizzly Bear - Little Brother (Electric)
I’ll admit, I slept on Grizzly Bear. I didn’t really find them incredibly appealing aside from “Knife” for a long while. That was about up until I saw them live. Live, they are an incredibly tight and competent band, churning out consistently interesting takes on their record work. The records are far too layered to be played note for note, but these trimmed versions are just as good, and sometimes benefit from this. Grizzly Bear must’ve noticed, as they give space to the “Electric” cut of Yellow House song “Little Brother” on their new Friend EP. The song’s new straight ahead attitude does wonders. Grizzly Bear are terribly fine singers, and the added space highlights just how well they put their talents to use on dreamy harmonies. The conclusion of the song is simply epic, a whirling mix of crashing drums and sky-high guitars - and those vocals. Seriously.
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7. Battles - Atlas
As menacing as this song is, it holds a strange place for me. When I’m really bored, I sometimes like to play Sudoku, and this song is my Sudoku JAM. The pulsing drums and tweaked vocals were clearly made for placing numbers into a 9x9 square. The breakdown and buildup in the middle is the clear highlight of the song. The drums drag you forward as effects-laden guitars and basses slowly topple over you until they lock in sync into a driving rhythm. That is, until the chopped and screwed outro leaves you hanging on begging for more.
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6. Vietnam - Too Tired
Since I started thinking about this list and writing down some orders, this song has moved up and up and up, and even now I almost regret not putting it higher. I think it’s one of the most moving songs I’ve ever heard. The whole thing is just drenched in raw emotion, each pensive strum of the guitar and drum hit like a wrench in your heart. The lyrics are fantastic, with line of the year: “And honey, I don’t give a flying fuck if you wanna try to save me / ‘Cause I’ll be doing fine here on my own.” Even the wordless choruses drop like heavy weights, and the revved up outro just puts it over the top. It’s short, but it’s anything but sweet, which is a wonderful thing. The album version is great, but I’m upping the cut from their Daytrotter session, which is even fucking better.
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