King Kanye
I love lists. And I ESPECIALLY love end-of-the-year best-of lists.
With no further introduction, I present you with the first half of my “Top Ten Songs of 2005.” Fret not. There are even more embarrassing admissions to come in the second half.
1. Kanye West, “Gold Digger”
Do I even need to defend this choice? The song is simply hilarious. There is chanting in favor of prenups. There is making fun of Usher. There is rhyming “Geico” with “lypo” with “Tyco.” For me, this song is undoubtedly the “Hey Ya” of 2005. And accordingly, I give Mr. “George-Bush-hates-black-people” top honors for the second year in a row.
2. Sufjan Stevens, “Chicago”/“John Wayne Gacy, Jr.”/“The Man of Metropolis Steals Our Hearts”/“The Predatory Wasp of the Palisades Is Out to Get Us”
I can’t seem to come up with anything to write that does justice to these songs. If you haven’t already, just go out and buy the damn album! Listen to it several times. At least once while drinking red wine and longing for your hometown or your misspent youth. And then send me a nasty note if these haunting songs haven’t touched your soul at least a tiny bit.
I anticipate zero nasty notes.
3. Bright Eyes, “Landlocked Blues”
“If you walk away, I’ll walk away.” A song about leaving. About leaving a person, a relationship, a world, a war. About freeing oneself from the “shackles of language and measurable time.” Freedom always comes with a price, and this song makes me want to break out more red wine and ponder that problem more thoroughly.
4. Stars, “Your Ex-Lover Is Dead”
This pairs nicely with the Bright Eyes song, as it is about the happenstance reunion between two people who long ago chose to walk away from each other. As such, it’s both pretty and a little bit unsettling. And really, that’s precisely what I’m looking for in the art I love.
5. 50 Cent & The Game, “Hate It or Love It”
This song is a bit… different from my previous three selections. But when you’re a white boy who would secretly like to be a gansta for a day, you need one or two of these in your iPod. And 50’s (or “fiddy’s”) arrogant swagger can be a surprisingly refreshing break after too many soulful singer-songwriters. You just know that, given the proper opportunity, 50 would kick the collective asses of everyone ever nominated for a “Best Indie Rock” Grammy (or featured on pitchforkmedia.com). And I find that the littlest bit amusing. Shame on me.
With no further introduction, I present you with the first half of my “Top Ten Songs of 2005.” Fret not. There are even more embarrassing admissions to come in the second half.
1. Kanye West, “Gold Digger”
Do I even need to defend this choice? The song is simply hilarious. There is chanting in favor of prenups. There is making fun of Usher. There is rhyming “Geico” with “lypo” with “Tyco.” For me, this song is undoubtedly the “Hey Ya” of 2005. And accordingly, I give Mr. “George-Bush-hates-black-people” top honors for the second year in a row.
2. Sufjan Stevens, “Chicago”/“John Wayne Gacy, Jr.”/“The Man of Metropolis Steals Our Hearts”/“The Predatory Wasp of the Palisades Is Out to Get Us”
I can’t seem to come up with anything to write that does justice to these songs. If you haven’t already, just go out and buy the damn album! Listen to it several times. At least once while drinking red wine and longing for your hometown or your misspent youth. And then send me a nasty note if these haunting songs haven’t touched your soul at least a tiny bit.
I anticipate zero nasty notes.
3. Bright Eyes, “Landlocked Blues”
“If you walk away, I’ll walk away.” A song about leaving. About leaving a person, a relationship, a world, a war. About freeing oneself from the “shackles of language and measurable time.” Freedom always comes with a price, and this song makes me want to break out more red wine and ponder that problem more thoroughly.
4. Stars, “Your Ex-Lover Is Dead”
This pairs nicely with the Bright Eyes song, as it is about the happenstance reunion between two people who long ago chose to walk away from each other. As such, it’s both pretty and a little bit unsettling. And really, that’s precisely what I’m looking for in the art I love.
5. 50 Cent & The Game, “Hate It or Love It”
This song is a bit… different from my previous three selections. But when you’re a white boy who would secretly like to be a gansta for a day, you need one or two of these in your iPod. And 50’s (or “fiddy’s”) arrogant swagger can be a surprisingly refreshing break after too many soulful singer-songwriters. You just know that, given the proper opportunity, 50 would kick the collective asses of everyone ever nominated for a “Best Indie Rock” Grammy (or featured on pitchforkmedia.com). And I find that the littlest bit amusing. Shame on me.
posted by OleNelson at 10:13 PM
6 Comments:
I'm disappointed you didn't start with #10 and give us one a day (an idea that I may now steal) (wait - it was my idea in the first place). I haven't heard #4 or #5, but the others were spot-on.
I couldn't agree more on #2.
I don't know about this list T-bone. I am waiting for another list, like top 10 lines you have b.s.ed in job applications. Snaps to those!
A grandee-inspired list would be the berries on the mistletoe...
I'm really impressed that you'n'J.Bro can keep up with which songs came out in 2005.
I can ALMOST tell the approximate decade a song came out in. Although with people like Interpol sounding like Joy Division, I get confused.
I like you selections better than J.Bro's so far. But if you think Gold Digger is #1 then you really ought to listen to R.Kelly Trapped (Vol 1-12.) 1-5 is on the CD but 1-12 is available on DVD only. Trust me it is worth your time! My Top list will likely have to wait a couple more weeks.
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