The Pagan Agenda

Welcome to my annual send-off wherein I spot a tenner of songs, those which captured my imagination during this ever-deficiting state of academiotosis. Despite some laxity in my cultivation of aural accompaniment this year, I have at least took the dignified route this time, no longer scouring the net and vulturing about end-of-the-year best-of lists to pad my own. No sir. These are my genuine finds, a year in the making. As per my whimsy, the following ten songs are ontologically bound to the year 2007 in that they came into being in my mind between january and decembre of this year – if objectivity exists (which I am still skeptical about), then perhaps a case could be made that some of these songs originate outside this time frame. Being the center of the universe, I don’t find a problem with this liberty, and neither should you.

So here they be, a strange lot. The abundance of cover songs are purely coincidental and should not reflect poorly on the originality of the moderator of this list.

1) Intervention (Acoustic) – Arcade Fire

fond memories of listening to this song over and over while peering out the van window at the monument valleys of Arizona.

2) Goin to Acapulco – Jim James and Calexico

A cover of a Bob Dylan song displayed prominently in the biopic ‘I’m Not There’. At the time I did not know this was by Dylan, and when the ghostly hillbilly starts singing this at the midpoint of the movie I thought it was a bizarre departure.

3) Falling Slowly – Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova

The signature song of the superb indie film ‘Once’. Immediately bought the album and listened to it over and over and over again… competing with Radiohead’s Reckoner as the most airplay on my ipod.

4) Will is my Friend – Devendra Banhart

Thanks to Ryan’s Smashing Life for this great find. Never fully warmed to the work of Devendra but the acoustic set I picked off of Ryan’s site blew me away. I used this song prominently in my Dharma Bums playlist (which fits like a mutha by the way) and it is pure summer to me.

5) Reckoner – Radiohead

‘In Rainbows’ was/is/forever the best album of this and many years. I cannot express the big love I got for the album as a whole, and had I not restrained myself I would have flooded this list just with these tracks. This is my favorite from the album.

6) I’m Not There – Sonic Youth

Yet another Dylan cover song, a damn fine one at that!

7) Rain (Demo) – Bishop Allen

Listen to this and you will have the melody in your head for the rest of the day.

8) Goodbye, My Friend – Guido & Maurizio De Angelis

This song is definately not from 2007 but I happened across on a music blog and boy is it a find, this kicks all sorts of ass.

9) Sisters of Mercy – Beth Orton

A cover of the Leonard Cohen song. I never gave the original much of a listen until I came across this performance from the ‘Leonard Cohen I’m Your Man’ documentary. So so so lovely.

10) The Past is a Grotesque Animal – Of Montreal

Perhaps the finest song of the year.