Best Songs of 2007 Revision

Dude. I should be fired from my own blog.

You know what I forgot about when listing the best songs of 2007?

The entire Once soundtrack.



I saw this movie back in June or so. It didn't make my mid-year top 5. That's because the music did alot more for me than the movie overall. Still, it has certainly stuck in my memory more than, say, the latest Die Hard or Spider-man. It will probably be a while before I get to a year-end best movies list, still too many key movies I haven't seen. Will Once make that list? Probably not, but you never know.

Anyway, back to the important topic at hand, the MUSIC in Once. Essentially, the music in Once IS the movie. Glen Hansard reminds me of Cat Stevens at his best, both in songwriting and performing style.

Sorry, Ben Harper, but I have to knock you down a spot for best song of the year. I'm now giving it to "Falling Slowly," performed by Hansard and his co-star Markéta Irglová. But really, I'm picking one song to represent the whole soundtrack. Several songs on the soundtrack could be at or near the top of my list.

I haven't actually bought the soundtrack, but I will, and I've heard it enough to know it would be my pick for best CD of the year. Granted, I've only bought two 2007 CDs I can think of, Bruce Springsteen's "Magic" and Radiohead's "In Rainbows." Both of those fall into the "good, not great" category for me. So "Once" soundtrack it is.

Presidential Candidates and their Baseball Preferences

Over the last couple days, Home Run Derby has given a rundown of the presidential candidates and their baseball preferences. Here is a breakdown, in my opinion, of the rankings of their baseball preferences.



1. Mike Huckabee - Cardinals fan

This is so painful for me. Not only is he surging in the polls, which I very much fear as I think he's the Republicans' best candidate, he has the same baseball allegiance as me. Of course, he did say this in 2004...

“I wanted the Cardinals to win, but if Boston wins, I’m thinking, ‘This is going to be the biggest story in sports history’ “

which makes me question his true allegiance... Cardinals fans wanted to block that possibility from their mind until after the series.

2. Barack Obama - White Sox fan

At least my actual favorite presidential candidate has the second best baseball preference. The White Sox are my third favorite baseball team, and favorite American League team, and the fact that Barack is a no-bones-about-it fan of the South Side, and even talks smack about the Cubs, is a very good sign.

3. Dennis Kucinich - Indians fan

I've got no beef with the Indians, and hey, I feel sorry for Dennis. He needs to be ranked highly somewhere, and it sure as hell isn't going to happen on the campaign trail. Bonus points for hometown loyalty from the Clevelander.

4. John McCain - Diamondbacks fan

I've got no beef with the D-Backs either, and again, points for hometown loyalty.

5. (Tie) John Edwards and Ron Paul - Unknown

Home Run Derby speculates that Paul is a Pirates fan, but they offer no real evidence, so I'm listing him as unknown. I almost put these two at the very bottom for not declaring allegiance, but I couldn't put them below Phillies, Yankees and Red Sox fans.

7. Joe Biden - Phillies Fan

Sorry, but I still consider being a Phillies Fan to be an endorsement of throwing batteries at Cardinals. And I think Biden needs to be questioned about it in a debate.

8. (Tie) Rudy Giuliani - Yankees Fan, Mitt Romney and Chris Dodd - Red Sox Fans

At this point, I despise the two teams about equally. At least these three all have allegiances based on where they live. Unlike....

12. Bill Richardson - Yankees and Red Sox Fan

Seriously, Bill, what the fuck? You're a fan of TWO teams I absolutely despise? You're probably my second favorite overall candidate, but you can't be both a Yankees AND Red Sox fan. Especially if you're from fucking New Mexico. Amazingly, there's someone worse. And it's none other than....

13. Hillary Clinton - Cubs and Yankees Fan

Sure, she's at least lived in the two cities for which she roots... As much as I'm required to hate the Cubs as a Cardinals fan, I'd at least give her some respect for sticking to her guns if she was a Cubs fan only. But being a Cubs Fan AND a Yankees Fan is probably the worst possible combination in baseball. And it puts her at the very bottom of the list.

Best songs of 2007

I freely admit it. I'm becoming an old fogie who doesn't really know much about the music these days, but I thought I'd attempt to make a list of a few of the songs that I thought were pretty good this year.

1. "In The Colors" - Ben Harper and the Innocent Criminals"

I just heard this song for the first time in the last week or so, but I really dig it. Might even be my favorite overall song of the year. It's a pretty simple song, as are alot of the songs on this list, but it just has a great groove to it...



2. "Livin' in the Future" - Bruce Springsteen

Overall, Bruce's new album is a mixed bag, but this song is awesome. Reminds me how great Bruce and the E Street Band are at their best.



3. "Thinking About You" - Norah Jones

I'm a big Norah fan, although she hasn't broken much new ground between her first album and now. Still, this is a pretty standard Norah song that is among the best things I've heard this year.



4. "1234" - Feist

Yes, the song from the iPod commercial. That's how lame I've gotten. I find my favorite songs through commercials.



5. "Young Folks" - Peter Bjorn and John

Speaking of which, I found this song through commercials too. It's been used in more than one, and I'm not really sure what product was being advertised when I heard it. And it's not technically a 2007 song, but I first heard it this year.



6. "Gravity" - John Mayer

I'm not a big John Mayer fan. I largely thing he's a poseur. But this is my favorite John Mayer song. Also, not technically a 2007 song, but I first heard it this year.



7. "Before He Cheats" - Carrie Underwood

Go ahead. Make fun of me, but this is a good song.



Honorable mentions... "The Pretender" by the Foo Fighters, "Rehab" by Amy Winehouse, "Hey There Delilah" by Plain White Ts (Yes, make fun again), "Icky Thump" by the White Stripes.