Hmmm

So, basically this story is just another excuse for Madonna to ignore Australia despite going on a, ahem, "world tour". I'll believe she does a "world tour" when she actually tours around the world and not just the parts she likes (America and Europe, mostly). Your upcoming album better not be shit Madge (a highly likely outcome considering the whole "hip-hip" angle she's going for) or I'll have even more reasons to be angry. Grrr.

VISIT AUSTRALIA, BITCH!

The A to Z of Glenn's Albums

I am stealing this from Aaron who borrowed it from Tom the Dog. I decided to take a little bit of a detour with my list though. I have decided to exclude my five favourite artists of all time - Bruce Springsteen, Madonna, Björk, Janet Jackson and The Velvet Underground. The reason is that their albums were hogging the limelight! Bruce and Madonna had three, Janet and Björk two each and VU had one. And, besides, you guys surely already know the depraved depths my love for those guys go.

But even eliminating those guys it was incredibly hard. Some letters just had so many amazing albums. And I love at least 23 of the albums listed here and can't imagine my life without having known them. They've all touched me in some profound way (except some of the ones that were really hard, like Q and Z, which I obviously had to cheat for, my iTunes tells me I don't have any albums with those letters). Now, my list isn't anywhere near as "classic" as the other guys' though. They have AC/DC, Miles Davis, The Who, John Lennon and The Beatles. I have Yazoo. MmHmmm.


Arular, M.I.A.


Butterfly, Mariah Carey


Chemistry, Girls Aloud


Devin Dazzle & the Neon Fever, Felix da Housecat


Exile in Guyville, Liz Phair


Folklore, Nelly Furtado


Get Behind Me Satan, White Stripes


Halfway Between the Gutter and the Stars, FatBoy Slim


Ingénue, k.d.lang


Jagged Little Pill, Alanis Morissette


Kish Kash, Basement Jaxx


Live Through This, Hole


The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, Lauryn Hill


Non Stop Erotic Caberet, Soft Cell


The Other Side of the Mirror, Stevie Nicks


Purple Rain, Prince


All Hail the Queen, Queen Latifah (1989)


Results, Liza Minnelli with the Pet Shop Boys


So, Peter Gabriel


Thylacine, Monique Brumby


Upstairs at Eric's, Yazoo


The Voice of Love, Julee Cruise


The Whitey Album, Ciccone Youth


X, INXS


Yeah Yeah Yeahs EP, Yeah Yeah Yeahs


Who's Zoomin' Who?, Aretha Franklin



And just for shits a giggles. Let's see if I can fill an entire A-Z of albums by Springsteen, Madonna, Jackson, Bjork and VU.

American Life, Madonna
Born in the USA, Bruce Springsteen
Control, Janet Jackson
Devils & Dust, Bruce Springsteen
Erotica, Madonna
F
Greetings from Asbury Park, NJ, Bruce Springsteen
Human Touch, Bruce Springsteen
I'm Breathless: Dick Tracy, Madonna
janet., Janet Jackson
K
Like a Prayer, Madonna
Music, Madonna
Nebraska, Bruce Springsteen
OST Evita, Madonna
Post, Bjork
Q
Ray of Light, Madonna
Selmasongs, Bjork
Tunnel of Love, Bruce Springsteen
U
The Velvet Underground and Nico, The Velvet Underground
White Light/White Heat, The Velvet Underground
X
You Can Dance, Madonna
Z

That's all I can get I'm afraid. Only six letters to go, too!

Attention Madonna Fans

I'm sure you're all well aware of this by now, but you can download the new Madonna song "Hey You" for free by clicking here. It's limited time (seven days), so I'm sure you will make it in time.

What are your thoughts?

Personally, I think it is sort of rubbish (it's a charity single afterall and those are rarely good), but there are bits are pieces that I really like. I think the chorus is quite nice actually, where she sort of speeds up the vocal delivery. The "Keep it together you'll make it alright. A celebration is going on tonight." part. Although any time she says "Hey you!" I wanna smash my speakers with a mallet. "Hey you! Save yourself! Don''t rely on anyone else!" particularly makes me wanna heave. The "Hey You" parts sound like a bad song parody with an accompanying video of her stretched out her arm and opening her palm before bowing her head down and moving her arm to her side. Did that make sense?

