HOME       ABOUT US       CONTACT      THE VAULT       FAQ      SITE MAP      SEARCH

Best & Worst Singles of 2005:

---

The good, the bad, and the just plain why...


Christine

The best (from left to right): James Blunt, "You're Beautiful"; Mariah Carey, "We Belong Together"; k-os, "The Love Song"; Daniel Powter, "Free Loop."

As 2005 draws to a close, I feel like I must add some closure to my life. And what better way to start than to clean out my MP3 files? For this year, which once held promise and anticipation, only managed to be slightly better than last year in terms of breakthrough and innovation. People who disappointed me to no end: Eminem and The Black Eyed Peas. People who seem stilted in their careers and so disappointed me in that respect: 50 Cent and Coldplay. People who were prominent and still did nothing for me: Ashlee Simpson, Madonna and, to a certain extent, Gwen Stefani. And people I wish would never, ever sing: Will Smith.

But this year isn't all about disappointment. The imminent split of Destiny's Child only means great things to come from Beyoncé; Mariah Carey actually made a come back and seems saner than she's been in the last five years; Sheryl Crow is looking better than ever, and has a new album - as does Missy Elliott; and Theory of a Deadman is better than Nickelback. Green Day, similarly, has not let me down, and has renewed my womanly girl crush on Billy Joe.

Hip-hop and rap are still a forefront in this industry, but it remains to be seen if these cookie-cutter acts have staying power (my bet is that many of them really don't, but I'm still hoping for the opposite). It also remains to be seen if mainstream hip-hop and rap will one day go back to being socially conscious, smart, and relevant (my bet, again, is that many of the acts won't be, unless they are somehow Kanye West, in which case it's just shoved down our throats anyway). Sean Paul and Rihanna made a small splash for reggae and dancehall, but it wasn't quite as stunning as it was several years ago, when these genres dominated most of the club scene. The women of R&B, most notably represented by new albums from Ashanti and Faith Evans, and with the exception of Alicia Keys, barely made a peep this year. And emo rock (which I am beginning to despise to no end), fronted by such bands as Simple Plan, Good Charlotte, and to a lesser extent, My Chemical Romance and Blink 182, is hopefully just a flash in the pan.

So what did I like in 2005? What did I loathe with the hatred of a thousand burning daggers? Here's my list. ¤ C.Ho.

