The Humpty Dance

so ive come up with a top albums of 2007, and now its time to turn to the top tracks of the year. mainly this is a list of songs that stood the test of time; my feelings for these tracks have not wained over the course of the year. this is the official playlist for the year 2007.

10. "selfish jean" - travis. begins with a familiar drumming (something out of a phil collins track), then moves to a poppy rant about how jean is selfish. fond memories of prague lie in this one as i had travis to guide me through the czech public transportation system on my way to class this summer. best line: "hey jean dont rock the boat, when you can't swim."

9. "none shall pass" - aesop rock. a late addition to my music collection, aes has given me new faith in hip hop. everytime they play ay babay, a kitten is tragically eaten by a bear. everytime i hear a track like this one, a kitten's life is spared. the keyboard sample in this one is infectious. itll climb in your head and bounce around for a while.

8. "hard sun" - eddie vedder. eddie vedder is a cool guy. rock star. hot wife. even had a small role in walk hard. best thing he did in 2007, however, was this soundtrack, breaking away from pearl jam's powerful guitars and screaming vocals. strip that away and you have eddie vedder at his finest. best line: "when i walk beside her i am the better man, when i look to leave her i always stagger back again."

7. "side with the seeds" - wilco. their 2002 album yankee hotel foxtrot remains one of my favorite albums of all time, and their 2007 effort sky blue sky, was solid but not their best. a bright spot is this track. jeff tweedy is a helluva songwriter, thus i will always have a soft spot for this chicago band. best line: "you and i/ will be undefeated by agreeing to disagree/ no one wins but the thieves, so why side with anything?"

6. "i feel it all" - feist. going on the soundtrack to my life (future blog idea?). uptempo, revealing, insecure. i cant pinpoint it, but this song gives me chills. could have very well been much higher on the list, but i cant have a bunch of co-number ones. best line: "i dont know what i knew before/ now i know i wanna win the war."

5. "kookaburra" - john vanderslice. the opener in his album emerald city. far and away the best song vanderslice has produced on a very underrated album. would definitely be an indie sampler somewhere. very likable. best line: "from dusk til dawn and dawn to dusk/ the sky will fill with vaporized dust."

4. "rotten hell" - menomena. damn i love this band. how did they sneak by me all these years? odd band, but it works. this song makes you want to tap along through the layers of sound, then yell when it climaxes at about 3:15 in the song. best line: "ive got a strangle hold this decision/ all those opposed can run and hide"

3. "slow show" - the national. the national has rocketed up my all time favorite bands in a very short amount of time. this song is by far the standout of this album. singer matt beringers deliberate singing style shines here, as guitars and violins are careful not to wake his sleepy vocals. best lines: "standing at the punch table swallowing punch/ cant pay attention to the sound of anyone/ a little more stupid/ a little more scared/ every minute more unprepared." "i leaned on the wall/ the wall leaned away."

2. "all i need" - radiohead. radiohead returned to form with their digital only release last month. more bands need to be like radiohead. radiohead is the branch to which all other bands blossom. this track is amazing and simple. its clear that the object of thom yorkes lyrics is all he needs. beautiful.

1. "cheaper than therapy" - rogue wave. the closer to asleep at heavens gate. a solemn tune that begins with church organs and ends with a fading piano. this track makes me think, "the music i want is cheaper than therapy" is an unofficial ode to music's therapeutic qualities. definite addition to the soundtrack of my life, most likely close to the closing credits. best line: "you say im outta my head but really im the only one thats bounced back."