"Hollaback Girl" is #1 this week! I'm so happy!

SEAWORTHY S.E. THESAURUS OFFICIAL 2005 Q1 SINGLES REPORT #9 and #10
in which I present my top ten singles of the year so far, in no particular order, one day at a time


Snoop Dogg ft. Pharrell, "Let's Get Blown"
Snoop Dogg ft. Justin Timberlake + Charlie Wilson, "Signs"
no mp3s cuz stealing is for suckaz

I get the sense that it's unfashionable to like the Neptunes now, mostly from complaints I hear about the omnipresence of a certain skinny motherfucker with a high voice. But I've never minded Pharrell (I mean, is he a total fool in the videos? I don't have cable), and these two Snoop singles prove that the production duo are still adept at crafting a certain kind of ebullient and seductive bounce better than anyone. "Signs" effectively fuses the upbeat disco inflections of Snoop's "Beautiful" and Justin's "Rock Your Body" -- Neptunes hits that were among my favorite singles of 2003 -- and adds some lively "Sussudio"-style horns for maximum impact. "Let's Get Blown," which I like equally, relies more on a sly groove with alluring harmonies and the odd repeated phrase (sung by Vanessa Marquez) "can I get more thrills?" Snoop, for his part, doesn't really rap anymore so much as just show up and drizzle some rhymes, but this is surely part of his appeal: when he casually wonders, "You say you drink Alize, or was it Malibu? It doesn't really matter, though," it's easy to just surrender to this laid-back haze.

Other Q1 singles* I'll rep for: The Game ft. 50 Cent, "Hate It or Love It"; Lil Jon ft. Usher and Ludacris, "Lovers and Friends"; Ludacris, "Number One Spot"; M83, "Don't Save Us From the Flames"; Natalie, "Goin' Crazy"; Vitalic, "My Friend Dario"

*there's a couple of singles technically released between Jan.-Mar. '05 but which I didn't actually hear until recently and am thus not listing (it is all very complicated, I know)

SEAWORTHY S.E. THESAURUS OFFICIAL 2005 Q1 SINGLES REPORT #8
in which I present my top ten singles of the year so far, in no particular order, one day at a time

Amerie, "1 Thing"

I'm happy that this song has shot into the top 10 this week, since it's really one of the most remarkable productions on pop radio right now. Much of the credit goes to Rich Harrison, who sampled Chi-Lites horns for Beyonce's "Crazy in Love" and here chops up a break in the Meters' "Oh, Calcutta" (it's about 1:40 in) into a dizzying loop of live drum fills and blazing guitar jabs; the result, as I commented in Stylus, isn't that far removed from someone like Jason Forrest's intoxicating reconfigurations of classic 70s rock. But how about that voice? Amerie joyously strains like a boyish Michael Jackson and squeals like a too-full balloon releasing air: it's a breathless complement to the track's taut rhythm. And I still don't know what she's singing in the intro, but the fact that it sounds like a turkey swallowing a melodica is fairly awesome.

SEAWORTHY S.E. THESAURUS OFFICIAL 2005 Q1 SINGLES REPORT #7
in which I present my top ten singles of the year so far, in no particular order, one day at a time

LCD Soundsystem, "Daft Punk is Playing at My House"

LCD Soundsytem's best singles before 2005 were hipster dance favorites "Yeah" and "Losing My Edge," both extended workouts whose purpose was to ramble and then feverishly build. On "Daft Punk is Playing at My House," James Murphy retains the propulsive energy of those tracks but has mostly discarded his own slack Gil Scott-Heron cadences for something leaner and more rhythmically integrated. The result is a punchy, compact five-minute mix that's even fun to sing along to: try the tersely ecstatic line, "you've got-tuh set 'em up, ooh ooh yeah-uh!" (Meanwhile, Nick's been complaining about the song's faux-harmonics, and yeah, I hear it, but what's the problem, man?)

SEAWORTHY S.E. THESAURUS OFFICIAL 2005 Q1 SINGLES REPORT #6
in which I present my top ten singles of the year so far, in no particular order, one day at a time

Kaiser Chiefs, "I Predict a Riot"

One thing I appreciate about retro-indie bands like the Kaiser Chiefs and Dogs Die in Hot Cars is that the 1980s sound they emulate isn't the stylish post-punk that, let's face it, has always been cool, even before a million Franz Ferdinands suddenly surfaced. You can hear some of that in the verses of "I Predict a Riot," but the chorus is the kind of rollicking dork-pop I associate with bands favored by girls on the freshman tennis team as they down jello shots in their dorm rooms: Dexy's Midnight Runners, for instance (although do college kids even own new-wave comps anymore? Has it really been nine years since I went off to school?). Then, when I saw Dogs Die in Hot Cars live last week, their ornate pop structures and yelping vocals reminded me so much of XTC ca. 1980-83 that it wouldn't have surprised me if they'd launched into "No Thugs in Our House." I've never had any issue with derivativeness, as long as the songs are solid and I like the bands being aped, and in both bands' cases these criteria have been met. Plus, the Kaiser Chiefs let me drink their beer when my band played with them last month. Score!

SEAWORTHY S.E. THESAURUS OFFICIAL 2005 Q1 SINGLES REPORT #5
in which I present my top ten singles of the year so far, in no particular order, one day at a time

Out Hud, "One Life to Leave"

I'd been hoping to turn this blurb into an Out Hud live review, but I apparently underestimated the band's appeal and was left without a ticket when the show on Saturday night sold out. Total bummer, since I've really been enjoying Let Us Never Speak of It Again and I had a feeling they'd be a lot more fun than the last dance act I saw (Michael Mayer, whose Fabric 13 mix is so rich and well-modulated but whose recent live set at Smart Bar was frustratingly stark). "One Life to Leave" is one of several new tracks with vocals; it's a first for Out Hud and thus a risk, but I actually think they're the best tracks on the album, with most just as good as this single. The cool, detached sing-song adds an extra sparkle to the group's dark, polyrhythmic circuitry, and when everything suddenly drops out except the kick, the twin voices fall back to guide the song into new dub-inflected terrain. Perfect, I'm guessing, for a midnight drive, rushing under star-filled skies.

