The Wong Way
Back in July 2006, I bought my first digital SLR camera. The very next day, I brought it with me to Siren Festival in Coney Island. Although the shots from that concert didn't turn out too hot - too far away, too much of a novice with the camera - I wasn't deterred from future attempts at concert shooting. Ultimately, I decided to start a musicblog, titled The Wong Way, featuring photos I took from the concerts I went to. It ran regularly from July 2006 to December 2006 and while I'd like to start it back up some day, I prefer to just enjoy concerts from the sidelines. But who knows what the future will bring, right?
Favorite Songs of 2005, 10-1
My 25 favorite songs of 2005, presented in two parts. This, part 2, contains songs 10-1.
I can’t stress this point enough – these are my favorite songs from 2005. In no way am I declaring these to be the best songs since taste is subjective and my favorite songs can easily be someone else’s most-hated songs (though I hope that’s not the case). After a lot of thinking and searching through iTunes, I’ve come up with a list of 25 songs that I’m happy to say are my favorite songs of the year.
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10. The Go! Team: Huddle Formation The title alone makes this one of my favorite songs. The upbeat introduction, the general campy 80s kitsch, and the playground chanting of the lyrics will put a smile on anyone’s face. |
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9. Art Brut: Bad Weekend “Popular culture no longer applies to me.” |
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8. The Boy Least Likely To: Be Gentle With Me The banjo and the xylophone make for a delightful – there’s no other way to describe it – combination. |
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7. Franz Ferdinand: Do You Want To It’s an infectious, witty, cheeky song – Franz Ferdinand at its finest. |
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6. M.I.A.: Bucky Done Gun It’s the trumpet fanfare that makes this song work for me. |
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5. Metric: Monster Hospital The emphatic first 15 seconds – I won’t even try to make out the words – lead to a less than subtle song about government abuse of power. The point is emphasized in the chorus by making use of Bobby Fuller’s famous line “I fought the law”, substituting “war” for “law”. |
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4. Stars: Your Ex-Lover Is Dead “When there’s nothing left to burn, you have to set yourself on fire.” That first line is followed by some great back and forth singing by Torquil Campbell and Amy Millan before they meld beautifully during the chorus. Great instrumental work adds to the weepy mood of the song. |
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3. Kelly Clarkson: Since U Been Gone There’s always one breakout pop hit each year that manages to hook in fans of all genres and, this year, it was Kelly Clarkson’s monster hit. Borrowing from the Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ “Maps” for the bridge, this song is female power pop at its best. |
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2. The New Pornographers: Use It After this song was released in advance of the full album, I found myself singing “use it toniiiiiigght” quite a few times. |
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1. Imogen Heap: Hide and Seek This is just one of the most beautiful songs I have ever heard. |
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Previous Year-End Lists:
Favorite Songs of 2005, 25-11