Julie's Top Five Songs of 2007
Fewer than three weeks remain before the year expires, and it is apparent that Michael Jackson will not release his highly anticipated new album in 2007. So having eliminated the contender with the most potent potential to deliver a late December surprise, we can safely call another year in pop music kaput, and begin to take stock of our favorite tunes from the past 12 months.
Today, NewNowNext launches a three-day run down that will feature different takes on that all-important list: the top five songs of 2007. Look for John to serve up his selections tomorrow, and find out what Colin has to say on Friday. By all means, feel free to interject with your opinions.
As for me, 2007 largely seemed awash in the epic themes of monumental meltdowns and muscular comebacks. There were the very public - and disturbing - collapses of young idols, like Britney Spears and Amy Winehouse, and the triumphant return of pros hell bent on world domination, especially Daft Punk whose astounding tour probably generated the best live performances of the year. Along the way, pleasant notes from Brazil drifted to shore, in the form of songs by CSS and newcomers like Bonde Do Role, who just lost their singer, by the way. If predictions are allowed, might I advise that we prepare to hear more from China next year?
In the meantime, and in between the tabloid headlines, during 2007 some promising new voices emerged, while other, more established artists returned and proved the persistence of their vitality. What follows is my ranking of the five who most impressed me, and who happen to be nearly all female. To remedy the gender imbalance, I would nominate Calvin Harris as a runner up, but then again, my favorite track of his is called, "The Girls."
Count down the top five songs of 2007 with Julie after the jump!
Number Five: PJ Harvey, "Silence"
Lasting just over three minutes, this gem reflects the short length of the eleven songs on White Chalk, the eighth studio album from PJ Harvey. The stunning new release finds the ever-evolving songstress venturing for the first time into the territory of piano ballads, which proves to be a natural extension of her talents.
"Silence," like its title suggests, rolls quietly for two minutes, until Harvey bursts into a shattering vocal repetition that could break a listeners' spine. Or so it seemed to me when I first heard it in the Beacon Theatre, on a night I was already heavy with the news that my family's dog, Manny, would need to be put to sleep the next day.
Rest assured that the 50 Ft. Queenie maintains her guitar ferocity, which she displayed to loud effect during the "Rid of Me" encore she presented on her limited tour in October.
Number Four: Nicole Atkins & the Sea, "Party's Over"
Leave it to a Jersey Girl from the Asbury Park area to develop a soundtrack fit for a seashore vacation in the 1960s. In fact, between its title and foggy under-the-water sensibility, the song "Party's Over" at times seemed like the ideal anthem for the legendary Coney Island on the verge of closing.
Luckily, that freaky location on the Atlantic Ocean won a lease on another season, and Atkins appears destined to make bigger waves with a style that takes listeners back in time. Catch a listen of "Party's Over," and her uniquely cute look, in this clip of her American Express commercial.
Number Three: Yo Majesty, "Kryptonite Pussy"
"Yo punany better make that money!"
Yo Majesty ruled parts of the underground this summer with their rude but addictive tune with the blazing beat. Check out the UMYO remix of "Kryptonite Pussy," which samples the Prince classic, "I Wanna Be Your Lover." It provided excellent motivation to leave Brooklyn at midnight and head to Manhattan to catch the butch Tampa-based duo in one of their rare appearances.
Look for a full-length album from Yo Majesty in early 2008.
"You nasty, girl. You nasty."
Number Two: Kristeen Young, "Kill the Father"
When many others were fawning over Rihanna's "Umbrella" in the spring, I found refuge from the onslaught in my discovery of Kristeen Young, an exciting, and Morrissey-approved, girl/boy duo from St. Louis. Their sonic missive, "Kill the Father," challenges young creators to revolt against the supremacy of rock forebears like Blondie, Bowie and Led Zeppelin. Little did they probably guess that the Zep would reunite later this year.
"Ah, ah, ah, ah!"
Still, with its dramatic piano, propulsive percussion, and Kristeen's vocals that sound eerily like Kate Bush, "Kill the Father" is a call to arms for the next generation. Or, at the very least, it's one hell of a track for the treadmill.
Number One: Tegan and Sara, "The Con"
The Sisters Quin returned in July with The Con, the eagerly awaited follow up to their acclaimed, So Jealous, from 2005. Elements of their notable New Wave/pop sound continued, but the duo also experimented with darker twists and turns.
Their bracing title track, "The Con," seemed to play endlessly around me. Like the best of favorite songs, I do not know exactly why that was the case.
In August, a Rolling Stone review suggested that Tegan and Sara produce love songs relatively free of drama because they are lesbians, and do not have to contend with men.
Um, on the contrary, watch "The Con" below and try the dyke drama of these lyrics on for size:
I listened in, yes I'm guilty of this, you should know this.
I broke down and wrote you back before you had a chance to.
Forget forgotten, I am moving past this, giving notice.
I have to go, yes I know the feeling, know you're leaving.
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