69 loved songs, part III

For songs #47 through #69, click here. For #24 through #46, click here. And to see my favourite songs of the decade, read on...

23. Born Ruffians, "This Sentence Will Ruin/Save Your Life" (from Born Ruffians)

Born Ruffians were one of the first bands I ever "discovered" on my own, and listening to this song reminds me of why I was so excited by them in the first place. The song bristles with tension, always threatening to explode but never quite reaching that point.

22. Boxer The Horse, "Jackson Leftfield" (from The Late Show)

Extremely catchy and extremely fun. The rest of Boxer The Horse's debut hints that they have tonnes of potential, but on this song, they bring it all together and realize that potential.

21. Amos The Transparent , "Lemons (AKA Big Fish Little Pond" (from My, What Big Teeth You Have...)

"Lemons" is so simple, but it's so good. Talking about it too much seems like overkill, since it's one of those songs whose beauty lies in its simplicity, so I'll just say to listen to it right now. (And then listen again, and again, and again...)


20. The Weakerthans, "Our Retired Explorer (Dines with Michel Foucault in Paris, 1961)" (from Reconstruction Site)

Reconstruction Site was the album that caused me to institute my "one song per album" rule -- it features quite a few classic songs, including "Psalm For The Elks Lodge Last Call", Plea From A Cat Named Virtue" and "One Great City!" As far as I'm concerned, though, "Our Retired Explorer..." is the album's biggest highlight. I'll admit that my judgment is a little swayed by the song's penguin-assisted video, but even if I'd never seen that, I still think I'd love it. It features what may just be The Weakerthans' catchiest riff, but at the same time it's not stupid in any way, thanks to John K. Samson's penchant for cramming as many words as he possibly can into every sentence. And, of course, it features the line "Comment allez-vous ce soir? Je suis comme-ci, comme-ça/ Yes, a penguin taught me French back in Antarctica".

19. Royal City, "Baby Let Your Heart Out" (from At Rush Hour The Cars)

I've written at length about how much and why I love Royal City -- to the point that, from time to time, I'm left thinking that maybe I value them too highly. Then I go and hear a song like "Baby Let Your Heart Out", and I'm instantly reminded that, no, they really were as awesome as I thought.

18. Henri Faberge and the Adorables, "Ventriloquist Love" Henri Faberge and the Adorables)

I'm going to write more later this week, when I get to my favourite albums post, about why the Adorables are probably the most frustrating band of the decade. But to really understand what made them frustrating, you need to hear this song. In a nutshell: it's genius. Poppy, messy, chaotic genius, and it only sounds better the messier and more chaotic it gets. At the same time, though, within that messiness and chaos you can hear the sounds of the anger and bitterness (not to mention talent) that made it impossible for the band to even think about recording a second album.

17. Ruby Coast, "I Live With Monsters" (from Ruby Coast)

Ridiculously infectious. Like "Lemons" above, it seems silly to try and parse why this song is so much fun. It just is, and you should just turn it on, crank it up and enjoy it -- particularly once the handclaps start.

16. Young Galaxy, "Destroyer" (from Invisible Republic)

As I wrote just a few weeks ago, this song sounds apocalyptic, as if everything in the world is coming crashing down...but it also makes that sound like a good thing.


15. Malajube, "Montréal -40°C" (from Trompe L'oeil)

I'm still not totally sure what they're saying (though that's more due to laziness than anything else), but I do know that they sound great, whatever it is.

14. Wolf Parade, "Dear Sons And Daughters of Hungry Ghosts" (from Wolf Parade)

No, not the version from Apologies to the Queen Mary -- I'm talking about the one from their second self-titled EP, where they make like David Bowie fronting some band in a garage. It's a lot less polished, and a whole lot more awe-inspiring. Of course, given that the version on Apologies... was pretty good in its own right, that's saying something.

13. Entire Cities, "Dancing With My Brother" (from Centralia)

Like the song above, it was a tough to choose between the two versions Entire Cities have recorded of this song (first here, then a year later on Deep River). As polished as the Deep River edition of the song is, though, I had to go with the Centralia version, since it sounds more raucous and out-of-control -- which, with a chorus of "I'm my brother's snakeskin motherfucker / And we are blood", is exactly the right chord for it to strike.

12. Arcade Fire, "Wake Up" (from Funeral)

On an album full of all kinds of emotional statements, "Wake Up" is probably the most affecting. When the band strums the harp and the soaring group vocals kick in about twenty seconds in, it's hard not to get chills up and down your spine. Better still, Arcade Fire spend the next five minutes proving that every one of those goosebumps is entirely earned.

11. Stars, "Your Ex-Lover Is Dead" (from Set Yourself On Fire)

Yesterday, when writing about Amos the Transparent (see #27), I took a (possibly gratuitous) shot at Stars, saying that "After All That, It's Come To This" is better than almost anything Stars themselves have ever done. It's because of "Your Ex-Lover Is Dead" that the "almost" is necessary. It manages to sound elegant, melancholic, lovely and irresistible all at once, and for that, the band deserves all kinds of respect and admiration.


