Top 50 Songs (40-36)

40. "Gyroscope" by the Dismemberment Plan

I do so love the Dismemberment Plan. This song has everything I like about the Dismemberment Plan, too: a very strange time signature, good lyrics, keyboards, and a song that just appears to run away with itself. First of all, the strange time changes in a song called "Gyroscope" is simply ingenious. When most bands try to do the offbeat thing, it is disorienting, but when the Dismemberment Plan does it, the song is still catchy, and I can still tap my foot along with the song. This song is one of the best to come out of my days as a college radio DJ.

39. "Styrofoam Plates" by Death Cab for Cutie

Before Death Cab was writing songs for Twilight soundtracks (sellouts!), they actually made some really good music. "Styrofoam Plates" has some great things going for it. I love how the music starts very bare and stripped down (a guitar plucking single notes and a voice) and how it builds to a cathartic ending. The other thing I truly appreciate about the song is that it is a song that tells a story effectively. The story of a son's bastard of a father, who left him and his mother eating Thanksgiving dinner at shelters and churches, and that father's death. It is a powerful story that fits the music.

38. "You Will. You? Will. You? Will. You? Will." by Bright Eyes

For me, this song epitomizes how simple songs can be. There aren't a lot of chords to the song, not a lot of instrumentation, but it is a great song. The song has the classic build to intensity found in all of Conor Oberst's truly great ones. I like the different interpretations that you can take out of the words of the choruses (also, the title of the song). Finally, I like the metaphor of a seemingly unhealthy and possibly oppressive relationship being equated to a book. I guess I pretty much like it when a book can be a metaphor for anything.

37. "Tonight We'll Light Ourselves on Fire" by Cross My Heart

If the title doesn't speak to why this song is great, then nothing will. Cross My Heart is a very little known band that made some great music for a few years. Their projects since haven't been nearly as good. Their guitar work is great, and I can't find a place that I like their guitar work than in this song. Usually I hate it when bands that can actually sing resort to screaming, but Cross My Heart songs just require the yelling to hit that level of intensity in so many of their songs. My theory is that this song is about the search for God or the meaning of life or for self, but it makes that journey so effectively.

36. "Does He Love You?" by Rilo Kiley

This is the second song in this block that very effectively tells a story. The story is a heartbreaking tale of two women: a wife whose husband has a mistress "out in California" and his mistress. Both the women are grossly deceived and in the end, I end up feeling sorrier for the mistress. The song is a slow starter that explodes into a fitting climactic end. I also think that this song is by far one of Jenny Lewis's superior vocal performances.