99 Lives 2009

The Black Eyed Peas and Brad Paisley, both (like yours truly) major beneficiaries of liberalism, are hopelessly optimistic about the future. But I'm happy to take the odds that tonight will be a good night. Peas win it on account of their being so 2000 and late.

Drop me a line if you want the MP3 compilation.

1. Black Eyed Peas, "Boom Boom Pow"
2. Brad Paisley, "Welcome to the Future" original version/video version/reprise
3. Mos Def ft. Slick Rick, "Auditorium"
4. Marianne Faithfull, "Down from Dover"
5. Maxwell, "Pretty Wings"
6. Taylor Swift, "Fifteen" (2008)
7. Leonard Cohen, "Tower of Song" (live)
8. Sleigh Bells, "Crown on the Ground"
9. Amadou & Mariam, "Sabali"
10. The Lonely Island ft. T-Pain, "I'm on a Boat"
11. Franco, "Marie naboyi" (1970)
12. Tune-Yards, "News"
13. Serengeti, "Dennehy" (2008)
14. 16Bit, "Chainsaw Calligraphy"
15. DJ Quik & Kurupt, "9x Outta 10"
16. MGMT, "Kids" (2007)
17. Franco, "Bina na ngai na respect" (1982)
18. Lone, "Joy Reel"
19. Taylor Swift, "Forever & Always" (2008)
20. Shuttle, "Tunnel" (High Rankin remix)
21. Loudon Wainwright III, "Ramblin' Blues"
22. Yeah Yeah Yeahs, "Zero"
23. Sebastien Tellier, "Divine" (2008)
24. Animal Collective, "My Girls"
25. DJ Kaos, "Love the Nite Away" (Tiedye mix)
26. Dizzee Rascal ft. Armand Van Helden, "Bonkers"
27. The Streets, "Blinded by the Lights" (Nero remix)
28. Miike Snow, "Animal" (Fake Blood remix)
29. Major Lazer ft. Nina Sky & Ricky Blaze, "Keep It Goin' Louder"
30. Beyonce, "Single Ladies (Put a Ring Around It)" (2008)
31. Mos Def, "Life in Marvelous Times"
32. Glasvegas, "Flowers and Football Tops" (2008)
33. Kanye West, "Love Lockdown" (2008)
34. The Baseball Project, "Harvey Haddix" (2008)
35. Polvo, "Lucia"
36. DJ Quik & Kurupt, "Hey Playa! (Moroccan Blues)"
37. Wussy, "Magic Words"
38. Steven Bernstein's Millennial Territory Orchestra, "Viper Song" (2008)
39. Franco, "Kimpa kisangameni" (1984)
40. Dan le Sac vs Scroobius Pip, "Thou Shalt Always Kill" (2007)
41. Joy Orbison, "Hyph Mngo"
42. Girls, "Morning Light" (2008)
43. K'naan, "T.I.A."
44. Black Eyed Peas, "I Gotta Feeling"
45. Lil Wayne ft. Pharrell, "Yes"
46. Brooke Fraser, "Albertine" (2006)
47. Yeah Yeah Yeahs, "Heads Will Roll"
48. Art Brut, "The Replacements"
49. Kanye West, "Coldest Winter" (2008)
50. Nirvana, "Smells Like Teen Spirit" (live at Reading)
51. Mos Def, "Quiet Dog Bite Hard"
52. Drake, "Best I Ever Had"
53. Art Brut, "What a Rush"
54. Tanya Morgan ft. Napoleon, "Plan B"
55. Mastodon, "Divinations"
56. Sleigh Bells, "Infinity Guitars"
57. Brad Paisley, "No"
58. Dum Dum Girls, "Catholicked"
59. Lady Gaga, "Bad Romance"
60. Leonard Cohen, "Take This Waltz" (live)
61. Oumou Sangare, "Sounsoumba"
62. Sonic Youth, "Leaky Lifeboat (for Gregory Corso)"
63. Solange, "I Decided" (2008)
64. Leonard Cohen, "Hallelujah" (live)
65. Jonatha Brooke, "Sweetest Angel" (2008)
66. The Whitest Boy Alive, "Golden Cage" (Fred Falke remix) (2008)
67. Taylor Swift, "You Belong with Me" (2008)
68. Ghostface Killah ft. Fabolous & Shareefa, "Guest House"
69. The Fiery Furnaces, "Lost at Sea"
70. Wussy, "Dreadful Sorry"
71. Matthew Shipp Trio, "Roe"
72. Miranda Lambert, "Only Prettier"
73. Busy Signal, "Da Style Deh"
74. Jason Derulo, "Whatcha Say"
75. Kanye West, "Bad News" (2008)
76. Lee Ann Womack, "Last Call" (2008)
77. Jay-Z ft. Alicia Keys, "Empire State of Mind"
78. Verckys, "Marcello Tozongana" (1975)
79. Lily Allen, "The Fear"
80. Groove Armada, "Song for Mutya (Out of Control)" (2007)
81. The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, "Young Adult Friction"
82. Zomby, "Spliff Dub (Rustie remix)" (2008)
83. Clinton Sparks ft. Clipse & Pharrell, "Still Got It 4 Cheap"
84. Franco, "Princesse Kikou" (1982)
85. Joker & Ginz, "Purple City"
86. Brad Paisley, "American Saturday Night"
87. Pet Shop Boys, "Love, etc."
88. Willie and the Wheel, "Sweet Jennie Lee"
89. Glasvegas, "Geraldine" (2008)
90. Rich Boy, "Drop"
91. Flo Rida ft. Kesha, "Right Round"
92. Paleface & Kyla, "Do You Mind" (Crazy Cousinz remix) (2008)
93. Katy Perry, "Hot N Cold" (2008)
94. Nellie McKay, "Wonderful Guy"
95. T-Pain ft. Lil Wayne, "Can't Believe It" (2008)
96. Wussy, "Trail of Sadness" (2007)
97. Gallows, "Black Eyes"
98. New Era, "Pockets on My Pannies"
99. White Denim, "I Start to Run"

