Arcade Fire - "Ready to Start"

Arcade Fire - "Ready to Start": "This definitely shook out as my favorite song on the new Arcade Fire record. I've read around that this is supposed to be an uplifting song (I suppose the 'now I'm ready to start!' ending), but the song - and the chorus in particular - read really dark to me, outside of that one line. There's something really sad about the 'if I was pure / you know I would / and if I was yours / but I'm not' lyric, but it still comes together as a really powerful song and that's why I like it."

Best Coast - "When I'm With You"

Best Coast - "When I'm With You": "Take a bunch of Aislers Set girl group lo-fi and mix in a touch of Giant Drag sharpness and you get this Best Coast song. It pulls off a great blend of sass and melancholy, the way the best 60s girl group rock songs do."

Jane Krakowski - "Muffin Top"

Jane Krakowski - "Muffin Top": "It's from 30 Rock, so of course I love it."

Sonic Youth - "Sweet Shine"

Sonic Youth - "Sweet Shine": "I remember the first time I heard this song -
I was shopping at Tower Records (R.I.P.!) in Orange County and the store had an advance copy of this album they were using for in-store play. Someone must have scratched the CD because the track would make it through to a certain point before skipping back near the beginning...only to make it back to the scratch and skip backwards yet again. It didn't sound so bad, given the sleepy nature of the track, like hopping around in a dream. This must have gone on for twenty minutes before someone stopped the CD but, by that point, the song was burned into my head, especially the part where Kim Gordon hoots 'wooo-hooo!'. Kind of funny that I remember that so specifically, but I do."

The Jealous Sound - "Hope For Us"

The Jealous Sound - "Hope For Us": "Yeah, I guess it's kind of emo, in the more classic sense, but damn it's good."

SOTD 5 Year Lookback: Culture Club - "Do You Really Want To Hurt Me"

SOTD 5 Year Lookback: Culture Club - "Do You Really Want To Hurt Me" (Original Post Date: 07.08.09): "I think it says volumes about me that some of my more vivid and excited posts draw from videos I saw as a kid in the early days of MTV, either in inspiring me to the post - or, like this one, where I try and recap the video...in my own way."

SOTD 5 Year Lookback: Yo La Tengo - "Blue Line Swinger"

SOTD 5 Year Lookback: Two Versions of Yo La Tengo's "Blue Line Swinger" - Your Choice! (Original Post Date: 06.03.08): "This is deeper music analysis than I usually employ in the blog, but the two versions compelled me to take the dive."

SOTD 5 Year Lookback: Olivia Newton-John - "Physical"

SOTD 5 Year Lookback: Olivia Newton-John - "Physical" (Original Post Date: 10.25.06): "The only thing better than this post is when I played "Physical" at top volume from my phone while walking around in SOMA earlier this year after a bit of, um, partying. Check it out."

SOTD 5 Year Lookback: James Brown - "Get Up"

SOTD 5 Year Lookback: James Brown - "Get Up (I Feel Like Being A) Sex Machine, Pt. 1" (Original Post Date: 2.28.06):
"Kicking off this look back at five years of this blog, it's Mr. James Brown. This post is kind of a cheat, since it references two JB songs, but it makes me want to listen to them both. Check it out."

Song of the Day 5 Year Anniversary!

Joy Division - "These Days": "So it's been five years to the day that I started my 'song of the day' blog. While hardly daily in posting, I've racked up almost 900 rants, raves, stutters and random thoughts in that time...and, somehow, it keeps chugging along. My first post was New Order, so it seems fitting to offer some Joy Division to mark the anniversary. Hardly the band to pop open some fancy champagne to, I suppose, but this isn't a champers kind of blog anyway. Instead, raise your drink of choice and peruse the archives (they're all there, on the right side of the page), perhaps starting with the blog introduction, also from 11/1/05.
I'll be spending the rest of the week highlighting some of my favorite entries from the years, so stick around!"