The Best of the Rest: Honorable Mentions

As I so painfully learned at 8^th grade basketball tryouts, not everybody can make the cut. But while my only solace was a good cry in the back of my mother’s minivan, these lucky also-rans will get a little time to shine. Here are some of my favorite songs of the year which, though they didn’t quite make the Top Ten squad, should still get some quality reps with the JV. 

Morning Benders – Promises

I first heard San Francisco band The Morning Benders in February, a couple of weeks before I flew out to San Francisco for a Patton Tower reunion. This is a really nice song; it's the jazz sensibility in the percussion that really stands out - the drummer's "jazz hands" (not to be confused with spirit fingers). If you like this, check out their cover of Fleetwood Mac’s “Dreams.”

How to Dress Well and cokc dokc - Ready for the World

I’m mainly impressed with this song because of the ridiculous high note that comes in at 2:11. It’s like a sound I used to make by transposing the keyboard up an octave and tweaking the note-bender all the way up to get an extra half step, then hitting the high C – truly ear-splitting.

Reflection Eternal – Just Begun

This track gave me hope that the new Reflection Eternal album just might be as memorable as the original Talib Kweli/DJ Hi-Tek record in 2000. That wasn’t to be, but this was still a great jam, with the added bonus of including Jay Electronica (more to come from him on this list).  

Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros - 40 Day Dream

Like my beard, this song grew on me over the course of the summer and soon found itself firmly rooted in my repertoire. A great song to sing along to.


That's all for today. Next time, see what tracks are lucky enough to earn that varsity jacket, walk the storied halls of Blogosphere Academy with their heads held high, and date cheerleaders while giving lesser songs swirlies in the math building bathroom.

The countdown begins...