Waking Ear

I've never been a huge fan of lists. Sure, I like the whole "Top Five" meme in High Fidelity as an archetype of the music geek. And I've had some fun discussions ranking bands and albums and singles (most memorably during a late-night drive from Dallas to 'Bama with my fellow Waking Ear bloggers).

But it's frustrating to me to be so definitive. I always have the sinking feeling that I'm forgetting something. I start to question my own tastes: "Will this record really mean anything a year from now? A decade from now?" Those questions lead me, inevitably, to the conclusion that the exercise is futile. Favorites or "bests" are constantly morphing and evolving things, and it seems kind of silly to take a snapshot of something that will only embarrass me later. Which is normally why I only do lists when I'm drunk.

I was talking to Schmubb the other night about why I'm not particularly fond of philosophy. The reasons are similar: there's no answer. Philosophical frameworks are built to be torn down. Schmubb's contention (I always hate to crystallize his arguments, because I'm almost always slightly off, but I think this was his contention) was that it's the exercise that matters. Questioning and debating endlessly with no conclusion in sight is not the pointless activity I make it out to be, he says. The conclusion is not the point; the perspective reaped from all that blabbing is good for you.

He's probably right, and I'd be kidding myself if I said I didn't find something educational (and entertaining) about a good argument. But the value, to me, ends there. I'm ultimately more comfortable with the idea that there is no right answer, that things happen because they do, that the world spins because of things we can't explain and people are the way they are because of a bezillion little points along a timeline that can't be built into a coherent system. Chaos leads to drama, and drama is much more interesting than knowing how the story's going to end.

The year-end lists (most anticipated: the Inskeep chronicles) are all wrong, and they're all spot-on. Some will gleefully pick them apart, which will be fun. But ultimately, I hope they make people pick up records they'll love. That would be a great conclusion.

"It is only 'a dopey and transparently political act' to list Liz Phair at number if you think politics are stupid, or somehow spoil aesthetics or experience or prose. If you do, you are a practitioner of Unchecked Penisism." -- Sasha Frere-Jones

Top Waking Ears of 2003:

10) Kanye West/"Through the Wire" -- Look out, 'Ptunes.
9) The Darkness/"I Believe in a Thing Called Love" -- Yes, it is all a joke. But good parodies are done by good artists. This could go on forever.
8) Dangermouse and Jemini/"The Only One" -- Like a "Crazy in Love" and "Through the Wire" mash-up. Speaking of...
7) Pharrell Williams vs. Gangstarr vs. DJ Demasiado/"Frontin' My Steeze" -- This is my list. I can do what I want. Paz rocked the shit out of this. Bring on the Joni Mitchell.
6) Pleasure feat. Justine Frischmann/"Don't Look the Other Way" -- Someday Ms. Frischmann will rise again and render her judgment. German looks so good on her.
5) Dwight Yoakam/"The Back of Your Hand" -- Written by a H!ITG actor, it protests too much: "But no one knows you like I do!" Emotional ambiguity is so much more unnerving than decisiveness.
4) Andre 3000/"Hey Ya" -- What's brilliant is how the whole thing gets recontextualized in the album, and suddenly you realize it's sad. Props to Badger for discovering this first.
3) Beyonce Knowles/"Crazy In Love" -- Everybody loves the horns and the Jigga. But I remain steadfast that only Beyonce could've done this song right.
2) The White Stripes/"Seven Nation Army" -- This site got the most hits it's ever received (wasn't a high bar, but still) when I printed my version of the lyrics right after the song starting appearing on the peer2peers. I think any backlash we've seen has been halfhearted; there are still too many songs to be written. I like Jack's odds.
1) Cat Power/"He War" -- Yeah, and You Are Free is my album of the year, too, but I'm not even going to get into that. Rock'n'roll used to be about abandon, which is why this woman should scare the shit out of people.

Girlfriend and I go to Cali next week for the holidays. Schmubb will be in 'Bama, and, as Chelle mentioned, she'll be away as well. So if we don't see you next week (and we may), have a good whatever-you-celebrate.