35) Neko Case – “This Tornado Loves You”
It’s important to note how close this song comes to really sounding like the ballad of a tornado that loves you (or who at least has an able defense for traveling your way). The steady acoustic guitar, the rollicking drumbeat, the plucky electric riff: it’s like God wrote an accompaniment to his own wicked conical invention. Then there’s Case, who provides the lovely and dark narrative, which provides a thoughtful insight into the West's bizarre 21st-century human-nature relationship.
34) The Antlers – “Bear”
“We’re too old/we’re not old at all” is a profound, multi-layered refrain. For me, it captures the feeling of growing up while attempting to stay young at heart. Within the album’s theme of the tribulations of cancer, it is probably more about life and death. In any sense, “Bear” is the best application of The Antler’s winning sonic structure (also seen on “Kettering” and “Wake”): aching, piano-driven interludes that build into chaotic, guitar-driven swells.
33) The National – “So Far Around the Bend”
The National haven’t sounded this playful in, well, forever. Like always, the imagery is deceptively light-hearted and the characters sharp (“Take a bath and get high through an apple/Wanted to cry but you can’t when you’re laughing”), but it’s the whimsical and bittersweet backing that steals the show. Horns, plucking harps and twiddling woodwinds wrap around the chorus’s “And there’s no leaving New York” like an enchanted fairytale dawn.
32) St. Vincent – “Actor Out of Work”
There’s something very menacing about “Actor Out of Work.” The lyrics (“You’re a bandage/Pull it out,” “You’re the curses through my teeth”), the thumping percussion, the swathes of angry synth that sporadically invade; if nothing else, St. Vincent need only a couple of minutes to make acting feel like a lower caste endeavor. Now, making music that refuses to be ignored, that’s a worthy profession.
31) The-Dream – “Walkin’ on the Moon (ft. Kanye West)”
Rhythm and Bass might be the lamest of genres (“Girl, take your clothes off…Ooh ooh”), aside from mainstream country music ("America...") and accordion-based Mexican balladry ("Ti Amo..."). But The-Dream seems to understand that elements of R&B can be built into the shimmering radio pop of the 21st century. Or, in this case, somewhere in 23rd century, where The-Dream is Space Michael Jackson and Kanye West is, well, Kanye West—did you think he’d ever change?
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