2012 Boney Awards-The Songs
Posted: Sun Feb 12, 2012 11:29 am
We move on now to my 100 favorite songs of the year. Before we get to #100,
though, let me give some props to a song that got noticed in 2011, but was in
fact released on an album in 2010. It's "Moneygrabber" by Fitz and the Tantrums,
a terrific piece of 60's/70's soul-inspired pop with a lead vocalist who's a
dead ringer vocally for Daryl Hall. I decided in the long run that rules is
rules, therefore this song was ineligible for inclusion for this year's awards.
Had I bent the rules, it's pretty likely this would've made the Top 10. Ah
well...
OK, now that my conscience is cleared, let's begin the countdown....
#100. Illumination-Lindsey Buckingham
Lindsey's solo work was always a little more "out there" than his output with
Fleetwood Mac. That being said, even at his quirkiest, he never loses his gift
for a catchy melody. More evidence of that is here on this standout from his
2011 release "Seeds We Sew".
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V4PUa-U-Rzw
#99. I Would Do Anything For You-Foster the People
Speaking of catchy, howzabout this little number?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OOIfNyBmZ0g
#98. Are You Ready-Fatty Gets a Stylist
Not the sort of thing I usually like, but for some reason this one does it for
me. A bit of..well actually, quite a bit of, No Doubt influence here. New York
State residents may recognize this from its use in the N.Y. State Lottery
commercials.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b5-B-iR_ho8
#97. Richie and Ruben-Fountains of Wayne
I'm already questioning my ranking of this one. Shoulda placed it higher, but
when I made my list and checked it twice, this is where I placed it, and I
promised myself that once I "made up my mind" I wouldn't change the rankings no
matter what, so here it is. The lyrics are a hoot, and the music pure ear candy.
In other words, business as usual for these dudes.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O-bikVt01L0
#96. Sad Song-The Cars
The 2011 reunion of Ric Ocasek with 3 of the other 4 Cars members came up a bit
lacking due to the notable absence of the late Benjamin Orr, whose vocal turns
on Cars records added variety to the "acquired taste" voice of leader Ocasek.
Still, there were a few pleasures to be found on "Move Like This", including
this number that would not have been out of place on "Candy-O".
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xxqxNzlEFM4
#95. Memories-Panic at the Disco
Considering how much I loved their previous album, I guess I was bound to be
disappointed when PATD reverted to their old style for their album "Vices and
Virtues". I did like this song a lot, though, along with a couple of other cuts
that came close to making the cut for this countdown.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CrihioC_LXg
#94. Here's Your Freakin' Song-Bowling For Soup**
These lyrics crack me up. It's a "be careful what you wish for" tale of a
musician whose significant other keeps asking him why he's never written a song
for HER. And so he does. Uh oh......
**Parental Warning--Naughty words in this one**
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9WZ58ir2vE0
#93. Every Teardrop is a Waterfall-Coldplay
Another album that disappointed me overall. There were 4 songs I liked on "Mylo
Xyloto", 3 of which made this countdown. What I liked I REALLY liked. What I
didn't...well, I really DIDN'T.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Kf_6BWcOOg
#92. Comeback Kid (That's My Dog)-Brett Dennen
Thanks to Mini for tipping me off to this one. A bouncy, happy, singalong song
for sure.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_z18kgaoTJw
#91. Well..Allright-Lyle Lovett
From one of two Buddy Holly tribute albums released this year. Lyle, Buddy, and
some rockin' mandolin. What's not to like?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KbB4qLBCFOg&ob=av2e
#90. The Hungry Years-The Leisure Society
This outfit is definitely in the "think outside the usual pop box" category.
Their style is a little of this, a little of that, usually employing a number of
voices and varied instrumentation. The chorus on this reminds me of ELO's "Can't
Get it Out of My Head" for some reason. It's got a pretty melody at the heart of
it, at any rate.
http://www.myspace.com/theleisuresociet ... s-80913676
#89. The Meaning of the Blues-Joe Bonamassa
Guitar Slinger from my neck of the woods (hails originally from the Utica NY
area), Joe plays a style that you don't hear much of any more. He would have
been just one of many excellent blues rock guitarists had he been plying his
trade in the 70's/80's, but today let us thank Heavens he is keeping the torch
lit. This is a nasty little slow blues burner with some pretty decent fretwork.
