December 20, 2008
singles of the year countdown, 40 to 31
40) "Warwick Avenue," Duffy
39) "Kristofferson," Tim McGraw. Does this mean Kris Kristofferson has to make a song called “Taylor Swift”?
38) "Low" (Feat. T-Pain), Flo-Rida. We got v. v. tired of this song, but the numbers don’t lie. They’re like hips that way.
37) "All Summer Long," Kid Rock. The strangest song of the year. Listen, there are plenty of songs that steal a phrase or a lick and don’t mention it, cf. “Hell Yeah.” And there are plenty that steal a lick and make a big deal of it, like Warren Zevon’s “Play It All Night Long,” which manages to stick its nose in both “Southern Man” and “Sweet Home Alabama.” But has there ever been another song that steals two riffs — which basically contribute the entirety of the musical track between them — and mentions one, but not the other? That’s exactly what happens here: our man Bob Ritchie can’t stop remembering “Sweet Home Alabama” but (in a very odd coincidence) completely forgets the fact that his song’s main progression, rhythm and instrumentation come from a totally different song which just happens to resemble the Skynyrd classic but is by, wouldn’t you know it, Warren Zevon: “Werewolves of London.” The whole thing is just beyond weird. And why does it have to be 1989?
36) "Let Me Think About It (remix)," Ida Corr. And meanwhile, I’m stilllllll thinking.
35) "Come On Over," Jessica Simpson
34) "Going Down to Cuba," Jackson Browne. What is the most tawdry thing about this song? That it’s topical? Liberal? Topical and liberal? Is there in fact anything worse that this: “Maybe I’ll go through Mexico, old Jesse Helms don’t have to know; anyway all the allies of the USA travel to Cuba everyday”? It’s enough to make you want to kill yourself or go back in time and vote for McCain. But insipid and clumsy quatrains are a dime a dozen, you know? Lovely ones are few and far between. And so Warren Zevon’s best producer gets us about four minutes in: “I’m gonna drink the Ron Anejo (no no the mojito)…and walk out on the Malecón — in one hand a monte cristo and in the other an ice cream cone.” Shoulda always been that way.
33) "Don't You Know You're Beautiful," Kellie Pickler. “Kellie? It’s some guy on the phone. He says he’s Martina McBride’s lawyer?”
32) "Breakfast In Bed," Shelby Lynne. There’s something funny about doing a Dusty Springfield covers album. That something is that a lot of Dusty Springfield’s songs were already covers.
31) "Love Don't Live Here," Lady Antebellum. This shares DNA with so many other songs it would be pointless to name them — oops, Hal Ketchum’s “Hearts Are Gonna Roll” — but this doesn’t make it one tine bit less pleasing. You don’t have to make it new, you have to make it good. Which ain’t easy.