Christmas and the Top 10 songs of the year

Merry Christmas everyone! I hope everyone is enjoying this holiday season and is having a great day with friends and family. Christmas is usually a busy day for me and particularly my wife, who cooks Christmas dinner every year and makes tasty food. I am really looking forward to some green beans and bacon! It's gonna be Oh E She E (that's a fancy Japanese word for tasty).

With the end of the year comes the inevitable Top whatever lists of things from the year-and I love those lists. So, to kick off my series of lists is my Top 10 songs from the year. I'm going to include links to songs not featured previously here so hopefully it will all make sense.

Number 10: Spoon "Don't Make Me A Target"

The first song on their recent album wasn't a single, but still was my favorite song on that disc. It holds to Spoon's "less is more" aesthetic and has an edgy tension reminiscent of classic Police. I also liked how it was included in NBC's Chuck as it fits in well with the spy motif. Spiky riffs and choppy beats marked with a laconic vocal makes for a great song.

Number 9: Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings "100 Days, 100 Nights"

Old school R&B made a slight comeback in 2007, mostly thanks to tabloid queen Amy Winehouse. But it was Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings who delivered the goods with a great classic Soul record. The title track, "100 Days, 100 Nights" starts like Aretha Franklin's "Respect" and then shifts gears into an heavier groove midway. Sharon Jones may go by the nickname "Queen of Funk" but she can definitely give the Queen of Soul a run for her money.

Number 8: White Stripes "Icky Thump"

Just when Jack and Meg White seemed like they were going to get lost in the ether of their artistry (Get Behind Me Satan), they returned to guitar rock with a vengence. Not just any guitar rock, but 70's stadium rock a la Led Zep or Bad Company. The lead single, "Icky Thump", was Led Zep 101 with cutting guitar riffs, high pitched vocals and hammering drums. And also like Led Zep, I have no idea what the song is about.

Number 7: Arcade Fire "Keep The Car Running"

Arcade Fire won comparisons to Bruce Springsteen with their Neon Bible album and on this track deservedly so. But this isn't a regurgitation of Springsteen, the song has its own distinct style with the quavery vocals and stilted sense of melody. The song received the Boss's official stamp of approval by performing the song live with the Fire and Foo Fighters covered it as well.

Number 6: Bruce Springsteen "Radio Nowhere"

The Boss returned to clean house armed with a Tommy TuTone riff and the truth. Easily his hardest rocking song since the Human Touch album, Springsteen's lament of radio and the bygone era of personal connection it represents charges through the speakers like a bull in a china shop. Plus, Clarence Clemons gets an actual solo to boot! When I saw him perform this year, they started the show with this song. The image of Springsteen spitting the lyrics into the microphone, his head swinging like a dog knawing a bone, is burned in my brain.

Number 5: Weird Al Yankovic "White and Nerdy"

Weird Al hit the bullseye on parodying a rap song by adding lyrics about the cool of geekdom. My Space, Star Wars, Star Trek and anything else geeky gets a shot in his best parody record in ages. Both fun and funny.

Number 4: Corrine Bailey Rae "Like A Star"

Bailey Rae's second single was this luxurious, languid ballad. A wonderful song filled with aching longing, "Star" was one of the few new songs I liked during the dearth of good music in the first of the year. A real thing of beauty, this one is.

Number 3: Peter Bjorn and John "Young Folks"

Whistling folks had something to rejoice about with Peter Bjorn and John's tune about young folks. The song has been featured in commercials and shopping malls, a song that brings happiness and comfort to anyone in range. The best video of the year also helps Folks make its case for greatness. If I could whistle, I would whistle this song.

Number 2: Rilo Kiley "Silver Lining"

Jenny Lewis and Co. sold out to the mainstream, lost indie fans, garnered rave reviews and ended up with buzz that lasted for about six weeks. But during those six weeks, "Silver Lining" came out and provided the trump card to ensure people remembered Rilo Kiley put out a CD this year. "Lining" moved to a handclap beat and a George Harrison lick to go with Lewis' resigned vocals. It was the one track on the Under The Blacklight disc I put on repeat and outshone anything on the otherwise superior previous disc.

Number 1: Foo Fighters "Long Road To Ruin"

After 2002's One By One album, I was ready to write off the Foo Fighters as a band past its prime. Then the Foos returned with the one-two punch of "The Pretender" and "Long Road To Ruin". "Ruin" had a spectacular video to support a sturdy piece of almost Tom Pettyish pop rock. My favorite song of the year proves you just can't keep Dave Grohl down.