Best Music of 2007 – Songs

Picking the best album is hard enough, but picking the best song is essentially impossible in my opinion.  A song can serve so many different purposes.  You might be able to compare songs of a similar style, but comparing songs across the spectrum is like comparing apples and antelopes.  Anyway, to make my list, I thought about all the music I had heard in the last year and which songs had stuck in my head – what songs popped to mind right away and were the best at achieving their respective goal.

Top 10 Songs of 2007
1. “Dashboard” – Modest Mouse – We Were Dead Before The Ship Even Sank. It’s about being on the road, music, and fire. What more could you want?
2. “You! Me! Dancing!” – Los Campesinos – Sticking Fingers Into Sockets. They’re a large-piece indie-pop band from England that’s got some good songs and some not great songs but this one gets me moving like an idiot.
3. “Unless It’s Kicks” – Okkervil River – The Stage Names. Simply a kick ass song.
4. “Resurrection Fern” – Iron & Wine – The Shepherd’s Dog. This songs a little more like Iron & Wine’s older stuff but has a slightly fuller sound while just being simple and hauntingly beautiful .
5. “Cape Cop Kwassa Kwassa” – Vampire Weekend. These guys have their first album coming out the end of this month – look for it.
6. “Hate It Here” – Wilco – Sky Blue Sky. This doesn’t share all of the same intensity and nuiance that other Jeff Tweedy songs have, but maybe because of it’s simplicity you could argue that it does an even better job of showing of his songwriting abilities.
7. “The Underdog” – Spoon – Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga. This is a different sound then the Spoon I was used to – more to it with the horns and what not – but definately a tune that I can’t resist playing over and over again.
8. “The Devil Is My Running Mate” – Jason Isbell – Sirens Of The Ditch. I don’t usually like political songs and this will probably end up being dated a few years from now, but it takes such a unique perspective on the Bush era that I can’t help but be impressed by it. It also gives a glimpse at the great song writing of Isbell who I feel has the potential to be as strong a musical talent as Jeff Tweedy.
9. “Tonight I Have To Leave It” – Shout Out Louds – Tonight I Have To Leave It. A Swedish indie-pop band that puts together a song to grab you and make you move like you were a thirteen year old spaz all over again.
10. “That Beat” – Amy LaVere – Anchors & Anvils. LaVere has a wonderful, unique sound and this thing just grooves in the sweetest, most seductive way.