1) 2wice - The Obliterati - Mission Of Burma

Mission of Burma would almost certainly be one of my records of the year if their vocals weren’t flat 90% of the time. Still, THE OBLITERATI has the best title this year.

2) Goodbye Babylon - Magic Potion - Black Keys

The Keys usually have a few slower tracks every album, but this might be their most successful yet. Part of that might be that the riff keeps the song full, and Auerbach has become a better singer when he’s NOT grunting.

3) Adventure - Be Your Own Pet - Be Your Own Pet

“Adventure” is Be Your Own Pet’s pop track, kind of a lost Bow Wow Wow number with a more leisurely focused vocal and performance compared to their other furious and frantic numbers.

4) Learn Again to Feel - Hello Stranger - Hello Stranger

Uh, I’m not sure what else I can say about Hello Stranger. Did I mention their singer’s really hot?

5) Why We War - Make History - Thunderbirds Are Now!

What a great fight song. It’s not quite Eye of the Tiger, but what is?

6) Your Biggest Fan - Your Biggest Fan - Voxtrot

The title track off their latest EP may be Voxtrot’s strongest effort yet, with winsome vocals and intricate arrangements that smoothly transition from stripped marches to jaunty pop with a few pogoriffic sections.

7) The Return Of Jackie And Judy - Orphans - Tom Waits

The monstrous Waits box set is just full of gems. This Ramones cover sounds straight out of Bone Machine, with the hypertreated vocals and the stompy percussion. There’s a moment where I swear Waits forgets the lyrics and just makes some shit up.

8) Hey Sah Lo Ney - The Last Of The Rock Stars - Ronnie Spector

This is actually not QUITE as good as the Detroit Cobras’ version, but I’m not gonna be the one to tell Ronnie Spector. Still awfully good.

9) Culling Of The Fold - The Crane Wife - Decemberists

This Crane Wife b-side is one of their best tracks, dipping into the Brechtian cabaret tricks that the Dresden Dolls have been doing so well. In concert, Colin Meloy jumped into the audience and emerged with a bunch of red vines and an audience member’s cellphone. He then sang the rest of the song into some lucky dude’s answering machine.

10) Two-Headed Boy - Yes, Virginia - Dresden Dolls

This is a pretty straight forward reading of Neutral Milk Hotel, with an extremely raw vocal from Amanda Palmer. There are points that are so harsh you’ll want to turn it off, but I personally find it enthralling.

11) Hail to Whatever You Found in the Sunlight That Surrounds You - The Execution of All Things - Rilo Kiley

There seems an endless supply of songs in Rilo Kiley’s back catalog that jump up out of my playlists and shock me. I’m not a huge fan of the space rock production of the middle section, but the fingerpicked intro, the galloping beats and Jenny’s too-cool vocal are just too good.

12) Salute Your Shorts - Cover Of The Week - eric Metronome

This cover is much better than the Rilo Kiley original… Metronome’s voice is simply better in every way than Blake Sennett’s. What was once a cute one-off is now a beautiful letter to America, a road trip song that deserves to be listened to as you gaze out the window of a speeding car.

13) Cheated Hearts - iTunes Session EP - Yeah Yeah Yeahs

Without all the fuzz and distortion, this is still just a wonderful, wonderful song.

14) First Night - Boys and Girls in America - Hold Steady

First Night sounds a lot like last call, the drunken sway of a number that people shuffle and stumble along to before they fall into the gutter. It eventually builds up to Springsteen arena rock, with the “when they kiss they spit white noise” line, which is one of my favorite lyrics from the band. By the way, if the Hold Steady don’t want to be referred to as a “the best bar band in America,” they should stop singing about drinking and bars.

Posted in Mixtape No Comments »