uss | The Pun Is Sure

2011 was replete with an abundance of fantastic music. I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the tunes that were good but couldn’t find a place in my Top 100. Here they are…

Honourable mention:

Alex Turner – Piledriver Waltz; The Pains of Being Pure at Heart – Belong; Daft Punk – Fall (M83 vs. Big Black Delta remix); Honeychild – The Owl; Martin Solveig f. Dragonette – Hello; Wild Beasts – End Come Too Soon; Joker – The Vision; The Antlers – No Widows; Gang Gang Dance – Adult Goth; We Are Augustine – Chapel Song; Frank Ocean – Swim Good; Lady Antebellum – Just a Kiss; Jennifer Lopez f. Pitbull – On The Floor; The Strokes – Under Cover of Darkness; Cold War Kids – Bulldozer; Cage The Elephant – Aberdeen; Desire – Under Your Spell; Radiohead – Lotus Flower; Wye Oak – Civilian; Tune-Yards – Bizness; Junip – White Rain; Beady Eye – The Beat Goes On; The Naked & Famous – Girls Like You; Patrick Wolf – The City; Crystal Fighters – Home; Blue October – The Feel Again (Stay); Lights – Toes; Evanescence – Lost in Paradise; Hot Chelle Rae – Bleed; Fefe Dobson – Can’t Breathe; The Sheepdogs – I Don’t Know; Jay-Z & Kanye West – No Church in The Wild; Emmy The Great – Paper Forest (In The Afterglow of Rapture); Jessie J. – Price Tag; Karen O., Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross – Immigrant Song; Ellie Goulding – Lights; KO – Moving Mountains; The Script – Science & Faith; Into the Clouds – The Sound of Arrows; Foster the People – Waste; AWOLNATION – Sail; The Death Set – I Miss You Beau Velasco; The Chemical Brothers – Escape 700; Baden Baden – 78; Armistice – City Lights Cry; Buck 65 f. Jenn Grant – Paper Airplane; Rainbow Arabia – Without You; Hooray For Earth – Comfortable, Comparable; Astral Rejection – I Set My Friends on Fire; Iamamiwhoami – T; The Get Up Kids – Pararelevant; Active Child – Playing House.

If that cracking collection of songs couldn’t fit into my top 100, those that did must be pretty monumental. They are…

100. The Japanese Popstars – Song For Lisa

Dance-tastic, flighty and levitating. Watch your head.

99. Shakira f. Pitbull – Rabiosa

If you don’t like this song, Pitbull will bite you en la boca. I’m not taking that chance, thanks. If it were Shakira on the other hand…

98. Pitbull f. Ne-Yo, Afrojack & Nayer – Give Me Everything

If you don’t like this song, Pitbull, Ne-Yo, and a couple other cats will bite you not only en la boca, but also en el cerebro; again, call me risk averse, but I’m willing to err on the side of caution and avoid the possibility. Just grab somebody sexy, tell em hey!

97. Chris Brown – Yeah x3

Chris (Blonde a la Demolition Man Wesley Snipes) Brown hits wicked hard on this song. He hits three things undeniably hard: his vocals, his dance moves, and, um…I’m forgetting the last thing.

96. Grouplove – Betty’s Bomb Shell

Just has that je ne sais quoi. A tranquil jaunt down memory lane.

95. Monarchy f. Rokhsan – I Won’t Let Go

Surprisingly affecting for a relatively simple dance-pop song. I hear a bit of Hot Chip, Gabriel & Dresden, and Chris Isaak in “I Won’t Let Go”. Quite the mix. Ears, transfixed.

94. Creature – So High

Blondie meets Dragonette meets a lingerie photo shoot. What’s the address?

93. USS – Prefontaine/Yo Hello Hooray (Everyday)

Ash Boo-Schultz and The Human Kebab deliver again on their nostalgic sojourn of an EP, Approved. USS have the gift of inane gab, constructed carefully in their secret sonic lab. Always fun.

92. The Sounds – Yeah Yeah Yeah/The Best of Me

Sweden, Sweden, got me believin’, that melody’s a gift you be constantly thievin’.

91. Panic at The Disco – Memories/The Ballad of Mona Lisa

Their latest LP Vices and Virtues, was wildly surprising for its depth of quality. Cast as write-offs from the long since dead emo era of the early aughts, PATD have quietly matured into a really good band. Highlighting their well-honed sense of melody and songcraft, “Memories” and “The Ballad of Mona Lisa” are instantly gratifying.

90. Arctic Monkeys – Suck It And See/Love is a Laserquest

If you don’t believe me, suck it and see for yourself. I’ll just go ahead and put you down in the ‘yea’ camp. It’s rather amazing how good Arctic Monkeys have become at making music, how comfortable they sound in their own skin.

