Best Music 2005 - Wendy West

So each month I make a new disc to for car listening and I thought I'd make a list of what would be on my disc of '05's greatest hits. Sufjan Stevens & Clap Your Hands Say Yeah sort of go without saying (although apparently, I am saying right now). No songs from either record made it onto any of my discs since I preferred listening to the records in their entirety. And no Bloc Party makes the final cut – I listened to them a lot in the first part of the year, but skip through their songs when I hear them now. I was lucky enough to see a lot of shows last year and some songs are closely tied to those experiences.

So. Songs of '05. Here goes.

1. Arcade Fire, "Wake Up." This was the first show I saw in the New Year and it was one of the best shows I have seen. We sardined into the Troubadour and waited and sweat on one another and then these kids – too many of them for the stage – spewed forth, eyes closed and mouths wide open and opened with this song making me feel both incredibly old and incredibly alive at the same time. It is a well-titled song.


2. Tegan and Sara (with a nod to The White Stripes), "Walking with the Ghost." So damn catchy.

3. The New Pornographers, "These are the Fables." "From Blown Speakers," is one of my favorite favorite songs and has nothing to do with Twin Cinema but whenever I think of the New Pornographers, I think of "Speakers" and not anything new. But, I did like Twin Cinema a lot.

4. Hartley Goldstein, "A Love Song for Annie Hall." The title of this record is "Songs in the key of Zoloft."

5. Kate Bush, " Wuthering Heights ." The Decemberists covered this in their show, and I craved the original and then could not get it out of my head for loooong periods of time. Kind of a Kate Bush year – her new record came out, "Hounds of Love" was covered – I hadn't thought about her for a few years. Nice to find her again.

6. Tracy Chapman, "Fast Car." She was live on KCRW one morning and hearing this song gave me pause – suddenly I was back in college, working the early shift, washing dishes on a snowy morning before the first customers came into the deli. This song became part of a script I was writing at the time, and became synonymous with the main character.

7. The White Stripes, "My Doorbell." I liked their new record a lot, but love most the twang Jack has in his voice, a crisscross of delight and stoned laugher and getting away with something all at once. Straight up, and not, at the same time.

8. Dr. Dre/Snoop Dogg, "Nuthin' but a G Thang." What can I say? 2005 was the year I came to know, really know Snoop.

9. Beck, "Scarecrow." Like the original, like the remixes. Don't like Scientology so much. Also, Beck's cover of "True Love Will Find You In The End," is great.

10. The Kills, "No Wow." They almost – but don't – have sex on stage, and it's the almost that is the most sexy.

11. The Malinks, "If Only." Bummer that the band released their best song just as they broke up.

12. Fiona Apple, "Extraordinary Machine." I have often repeated her first line, hoping to be believed, even though it's never true when I say, "I certainly haven't been shopping for any new shoes… and…"

13. Aqualung, "Strange & Beautiful." This song is like wading into warm water one step at a time until you are enveloped, surrounded, and you surrender.

14. n.Lannon, "Spy." Again with the college memories. This song reminds me of night before snowfall, when the sky is pregnant and white.

15. Morcheeba, "Wonders Never Cease." Get packin' and head out the door.

And if there were a second disc of '05 greats, these songs would be on it:

Smashing Pumpkins, "Muzzle." Elliott Smith, "Independence Day." Kanye West, who is, I believe, my long lost brother, "Gold Digger." Arctic Monkeys, "Perhaps Vampire Is A Bit Strong, but…" This was another fun "I feel old and young at the same time" show – these monkey guys weren't old enough to drink at Spaceland. The Outfield, "Your Love." The Devics, "Distant Radio." Bill Withers, "Who is He (And What Is He To You)?" Sia's "Breathe Me," but the Ulrich Schnauss remix. Death Cab for Cutie, "World Shut Your Mouth," not a revolutionary cover, but fun nonetheless. "There is a Light That Never Goes Out," I'll listen to almost anyone cover this song. Stevie Nicks & Tom Petty, "Stop Dragging My Heart Around."