The end of the year seems like a time for everybody to write ridiculous "top N Xs of the year" lists. Well, I'm not cool enough to abstain. These are my top 5 musical Roland Barthes-style musical punctums for 2003. I can't explain why I like these things, but that's the whole point. Barthes? Punctum? whaaat? It'll make sense before you're done reading this entry:
5. Mates of State (Team Boo) - Ha Ha. Intense Epic tape hiss/static.
4. The Postal Service (Give Up) - Nothing Better. 1:30 - Jen Wood jumps in with "I feel I must interject here."
3. Belle and Sebastian (Dear Catastrophe Waitress) - I'm a Cuckoo. Throughout this song, there's this occasional low-level warble that kind of sounds like a distant phone ringing. At 2:44, there's a "doop!" noise that reminds of me of using a Mac. It happens again at 3:51, but it's much more quiet.
2. The Decemberists (Castaways and Cutouts) - Leslie Anne Levine. 1:47 - Colin Meloy (very sadly) sings the phrase "Chimney Sweep." (I know this album was released last year, but mere mortals like me didn't know about this album until after the Kill Rock Stars re-release in March.)
1. Broken Social Scene (You Forgot it in People) - Stars and Sons. Sounds like you can hear Brendan Canning's nose whistling while he's singing.
