the wild 100: day five
done
PART FIVE (new zip, hopefully it works)
20. The New Pornographers - Jackie, Dressed In Cobras
it took me forever to get into this group. i've had sex with girls with destroyer in the background and i've done the clap clap...clap to ac newman's solo shit and i've fallen asleep to neko case at the edmonton folk festival, but put it all together and BAM, i'm in! this song in particular kills me, because dan bejar has a crazy witch voice and i really quite like it. this group has these big full arrangements and this song is grand because of it.
19. Wolf Parade - Dear Sons And Daughters Of Hungry Ghosts
shut the fuck up about the ep version. i missed this song when they played live, but come on, can you feel it? this band needs more synth and stat! i like this guys warbling voice and this song alone may be stronger than any of that OTHER montreal band's output. but whatever.
18. Test Icicles - Circle Square Triangle
i love this song. this is a straightforward dancefloor banger, i'd place it up with 'house of jealous lovers' or even 'deceptacon (dfa remix)' in sheer
, amirite? i'm loving the hip hop part with the claps and even though these guys are relatively cheesy at times, this is like a perfectly manufactured dance track and i have to thank the scientists behind it. 17. Joakim - Teenage Kiss
nik kozub put me on this song and i must say, i thank him for it. i remember he played this while djing the xiu xiu show at the freemason's hall. it was a weird scene all around. but yeah this shit is just gay enough to work (no homo) and the drumwork is dizzying, heavy and absolutely brash, 'oh no, don't be so ashamedddddd'. i love the aphex moves on the drum machine, talk about a world of echo. this song scares people if they are on the dancefloor.
16. Killer Mike - My Chrome (ft. Big Boi)
columbia fucked up. this could've easily been the biggest rap song of the year. but as they proved in not making 'stay fly' the biggest song ever and in failing to make nas commercially viable, they don't really know what they are doing. killer mike is a great rapper. look at him FREESTYLE, wow, he's really good! and this song has a strong pop hook and a really impressive production and one member of Outkast! how was there not even a video for this?!?! his album hasn't dropped yet, they still have time. but the video better have the most beautiful hoes and the lowest lowriders available. don't fuck this up like 'akshon'.
15. Beanie Sigel - Bread & Butter (ft. Sadat X & Grand Puba)
this song has a long intro but it's so worth it. this is a great beat because all of just blaze's beats have that same synth sound except for this one. all parties destroy and being a long time brand nubian fan, it's great to see those guys rapping well over legitimate beats. the last grand puba album was BRUTAL. we need more of this. beanie sigel is so underrated that it makes me want to cry. when he starts doing the wordplay with all of the R&B songs ('she got me L.O.V.E TKO/ like Teddy P, whatever she say goes/ but i'm ready to turn off the lights'), i'm all like 'word?' plus the interlude that blaze does makes me feel like this song was more important to him than most. i love how he chops the sped-up vocals.
14. Who Made Who - Rose
think robotic dancepunk with beegees style crooning, except this song has the illest lyric of the year: "rose is sweet, does she have a girlfriend?" i ask this question all the time, because most of the girls i like are/appear to be lesbians. everyone's gotta have a type. listen to those drums and the cowbell and the 'beautiful eyes', i mean, this song is really, really straightforward and doesn't kill it on the singing like their other song 'space for rent', but i have to give it up for the sentiment behind this song.
13. Akron/Family - Before And Again
this song is totally beautiful. really ambient and the singer has a frail, innocent voice, it's a very pretty tune. i was supposed to dj their show in town on march 7th, but instead i'm djing a hipster party at the supermarket in kensington in toronto. more details soon. but i like these folk bands bringing just enough synth into the mix and i like how they wear their influences yet somehow remain totally original. this is a special song.
12. Devendra Banhart - Heard Somebody Say
this year, i got into freak-folk a lot more. this song is great, it's a total beatles tune, i wish this guy was more famous because he'd be getting hailed as the greatest fucking thing since 'black jesus' by ghostface killah. or whatever. anti-war songs have potential to be evergreens in the pseudo-pop format so if he was in front of the right folks, he'd be huge. he sounds less like a scary monster on this tune. i would like to play this at the beach.
11. David Banner - Certified (ft. Marcus)
"THROW YOUR SETS UP NIGGA REP TO THE DEATH!", that's Gangsta Boo saying that! this is the most thugged out shit ever recorded, BANNER, BITCH, BANNER, BITCH, Y'ALL KNOW ME!, when he starts getting really grimy in the voice near the end of the verse, it's like YEAH I'LL FUCKING KILL A GUY FOR MY SET! or whatever. he needs to stop doing this guitar thing in the beats, because no one really likes it. marcus says a great line that i've said a couple times in my day: "lookin' like a crook, but i'm feeling like a mack". this was a staple of my dj sets throughout the year.