The BEST

1. "You're Beautiful," James Blunt (Back to Bedlam): I'm a sucker for a good unrequited love song, and this song satisfies my fix for the next three years by skipping the sugarcoated lyrics and going straight for the sentiment. Who can resist a single which simultaneously croons to your heart and contains a swear word? Contradictory, yes, but that's what love is all about.
2. "Some Say," Sum 41 (Chuck): The album has been out for a while, but Sum 41 kept this single from airplay until mid-2005. This contains some of the most poignant lyrics I've heard in a while, and when these rocker boys harmonize (harmonize! Take that, rock & roll!) on the song, it's pure gold. I kind of wish all Canadian bands were like Sum 41.
3. "Gold Digger," Kanye West (Late Registration): I know I just mentioned that I yearn for rap to be more socially conscious and less materialistic and shallow, but I can't help but throw Kanye some love. This is certainly not the most socially responsible track on Late Registration, but it is one of the best in terms of production and composition. Plus, Jamie Foxx doesn't annoy.
4. "We Belong Together," Mariah Carey (The Emancipation of Mimi): Mariah does what she does best, which is take a so-so R&B song and run with it. This isn't one of her annoying five-octave ballads, or a Jermaine Dupri overstylized hip-hop song in which Mariah sing-breathes every other word. This is Mariah as we remember and love her and, say what we will about her, the woman can still rock the live performances.
5. "Mr. Brightside," The Killers (Hot Fuss): The Killers are kind of weird, and most of the time their lyrics make as much sense as I do after four hours of sleep, but this single is mentionable because it all comes together beautifully - the strange lyrics, the tight drumming, the strong lead vocals. The video also gets points for casting kooky Eric Roberts.
6. "Love Song," k-os (Joyful Rebellion): k-os is Canada's answer to karma - since we're such nice people, it was only a matter of time until we got a hip-hop star that doesn't try too hard to the point of sucking. And Joyful Rebellion, probably one of the best albums of the year, gives us "Love Song," which is k-os at his best.
7. "Neighbourhood #3 (Power Out)," The Arcade Fire (Funeral): The rock beat alone gets me every time, but so do the lyrics, the backing vocals, and the music video. This is one of the strongest songs on Funeral, and if you haven't heard the album, rush out and buy it.
8. "Behind These Hazel Eyes," Kelly Clarkson (Breakaway): I'm not above recommending a pop single, and this one is one of the best of the year. So it's an "American Idol" winner. So the rest of the album is kind of not that great. With this single, Kelly proves once again why she was voted to the top, and why she keeps winning awards long after her reality show counterparts have shriveled up from obscurity. I don't normally like Kelly's voice, especially when she does her vibrato thing in a lower register, but here she really kicks it up a notch, and it somehow works.
9. "Karmastition," Alicia Keys (The Diary of Alicia Keys, "Karma" remix): The original "Karma" is okay, but once Alicia sped it up a little and added some attitude, she was back in true form. The remix is a little repetitive, yes, but worth every note.
10. "Free Loop," Daniel Powter (Daniel Powter): Normally, when someone is described as being a mix of "soft rock acts such as Coldplay, Maroon 5 and Gavin DeGraw," I normally write them off, especially since the list contains at least two acts that I wash my hands of. And even though Daniel Powter reminds me too much of Remy Shand, and his album is full of poppy and saccharine tracks, "Free Loop" hooked me in from the start. It's a truly sweet song that never lets up from start to finish, and even though I don't get the lyrics, I do get the sentiment. Daniel also has this really high voice that I envy.

HONORABLE MENTIONS

"Precious," Depeche Mode (Playing the Angel): Depeche Mode is back, and their first single is a dance track reminiscent of their old stuff, only modernized a notch. In essence, they're like how Madonna is now, only more aware.

"Just Another Day," Serena Ryder (Unlikely Emergency): Serena has a powerful, smoky voice that you can picture hearing at some old-fashioned jazz bar somewhere. The song itself is very repetitive, which is a big no-no for me, but in this context it works because you can appreciate the rich tone in her voice, over and over again.

"My Doorbell," The White Stripes (Get Behind Me Satan): The brother/sister / ex-husband/ex-wife team is back, and the first single from their album is vintage The White Stripes. There is something like a total of one chord in this song, but it's so catchy I can't help but recommend it.

"Collide," Howie Day (Stop All The World Now): I initially meant to include this song on my best list, but it somehow got lost among all my notes, so I think I subconsciously repressed it from the list. It's a beautiful song in every sense of the word, but the lyrics do get too clichéd at times.

"Landing In London," 3 Doors Down (Seventeen Days): What can I say? I am a sucker for adult contemporary. Very reminiscent of one of their first hits, "Here Without You," which I really, really liked. Except this song is better, so that completely blows my mind. (As you can tell, it doesn't take much to blow my mind.)