89. Geographer – Kites (Limousines remix)

One of the most obscure songs of the year, “Kites (Limousines remix)” hand-glides around the sky with nary a care in the world. It’s not coming down any time soon.

88. Yellowcard – The Sound of You and Me/For You and Your Denial

Yellowcard are back and masters of their domain. Both “The Sound of You and Me” and “For You and Your Denial” are relentless smashes.

87. Charlie XCX – Stay Away

Rambunctious, raucous, trapping pop. Nothing less.

86. When Saints Go Machine – Kelly

Weird, catchy, body-propelling, fantastic. When Saints Go Machine is part Depeche Mode, part Antony Hegarty (specifically “Blind” with Hercules & Love Affair), part feral cave-dweller and disco head-bopper. An engaging confluence indeed.

85. Vanbot – Maybe

“Maybe” is literally unsure, but at its heart, it consoles and cajoles. Vanbot and Young Galaxy are kindred spirits.

84. Austra – Darken Her Horse/The Beast

Two staggering tracks from Austra’s debut record. “Darken Her Horse” is focused and sharp. “The Beast” is tender and plangent. Whoa — what an effort.

83. D-Sisive – No More Words/#1 Record

Nothing in hip-hop moves me much anymore — wait a sec, hold the phone. Toronto rapper D-Sisive obliterated my ideas on the genre with his amazing Jonestown 2: Jimmy Go Bye Bye LP. This man has a voice and he intends to use it. A special lyricist with some thunderous beats.

82. Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds – AKA… What a Life!/AKA… Broken Arrow

What a comeback. Noel’s still got it — in spades. Both “AKA” tracks are phenomenal. That Noel has come up with so many compelling melodies over the years is kind of unbelievable. At this point, I think he might be a sorcerer. In fact, let’s take out the might. He is clearly a sorcerer. And I’m elated to be under his spell.

81. Florence & The Machine – No Light No Light

One of the standout tracks from the formidable follow-up LP, Ceremonials, “No Light No Light” is a regal slice of pop buoyancy.

80. Ladytron – White Gold/Melting Ice

Featuring the typical Ladytron sound, “White Gold” and “Melting Ice” carry extra brawn, making them impossible to resist. Bulking up (sans HGH) suits Ladytron well.

79. Lady Gaga – Marry The Night/Born this Way/Judas

The beats are supple, boisterous, and resilient; the hooks are epinician, diligent and aplenty. Gaga is The Queen of Pop, but also The King, The Prince, The Princess, The Court Jester, The Soothsayer, The Witch, The People, and The Dominion itself. We’re at her beck and call and I’m ok with that.

78. Blink-182 – Ghost On The Dance Floor/Snake Charmer

From their solid comeback album, Neighborhoods, “Ghost On The Dance Floor” and “Snake Charmer” are rife with might, vigour, and urgency. The perfect mix of Angels and Airwaves and +44. What do you know, that equals the new Blink-182. It was always going to happen this way.

77. Manchester Orchestra – Leaky Breaks

A redoubtable song at peace with itself. “Leaky Breaks” is considerate and reflective; the guitars canoodling with the casual beat at every turn. A pensive song. A baby-making one too.

76. Neon Indian – Polish Girl

How does one put the essence of an entire culture and sexual orientation into a song? Sounds kind of biggoty. I’m willing to cut Neon Indian some slack though; this song is elusive and fanciful. Too many influences to mention here. The end result is startlingly good.

10. Mates of State – My Only Offer

The most immediate song on their incredibly strong record, Re-Arrange Us, this married duo have melodies so potent, the antidote needs to be within grasping distance at all times. Wait…there is no antidote. Oh well, death would be welcome if only it sounded this good. They are cohesive to such a high degree that it is rather confounding. Patently special in every sense of the word.

9. The Waking Eyes – All Empires Fall

Straight from Rusty’s mouth, this was the easiest song on the record to write for them. That is damn well astonishing considering it is condensed awesomeness. Three chords or not, this is the sound of a band saying ‘we have arrived, may we have your attention now.’

8. The Republic Tigers – Give Arm to Its Socket

The sound of a world in disarray as it slowly, strangely and softly goes to sleep. The sound of accountability. The sound of a band that don’t even know their own strength. The sound of “C4 in my hand, and I’m ready to show you what for.” Aptly, the sound of this planet in this exact space and time. The sound of poignancy. The sound of breathlessness.

7. Mates of State – Blue & Gold Print

I awake, thinking of her. She’s not beside me, but her space is warm. I get up and stumble as I gain consciousness. I make my way over to the kids’ room and they’re still asleep. The house seems strangely empty. I go downstairs and peruse the family room. Nothing has stirred. As I enter the kitchen, I see a note on the centre counter. The window is open a tad and a gust of wind violently hits the glass, causing me to flinch. I stare at the note and my stomach turns with nausea. It can’t be. Not after all this time. Not after…everything. With trudging feet, I move toward the counter and pick up the note. A multitude of emotions pour in waves over my mind as I unfurl the note. It says…I awake, and she’s beside me, it was only a dream. I kiss her gently, and thankful, I return to sleep.