10. Harlem Shakes - A Night
this band should be famous already. i got this from nick sylvester's village voice blog and i must say, i'm happy i did. i love the strokes for their first two albums and was hoping the new record would be just as good. this song is what i wanted from the new strokes album: crazy emotional chorus, dancefloor capabilities, bar crooning, spitting, etc. this guy does this weird sound when breathing, but i really like it. this song is asthmacore.
9. Kano - Reload It (ft. Demon)
i still don't own this album because it's like $40 on import, but the diplo goes grime beat is very, very impressive. i like the vocal splicing i've been seeing from the white dipset, but yo, kano destroys this cut. it's a challenging beat and he impresses quite handedly. this song is somehow club friendly, actually a lot more than anything on that 'nite nite' 12-inch i impulsively bought and never ever use. 'i can spit like an old school emcee', what a card. i love sampled grime more than anything and this is taking it in the right direction. that big thick synth at the end!!!
8. Lo-Fi-FNK - Change Channel
this will be the biggest group of 2006. by far. i've heard something like four or five songs of theirs and they are all incredible, while being different from each other. everyone is doing that gate trick these days, but i love how the synth ascends from it. this song is pop as fuck. those swedes, i'll tell you. i can imagine the INYOURFACE part of the video in my head: "we're told that you speak for us but who's to say/ you speak for a fat man with a ponytail/ he's dressed like a woman with a false smile on her face", during that part, they are walking on a sidewalk, playing keyboards, wearing matching jumpsuits.
7. Kanye West - Gone (ft. Consequence & Cam'ron)
i'm a man of my word. when this record first leaked, i knew it would end up high on my list, regardless of kanye becoming a parody of himself. still, kanye is funny and charismatic on this number ("what you rappers could get is a job from me/...even his superficial raps is super official"), which i feel like he hasn't been for a while. cam'ron steals this song in two different regards: he brings the chorus all that gravitas and his verse is a hammer: "you ever dealt with a dealer? well here's the deal, ma, we're going to the dealer, boo!". cut off consequence's verse and that big instrumental portion for time contraints and you have the biggest string-y pop song in years! OH YEAH!
6. International Pony - Our House
another kozub recommendation. jesus fucking christ, this song is so heavy. it starts off with a gentle bounce and tries to ease you into a FIRESTORM OF ANALOG SYNTH. the way it just blips out the microhouse glitch shit while you're waiting for another drop, it's totally perfect. and when the vocals come back in, it goes from 'a little gay' when you heard it in the beginning to 'completely menacing' in the later portion. i wish i was on drugs so i could get the most out of this.
5. Andrew Bird - A Nervous Tick Motion Of The Head To The Left
the song is really pretty. great orchestration and andrew bird has a great voice. he's been getting snubbed by a lot of year end lists, but his record was in my top three quite easily. the chorus is really strong and the way the song switches speeds and tones so smoothly, it's a very natural progression. this song is great for intercourse.
4. Vitalic - My Friend Dario
best punk song of the year. rumor has it this guy might be remixing a canadian rapper. he might even have already received parts for such a remix. it might be for a song called 'sharks', even. anyway, this song is an obvious dancefloor monster, with nonsense vocals and the drop is totally unbelievable. this song dictates pace and emotion better than most other electronic songs out there, it's a real club banger.
3. Animal Collective - The Purple Bottle
have you sung this song while parked in front of a liquor store on new years eve? well, you should start. when it gets that really pretty part near the middle: 'can i tell you that you are the purple in me?/ can i call you just to hear you, would you care?', it really elicits an emotional response, it makes me think about people, you know? the hippie drum shit was what kept me away from this band initially but the lyrics and the heart are what drew me in.
2. Jamie Lidell - When I Come Back Around
this is the funkiest shit ever. i still can't believe this dropped on warp, you know? this is a weapon in a club setting. have you seen this guy? that guy did this with his mouth. that is wild. but yeah, this is a strong, hooky dancefloor track that reminds me of skyy or mid-golden era prince or cameo or whatever else. it's seriously my shit.
1. Three 6 Mafia - Stay Fly
obviously. probably the best top 40 rap song since clipse's "grindin'". this isn't the kinda song you talk about.
thanks for sticking around. i'll update again on friday. these will be up until then. oh and if you care, my top ten albums, according to pazz and jop:
1. Edan - The Beauty And The Beat
2. Art Brut - Bang Bang Rock And Roll
3. Andrew Bird - The Mysterious Production Of Eggs
4. LCD Soundsystem - LCD Soundsystem
5. Beck - Guero
6. Beanie Sigel - The B-Coming
7. Test Icicles - For Screening Purposes Only
8. Sean Price - Monkey Barz
9. Vitalic - OK Cowboy
10. Skratch Bastid, John Smith & Pip Skid - Taking Care Of Business
posted by rollie at 6:53 PM
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