The WORST

1. "Let's Go," Shawn Desman (Back For More): I had almost forgotten about this single, but it came to me in a flash of pure hatred. Yes, Shawn is back for more (ridicule, contempt, antagonism, etc.), but this time he came back with his friend, a stupid semi-faux-mohawk that reminds me of a bikini wax gone wrong. This song is only half annoying, but it comes full circle with the accompanying music video, which depicts Shawn dancing on a giant keyboard/phone pad that would have been a better fit in a Toys 'R Us commercial.
2. "Dontcha," The Pussycat Dolls (PCD): There aren't enough words in this article to convey how truly wrong this song is, on many levels. And it doesn't help Busta Rhymes any to be associated with this muck. Every time I hear this song, the only thing I can think about is some guy wishing his girlfriend looked like a hoochie and had the STDs to prove it.
3. "My Humps," The Black Eyed Peas (Monkey Business): Just when I thought "Don't Lie" couldn't get any worse, The Peas bring us "My Humps," possibly one of the stupidest songs ever written since the dawn of time. Let's see, there's "What you gonna do with all that junk? All that junk inside that trunk?" and "If you touch it I'm a start some drama, you don't want no drama, no, no drama, no, no, no, no drama." While it is indeed true that I would like no drama, it's also true that I would like more substance.
4. "No Daddy," Teairra Marí (Roc-A-Fella Records Presents Teairra Marí): Never mind that it took me about half an hour to spell her name correctly, or that I really despise the accent at the end of "Mari." This Freudian-inspired chorus (if Freud were working alongside Jay-Z) is what gets me: "I didn't have no daddy around when I was growing up (huh), that's why I'm wild and I don't give a (huh), ya'll think cuz these jeans fit, I would give it up, don't let my cute face fool ya." Or how about: "Never thought that I'd be here, I'm the type that don't give a damn about rules, I was forced to survive on the streets." The girl is seventeen. I'm not sure that she had much time to live on the streets, let alone survive them.
5. "Switch," Will Smith (Lost and Found): I don't think Will has stepped out of his home lately, if the thinks that "Y'all be looking like, 'Ooh, he a movie star, he ain't supposed to be out on the floor with everybody.'" Perhaps those looks are more like, "Ooh, he a movie star, he ain't supposed to be rappin' no more" - because this track sucks.
6. "Crazy," "Untitled," Simple Plan (Still Not Getting Any…): I think what annoys me most about Simple Plan is that they've got this emo rock thing so down that no one notices that their songs all say the same thing: I'm lonely, no one understands me, I whine to pass the time. If there existed a computer program out there that could compile a song out of random one-line clichés, you'd have Simple Plan's new single.
7. "Get Right," Jennifer Lopez (Rebirth): The only thing Jennifer got right was her sudden drop from the public eye. Her latest album was a great big flop, and this first single confirms our worst fears: Jennifer could never sing, and yet we gave her mounds of money to prove it anyway. Marc Anthony should really give her voice lessons.
8. "First," Lindsay Lohan (Herbie: Fully Loaded Soundtrack): In a compilation that also includes Mark McGrath, Josh Kelly, and Lionel Richie's "Hello," Linday's track might not be the worst or most ill-advised. But due to contractual reasons or a fit of insanity, "First" was released and did as well as Herbie itself. This song seems like a jumble of melodies that don't make sense or go anywhere, and Lindsay's tween sex appeal can't save the cheesy video.
9. "Boyfriend," Ashlee Simpson (I Am Me): In her never-ending quest to top her older sister's fame, Ashlee has come out with a follow-up to Autobiography that, again, centres on her need to be recognized as a complex human being. (Next up: an album simply titled Me, Me, Me.) I actually don't detest this song as much I have detested other songs from Ashlee, but I have had enough of her blubbering nonsense when she's run out of lyrics, like: "No, you don't have my back, no no, HA," and "Hollywood sucks you in, but it won't spit me out, whoa whoa, HA." I should add that "ha" is Ashlee's way of saying "bitch," but with fewer letters.
10. "Photograph," Nickelback (All The Right Reasons): This song would have gone unnoticed except for the fact that it was played about twenty times during the day, and this is the type of song that shouldn't be played more than once a week. As a first single, it's weak; as a Nickelback song, it's semi-decent. The only thing that intrigues me is this: "Kim's the first girl I kissed, I was so nervous that I nearly missed. She's had a couple of kids since then…" The accompanying visuals of how "missing" a kiss due to nervousness might look like have kept me up at night. Also: Kim got knocked up a couple of times, and Chad Kroeger is glad it's not due to his raging libido.

[ Michelle's list. Part I of the best and worst. ]