Half-time Songs of the Year: Part 1

Soccer is amazing.

So I figure I’ll post about 20 songs or so (enough for a CD-R) and we’ll see how this goes. There have been tons of great songs this year and I’d like to hold off on ranking them until December rolls around, mostly because the thought of pitting “The Greatest” against “Crazy” blows my mind. So here’s the first part (of three) of my favorite songs of 2006 thus far. Don’t forget to check out some 2005 tracks in the Half-time introduction.

Band of Horses – “The First Song”: mp3
It’s fitting that we start with this one. “The First Song” was one of the earliest tracks I heard this year, and remains one of the most impressive. Electric guitars don’t sound much more awesome than this, folks.

Belle & Sebastian – “Funny Little Frog”: mp3
You know, I had a lot of trouble picking one song from the B&S album. It’s not that there aren’t stand-out tracks, it’s just that practically all the songs stand out. For now, this one’s my favorite thanks to its ridiculous disco aping.

The Fiery Furnaces – “Benton Harbor Blues (Remix)”: mp3
Man, if I had to choose one song from 2006 to listen to forever, I think this’d be the one. As much as I love the extended version, the shorter edish is flawless, as gorgeous as pop music gets. This is the best song the Lovin’ Spoonful never wrote.

Casiotone For the Painfully Alone – “New Year’s Kiss”: mp3
I give this guy a chance because indie-pop guru Al Shaw told me to, and he couldn’t have been more on the money. This track is lo-fi and sad, but with a quiet, gripping intensity that’s difficult to ignore.

Centro-matic – “Patience for the Ride”: mp3
The rock! The Americana! The ragged glory! The chorus! Dudes can do no wrong: “You can’t touch the forces of our hurricane hearts.”

Destroyer – “Watercolours Into The Ocean”: mp3
My love for Dan Bejar’s Destroyer knows no bounds. This is the obligatory pretty song on Rubies, although they’re all pretty – pretty awesome. (Couldn’t resist.)

What’re your favorite songs of the year?

(For those of you curious, Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin were super-nice when they stayed over last night. John stayed up with my roommate and I and sang Radiohead songs and even taught me the chords to “Pangea.” Great guys all around – go see ’em on tour, you won’t be disappointed.)

Get the newsletter