Correlated lists:
Monsen
Matos
Frere-Jones
Rosen
The Singles Jukebox

99 Lives

My 99 favourite tracks of 2007, where "of 2007" is interpreted loosely, so that I can slip a song from 1920 into the top ten. Number one is 87 years ahead of its time, so it evens out.

As usual, give me your address and I'll send you a CD.

1. M.I.A., "Bird Flu"


2. Mark Ronson ft. Amy Winehouse, "Valerie"


3. Steven Bernstein's Millennial Territory Orchestra, "Darling Nikki"


4. Arcade Fire, "(Antichrist Television Blues)"


5. The Thermals, "A Pillar of Salt"


6. UGK ft. OutKast, "Int'l Player's Anthem (I Choose You)"


7. Monroe Silver, "Pittsburgh, PA"


8. Dragonette, "I Get Around"


9. Paul Nabor, "Naguya Nei"


10. Art Pepper, "Body and Soul"


11. M.I.A., "Paper Planes"


12. Buck 65, "Dang"


13. Roswell Rudd & the Mongolian Buryat Band, "Buryat Boogie"


14. Amy Winehouse, "Rehab"


15. Justice, "D.A.N.C.E."


16. Brakes, "Porcupine or Pineapple"


17. The Dollyrots, "My Best Friend's Hot"


18. Gogol Bordello, "Ultimate"


19. M.I.A., "Boyz"


20. Rihanna ft. Jay-Z, "Umbrella"


21. Nyboma, "Double-Double"


22. Amerie, "Gotta Work"


23. The Apples in Stereo, "7 Stars"


24. Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, "Menoon Yaar Manawan"


25. The Knife, "Marble House"


26. Arcade Fire, "No Cars Go"


27. Against Me!, "White People for Peace"


28. Wolfgang Muthspiel & Brian Blade, "Gnadenwald"


29. Neko Case, "Margaret vs. Pauline"


30. Arcade Fire, "Keep the Car Running"


31. Lupe Fiasco, "Kick, Push"


32. Yo La Tengo, "The Story of Yo La Tango"


33. Miranda Lambert, "Famous in a Small Town"


34. Beirut, "Elephant Gun"


35. Spoon, "You Got Yr. Cherry Bomb"


36. David S. Ware Quartet, "Ganesh Sound"


37. Girls Aloud, "Biology"


38. The White Stripes, "Rag and Bone"


39. TV on the Radio, "I Was a Lover"


40. Katharine McPhee, "Over It"


41. Miranda Lambert, "Desperation"


42. Termanology, "Watch How It Go Down"


43. (((Powerhouse Sound))), "2-1-75"