Sounds perhaps like it would have been a b side to her Like a Prayer album. And she had a lot of b sides back then, a lot of which were rightfully b sides.

I wanna know why the .zip file has so many freakin' folders to go through. And why does Madonna look like an Olsen twin on the Live Earth download page. Seriously I am hating that hair. Get it out of your face, Madge.

Must-Have Monday

New Feature!

Every Monday I will post two songs for you guys to download and listen to in their awesome glory. Some will be obscure, some not so obscure. Some will be old, some not so old. Some will be originals, some will be covers. I didn't intend to start off this feature with two cover songs, but I've been listening to them like crazy this last week so I thought I'd do them. Plus, one is (sort of) Madonna and the other is (sort of) Twin Peaks. Naturally, this feature will be patchy, in that I won't always do it. It's just for whenever I can bothered, I guess.

You may not love all the songs I post, but you should give them all a try if they sound even remotely interesting. I have good taste in music you guys. I'm a music critic for crying out loud! *looks around suspiciously …what? I am!

If you're a stickler for album art in iTunes then click the below images to see their proper size and then save them.

Ciccone Youth - "Into the Groove(y)"
Download Here
An offshoot of Sonic Youth, in the late '80s Ciccone Youth showed up with The Whitey Album featuring predominantly (all?) covers of famous songs. The most famous is probably "Addicted to Love", but my favourite is their cover of Madonna's 1985 hit "Into the Groove". It's what I like to call trash rock (guitar music that isn't at all refined) and it even features, quite illegally I might add, some of Madonna's original "Into the Groove" singing. It's amazing.

One-Eyed Jacks - "Falling [Log Lady Remix]"
Download Here
One-Eyed Jacks, from what I can gather from the few-and-far-between, bits and pieces about them on the ‘net, were some random band who, in 1991, decided to release an EP of remixes of the iconic track “Falling” by Julee Cruise. If you’re a fan of Twin Peaks then you will certainly know the song. There was a “Ronnette Polaski” remix and two versions of the “Log Lady Remix”. I could have just as easily posted the original Cruise version and everyone would be right as rain, but I thought I’d twist it up and post this version as it is also ace.

Anyone know what happened to these guys?

Thanks to SendSpace for hosting the files. If anyone out there is linked to these artists and wishes for me to take these files down and by all means shoot me an email and I'll take it down.

Music Rage

Rage is such an addictive television show. It's also the greatest music program ever, thank you very much. I was getting ready for bed last night and I had the tv on to Rage and the show is celebrating it's 20th year of all-night long music videos. Congrats to ABC for having the guts to keep this show on. They could be making lots of cash with lame-arsed infomercials and quiz programs, but no, ever Friday and Saturday night they play anywhere up to 10 hours of back-to-back clips(well, with occasional guest programmers in between). Naturally though I got sucked into the vortex of Rage.

Only on Rage could you see Crowded House's amazing video for their amazing song "Better Be Home Soon" followed by the sort of genius video for the delightful Ciccone Youth version of "Addicted to Love" followed then by one of the sexiest and best videos of all time - Madonna's "Express Yourself". After that group you get stuff like "Veronica" by Elvis Costello, "Back to Reality" by Soul II Soul, "Say No Go" by De La Soul, "The Message" by Grandmaster Flash, "Fight the Power" by Public Enemy, "Can U Dig It?" by Pop Will Eat Itself and then "Epic" by Faith No More. I mean, isn't that just one of the craziest and most amazing short lineups? And it's pretty much all from 1989 (and they say the '80s were shit for music. I say they're wrong. Any decade will be brilliant if you only pick out the good stuff like people do with the 60s and 70s, thank you very much).

