DECEMBER 24th, 2007
Okay, here’s the best of 2007, Top 20 Edition
But I don’t think there’s any benefit to making a ranking system. I feel it’s something I can do comfortably with full albums, as an amalgamation of everything that artist and his team has done...composing, arranging, producing...putting together 45 minutes to an hour of material isn’t easy.
Writing one single good song, I’m sorry to say, actually is easy. And while I’m sure many would disagree, the truth is that writing a good song comes largely out of luck, and those who actually write music will probably agree with me. Not that I think I, myself, have ever written a great song...but the work that I’ve put into any of my music isn’t more or less than what any other artist has. In short...it takes some musicians a lifetime to write a terrible song that nobody relates to, and it takes some musicians a minute to come up with something that critics could label ‘genius’ if they wanted to, because it’s all a matter of individual taste and opinion, and it’s all bullshit.
Why is the clunky piano on LCD’s All my Friends better then the use of gunshot sample on M.I.A’s Paper Planes? What makes Grinderman’s No Pussy Blues more relevant to the music community then UGK’s Int’l Player’s Anthem? Why can`t I find one redeeming quality of Rhianna`s Umbrella, yet it`s found its way on to so many best of 2007 lists?
Anyways, enough rant. Instead of ranking what I think might be the best songs of 2007, I’m just going to list them under appropriate headers that elucidate their inclusion in this collection:
BEST SONGS OF 2007
BEST REVITALIZATION OF AN OLD SONG THROUGH FILM
Baby It’s You – SMITH
I’ve listened to this song enough over the past year to warrant its inclusion, and while it wasn’t written or recorded in 2007, I think the fact that my generation probably hadn’t heard it until seeing it in Tarantino’s Deathproof is enough to legitimize it as a 2007 song.
The song appears in the film a few times, but the prime synching is when Sydney Poitier’s character, Jungle Julia, is dancing to it in front of the jukebox. It’s probably not the most powerful use of music in film, and certainly not the most germane (at least not compared to Dave Dee Dozy Beaky Mitch and Tich’s Hold Tight playing as a group of girls are massacred by Stuntman Mike’s Deathproof 1970 Nova.) What makes it so valuable for me, I suppose, is that it’s the first moment that Tarantino really makes me aware of relationship between the jukebox and everything else in the film...in essence, Tarantino is nothing more than a jukebox himself, conjuring up reference after reference like a record spinning robot, only he does it with deliberation and style.
HIP HOP ANTHEM OF THE YEAR
We’re Taking Over – DJ KHALED, Akon, T.I, Rick Ross, Fat Joe, Baby and Lil Wayne
I think this pretty much speaks for itself.
I’ve finally accepted Lil Wayne’s absurd rhyming talents after years of doubt, since his early days in the Hot Boyz. I’m not sure what the rest of these jokers are doing on this track: T.I, Rick Ross, Birdman...all they’re doing is making themselves look inferior...and mission accomplished. I should probably have included Sky’s the Limit...but this is so much more of an “Anthem” for me, and while there’s less Weezy, there’s more Akon...and every time I listen to this, it’s hard not to also picture him throwing some smug heckler into a group of screaming girls, which is a huge bonus.
BEST KLEZMER RAP
Heart Attack Feeling - SOCALLED
While jewish culture has always embraced hip-hop (ha ha,) never before have I heard such a fluid seamless bond between the two. There was the Matisyahu craze a few years ago, but I never really warmed up to him...mainly because it came off to me as a gimmicky way to transmit one`s religious views...sort of like Christian Speed Metal; it`s too contrived to be taken seriously.
My good friend Ben turned me on to this chap after he mentioned him as the highlight of Hillside this year, and I`m glad he did, because his album immediately displayed what was missing from Matisyahu, which really was nothing more than credibility. With Socalled, the use of Klezmer music isn`t a gimmick, it`s as much the main focus as his lyrics are, which in this song have nothing to do with Judaism at all. It`s mostly about his difficulty getting laid. One of my favourite lines of the year:
``I just want a little love, off the cuff, I won`t bluff, I`m just not getting laid enough,
And getting laid is one thing, it`s clearly a fun thing, but sometimes nothing`s better than something.``
BEST USE OF BETWEEN THE SHEETS SAMPLE
Ignorant Shit – JAY Z ft. Beanie Sigel
The ISLEY BROTHERS’ song, Between the Sheets, has been sampled countless times by artists in hip-hop, r&b and pop. You’ll recognize it most as the background for Biggie’s Big Poppa or Gwen Stefani’s Luxurious.
Jay Hova employs the Neptunes on his recent American Gangster inspired concept album (which is absolute dynamite by the way) and they take the Between the Sheets cover and turn it into what is probably the best Jay-Z track since Encore off the black album.
SONG MOST LIKELY TO END UP ON EVERY MIX CD I MAKE OVER THE NEXT 6 MONTHS
Into the Galaxy – MIDNIGHT JUGGERNAUTS
I couldn’t be more obsessed with this Australian band’s album right now. This song embodies everything I like about them…from the Elton John/Daft Punk/Air influences on this song, to the random lyric references (as mentioned in a previous entry…I love the shoutout to Van Morisson G-L-O-R-I-A)
More importantly, is when I’m making a mix, I like to include artists that my friends or whomever wouldn’t normally be aware of. Though I haven’t really shut up about these guys much lately, I think odds are pretty good the recipient will still be unaware, and will also probably dig this song. I’ll probably put it somewhere between Asia’s Heat of the moment, and something by Tom Waits. Oh man, this mix pretty much writes itself!