44. Lil Wayne, "Something You Forgot"


45. Joanna Newsom, "Sawdust and Diamonds"


46. Los Campesinos!, "We Throw Parties, You Throw Knives"


47. Either/Orchestra, "Shellèla"


48. LCD Soundsystem, "Someone Great"


49. M.I.A., "Jimmy"


50. Lee "Scratch" Perry, "Fight to the Finish"


51. J Dilla, "Won't Do"


52. Tabu Ley Rochereau, "Aon Aon"


53. Jewels and Binoculars, "It's Alright Ma (I'm Only Bleeding)"


54. Fats Domino, "Give Me Some"


55. Gogol Bordello, "American Wedding"


56. Fountains of Wayne, "New Routine"


57. Chanel, "My Life (Haji & Emanuel remix)"


58. Kanye West ft. Daft Punk, "Stronger"


59. Steven Bernstein's Millennial Territory Orchestra, "Cry Baby Cry"


60. Fujiya & Miyagi, "Ankle Injuries"


61. The White Stripes, "Icky Thump"


62. The Handsome Family, "All the Time in Airports"


63. The Gothic Archies, "Freakshow"


64. Lucinda Willians, "Fancy Funeral"


65. Manu Chao, "Rainin in Paradize"


66. Radiohead, "Bodysnatchers"


67. Youssou N'Dour, "Pullo Àrdo"


68. Justice vs Simian, "We Are Your Friends"


69. Tom Waits, "Road to Peace"


70. The Klezmatics, "Hanuka Dance"


71. Common ft. Lily Allen, "Drivin' Me Wild"


72. Joanna Newsom, "Emily"


73. James McMurtry, "Six Year Drought"


74. The Ponys, "She's Broken"


75. Steven Bernstein's Millennial Territory Orchestra, "Happy Hour Blues"


76. Lupe Fiasco, "Hurt Me Soul"


77. African Jazz ft. Grand Kalle, "El que Siembra Su Maiz"


78. Lil Wayne, "Live from the 504"


79. Blueprint, "Big Girls Need Love Too"


80. The Coup, "ShoYoAss"


81. Björk, "Earth Intruders"


82. DJ Koze, "My Grandmotha"


83. Gerry Hemingway Quartet, "Kimkwella"


84. Tom Waits, "Bottom of the World"


85. Escort, "Starlight"


86. Brakes, "Spring Chicken"


87. Rilo Kiley, "Under the Blacklight"


88. Yo La Tengo, "Beanbag Chair"


89. Gogol Bordello, "Forces of Victory"


90. Arctic Monkeys, "Fluorescent Adolescent"


91. The Gothic Archies, "We Are the Gothic Archies"


92. Timbaland ft. Nelly Furtado & Justin Timberlake, "Give It to Me"


93. The Thermals, "Here's Your Future"


94. JoJo, "Too Little, Too Late"


95. Gogol Bordello, "Dub the Frequencies of Love"


96. Lupe Fiasco ft. Matthew Santos, "American Terrorist"


97. Common, "The People"


98. Fanfare Ciocarlia, "Born to Be Wild"


99. Eve, "Tambourine"

Credits

Right, one more post about end-of-year music list nerdism, then it's time for end-of-year movie list nerdism.

For each song in 99 Lives, I've made a best guess as to on whose recommendation I first longlisted the track. The breakdown is:

51: Xgau
9: S/FJ
7: Tom Hull
4: Eirik Blegeberg, Tom Breihan, Matos, Chris Monsen
3: Nate Patrin, Popjustice
2: Jess Harvell, Keith Harris
1: Pazz & Jop, Chuck Eddy, Yyzz, Alastair Johnston, Acclaimed Music, KCRW

Norwegian-to-feminine ratio: 8 to 1.

That Christgau dominates despite his Fall-long underemployment shows I'm a total drone, but it's for good reason. You can argue about who was the best movie critic ever -- Kael? Bazin? Farber? Taubin? -- but there's no argument that Christgau's the best rock critic, though if Lester Bangs had lived or Greg Tate wrote about music more regularly, it might be close.