Anyway, here are the first three videos I mentioned. Crowded House's "Better Be Home Soon", Ciccone Youth's "Addicted to Love" and Madonna's "Express Yourself". Enjoy. I'm going to bed, but I'll get sucked into more Rage because I recorded it last night and I'm watching it as I type and... yeah. Aah. It's impossible to turn off when the music is so good.

Too Blind (To See The Writing On The Wall)

I know where beauty lives. I've seen it once before. I know the warmth she gives.

And I Feel (Like I Just Got Home)

She's got herself a universe.

You Didn't Mean To Be Cruel (Somebody Hurt You Too)

You can't hurt me now. I got away from you. I never thought I would. You can't make me cry. You once had the power. I never felt so good about myself.

How Can It Hurt You (When It Looks So Good)?

Music stations always play the same songs. We are bored with the concept of right and wrong.

This Type Of Modern Life (Is It For Me?)

I tried to stay ahead. I tried to stay on top. I tried to play the part. But somehow I forget just what I did it for, and why I wanted more.

Let's Get Unconscious, Honey (Let's Get Unconscious)

Today is the last day that I am using words. They've gone out. Lost their meaning. Don't function any more.

Use Your Imagination (That's What It's For)

You're a superstar. Yes. That's what you are.

The Best {and worst} of 2006 - Music Edition

So, I'm nowhere near being able to do a film roundup for 2006 (although I'm gonna do an Australian film edition soon cause I actually can do that), so I figured I'd do a music one. There was some really great stuff this year. There was also some really bad stuff. I've decided to do some fun categories too (Best Cameo!) so let's proceed. (I must say though, that I obviously haven't heard every album released this year, so it's not exactly a science here - I'm also probably missing a bunch from the start of the year).

edit: Wait, was Wolfmother's album released in 2006 or 2005. I hope it was 2005 because then I don't have to go through and change everything. Ugh.

TOP 10 ALBUMS OF 2006
Honourable Mentions: All Saints (Studio 1), Pink (I'm Not Dead), Shiny Toy Guns (We Are Pilots), Indie.Arie (Testimony Vol. 1: Life and Relationships), Regina Spektor (Begin to Hope), Sugardaddy (It's Good to Get High With the Wife), Snow Patrol (Eyes Open), The Killers (Sam's Town - somebody's been listening to Bruce Springsteen), Jamelia (Walk With Me)


10. Muse - Black Holes and Revelations
Bombastic and loud, with mixes of electronica thrown in.
Favourite Track: "Take a Bow"


9. Scissor Sisters - Ta-dah
Uber-fun and light as a feather with a dark edge, but not as great as their first - that would have been damn hard. Here's hoping their next is as radical as the first.
Favourite Track: "Paul McCartney"


8. Sarah Blasko - What the Sea Wants, The Sea Will Have
Contender for most likely to rise as time goes by. Ethereal and beautiful. Like the Scissor Sisters, it can't match her previous album which was a masterpiece, but it's damn good nevertheless.
Favourite Track: "{explain}"


7. Justin Timberlake - FutureSex/LoveSounds
Slick, but also sweaty and dirty, just like dance music should be. It wasn't the revolutionary never-heard-before sound that Justin promised, but it was a great album. The first five tracks are just stunning.
Favourite Track: "FutureSex/LoveSound"


6. Nelly Furtado - Loose
I never thought I'd use the term "effervescent" for an album, but this is it. Nelly's "Folklore" is in the top 5 albums of the last decade, so it impossible to beat, but at least she didn't embarass herself (hi Jewel!) and she managed to keep her cultural backbone.
Favourite Track: "Maneater"


5. Christina Aguilera - Back to Basics
I liked this album more when it mixed Aguilera's big giant voice with the sounds of the carnival, but the entire thing is a great platform for Aguilera to strut her stuff like nobody else is doing at the moment.
Favourite Track: "Welcome" / "Hurt" (It's my belief that these two should be merged into one triumphant collosal marvel)


4. Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Show Your Bones
Bigger and better than "Fever to Tell", this album raises the room and lets the insane asylum loose.
Favourite Track: "Cheated Hearts"


