Favorite Songs of 2011

"Some New Jersey Dawn..."

Here’s a list of my top songs for this year, in an order that might be surprisingly mixable. These are not necessarily from 2011; I just happened to have heard them in the last twelve months.

“Payback Time,” by East River Pipe on We Live in Rented Rooms
“A Heart Divided,” by Holly Throsby on A Loud Call
“Sweet Disposition,” by The Temper Trap on Conditions
“Americano,” by Lady Gaga on Born This Way
“You’re Not Stubborn,” by Two Door Cinema Club on Tourist History
“Stranger,” by Lissie on Catching a Tiger
“Cruel,” by St. Vincent on Strange Mercy
“The Day,” by Moby on Destroyed
“Box of Stones,” by B.F. Leftwich on Last Smoke Before the Snowstorm
“Job’s Coffin,” by Tori Amos on Night of Hunters
“Bluebird,” by Christina Perri on Lovestrong
“Mylo Xyloto/Hurts Like Heaven,” by Coldplay on Mylo Xyloto
“Dance, Dance, Dance,” by Lykke Li on Youth Novels
“Rolling in the Deep,” by Adele on 21
“Club Can’t Handle Me,” by Flo Rida featuring David Guetta on Only One Flo Pt. 1
“Never Gonna Leave Me,” by Sia on We Are Born
“Change of Seasons, by Sweet Thing on Sweet Thing
“Portable Television,” by Death Cab for Cutie on Codes and Keys
“The Cave,” by Mumford & Sons on Sigh No More
“Mistakes,” by Mates of State on Mountaintops
“Torch Song,” by Priscilla Ahn on When You Grow Up

The song that has most intrigued me this year is the first on the list, “Payback Time,” by East River Pipe.  So intrigued that I transcribed the lyrics below:

Yeah, I saw you walking with the commandant
Yeah, he buys you everything he thinks you want
But after food and wine and small talk on the Rhine
he says it’s payback time

Yeah, Jean-Paul took you on long cross-country trips
Yeah, Voltaire and Kierkegaard fell from his lips
of steal
But something went awry as love started to die
he said it’s payback time

Just wait, I’ll come along
on some New Jersey dawn
I’ll say payback time

I can’t find the lyrics online, but the singer is pretty clear.  The only part that’s in question is what I have in bold.  I imagine the first stanza describing a situation in a concentration camp (commandant, Rhine, etc.).  In the second stanza, the “you” is a woman, and the singer has lost her to Jean-Paul (hence, the lips of grammatically incorrect “steal”).  The third stanza is a bit of a mystery.  Our narrator will be coming for his girl at some undetermined morning, but whose payback is he talking about?  Jean-Paul’s?  Hers?

Of course, for all I know, the song has nothing to do with anything I’ve said above.  Whatever.  It’s a great tune, and I like thinking about it.

Kartika and Sulu

1) The latest issue of Kartika Review features a special section called “Meditations of Home,” and you can read my own personal view on this subject.  Fine writers such as Alexander Chee, Don Lee, Min Jin Lee, Yiyun Li, and Ed Lin also participated in the project, so it’s really an issue worth reading.  You can get the journal  in PDF, or better yet, you can have Lulu crank out a paper copy.

2) Speaking of Ed, I had an absolute blast at the The Sulu Series last night!  We were there to celebrate his latest novel Snakes Can’t Run, and there was poetry and fiction and songs, too, and even a short film at the end.  I’m not used to being out in the city so late on a school night, but wow, was it ever worth it.

Matt Blesse

Cynthia Lin

Catzie Vilayphonh

Ed Lin

Ed Lin

Many more pictures here.  I read from a short story titled “Faith,” something I had completed a week ago.  I’m not entirely happy with the story as it stands, so most likely it’ll change, but for those who want to know how it ends (at least for now), you can read it here (now published here);  search for “END OF SULU READING” to find the exact spot where I stopped reading.

By the way, I should mention that I was inspired to write this story after reading Rhian Ellis‘ novel After Life; in fact, the premise is identical.  I can only dream of writing with Ellis’ prosaic precision, so there is no comparison — everyone should read her fabulous novel.

Favorite Songs of 2009

Here’s a list of my top twenty songs for this year, in alphabetical order by artist.  These are not necessarily from 2009; I just happened to have heard them in the last twelve months.

“Sometime After Midnight,” by The Airborne Toxic Event on The Airborne Toxic Event
“Dreams,” by Brandi Carlile on Give Up the Ghost
“My Life Would Suck Without You,” by Kelly Clarkson on All I Ever Wanted
“Blow Away,” by A Fine Frenzy on Bomb in a Birdcage
“¡Viva La Gloria!” by Green Day on 21st Century Breakdown
“Half Life,” by Imogen Heap on Ellipse
“Dangerous and Sweet,” by Lenka on Lenka
“Sick Muse,” by Metric on Fantasies
“Everybody,” by Ingrid Michaelson on Everybody
“Rain,” by Mika on The Boy Who Knew Too Much
“Lucky Boy,” by Matt Nathanson on Beneath These Fireworks
“Shattered [Turn the Car Around],” by O.A.R. on All Sides
“Have to Drive,” by Amanda Palmer on Who Killed Amanda Palmer
“Just Breathe,” by Pearl Jam on Backspacer
“Eet,” by Regina Spektor on Far
“Two Tongues,” by The Swell Season on Strict Joy
“Tokyo,” by Telekinesis on Telekinesis!
“(If You’re Wondering If I Want You to) I Want You to,” by Weezer on Raditude
“Robocop,” by Kanye West on 808s & Heartbreak
“VCR,” by XX on XX

If I had to pick one song as my favorite, it would be XX’s “VCR.”  Mysterious lyrics, an atypical duet, and clocking in at under three minutes: the perfect tune.