Top 10 Singles of 2007

Yeah I know. It's taking me a while to get going. So lets crack on with some lists. You know I want to. First things first- Things to avoid at New Year if you don't want to feel like you are dying.
Whole bottles of vodka
Never ending supplies of champagne
Class A s
Although I got out of bed at about 11am the next day, I couldn't actually open my eyes or move until about 6pm. It's too soon to ask my co revellers about my behaviour on the night, but one can only imagine that things dark and chilling lie at the murky heart of the lost hours. Worse still, being totally couch bound for 14 hours meant I needed some quality entertainment,but the best the telly gods could offer me was Kindergarden Cop and Get fit with wags. Tonight my offerings are Half ton mum and My fake baby. Send the wind to turn the tide! My top singles of 2008, in reverse order:

9 Justin Timberlake Sexy back
This song is like this totally great catchy tune that isn't actually very tuneful. It hasn't made JT any cooler, but it has taken me to the break. and the chorus. yeah!

8 Klaxons Golden Skans
I admire the Klaxons for 3 things: 1 They've become famous in spite of that fucking awful name. 2 They are total nut jobs when it comes to styling; that weird gold eyeshadow all over their faces, those queer puffy clown sleeves, the ribbons, the glitter, I could go on but the video pretty much says it all. 3 When they won the Mercury they had the temerity to be annoyed that some people thought that Amy Winehouse should have won. Unwavering self confidence had blinded the lads to the fact that actually EVERYONE thought Amy Winehouse should have won. Now that is self belief. And this tune is dead catchy.

7 Manic Street Preachers Your love alone is not enough
After the sterling blast of youthfulness that was Design for Life, the Manics got weirdly middle aged weirdly fast didn't they? And their music got middle aged too. All flabby and boring. Well turns out if you persevere with the eyeliner and get the (now also middle aged) hot Swedish songstress Nina Persson on board, an odd poptasmagoric fusion occurs and something fabulously catchy pops out.

6 Rilo Kiley Silver Lining
I was kind of disappointed when I finally heard Rilo Kiley. I had totally randomly imagined them to be an all girl punk band. I'm not sure why. I'm sure you don't want to hear someone else compare them to early Fleetwood Mac but if the shoes fits.... anyway this song sounds so plain when you first hear it, but on the second or third go it starts to feel like clean sheets, smiling babies, birds singing, blue skies, and all that is good in the world. Aw.

5 Amy Winehouse Tears dry on their own
I've been resisting Amy Winehouse for over a year now. And to be fair it still isn't really my kind of music- that kind of 50s jazzy-souly- girl groupy stuff was never my thing. This song totally tipped me over into the Winehouse camp though. I love the way it comes in- just straight into the song with no introduction, and then it stuns you with it's perfect pop songiness; just the right mix of sad and uplifting. Had Britain actually had a summer last year,this would be the song of mine.

4 Bjork Earth Intruders
Who'd have thought it. Me choosing a Bjork song. I haven't liked anything that Bjork's done since she was with the Sugarcubes. And it isn't like I haven't tried. It's always about half way into an album that I want to start scratching the insides of my ears. I can't say exactly why I like this song so much. I can't say it's quirky- it would be bizarre if it wasn't- this is Bjork after all. Perhaps it's the Timbaland production (you've got to admit he's good), but whatever it is, this song makes me want to pick up my ray gun and start (tribal) dancing. You can't say that about many songs now can you?

3 YeahYeahYeahs Rockers to Swallow
I went to an exhibition at the V&A of New York designers and they had some Christian Joy numbers that Karen O had worn on stage. They were extraordinary, Like the woman herself. This is a crap video with crap sound but I used it because of the outfit. I mean, it has a tail. And don't you just want to start jumping up and down when that gut crunching guitar comes in?

2 LCD Sound System Someone Great
I can hardly bring to mind any dance tracks that are sad. The Chemical Brother's Where do I begin maybe? The whole of Mezzanine? It's kind of an oxymoron somehow. Anyway. This is exactly that. A wistful, nostalgic, sad dance song. Bleeps that can break your heart? Now that is fucking genius.

1 U.N.K.L.E Keys to the Kingdom
And so is this. It isn't officially a single hence the youtube video of people riding bikes around what looks like Milton Keynes. But I have become the official champion of U.N.K.L.E so I can choose what I like. and it's not my nostalgia gland kicking in because I saw them in Osaka with cousin. As cousin will testify, that night is unlikely to induce any sense of fondness. This is from the album War Stories and what can I say, the whole thing just blows me away. My favourite song from my favourite album of the year.