3. Pet Shop Boys - Fundamental
Their best album since 1987's Actually, so this was an exciting listen. Eclectic and sonically interesting, but also brilliant with trademark wit.
Favourite Track: "I'm With Stupid"


2. Dixie Chicks - Taking the Long Way
How do you get back at the braindead morons who slagged you off and threatened to kill you and who burnt piles of your albums? By making one of the gosh darn best albums of the year - that's how! Lyrically honest and musically diverse. Stunning.
Favourite Track: "Not Ready to Make Nice" or "The Long Way Around"


1. Robbie Williams - Rudebox
Probably the year's most polarising album is my #1. For an album with 16 tracks there is very little "bad" (and the worst is a bonus track!) It's Robbie as we've never heard him and he sounds rejuvenated as if he knows he's making something he wants to make and doesn't give two hoots about what all the horny girls who bought his other albums think. Shockingly simple in ideas, but complex in performance - Rudebox is Robbie's best work ever and all those who got their panties in a twist over his new direction can go masturbate to post-Robbie Take That - now there is an artist who are stagnant in musical direction.
Favourite Track: "Kiss Me" or "We're the Pet Shop Boys"

Honourary Placement: Best Ofs!
For a change this Christmas we actually got some decent best ofs. The two finest singles acts of this decade so far, Sugababes and Girls Aloud, released singles collections and if I allowed them onto my Top 10 they'd be tied for #1 alongside George Michael's TwentyFive, which included George's Wham! days. How awesome is that? There were some others, but those were the main three (U2's 18 Singles was a joke though, in all honesty)

BEST ALBUM THAT I THOUGHT WOULD BE BAD
All Saints - Studio 1
Cassie - Cassie
Indie.Arie - Testimony, Vol. 1 - Life and Relationships
LeToya - LeToya
Paris - Paris

WINNER: All Saints - Studio 1

BEST CAMEO IN A SONG
Akon - "I Am Not My Hair" by Indie.Arie
Erykah Badu - "That Heat" by Sergio Mendes and Will.i.Am
Liza Minnelli - "Mama" by My Chemical Romance
T.I. - "My Love" by Justin Timberlake
Timbaland - "Promiscuous" by Nelly Furtado

WINNER: Liza Minnelli - "Mama" by My Chemical Romance

BEST PERFORMANCE BY A SINGER ON A DANCE TRACK BY ANOTHER ARTIST
Debbie Harry - "New York, New York" by Moby
Brittany Murphy - "Faster Kill Pussycat" by Paul Oakenfold
Shena - "Friday Night" by Sex Machine
Barbra Streisand - "STFU"
Katie Underwood - "Get Together" by T-Funk

WINNER: Debbie Harry - "New York, New York" by Moby

BEST CONCERT ALBUM: Pet Shop Boys - Concrete: Live at the Mermaid Theatre


BEST SOUNDTRACK
The Devil Wears Prada
Happy Feet
Marie Antoinette
Miami Vice
A Prairie Home Companion

WINNER: Marie Antoinette



BEST COMPILATION ALBUM
(excludes film soundtracks)
100% PopJustice
Late Night Tales: Air
Ministry of Sound: The 2007 Annual
Ministry of Sound: Wild Weekends
She Will Have Her Way: The Songs of Tim and Neil Finn

WINNER: Late Night Tales: Air

BEST SINGLE FROM A BAD ALBUM
Christina Milian - "Twisted"
Evanescence - "Call Me When You're Sober"
JoJo - "Too Little Too Late"
Paul Oakenfold feat. Brittany Murphy - "Faster Kill Pussycat"
Rihanna - "SOS"
Take That - "Patience"

WINNER: Rihanna - "SOS"

BEST SINGLE FROM A 2005 ALBUM
Madonna - "Get Together"
Madonna - "Sorry"
Rogue Traders - "In Love Again"
Sugababes - "Red Dress"
The Veronicas - "Everything I'm Not"

WINNER: Madonna - "Get Together"

