Post 500: The contribution of 2010

For me, the beginning of rock music -- rock ground zero -- did not begin with Elvis or Chuck Berry or even with the Beatles.  While the Beatles took hold of popular music and shaped it to their will, the genesis lay with Bob Dylan's "Like a Rolling Stone".  This post isn't about this giant of a song (#16 on the all-time list), but about setting 1965 as the evolutionary source, which appears to be the moment at which songs appeared that I care about.  1965 is when the first sonic tetrapod squished out of the ooze.

I found this out by accident after the list was finalized.  I discovered there are two songs that pre-date 1965.  The oldest is "Chewing Gum" by The Carter Family, going all the way back to 1927.  Next is Little Walter's "My Babe", a shuffling blues gem from 1951.   After that, no songs appear until 1965, at which point 5 appear.  And the songs appearing are mind-boggling good:

"Like a Rolling Stone" by Bob Dylan

"We Gotta Get Out of this Place" by The Animals

"You've Got Hide Your Love Away" by The Beatles

"Turn Turn Turn" by The Byrds

"Colours" by Donovan

"Respect" by Otis Redding

Damn! Thereafter, every one of the 45 subsequent years have corresponding songs.  1965, with standard bearer "Like a Rolling Stone" leading the way, was the triumphant beginning. I care about this because I believe that while the Top 500 is chiseled into my personal history and cannot be modified, something must be said about new music reaching my years (another point is that I am too lazy to change it).  

As near as I can figure, the Top 500 represents just over 11 songs per year.  Since it would far too traumatizing to assess great new songs against the existing list, and necessarily turf a few in favor of the new ones, I am adding the yearly contenders.  12 is a nice number and is close enough.  So without further ado, the Top 12 songs hailing from late 2009 (when I first finalized the Top 500) to the end of 2010.  These would warrant serious consideration for Top 500 placement, were it not such a troubling ordeal to actually do it.

#12. "Clawing out the Walls" by Dominant Legs.  This is off a fairly obscure 10 inch from Lefse records.  It took me completely by surprise.  It feels terribly familiar...as if this could have been a rediscovered piece of brilliance off the 3rd side of Sandinista or a b-side of a Combat Rock single.  The vocals sound nothing like Strummer/Jones, but it has that dabbling feel, that unnameable genre that just happens upon itself, long after punk had picked itself off the floor and finally looked around at the world around it. Listen

#11. "L'estat" by Ariel Pink. Wow, what's this?  Moody Blues meets The Style Council meets...Animal Collective?  Seriously, what the fuck?  Beautiful genius. Listen

#10.  "Surrounded by Your Friends" by Hooray for Earth.  An encouraging EP from these synth-pop revivalists.  80s referenced anthem that would fit snugly in an OMD record or even Men Without Hats.  But warmer, more inviting, and more complex.  Expecting big things with a full length in the Spring. Listen 

#9.  "Oh, Naoko" by Sun Airway.  Sun Airway is cut from the same cloth as Hooray for Earth, and represent a great entry in the new poppy chill-wave that has dominated the indie-world in 2010.  To quote a previous post where I review the album, "Sun Airway gives us a glistening, ethereal tapestry of sounds with double-time heart beats".  It's true! Listen  

#8. "Valley Hump Crash" by No Age.  Ah, precious, simple noise-pop.  Recalling the accessible moments of Sonic Youth and the perfected laziness of Pavement, No Age become the premier fuzzmasters in 2010. Listen

#7.  "A More Perfect Union" by Titus Andronicus.  Off the rails punk rock anthem.  You may not know what their cause might be (or have been, historically), but you may just impale yourself on a incoming bayonet based on rock principles alone.  Tramps like us, baby we were born to die.  Listen 

#6.  "Albatross" by The Besnard Lakes.  This was the first song I heard after publishing the Top 500 that made me curse it's omission.  A phasey, psyched-out guitar line gives way to Beach Boys vocals, and with a slow burn, this sits in the centre of your chest and gently implodes you. Listen

#5.  "The Hair Song" by Black Mountain.  Finally, a band approaches Led Zeppelin with the appropriate level of skill, reverence and homage to make you believe again.  The Hair Song will leave you dazed and confused -- be careful, you're liable to call your friends, skip work, and pull out your old water bong.  Listen

#4.  "Swim Until You Can't See Land" by Frightened Rabbit.  FR tells us to "Swim until you can't see land / Are you a man or are you a bag of sand?".  If I swam as directed I would drown (like the aforementioned bag).  But if this song were on my headphones at the time, I would struggle along and stay afloat for about 30% longer than normal.  Frightened Rabbit deliver songs with a level of trust, pride, and honour (and vocal hooks) that to not listen seems morally treasonous. Listen

#3.  "Catamaran" by Candy Claws.  While the sound quality is verging on poor, Candy Claws have nonetheless laid down a beautiful, soporific track that produces in me an inexplicable longing.  I've never heard this song before, yet the feeling of nostalgia it provokes is profound - like some electronic lullaby has been sent from the future to a 6 year-old me.  Glisten

#2.  "Rill Rill"  by Sleigh Bells.  Certain songs, by random chance, match moments in your life that you are unlikely to forget, and when this happens the song is with you forever.  Rill Rill reminds me of Linda, Jen, Mike, and Rob on a trip to Chicago to see the Pitchfork Festival.  Scorching heat, a back of Irish whiskey (that's a unit of measurement, by the way), and an endless stream of profoundly great music. Rill Rill encapsulates a heady mix of summer sun, fun, and mayhem.  Pop perfection with a beat so big, you can crowd surf on it.  Listen

#1.  "Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains)" by Arcade Fire.  I heard a few tracks prior to the long-awaited third album of Arcade Fire and was a little concerned.  Where was "the song".  Where was the "Wake Up" or the "Keep the Car Running"?  I had to wait until track 15 of 16 to get to it.  The Suburbs is brimming with great material, but Sprawl II, essentially closing the album, takes you by the heart and twists it till it aches.  Sprawl II is the sort of song that 80% of the populace can't escape the feeling that it was written for them personally and individually.  We are all mourning the disaster of modern capitalism and Sprawl II clarifies our sadness.  And it also sounds like the number 1 hit that Blondie never wrote.  Listen