Christgau's Consumer Guide has been resurrected at MSN, of all places. The Dud of the Month is, as usual, the most fun thing to read. The rest of the column is more useful.

99 Lives

My 99 favourite tracks of the year. The rules are (1) songs should be first released in an English-speaking country this year or last (but see #2) and (2) really long songs are discouraged (but see #1). Songs that should've been in last year's list, but weren't, are eligible. Thus "Gold Digger", which everyone else thinks is a 2005 song, makes it this year, because last year I was preoccupied with "Diamonds from Sierra Leone" and "We Major". Here at East Bay View, we don't always get there first, but we get there.

I thought the list would be completely dominated by legends, but it didn't turn out that way; they'll probably own my albums list, though. Four songs for Ghost, also four for Frank London: two with his Klezmer Brass Allstars and two with the Klezmatics, though he doesn't do much, if anything, on the higher one. Three each for Pink, Dylan, the Dolls, the Hold Steady, and Lorin Sklamberg of the Klezmatics. Lots of Timbaland. Monk percentage unchanged from last year. Hard to pick trends, aside from an increased interest in Eastern European flavours, whether Gypsy or Jewish.

It was a two way race for the top spot, albeit not at as rarified a height as the classic "1 Thing"-"Since U Been Gone" duel last year. Natasha Bedingfield's reinvigoration of a hackneyed phrase was exceedingly savvy, heartfelt, and just plain smart. But though she pushes the boundaries of her genre, David S. Ware erases the boundaries of his. No one, not Ware himself on his first recording of "The Way We Were", not even Coltrane, has ever destroyed a well-known tune quite the way Ware, Matthew Shipp, Wlliam Parker and Susie Ibarra do on this year's number one.