BEST ALBUM COVER
Lily Allen - Alright, Still
Sarah Blasko - What the Sea Wants, The Sea Will Have
Concord Dawn - Chaos By Design
Panic! At the Disco - A Fever You Can't Sweat Out
Justin Timberlake - FutureSex/LoveSounds

WINNER: Justin Timberlake - FutureSex/LoveSounds

WORST ALBUM COVER
All Saints - Studio 1
Beyonce - B'Day
Gwen Stefani - The Sweet Escape
Cradlebait JoJo - The High Road
Sugababes - Overloaded: The Singles Collection

Winner: {tie}
Beyonce - B'Day
Gwen - The Sweet Escape

MOST DISAPPOINTING ALBUM
Basement Jaxx - Crazy Itch Radio
Beyonce - B'Day
Paulini - Superwoman
Rihanna - A Girl Like Me
Gwen Stefani - The Sweet Escape
(I would nominate Janet Jackson's 20-YO but I fail to be merely disappointed anymore cause I don't expect anything)

WINNER: Basement Jaxx - Crazy Itch Radio

WORST SINGLE CHOICE
(not necessary worst single in general, just the ones that boggle my mind that they were released over other tracks)
Beyonce - "Deja Vu"
Pink - "Nobody Knows"
Robbie Williams - "Rudebox"
Rogue Traders - "We're Coming Home"
Gwen Stefani - "Wind it Up"

WINNER: Beyonce - "Deja Vu"
("Deja Vu" also takes the prize for Worst Video)

WORST SINGLE
(excluding stuff like David Hasslehoff and Crazy Frog, which aren't technically even songs in my mind)
Akon - "Lonely"
Beyonce - "Deja Vu"
JoJo - "How To Touch A Girl"
Lady Sovereign - "Hoodie"
Shannon Noll & Natalie Bassingthwaite - "Don't Give Up"
Nickelback - "Far Away" or Whatever other song they released this year
Katie Price & Peter Andre - "A Whole New World"
Sandi Thom - "I Wish I Was a Punk Rocker (With Flowers in My Hair)"
Shakira - "Hips Don't Lie"

WINNER: EACH AND EVERY ONE OF THEM!!!!

WORST ALBUM
(I didn't listen to the entire albums by Nickelback, Ciara, Thom or Noll not to mention K.Fed, Jessica, etc)
JoJo - The High Road
Christina Milian - So Amazin'
Evanescence - The Open Door
Paul Oakenfold - A Lively Mind
Sean Paul - The Trinity

WINNER: JoJo - The High Road

Here is where I gotta say something though. Paul Oakenfold's album is a disaster of epic proportions so I really wanted to give it this prize. Just truly bad in every single area apart from one song ("Faster Kill Pussycat"). Not a smidge of redeemability anywhere. BUT I need to discuss JoJo's album. It was worrysome. I was really quite disturbed by her album The High Road. JoJo is fifteen years old yet she's singing songs such as "The Way You Do Me" (lyric: "Why you gotta be so good when you give it to me"), "I Can Take You There" and the worst-of-the-worst "How to Touch a Girl". I'd be less scared if she then didn't put on a song called "Note to God" where she thanks God for all her good graces and how swell her life is. This girl disgusts and repulses me. She's a filthy little paedophile target if ever I saw one. If it weren't for "Too Little Too Late" and a left-field sample of Toto's "Africa" The High Road would indeed be a contender for worst album ever made.

WORST MUSICAL MOMENT OF THE YEAR
Hearing Beyonce's "Deja Vu" for the first time and almost instantly thinking she has lost all musical talent.
Listening to the 15-year-old JoJo sing "The Way You Do Me" and "How To Touch a Girl".
Madonna deciding not to tour Australia.
Nickelback, just cause.
Sandi Thom's "I Wish I Was a Punk Rocker..." staying at #1 for over 10 weeks.

WINNER: {tie}
Madonna for being a selfish lying filthy bitch and I hope that she's satisfied with breaking promises to her fans. I still love her though. It's alright for me to call her a selfish lying filthy backstabbing bitch. Oh, I just threw in "backstabbing" then cause I just thought of it.

