13-11

as the year comes to an end, i am thinking back on my favorite films and albums of the year. i'm gonna be posting my top ten of each a bit later on this month, but for now i'm gonna start listing those that almost made it. think of it as my 13 through 11.

my 13th favorite album of the year is ga ga ga ga ga by spoon.

with an album name like ga ga ga ga ga, you can expect a very interesting album. i can't imagine anyone going through this year without having heard "the feel good song of the year", and spoon's first single off the album, the underdog. it hearkens back to the good old days when billy joel dominated the air waves...well maybe that's not the good old days, but it's still a fantastic song that just builds with mariachi style trumpets and percussion galore (check out the video below). ga ga ga ga ga has much more to offer than just the underdog. the opening song don't make me a target, sets a good blueprint for the album, although we are going to experience many flavors and styles here. the song the ghost of you lingers, has a wonderful and abrasive piano riff throughout the whole song. spoon says the title of the album ga ga ga ga ga came from that track. ga ga ga ga ga was the old title for this song because of the piano sound. it's a stripped down track that is almost completely piano and vocals. you got yr. cherry bomb really sounds like phill spector sneaked into the studio. not that you hear gunshots or anything like that, but it has that wonderful 60's girl group sound that you would hear on a ronettes album. acoustic guitar is very prominent on this album, but it has plenty moments of rock. i am really impressed with the production. lot's of interesting sounds and arrangements keep ga ga ga ga ga sounding like nothing else from this year, or for that matter any other year.

enjoy the underdog video below!