My Favourite Song of 2005...

Good evening ladies and gentlemen... and welcome to the selection of the Opiated Sherpa's favourite song of the past year. What better day to do it than the start of 2006. All the entries are in and the nominees this year are:

"Other Side of the World" by KT Tunstall
"Half Light" by Athlete
"Take, Take, Take" by the White Stripes
"Neighbourhood #3: Power Out" by the Arcade Fire
"Positive Tension" by Bloc Party
"You Are A Runner And I'm My Father's Son" by Wolf Parade
"Walk Away" by Franz Ferdinand

Okay, so I am going to listen to each song as I do my selection process... just to make sure I've got it right.

First, "Other Side of the World" by KT Tunstall... such an innocent voice and easy pop/adult contempory sound. Now, I'm a big sucker for a female singer... I love them to pieces. KT has earned my love and respect with this song. The lyrics are unbelievably easy... but tragically compelling. I would want her to tell me a story every night. This song is my reminder of the wish that I never left England. All my mates are literally on the other side of the world to me.

Favourite lyric in the song... "You're close enough to see that/you're on the other side of the world to me."

Second, "Half Light" by Athlete... another reminder of England. Both Athlete and KT came at me about the same time... and it was increasingly tough to leave. I still have the taste of a kiss or two on my lips from back there. All of those people meant so much to me... and it's a shame I met Nicolette so late. She was a keeper. I really enjoy singing this song to myself... but you'll find that I really like to sing most songs to myself... but this one is fun to sing.

Favourite lyric in the song... "And all that I've seen/means nothing to me/without you"

Next is "Take, Take, Take" by the White Stripes. What a great story of a track. I absolutely love songs that are stories... hence my love for the Tragically Hip. They can tell stories. But Take, Take, Take is a made-up story of meeting Rita Hayworth in a bar. A simple blues song that hooked me as soon as I got Get Behind Me Satan. I remember playing this for Lars at his Dad's place in the back garden.

Favourite lyric in the song... "it's almost as if she/could not appreciate/how cool I was bein'."

The Montreal ice storm has never been encapsulated as well as "Neighbourhood #3: Power Out" by the Arcade Fire. What a powerful tune. Bam! It hits ya right in the ear drums and lyrically, another great story. The rich and full sound of the Arcade Fire, blessed with a genuine sincerety to the yelling of the lyrics. I'll tell ya, seeing this song in concert was a definite highlight for me... I yelled at the top of my voice for pretty much every song they did, but my heart just melted when they kicked into Power Out.

Favourite lyric in the song... "you ain't foolin' nobody/WITH THE LIGHTS OUT!"

"Positive Tension" by Bloc Party is a song that I wanted to see live this year... and my opportunity to sort of went with my working visa. It expired long before the concert was to even happen in Portsmouth. Another angry-ish tune about having to leave... but it does have other memories too. The evil witch, Naomi, has this song attached to her... which may cause for disqualification... but there was also the drive up the coast for George's birthday when we had the album on... Lucy, Lars, Barry, George and myself all having a ball with the CD, Silent Alarm.

Favourite lyric in the song... "why'd you have to get so distracted (x8)/why'd you have to get so FUCKING USELESS!!"

"You Are A Runner And I'm My Father's Son" by Wolf Parade is the first of two entries from after I arrived home to Canada. Wolf Parade opened up for the Arcade Fire and I sort of remember this track from when they did their set. It's tough to forget the choppyness of the song is ever-so-catchy. I'll almost have to hear it again... it's so much fun to sing out loud as well.

Favourite lyric in the song... "I'll build a house inside of you/I'll go in through the mouth/I'll draw three figures/on your heart... one of them be me as a boy/and one of them will be me... one of them will be me/watching you run/watching you run/into the high noon sun/watching you run."

Finally, "Walk Away" by Franz Ferdinand. This was a definite song to learn the lyrics to... the song is so seductive... seducing the embrace of being single again. Just letting go... doing the deed. The song is catchy... very good pop-rock tune. After seeing Franz in Leeds in '04, I could just imagine them doing this song on stage. I would love to see them do this song if they ever rolled through Canada or if I ever had the chance to see them on a visit to the UK again.

Favourite lyric in the song... "as you walk away/my headstone crumbles down/as you walk away/the hollywood winds a howl/as you walk away/the kremlin's falling/as you walk away/radio 4 is STATIC"

This is an exceptionally tough decision, I have to say. Where do my heart strings pull... but every year, there has to be a winner. And it's gonna have to be "Neighbourhood #3: Power Out" by the Arcade Fire. I listened to this CD to no end and its still awesome to listen to. They gave me the best concert of the year and possibly my favourite album of the year... I would probably go on the record of saying that too. Funeral is just a CD not to be missed.

So now, I can add it to my list of favourite songs:
1996: Lightning Crashes by Live
1997: Building A Mystery by Sarah McLachlan
1998: Iris by the Goo Goo Dolls
1999: The Future is X-Rated by the Matthew Good Band
2000: Stand Inside Your Love by the Smashing Pumpkins
2001: The Space Between by the Dave Matthews Band
2002: A Beautiful Thing by the Tragically Hip
2003: Seven Nation Army by the White Stripes
2004: Chicken Payback by the Bees
2005: Neighbourhood #3: Power Out by the Arcade Fire

Stay tuned through 2006... where you'll probably see bands like the Arctic Monkeys, Train or artists such as Daniel Powter (who opens for Bryan Adams in a couple weeks) or Neko Case (part of the New Pornographers) have a shot at the not-really-illustrious title.