CELEBRATE GOOD TIMES COME ON

"I will!"

I wish I had some big weepy story about this blog, what with today being its birthday and everything, but since it's basically been a year-long journey of me sitting in front of my computer in a slightly more productive fashion than usual, all I have is gimmicky semi-content - that's right, folks, en lieu of posting anything new this week, I'll be counting down my ten favorite tracks to be posted on this blog two at a time. So yes, let's us set out on this epic five-day voyage through the waters of discovery until our inevitable grounding on the shores of British Whale (obviously a joke, but hey, when my #1's as obvious as it is, you gots'ta reach, kid, reach!). I should also warn you that the writeups will be a lot shorter than usual; for one, this is (obviously) familiar ground, so there's less to say, but more importantly this'll be a five-day affair and I'd like to try to avoid burning myself out until around Wednesday at the earliest. Some of us have to come home after a long day of making fun of Katie Holmes to do this, y'know.

Honorable mentions: Maceo, "Nextel Chirp"; Hot Chip, "Colours" (DFA remix); Pineapples, "Come On Closer"; Delia Gonzalez & Gavin Russom, "Relevee";

THE NUMBER TENNEST OF TEN
Jim Reid, "Song for a Secret" (original writeup)

Don't think for a second that I didn't have this weeklong trudge in mind when I closed out last week with Jim Reid's newest song - as much as I hate being repetitive (and I really really really really really hate being repetitive) it just didn't feel avoidable this time. Given that I've come to accept that the last item on any list of music I'll ever make will inevitably be posessed of a significance that doesn't necessarily have anything to do with the other bits of music on the list, "Song for a Secret" just seemed impossible to pass up - it's a minor masterpiece of Making Something Completely Unthreatening, a rather unexpected achievement for Mr. I Used To Play Two-Song Gigs Back In The Eighties but one which majestically insists on itself every time the song doubles over and adds another layer of tinkling bells or buoyant feedback. It's simply among the gentlest songs I've ever heard, or at least certainly the gentlest with a lyric as charged as "If a kiss can't kill, then maybe this one will". Oh, and then there's the whole catchy-like-the-Hanta-virus thing too, but that, my friends, I leave to you to explore. (Click here to visit Transistor Music, the label, and buy the "Song for a Secret" single directly - click the "Merchandise" link on the side.)

I RUN UP IN YOUR SPOT WITH MY NINE
The Revelations, "You're The Loser" (original writeup)

Those of you who've ever derived even an ounce of enjoyment from this blog would do well to thank the Revelations, preferably by buying their debut (sorely in need of a followup, I might add) single but really who cares? I'd been mulling over starting an mp3 blog for a good long while before lucking into the Revs' first release (and with my first order of singles from across the pond no less); upon receiving and listening to it roughly seventy thousand times in the space of two days, I quickly came to the realization that I didn't really have another choice but to start a blog of some sort, if only to get people listening to this song. Naturally, I proceeded to post it within the first week of opening up shop, and while I'm sure the four people who read this confounded publication back then appreciated it fully, I'd like to think that all those indie-Stax horns and barrelling pianos and searing "WHOA-OH-OH-OH-OHHHHHHH"s have an appeal that stretches a little bit wider. I mean, to this day, I'm still shocked that I beat Matthew Perpetua to this song; it's exactly the kind of song he's posted before as a sort of kickstart to the collective consciousness of his readers (lord knows I'd have never investigated Girls Aloud if it weren't for Matthew posting "Love Machine", this track's clearest antecedent), usually before sitting back to watch their career gain serious momentum. Me, I post something and the band up and disappears (hell, this isn't even the only instance of that happening on this list). Ah well. The important thing is that even if the band didn't survive, "You're The Loser" sure did, and as long as I'm around, it'll just be a mouseclick away. (Click here to buy the "You're The Loser" single from Rough Trade)

ELSEWHERE
- This is slightly meta and a definite break with this week's OH YEAH PARTY UP DISCO WHISTLE vibe, but I really would like to send out a great big ol' cock in the ear to whoever at Blogger decided to switch over to all this new business. Logging into a site should not be a Sisyphaean tragedy, especially when it's just to whine about having to wait two and a half months to see the Knife.