SEAWORTHY S.E. THESAURUS OFFICIAL 2005 Q1 SINGLES REPORT #4
in which I present my top ten singles of the year so far, in no particular order, one day at a time

The Killers, "Mr. Brightside"

I've spent the last three posts waxing rhapsodic about various forms of girlishness, so I figured today I'd turn to boys in eyeliner. I liked "Somebody Told Me" last summer, but it always seemed a bit too novelty, like a retread of Blur's "Girls and Boys" -- and not just in the gender juggling, but also in the vapid indie-gone-Euroclub spirit. "Mr. Brightside" is more affecting: it's sprightly but yearning, stately but smudged, with an almost baroque feel at times (okay, so they rip off "Ode to Joy" at the three-minute mark). It just works. I wish I could recommend the Jacques Lucont remix, considering how much I liked what he did with Gwen Stefani, but his ethereal rendering robs the song of its urgency -- in the original the fake-out non-rhyme of "sick" with "chest" coincides with a desperate tug forward, but in Lucont's hands it just floats there.

It finally happened. My 40GB iPod has reached its capacity.

Here's what I wrote for Stylus as part of their Pop Playground essay series. This month's theme was Storage Devices, and I used that as an opportunity to explore how the single track (as opposed to the album) has fared over a variety of listening formats. Comments welcome.

SEAWORTHY S.E. THESAURUS OFFICIAL 2005 Q1 SINGLES REPORT #3
in which I present my top ten singles of the year so far, in no particular order, one day at a time

Basement Jaxx, "Oh My Gosh"

"Oh My Gosh" is the obligatory new track appended to a singles collection, but I agree with Mark that it ranks with their best work. It's not as maximalist as any of the singles from Kish Kash, but it needn't be: it's meant to convey the nervous enthusiasm of flirting with someone, and the effect is like eavesdropping on a group of tittering girls on the edge of the dance floor, their hands fluttering as they brace themselves to go back out. (In other words, there's a reason it isn't called "OH MY FUCKING GOD!!!") So we get an irresistible submerged bass step à la Luomo, some fake harpsichord twinkles, and a lot of interlocking female vocals over a cozy bounce. Favorite lyrical moments: the meek interjections in "Did you get his number? no... Did you get his name? uhh..." and the giddy, multi-tracked "How many sugars do you like in your tea?" Confidential and fun.

SEAWORTHY S.E. THESAURUS OFFICIAL 2005 Q1 SINGLES REPORT #2
in which I present my top ten singles of the year so far, in no particular order, one day at a time

Kelly Clarkson, "Since U Been Gone"

A shining exemplar of pop songwriting: it's small things like how the second verse builds upon the first, with a slipped-in, dreamy self-harmony line; and how the bridge, in classic middle-eight fashion, surges upward before collapsing back again. Clarkson even follows the tried-and-true Pixies/Nirvana formula of starting out quiet, steady, almost matter of fact, before exploding cathartically with huge arena fireworks in the chorus. But technical aspects aside: we had been driving for twenty straight hours, the late-afternoon Texas sun glared into the van, and everyone was cranky. When they let me have control over the stereo, just to shut up my moaning, I found this song on a mix CD and shouted along (better than Ted Leo, I'll have you know) over the whole thing. I might as well have been a petulant 15-year-old with the door to her bedroom slammed shut, but I can't remember the last time a song gave me such a satisfying emotional release.

SEAWORTHY S.E. THESAURUS OFFICIAL 2005 Q1 SINGLES REPORT
in which I present my top ten singles of the year so far, in no particular order, one day at a time

Lady Sovereign, "Random"

This is the kind of grime track that seems tailor-made for Anthony. There's the omgwtflol factor of all the references and imitations of American hip-hop acts, like the bite-sized riff on Ludacris's "Move Bitch" or the very Missy-like a capella swoop -- the apotheosis of which is a playful jab at St. Louis rap dialect ("right hurr, nah, right here") that in its deliriously cagey wordplay also recalls Eminem (especially the self-conscious stupidity of "Just Lose It"). There's the sweet nerdy awkwardness of a call for everybody to "get random." And let's not forget it's sung by a precocious, bratty teenage girl (cough cough). I kid, but of course all of this explains a lot of what I like about it, too.

Ten words the Decemberists have, against all odds, not yet used in a song:

ballyhoo
fare-thee-well
lanolin
macaroon
paddleboat
parvenu
picayune
tantamount
turpentine
verily


Which is to say, how much fun would it be to watch Colin Meloy and Joanna Newsom play Scrabble?

Watching the band last night at the Metro confirmed my hypothesis, based on mostly brief encounters with the albums, that I only really like about a third of their songs. The rest are either just okay or start to grate. (I walked in the club as they'd started "July, July," all sloppy and good-natured and rollicking, and I headed straight for the bar for my $5 MGD.) But that third is really quite good, especially "Leslie Anne Levine," "Here I Dreamt I Was an Architect," and "The Gymnast, High Above the Ground." I'm kind of in love right now with "The Engine Driver," the single from the new Picaresque, which Amy has rightfully big-upped. With its sad accordion line, gorgeously light vocal harmonies, and a sly lyrical allusion to "Wichita Lineman," you really can't go wrong.

P.S. Apologies for the hiatus. I've been working on other things for the past few weeks, including an article about the music in the film Morvern Callar. I have something else up my sleeve, too.