By Chris Moore:
At last, we arrive at the second most important list of the year: the top fifty songs. This is the list that takes me the longest every time, even more time than the albums list. This might be helped in part because I start writing my best albums list as early as summertime, but it’s also because I find albums easier to evaluate and rate than individual songs; oftentimes, songs shift and flux up and down over the year.
This year, my greatest challenge was finding a place for two of my former (mOu) and current (the DKBH) bandmate Mike Fusco’s new releases. I typically avoid having one artist hog the top spots, but the truth was that I couldn’t honestly deny “Modern-Day Pocahontas” the top spot, and I tried but couldn’t come to terms with placing “Chasing Pigeons” any lower than second, even below such outstanding tracks as Brett Dennen’s “Sydney” or Wilco’s “Born Alone.” If this reduces the authenticity of my list, then so be it: this is my honest assessment of the best fifty songs of 2011.
1) “Modern-Day Pocahontas” – Mike Fusco
2) “Chasing Pigeons” – Mike Fusco
3) “Sydney (I’ll Come Running)” – Brett Dennen
4) “Born Alone” – Wilco
5) “L.I.F.E.G.O.E.S.O.N.” – Noah and the Whale
6) “Arlandria” – Foo Fighters
7) “Give It All Back” – Noah and the Whale
8) “Rox in the Box” – The Decemberists
9) “Hello” – Gerry Beckley
10) “Buckner’s Bolero” – The Baseball Project
11) “All That You Are” – Goo Goo Dolls
12) “Lost All My Ambition” – Mike Fusco
13) “Suicide Policeman” – Yuck
14) “Jejune Stars” – Bright Eyes
15) “Uberlin” – R.E.M.
16) “New Year’s Eve” – Tom Waits
17) “Codex” – Radiohead
18) “Comeback Kid (That’s My Dog) – Brett Dennen
19) “Black and Yellow” – Wiz Khalifa
20) “Lonely Boy” – Black Keys
21) “Two Against One” – Danger Mouse, Danielle Luppi, and Jack White
22) “Rope” – Foo Fighters
23) “Ambulance” – Eisley
24) “Face in the Crowd” – Joseph Arthur
25) “Feel” – Gerry Beckley
26) “This is Why We Fight” – The Decemberists
27) “Jardin Du Luxembourg” – The Ghost of a Saber Tooth Tiger
28) “Till I Get There” – Lupe Fiasco
29) “Dawned on Me” – Wilco
30) “Fire Fly” – Childish Gambino
31) “Release Me” – Jack’s Mannequin
32) “Tangie and Ray” – The Fruit Bats
33) “Season’s Trees” – Danger Mouse, Danielle Luppi, and Norah Jones
34) “Us Against the World” – Coldplay
35) “Surprise, Surprise” – Brett Dennen
36) “Triple Spiral” – Bright Eyes
37) “Someone’s Gonna Break Your Heart” – Fountains of Wayne
38) “Wonder Why” – Vetiver
39) “Art of Almost” – Wilco
40) “Don’t Carry It All” – The Decemberists
41) “Don’t Call Them Twinkies” – The Baseball Project
42) “You and Me” – Parachute
43) “Police Station” – Red Hot Chili Peppers
44) “Titty’s Beer” – Colt Ford (feat. Trent Tomlinson)
45) “Don’t Try and Hide It” – The Dodos
46) “I Don’t Want to Be a Bride” – Vanessa Carlton
47) “Ruined” – Hannah Fair
48) “Because the Origami” – 8in8
49) “Bad As Me” – Tom Waits
50) “Fly Solo” – Wiz Khalifa
Honorable Mention:
“Factory of Faith” – Red Hot Chili Peppers
“Raw (How You Like It)” – Common [late entry]
“Keep On Knocking” – The Cars
“Damn These Vampires” – The Mountain Goats