1. David S. Ware Quartet, “The Way We Were”
2. Natasha Bedingfield, “These Words”
3. Kocani Orkestar, “Siki, siki baba”
4. The Klezmatics, “Come When I Call You”
5. Be Your Own Pet, “Adventure”
6. Sonic Youth, “Incinerate”
7. New York Dolls, “Dance Like a Monkey”
8. Ghostface Killah ft. Ne-Yo, “Back Like That”
9. Frank London's Klezmer Brass Allstars, “Midnight Banda Judía”
10. Killer Mike, “That's Life”
11. Cham ft. Akon, “Ghetto Story Chapter 3”
12. Jon Faddis, “Teranga”
13. Ghostface Killah ft. Trife, “Be Easy”
14. Gnarls Barkley, “Crazy”
15. Neil Young, “This Old Guitar”
16. The Go! Team, “Ladyflash”
17. Irène Schweizer & Han Bennick, “Hackensack”
18. Shelby Lynne, “Johnny Met June”
19. Robyn, “Be Mine”
20. The Coup, “I Love Boosters”
21. Mr. Lif ft. Murs, “Murs Iz My Manager”
22. The Shys, “Never Gonna Die”
23. Irène Schweizer & Louis Moholo, “Angel”
24. Arctic Monkeys, “When the Sun Goes Down”
25. Pink ft. the Indigo Girls, “Dear Mr. President”
26. Bob Dylan, “Workingman's Blues No. 2”
27. Justin Timberlake ft. T.I., “My Love”
28. Bobby Pinson, “I Thought That's Who I Was”
29. Public Enemy ft. Paris, “Hard Rhymin'”
30. New York Dolls, “Fishnets and Cigarettes”
31. The Mountain Goats, “This Year”
32. T.I., “What You Know”
33. Prince, “Lolita”
34. Kimya Dawson, “My Mom”
35. Pink, “U + Ur Hand”
36. Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, “Upon This Tidal Wave of Young Blood”
37. Ladytron, “Destroy Everything You Touch”
38. Bob Dylan, “Spirit on the Water”
39. The Hold Steady, “Your Little Hoodrat Friend”
40. Romica Puceanu & the Gore Brothers, “In Gradina Cu Tufani”
41. Ghostface Killah ft. Raekwon, “Kilo”
42. Todd Snider, “You Got Away with It (A Tale of Two Fraternity Brothers)”
43. Kanye West ft. Jamie Foxx, “Gold Digger”
44. The Hold Steady, “Chillout Tent”
45. Earl Greyhound, “SOS”
46. Fergie, “London Bridge”
47. Dixie Chicks, “The Long Way Around”
48. Comet Gain, “Days I Forgot to Write Down”
49. The National, “Abel”
50. Beyonce, “Irreplaceable”
51. Scissor Sisters, “I Don't Feel Like Dancing”
52. T-K.A.S.H., “How to Get Ass”
53. Lil Wayne, “Shooter”
54. Dr. John, “World I Never Made”
55. Arctic Monkeys, “Bigger Boys and Stolen Sweethearts”
56. The Rakes, “22 Grand Job”
57. OutKast ft. Lil Wayne & Snoop Dogg, “Hollywood Divorce”
58. Wide Right, “Laws of Gravity”
59. The Hold Steady, “Chips Ahoy”
60. The Pipettes, “Pull Shapes”
61. Wussy, “Airborne”
62. Emmanuel Jal & Abdul Gadir Salim, “Gua”
63. Herbert, “Harmonise”
64. Bébé Manga, “Ami O”
65. Pink, “Leave Me Alone (I'm Lonely)”
66. Sobanza Mimanisa, “Kiwembo”
67. Rihanna, “S.O.S.”
68. Justin Timberlake, “Lovestoned/I Think That She Knows”
69. The Little Willies, “Love Me”
70. Comet Gain, “Just One More Summer Before I Go”
71. Ghostface Killah ft. Theodore Unit, “Jellyfish”
72. Jamelia, “Beware of the Dog”
73. The Coup, “Laugh/Love/Fuck”
74. Sonic Youth, “Turquoise Boy”
75. Romica Puceanu & the Gore Brothers, “Vintule, Bataia Ta”
76. Rhymefest ft. ODB, “Build Me Up”
77. Saint Etienne, “Milk Bottle Symphony”
78. Be Your Own Pet, “Bicycle, Bicycle, You Are My Bicycle”
79. World Saxophone Quartet, “Political Blues”
80. Mahala Rai Banda, “Mahalageasca”
81. Ray Cash ft. Scarface, “Bumpin' My Music”
82. E-40 ft. Keak Da Sneak, “Tell Me When to Go”
83. Gui Boratto, “Like You (Supermayer mix)”
84. Franz Ferdinand, “Do You Want To”
85. Bob Dylan, “Nettie Moore”
86. Frank London's Klezmer Brass Allstars, “Oh Agony, You Are So Sweet Like Sugar I Must to Eat You Up”
87. Nelly Furtado ft. Timbaland, “Promiscuous”
88. Rich Boy, “Get to Poppin'”
89. The Klezmatics, “Mermaid Avenue”
90. New York Dolls, “Plenty of Music”
91. Ak'sent ft. Beenie Man, “Zingy”
92. Arctic Monkeys, “I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor”
93. OutKast, “Morris Brown”
94. Wide Right, “Dishrag”
95. Neil Young, “Let's Impeach the President”
96. Tommy Smith & Brian Kellock, “Moonlight in Vermont”
97. Busta Rhymes, “Touch It”
98. Alexander von Schlippenbach, “Green Chimneys/Little Rootie Tootie”
99. The Streets, “Hotel Expressionism”

Omitted for length: John Coltrane, "One Down, One Up"; George Russell, "Electronic Sonata for Souls Beloved by Nature"; Craig Harris, "The Color Line".

BONUS TRACKS: Some of these are stunningly obvious, but if you have this CD and last year's, you'll have all of my 20 favourite songs of the decade.

• Amy Rigby, “Don't Ever Change” -- still #1 for the decade, only has to hang on for three more years
  
• Eminem, “The Real Slim Shady”
• Eminem, “Stan”
• Aimee Mann, “Ghost World”
• Panjabi MC, “Beware of the Boys”
• Freelance Hellraiser, “A Stroke of Genius”
• Youssou N'Dour, “Tan Bi”
• Sonic Youth, “Free City Rhymes”
• OutKast, “Ms. Jackson”
• Daft Punk, “Digital Love”
• Britney Spears, “Toxic”
• OutKast, “Hey Ya”
• Northern State, “Dying in Stereo”