The countdown continues…
10 – “Steady As She Goes” – The Raconteurs. The lead single off of the much-hyped collaboration between Jack White and Brendan Benson. It hints at the dirty sound of the rest of the album, while maintaining an accessibility that makes it radio-friendly.
9 – “Stuck Between Stations” – The Hold Steady. You can’t have a great album without a great opening track. This song perfectly sets the tone for <em>Boys and Girls in America</em>. A straight-ahead, bar-room rocker loaded with great lines. “Crushing one another with colossal expectations…”
8 – “Worry About It Later” – The Futureheads. My Maximo Park of 2006, a Northern British band that delivered an album full of great songs.
7 – “Naive” – The Kooks. Speaking of British bands, this song soars the way all great summer songs should. Further proof that the corporate idiots who run radio in this country know nothing. This song should have been huge, HUGE I say.
6 – “Lazy Eye” – Silversun Pickups. There was a DJ on KLZR back in the day who described a certain brand of 90s alt-rock as “beautiful noise.” That description would be apt for this song, and not just because it sounds like it came straight out of 1995. Closely following their own model struck in 2005’s “Kissing Families,” SSPU created a brilliant piece of cathartic noise. The extended solos and screaming make me want to get in the car, put down the windows, drive way too fast, and scream away my own frustrations. Approximately 10% of the total damage I did to my ears this year came from this song.