The Top 25 New Songs We Played On Citizen Arcane This Past Semester List

This list needs some serious explanation. I was listening to Soundscapes on Toledo, Ohio's NPR affiliate station, 91.3 WGTE-FM this past weekend when I heard that the host (Alan Mazurek) was playing cuts from his Top 20 Records Of 1998 List. I thought, "Hey, if this works for NPR, it could work for us as well." After all our lists had a little bit in common. So I went home and started drafting the list. However, I thought it would be easier to pick the top 25 songs that we played over the last semester that we had never played before. Not all the songs on this list were released in 1998, though a nice chunk of them were. This proves that we are in keeping with the times. However, there are some very very good songs on this list that were released long before 1998. This shows our respect for the classics. Confused yet? That's the goal. Enjoy the list...

25. King Missile III: The Little Sandwich That Developed A Guilt Complex After Being Involved In A Horrible Bus Accident: This song wins "Best Title Of The Decade" for sure. It's nice to see John S. Hall get back in action with the revamped King Missile and their new record Failure. This is as arcane as music gets, folks.
24. Dub Narcotic Sound System: Sawed Off: Calvin Johnson's lo-fi rockers busted out with a new record, Out Of Your Mind, this year and continue to put out songs that make you groove. "Sawed Off" particularly sticks in your head for a while, and we're pretty sure it's not about sex...
23. Billy Bragg & Wilco: Ingrid Bergman: Two indie rock all-stars team up to honor a legend. The collaborative effort Mermaid Ave. consists of folk-god Woody Guthrie's lost poetry set to music by Bragg and Wilco. In this critic's humble opinion, Woody would be proud.
22. Add N To X: The Sound Of Accelerating Concrete: Only one word can describe this group and their new record On The Wires Of Our Nerves: Kraftwerkian. Add N To X are the new masters of the Moog, and some would argue that this is the best techno record of 1998.
21. Tom Waits: The Piano Has Been Drinking (Not Me): Your typical Tom Waits song: he's drunk, he's lost something, he's sad. Just like everything else off of Small Change and every other record of his, for that matter. But practically all his songs are good, so that's not a slight.
20. The Oblivians: Sunday You Need Love: A primal, drum-fueled flat-out rock'n'roll tune from their record Soul Food. Many have tried, but no one rocks harder than The Oblivians.
19. Massive Attack: Rising Son: This seminal trip-hop group resurfaced in 1998 with their new effort, Mezzanine. With a stable full of songs like "Rising Son," Massive Attack proves that they haven't slipped even a notch.
18. Screeching Weasel: Pretty Girls Don't Talk To Me: A song for every guy with little to no self-confidence. Originally released on the Formula 27 7" (where we culled it from, now out of print), it can now be found on the new Beat Is On The Brat LP, which includes the highly coveted Ramones cover LP.
17. Alex Chilton: Sugar Sugar/I Got The Feeling: One of rock's greatest songwriters covers a couple classics. A special surprise from the great record 1970, though hearing "Sugar Sugar" makes me immediately think of Homer Simpson...
16. Pussy Galore: Dick Johnson: Aside from being the most innuendodic song title ever, it's a damn good song from the record Dial "M" For Motherfucker. Brought to you by founding members of The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion and Royal Trux.
15. Pizzicato Five: Airplane '96: From the Sister Freedom Tapes 10" comes this über-poppy tune. It's sung in Japanese, so they could be singing "Citizen Arcane sucks" and we would ignorantly tap our feet and hum along. Cool, huh?
14. The Pogues: Fairytale Of New York: Possibly the greatest Christmas song ever written by drunken Irishmen. You can find this particular one on the album If I Should Fall From Grace With God.
13. Brainiac: Vincent Come On Down: From Brainiac's swan song record Hissing Prigs In Static Couture comes this bouncing romp of a tune. Look for a Brainiac "B-sides" record and a tribute album sometime within the next year.
12. Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds: Nobody's Baby Now: Possibly the saddest song I've ever heard. If you've ever lost someone special, you'll associate well. You can find this on Nick Cave's Best Of record.
11. The Fantastic Plastic Machine: Dear Mr. Salesman: I'll admit it, I have a weakness for Japanese techno-lounge-pop. Very Pizzicato Five-ish (see #15), FPM's self titled record is among my favorites of 1998.
10. Radiohead: Subterranean Homesick Alien: With a great, commercially viable record in OK Computer, one of today's most innovative and talented groups tries to bridge the gap between indie-rock and the mainstream public. It seems to be working...
9. Amon Tobin: Switch: The subtle electronica-jazz sounds of this artist's new release, Permutation, even overshadow the jazz-electronic tones of Medeski, Martin & Wood, who narrowly missed the cut for this list.
8. Elliot Smith: Waltz #2 (XO): A former heroin junkie, Smith pulled himself up to record one of the year's best records, XO. A heavy Beatles influence, but individual nonetheless.
7. Portishead: All Mine: Fueled by entrancing rythyms and beautiful melodic vocals, the Roseland NYC Live record brings the best that Portishead has to offer in abundance.
6. Silver Jews: Random Rules: Maybe the greatest singer/songwriter that no one's ever heard of, David C. Berman reunited with Pavement's Steve Malkmus to make American Water, among the top records of the year.
5. Bob Mould: Moving Trucks: The former Hüsker Dü and Sugar frontman brings us his new solo effort The Last Dog And Pony Show. Promised to be Mould's final "loud rock'n'roll record," we wish the best to Bob in his new endeavors.
4. Elvis Costello & Burt Bacharach: Toledo: Music's most unlikely combo produced an excellent record this year in Painted From Memory. This song wins particularly because it's named after my hometown...
3. The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion: Get Down Lover: With all the critical acclaim that their new record, Acme, has received, who'd've thought that the best song would come from the CD single, Talk About The Blues? I guess you have to see it live...
2. Spiritualized: Ladies And Gentelmen We Are Floating In Space: More than just the song from a Volkswagen commercial. The song, from the album of the same name, is one of those that just sends shivers down your spine when you hear it.
1. The Dismemberment Plan: The Ice Of Boston: What makes this song by a band that nobody's ever heard of #1? Originally released on the album The Dismemberment Plan Is Terrified and re-released this past year as a CD single to commemorate the band's signing to Interscope Records, "The Ice Of Boston" has everything that a song should have: a powerful, articulate singer, an irresistable rythym, incredible sound contrast between loud and quiet, aggressive and subdued, and most importantly an open invitation for emotional attachment. This is a song that will not be forgotten (at least not by us) in the annals of time. A surprise choice, maybe, but still a worthy one.

Have any comments, suggestions, etc.? E-mail me and I'll rationalize every choice that I've made. In the meantime, feel free to go back to the home page for more fun.