Go Joe!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pnqTINa-VBg
#88. When Reality Hits You-The Genuine Fakes
A 60's inspired power popper from this band that comes all the way to us from
Sweden!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zr0EnPimx-Y
#87. Open Arms-Elbow
The power in this one comes from the anthemic chorus, which sounds as if it
should be sung in a pub in the UK or by a full soccer stadium crowd. Every time
I hear this song I can picture the Guinesses raised high...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bJV71cW40OQ
#86. Don't Give Up On Us-The Maine
Just a nice modern pop tune with a very strong hook in the chorus.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b8ky95Mac_Q
#85. Synthesizers-Butch Walker & the Black Widows
I've loved this guy's music since his days in The Marvelous 3. He makes his money
as a songwriter/producer these days (Pink/AVril Lavigne/Fall Out Boy/Weezer/
Panic At The Disco) and many others, but still manages to put out an album almost
every year. This song carries with it a little bit of the DNA from "Come on
Eileen", at least to my ears. There were a couple of other tunes from his latest
album that barely missed this countdown, but I settled for this as "the one".
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=94b3gMZGorc&ob=av3e
#84. Gathering Mercury-Colin Hay
This dreamlike number is the first of three appearances on this list by the
former frontman for Men at Work.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PU4_4lHiC-k
#83. Turning Tables-Adele
Considering the ranking of her "21" on my album list, it shouldn't surprise you
that this is far from the last time you'll see this young lady on the countdown.
She sings the hell out of this tearjerker.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dx7sLNyIeQk
#82. Faster-Matt Nathanson
Lively toe-tapper from the guy who gave us "Come On Get Higher".
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZyjQFdeFox8&ob=av2e
#81. Iridescent-Linkin Park
This was heard in the movie "Transformers: Dark of the Moon". I dunno, the song
works for me.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xLYiIBCN9ec&ob=av2e
We're just getting started. #80-#61 coming up....
though, let me give some props to a song that got noticed in 2011, but was in
fact released on an album in 2010. It's "Moneygrabber" by Fitz and the Tantrums,
a terrific piece of 60's/70's soul-inspired pop with a lead vocalist who's a
dead ringer vocally for Daryl Hall. I decided in the long run that rules is
rules, therefore this song was ineligible for inclusion for this year's awards.
Had I bent the rules, it's pretty likely this would've made the Top 10. Ah
well...
OK, now that my conscience is cleared, let's begin the countdown....
#100. Illumination-Lindsey Buckingham
Lindsey's solo work was always a little more "out there" than his output with
Fleetwood Mac. That being said, even at his quirkiest, he never loses his gift
for a catchy melody. More evidence of that is here on this standout from his
2011 release "Seeds We Sew".
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V4PUa-U-Rzw
#99. I Would Do Anything For You-Foster the People
Speaking of catchy, howzabout this little number?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OOIfNyBmZ0g
#98. Are You Ready-Fatty Gets a Stylist
Not the sort of thing I usually like, but for some reason this one does it for
me. A bit of..well actually, quite a bit of, No Doubt influence here. New York
State residents may recognize this from its use in the N.Y. State Lottery
commercials.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b5-B-iR_ho8
#97. Richie and Ruben-Fountains of Wayne
I'm already questioning my ranking of this one. Shoulda placed it higher, but
when I made my list and checked it twice, this is where I placed it, and I
promised myself that once I "made up my mind" I wouldn't change the rankings no
matter what, so here it is. The lyrics are a hoot, and the music pure ear candy.
In other words, business as usual for these dudes.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O-bikVt01L0
#96. Sad Song-The Cars
The 2011 reunion of Ric Ocasek with 3 of the other 4 Cars members came up a bit
lacking due to the notable absence of the late Benjamin Orr, whose vocal turns
on Cars records added variety to the "acquired taste" voice of leader Ocasek.