10. Hawksley Workman,"Safe and Sound" (from For Him & the Girls)

One of the prettiest love songs I've ever heard, "Safe and Sound" showcases everything that makes Hawksley Workman one of the most consistently enjoyable artists in Canada. He shows off his pipes, the music swings along and it's all topped off by some of my favourite lyrics of all time.

9. Young Galaxy, "Come And See" (from Young Galaxy)

Like the other Young Galaxy song on this list (way back at #16), a significant chunk of "Come and See" -- the last minute and a half or so -- is positively apocalyptic, with guitars exploding and drums crashing and the whole thing sounding as if the world is coming to an end alongside Stephen Ramsay's faltering (at the end, at least) vocals. What sets this song apart, though, is the first couple of minutes, which were catchy and bouncy enough to be put in a beer commercial a few months ago. Put together, the two halves make for an odd combination, but it's very obviously one that works.

8. The Weakerthans, "Left & Leaving" (from Left & Leaving)

There was a time when Left & Leaving was one of my favourite albums of all time, and songs like this one were exactly the reason why. As I've said before, John K. Samson knows how to write deeply emotional lyrics that don't come off as whiny or emo, and this song captures that fact as well as anything else he's ever done. Couple that with the way he delivers lines like "All this time lingers, undefined" and "I wait in 4/4 time", and you're left with a near-perfect song.

7. Constantines, "Nighttime/Anytime (It's Alright)" (from Shine A Light)

I wrote about why I love The Constantines so much just over a month ago, so there's no need to go into all that again. What I will say, though, is that if you're lucky enough to see the band live and they play "Nighttime Anytime", you're almost certainly in for one of the best live music experiences of your life. Oddly, enough, though, the best part of the song is also the quietest -- about two minutes in, when everything just stops and the song slowly builds up again, then peaks as someone yells "Turn it up!" in the background. It's an incredible moment, and it's what makes this song transcendent.

6. Feist, "1 2 3 4" (from The Reminder)

I don't care at all for the rest of The Reminder, but this song is almost enough to redeem the whole album. There's really no need to talk at length about it (like other tracks on this list, it's good enough and simple enough to speak for itself), but I still find myself stopping whatever I'm doing any time this song happens to come on, regardless of where I am.


5. Final Fantasy, "This Is The Dream of Win & Regine" (from Has a Good Home)

I've been listening to this song over and over again, trying to think of something to say, but every time it just leaves me speechless. It's got all kinds of moving parts, so I won't even attempt to try and put it into words, but anyone who needs to understand why so many people are so gaga over Owen Pallett pretty much only need to listen to this track.


4. Wolf Parade, "I'll Believe In Anything" (from Apologies To The Queen Mary)

This song is just so...freaking...great. I've long been a bigger fan of Dan Boeckner than of Spencer Krug, but with all due respect to Boeckner, I don't know if he's ever written a song that matches this one (though this album's "This Heart's On Fire" certainly comes close). It's epic in its ambition and its sound, and every step of the way you feel as though you're listening to an event. (And, I should note, it comes in the middle of a series of songs -- "Shine A Light" to "Dear Sons and Daughters of Hungry Ghosts" to "I'll Believe In Anything" to "It's a Curse" that matches any set of four consecutive tracks I've heard this decade.)


3. Broken Social Scene, "Anthems For A Seventen Year-Old Girl" (from You Forgot It in People)

Every time I listen to this song, I'm struck with the exact same feeling -- as though I'm drifting weightlessly through deserted nighttime streets. A big part of this, admittedly, is due to the lyrics; when Emily Haines sings "Park that car / Drop that phone / Sleep on the floor / Dream about me", it almost feels like a command. But it goes beyond that, too. This song seems to drift by in a dreamy haze, thanks to the way Haines' vocals are slightly altered, and the softly plucked banjo (I think) doesn't hurt either. It's a gorgeously simple song, and it's what made me really fall for Broken Social Scene in the first place.


2. Wintersleep, "Weighty Ghost" (from Welcome To The Night Sky)

I don't think I've ever been able to listen to this song only once. That is, every time it happens to come up on my mp3 player, I feel compelled to listen to it again and again and again. Attribute it to the choir, or the handclaps, or the way it seems to trudge insistently forward, but something in "Weighty Ghost" just speaks to me on some deeper level. It's weird, because I can barely even name any other Wintersleep songs, but for this one track, these four minutes, there's little other music I'd rather hear.


1. Joel Plaskett, "Nowhere With You" (from Make a Little Noise)

There are all kinds of reasons why this song deserves to be number one on my list -- it's Plaskett's finest moment (so good that even I'm able to recognize its genius), it's catchy, it just seems to bounce along -- but ultimately, it all comes down to the personal. My favourite moment of the whole decade happened over the summer, and for me, perhaps the thing I'll always remember most was being introduced as husband and wife by the priest (my dad), and then recessing down the aisle to this song. It was a joyous occasion, and "Nowhere With You" absolutely nailed the happiness I felt at that moment.