There Will Be Lists Pt. 2

 

 

40. The Clientele- Bookshop Casanova

(Merge) 

            I profoundly want to strut to this song, a feeling induced by the quarter note-propelled lead guitar, and I rarely want to strut my stuff. My posture’s pretty weak, actually, so it takes an immense jangle to reverse my spinal position and put some fleetness in my step. This tune works for me, so what else can I say in defense. “Bookshop Casanova”: kid-tested, mother-approved.

  

39. Aesop Rock- None Shall Pass

(Definitive Jux) 

            A very solid track for Ian Bavitz, where the production is superb enough to keep up with what Aesop’s spitting. Peep the third verse, where his voice exudes total confidence in being firmly idiosyncratic even while the words aren’t totally comprehendible on first listen, summing up his career pretty well. Aesop is always a dude who I’d like to really get into more, if only because when he’s on point, he’s nothing like any other MC in the game, thoroughly tantalizing with his flow and diction.

 

38. Amerie- Gotta Work

(Columbia/Sony Urban) 

            With “1 Thing” in 2005, “Take Control” in 2006, and “Gotta Work” repping in 2007, can we firmly establish that Amerie may be a dark horse candidate for singles artist of the second half of the decade? Riding a Sam and Dave horn riff and those big drums copped from “1 Thing” (which single-handedly sold the Hitch OST), Amerie gives us life-affirming lessons, much like a 21^st-century Edna Garrett. She sounds like she’s close to throwing her voice out each time she goes high, leading to her having an appealing rasp when she belts it out, and it definitely works. If she keeps it up, she’ll be competing with Shanice circa 1991 for my R&B affection.

 

37. Burial-Archangel

(Hyperdub) 

            I don’t really know how to put this, but if you don’t find this the least bit haunting, with a warped vocal singing “tell me I belong,” I’m not sure if you know my steez. Almost every blog I read who mentions that they love this song also subtly mentions that they aren’t dubstep experts, and I’d do the same, so maybe that speaks to the sublimity of “Archangel.” Or maybe there’s just no one who could actually claim dubstep as an area of expertise. I mean, I don’t know if there’s a master’s degree for it. 

36. Dinosaur Jr.- Almost Ready

(Fat Possum) 

            I have only recently, as in the past year, begun listening to Dinosaur Jr., so I wasn’t anxiously looking forward to their new album. The opening guitar riff has a Beverly Hills 90210 theme quality to it, but it evolves into a song that could be put next to “Freak Scene” or “In A Jar” on the top shelf of their greatest power pop tunes.

 

35. Kathy Diamond- All Woman

(Permanent Vacation) 

            Yeah, there’s some slinky production, and yeah, Diamond’s voice is pretty adept when it comes to cooing disco come-ons, but it’s really the first line that seals it: “I came, I saw, I conquered your heart.” I’ve said that to at least three girls and it’s never done me wrong yet.

  

34. Magik Markers- Bad Dream/Hartford’s Beat Suite

(Ecstatic Peace/Arbitrary Signs) 

            It’s weird to think that may favorite song off a noise-rock group’s album is their one ballad, but it’s way too haunting to disregard as an anomaly. The lyrics seem to recount the plot of Corpse Bride, but don’t hold me to that. I didn’t catch that one in the theaters.

 

33. Black Milk- Popular Demand

(Fat Beats) 

            One of the best beats of the year, this sounds as close to a J Dilla tribute as one can come without rapping over one of his beats. It comes from rapper/producer Black Milk, who was a friend of Dilla, and although he is only adequate as an emcee, save for a great hammock simile, the production is the Mary Katherine Gallagher of the song. Before the track ends, Black Milk throws in a “let’s start it off…let’s go!” in a nod to “Dilla Says Go” off of Donuts, which is a nice touch.

 

32. Justice- D.A.N.C.E.

(Ed Banger) 

            I don’t even like this song that much, but it was so ubiquitous, such a party hit no matter which continent I was on (although Europe loves their Craig David a bit more), I couldn’t help to begin to dig it, just a bit. It’s that funky guitar, I think.

  

31. Lil’ Wayne- My Daddy (We Takin’ Over Remix)

(Young Money Entertainment) 

            I find myself enjoying Weezy F. Baby much more for impersonation (re: David McNamera) than for his music, most of the time, but this track of Da Drought 3 seems to find him at his most enjoyable, as he kills the “We Takin Over” beat. Truthfully, this isn’t his best lyrical performance of the past year- he even starts babbling at one point before bringing it home with a clutch Scott Storch stinger- but it’s the flow that’s pertinent. He doesn’t really relent for two minutes, making his finishing “bye” come more abruptly than the end of a Tom Brady one-night stand. 

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Posted in Uncategorized
Tags: Aesop Rock, Amerie, Black Milk, Burial, Clientele, D.A.N.C.E., Dinosaur Jr., Kathy Diamond, Magik Markers, Weezy