Still, there were a few pleasures to be found on "Move Like This", including
this number that would not have been out of place on "Candy-O".
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xxqxNzlEFM4
#95. Memories-Panic at the Disco
Considering how much I loved their previous album, I guess I was bound to be
disappointed when PATD reverted to their old style for their album "Vices and
Virtues". I did like this song a lot, though, along with a couple of other cuts
that came close to making the cut for this countdown.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CrihioC_LXg
#94. Here's Your Freakin' Song-Bowling For Soup**
These lyrics crack me up. It's a "be careful what you wish for" tale of a
musician whose significant other keeps asking him why he's never written a song
for HER. And so he does. Uh oh......
**Parental Warning--Naughty words in this one**
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9WZ58ir2vE0
#93. Every Teardrop is a Waterfall-Coldplay
Another album that disappointed me overall. There were 4 songs I liked on "Mylo
Xyloto", 3 of which made this countdown. What I liked I REALLY liked. What I
didn't...well, I really DIDN'T.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Kf_6BWcOOg
#92. Comeback Kid (That's My Dog)-Brett Dennen
Thanks to Mini for tipping me off to this one. A bouncy, happy, singalong song
for sure.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_z18kgaoTJw
#91. Well..Allright-Lyle Lovett
From one of two Buddy Holly tribute albums released this year. Lyle, Buddy, and
some rockin' mandolin. What's not to like?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KbB4qLBCFOg&ob=av2e
#90. The Hungry Years-The Leisure Society
This outfit is definitely in the "think outside the usual pop box" category.
Their style is a little of this, a little of that, usually employing a number of
voices and varied instrumentation. The chorus on this reminds me of ELO's "Can't
Get it Out of My Head" for some reason. It's got a pretty melody at the heart of
it, at any rate.
http://www.myspace.com/theleisuresociet ... s-80913676
#89. The Meaning of the Blues-Joe Bonamassa
Guitar Slinger from my neck of the woods (hails originally from the Utica NY
area), Joe plays a style that you don't hear much of any more. He would have
been just one of many excellent blues rock guitarists had he been plying his
trade in the 70's/80's, but today let us thank Heavens he is keeping the torch
lit. This is a nasty little slow blues burner with some pretty decent fretwork.
Go Joe!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pnqTINa-VBg
#88. When Reality Hits You-The Genuine Fakes
A 60's inspired power popper from this band that comes all the way to us from
Sweden!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zr0EnPimx-Y
#87. Open Arms-Elbow
The power in this one comes from the anthemic chorus, which sounds as if it
should be sung in a pub in the UK or by a full soccer stadium crowd. Every time
I hear this song I can picture the Guinesses raised high...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bJV71cW40OQ
#86. Don't Give Up On Us-The Maine
Just a nice modern pop tune with a very strong hook in the chorus.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b8ky95Mac_Q
#85. Synthesizers-Butch Walker & the Black Widows
I've loved this guy's music since his days in The Marvelous 3. He makes his money
as a songwriter/producer these days (Pink/AVril Lavigne/Fall Out Boy/Weezer/
Panic At The Disco) and many others, but still manages to put out an album almost
every year. This song carries with it a little bit of the DNA from "Come on
Eileen", at least to my ears. There were a couple of other tunes from his latest
album that barely missed this countdown, but I settled for this as "the one".
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=94b3gMZGorc&ob=av3e
#84. Gathering Mercury-Colin Hay
This dreamlike number is the first of three appearances on this list by the
former frontman for Men at Work.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PU4_4lHiC-k
#83. Turning Tables-Adele
Considering the ranking of her "21" on my album list, it shouldn't surprise you
that this is far from the last time you'll see this young lady on the countdown.
She sings the hell out of this tearjerker.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dx7sLNyIeQk
#82. Faster-Matt Nathanson
Lively toe-tapper from the guy who gave us "Come On Get Higher".
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZyjQFdeFox8&ob=av2e
#81. Iridescent-Linkin Park
This was heard in the movie "Transformers: Dark of the Moon". I dunno, the song
works for me.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xLYiIBCN9ec&ob=av2e
We're just getting started. #80-#61 coming up....