6. The Wombats – Moving to New York

The air drum song of the year. The big city ode of the year. The perfect guide to love, loss and desperation. Perfect. Just perfect.

5. The Airborne Toxic Event – Sometime Around Midnight

The intro. Those magical strings. The relatable lyrics. The vocal timbre fluctuation. “You just have to see her.” The strings coming full circle at the end. The quintessential pop tune. For a first effort, well bloody done LA lads.

4. Ubiquitous Synergy Seeker (USS) – Hollow Point Sniper Hyperbole

Most apeshit band name, song title, and musical construction of the year, hands down. Quite possibly the freshest tune of the year. Never got old–after months, and months, and months. Stunningly dramatic. The sound of mixing every energy drink imaginable whilst snorting rockets (the candy) and trying to do the foot speed drill they would have you do at an NFL combine or training camp. Just a wickedly delicious, strange, hypnotic, wonderful song that laughs–no, cackles–in the face of any attempt at classification.

3. MGMT – Time to Pretend

Speaking of apeshit crazy, this one comes damn close to taking the title from USS. It’s too much of a flat-out poptastic marvel to do so though. The soundtrack to my life for the first few months of 2008. This is the kind of song that makes you thankful to love music and to have the ability to hear. Like the Killers did in 2004 with “Mr. Brightside”, this is the kind of track that changes things in the musical landscape and makes bands try excruciatingly hard to copy the sound/style. It’s a fruitless endeavour however, because while others are trying painstakingly hard to copy, these guys are just playing around like kids without a worry in the world. From and sounding like multi-dimensional beings, MGMT have barely touched down to earth, a frighteningly delicious proposition indeed.

1a & 1b – The Killers – Human/The Helio Sequence – Hallelujah

I couldn’t do it. I’ve slept on it for days and those days have turned into weeks, and I’m still wrestling with the choice. I’m copping out and I don’t mind. Neither one of these tunes deserves to be second and neither deserves to be ahead of the other. They both exploded into the stratosphere for different reasons.

“Human” is the beast, and though it took a few listens for me to get into (as the best ones usually do), it soon became my precious and I was like a giddy little school girl telling as many people as I could how much I loved this song. They didn’t need my help being one of the biggest bands on the planet, but I didn’t care, this song made me gush like a geyser of the gargantuan kind. A pure stroke of genius. Around the time of their album’s release, I read somewhere that somebody thought this was their best single to date–whoa, whoa, what a second here. We’re talking about a band that has released “Mr. Brightside”, “All These Things That I’ve Done”, “Smile Like You Mean It”, “When You Were Young”, and “Read My Mind”, songs that will go down in the pantheon of great pop ditties, and especially for this generation, songs that galvanized an otherwise apathetic youth into a feverish foot stomp. But once I mulled the proposition over for a short while, there was no way I could disagree with the sentiment. They re-affirmed my affinity for them as hit making supernovas who are poised to be this generations U2 (apologies to Coldplay and Foo Fighters–great though you are: a) your catalogue isn’t as strong, and b) you haven’t shown the whimsical disregard for common sense needed to write hits that are that different from one another musically and that polarize the shit out of people. Props must go to the Thin White Duke for helping them regain their swagger in the most musically stunning way possible.

“Hallelujah” is the beauty, an immediate masterstroke that somehow retains the qualities of a song that grows and grows, and seems to lay still as you admire its beauty–then it grows some more, and some more, and becomes the most graceful piece of wonder you could have ever imagined. To borrow from our French friends, if “Human” is the piece de resistance (accents unavailable) of the musical scene this year, “Hallelujah” is the coup d’etat, the piece of art that climbed past and above all obstacles on its way to gain power–just and fair power. This song doesn’t set its sights on egomaniacal, illusions of grandeur-esque power of one or few, rather its goals rest in egalitarian, ethereal celebration to the heavens. It is an Indie-hymn of the purest kind. And all from a TWO PERSON BAND! The drummer is one of the best in any genre, hands down. Live, he is manic and hypnotic. The vocals mesh perfectly with the music. The pulse of the song is a force belying description. The celebration (music in the 2nd part of the song) just keeps going and going and going in such a captivating way. Indecipherable synths/vocals spread charm like hot butter over the latter half of the tune. This song is a mantra I can live by forever.

Another year of music has come and gone – has come and changed. Bringing love in its natural form to all Humans, we all said Hallelujah, we don’t want answers..we want…more.

(written in 2008)

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