And, ya know, the whole JoJo debacle.

WORST "ARTIST"
Akon
Ciara
JoJo
Nickelback
Sandi Thom

WINNER: Nickelback... still

As much as I hated JoJo, Nickelback are just a steaming pile of, pardon me, horse shit. As a reward, I thought I'd give Nickelback an honourary award for their efforts:

WORST BAND IN THE HISTORY OF MUSIC!!!!!

Way to go, guys! You deserved it!

BEST NET-ONLY SONG
Siobhan Donaghy - "Ghosts"
Belinda Emmett - "Less Than Perfect"
Kelly Rowland feat. Yung Texas - "In Love Wit My Ex"
Revolucian - "STFU"
Tracey Thorn - "It's All True"

WINNER: Siobhan Donaghy - "Ghosts"

FAVOURITE REMIX
Beyonce - "Ring the Alarm [Freemason's Mix]"
Madonna - "Sorry [Pet Shop Boys Maxi-Mix]"
Madonna vs Gwen Stefani - "What You Hung Up For"
Christian Falk feat. Robyn & Ola Salo - "Dream On [Supreme Court Remix]
Rogue Traders - "Voodoo Child [Tom Neville Remix]"

WINNER:
Beyonce - "Ring the Alarm [Freemason's Mix]"

BEST AUSTRALIAN RELEASE
Augie March - "One Crowded Hour"
Sarah Blasko - What the Sea Wants, The Sea Will Have
Monique Brumby - "Daisy Chain"
Josh Pyke - Feeding the Wolves
Sneaky Sound System - "I Love It"

WINNER: Sarah Blasko - What the Sea Wants, The Sea Will Have


BEST NEW ARTIST
Gnarls Barkley
Joan as Policewoman
Josh Pyke
Shiny Toy Guns
Sugardaddy

WINNER: Shiny Toy Guns



BEST VIDEO
Christina Aguilera - "Hurt"
Sarah Blasko - "{explain}"
Fergie - "Fergalicious"
Scissor Sisters - "Land of a Thousand Words"
Justin Timberlake - "SexyBack"

WINNER: Fergie - "Fergalicious"



Honourary Mention: Beyonce - Irreplacable
The video isn't that remarkable, but at least it's a video that's relevant to the song, unlike "Deja Vu", which was just Beyonce convulsing around the planet in ugly outfits. But I love the "Irreplacable" clip because after kicking her cheating lover's arse to the curb and after putting her hair in curlers and after filing her nails a lot she then suddenly joins a girl band. But not just any girl back - the biggest girl band in the history of music. Take a look at the clip. At the end she's singing her song along with a band that consists of a drummer, an electronic drummer, an acoustic guitarist, two electric guitarists, a keyboard player, two saxophone players, a tamborine player and some backup singers despite "Irreplacable" needing none of them. It's sort of the funniest video clip of the year and for that it gets this honourary award.

ARTIST OF THE YEAR
Christina Aguilera - For the album Back to Basics and her collaboration with P. Diddy "Tell Me"
Nelly Furtado - For her album Loose and her version of Gnarls Barkley's "Crazy"
Pet Shop Boys - For the album Fundamental, the live album Concrete and remixes for Madonna
Justin Timberlake - For the album FutureSex/LoveSounds and (it must be acknowledged) "Dick in a Box"
Robbie Williams - For the album Rudebox and performing "Jealousy" on the Pet Shop Boys' Concrete

WINNER: Pet Shop Boys

And lastly...

TOP 35 SINGLES OF THE YEAR
(I deemed album tracks inneligible as well as remixes and such, Beyonce's "Ring the Alarm [Freemason's Mix]" would probably be top 5 otherwise)

35. Camera Obscura - "Lloyd, I'm Ready to Be Heartbroken"
34. Moby feat. Debbie Harry - "New York, New York"
33. Justin Timberlake feat. TI - "My Love"
32. Pet Shop Boys - "Integral"
31. Monique Brumby - "Daisy Chain"
30. The Killers - "When You Were Young"

29. Peter, Bjorn and John - "Young Folks"
28. Regina Spektor - "Samson"
27. Shiny Toy Guns - "Rainy Monday"

-The best song in donkey's years about thinking you're over someone when you're really not.

26. Gnarls Barkley - "Smiley Faces"
25. Robyn - "Who's That Girl?"

-Was technically a 2005 release, but it was only released to western counties in 2006, so it places. Plus, it's too good to not put on there.

24. Paris Hilton - "I Want You"

-Sampling Grease was the best thing somebody ever did for Paris

23. Gnarls Barkley - "Crazy"
22. Sarah Blasko - "{explain}"
21. Yeah Yeah Yeahs - "Cheated Hearts"
20. Rihanna - "SOS"

-For a brief moment in 2006 Rihanna was beyond excellent. And then she released the second single and all went back to it's rightful place.

19. Fergie - "Fergalicious"

-Sampling JJ Fad's ace "Supersonic" (or merely stealing it) was probably the best thing Fergie's ever done.

18. Joan As Policewoman - "Eternal Flame"
17. Josh Pyke - "Memories & Dust"

-When I was a hatchling... this song just makes me so happy.

16. Christina Aguilera - "Hurt"
15. Girls Aloud - "Something Kinda Ooh"

-Overtaking the Sugababes as the best pop group out there.

14. Muse - "Take a Bow"
13. Justin Timberlake - "SexyBack"

-Subsersive pop/dance/funk that's equal parts brilliance and absurdity - which makes it ever better than it has a right to be.

12. Sugababes - "Red Dress"

-Girls Aloud stole their crown, but they had the better single in 2006. This was from their "Taller in More Ways" album though. As I already mentioned, the single from their end of year Best Of was sorta blah.

11. Pet Shop Boys - "I'm With Stupid"

-A love story for the ages (Bush + Blair) turned into a brilliant dance track. The album was their best in nearly 2 decades, too.

10. Beyonce - "Irreplacable"

-After the dire near career-halting "Deja Vu" she countered with this stunner and gained credibility and album sales. And, for a change, she didn't feel the need to rope in some ubiquitous rapper for a cameo.

9. Madonna - "Sorry"

-More brilliant pop from the woman whose job it is to make brilliant pop. The remixes were almost as good as the original, too.

8. Snow Patrol feat. Martha Wainwright - "Set the Fire to the Third Bar"
7. Jamelia - "Beware of the Dog"

-Oh Jamelia. You made a stunning pop song (sampling Depeche Mode's "Personal Jesus") and nobody noticed except those who actually like pop music.

6. Pink - "U + UR Hand"

-Silly title-spelling aside, the track was a definite WOW moment. Pink will probably never better herself. Although it's kind of an awkward song to sing along to if you're around other people.

5. Dixie Chicks - "Not Ready to Make Nice"
4. Madonna - "Get Together"
3. Amy Winehouse - "Rehab"

-I only heard this song for the first time last week and it's already #3, so take that as you will, but know this... the song is phenomenal and if there was any god in the music world, it would be #1 for months on end. "They tried to make me go to rehab/I said 'No! No! No!'"

2. Nelly Furtado - "Maneater" [Album Version]

-ALBUM VERSION!!!! Let's not confuse the album and the radio/tv version. The latter castrates the end of the song by getting rid of the killer club moment when the volume goes all the way down and then slowly climbs back up before going into the big finale. The only minor quibble? Since I first heard it I always thought it'd be better if at the end she changed the lyrics to "You'll wish you never ever met me at all" cause that'd be nifty.

1. Christian Falk feat. Robyn & Ola Salo - "Dream On"
-The most soul-lifting life-affirming and passionate song of the year came in the form of this dance track. It just makes me feel good while also making me wanna dance at the same time. It's amazing. And if this wasn't enough the Supreme Court Remix would be a worthy #1 too.

That's it folks. I could do more, but I can't be buggared.