My Current Songs Five

My Five current favorite songs may be a vague choice for one of these columns, since it could easily be repeated in a week, month, or year. Heck, tomorrow I might have a different quintet stuck in my head. I could probably qualify these as late Autumn/early Winter tunes, or stuff I've been hearing mostly in December, even if a few are older. In any case, long after I turn off the radio and go to work, any one of the songs below might still be playing in my brain. One of them is there right now. So these are five songs I'm currently digging, and I'm sure I'll find a different qualifier/excuse the next time I want to share the music I like:

1) Muse, “Uprising”:

It first came to my attention in television spots for the new V, but possesses the same epic quality and thick layering of sounds and vocals that I've come to expect from the band.

2) Alice in Chains, “Check My Brain”:

The first time I heard this, I wasn't knocked over, and thought the instruments were intentionally loud to compensate for the absence of the late Layne Staley. But over time it won me over, especially when I heard it in context with the rest of the album.

3) Weezer, “...I Want You To”:

The retro-modern geek-rock of these guys is as strong as ever, and though this one didn't speak to and stick with me as thoroughly as last year's Pork & Beans, it still has a great driving drum beat, well-crafted lyrics, and the ability to continue playing in my brain long after it's ended.

4) Pete Yorn and Scarlett Johansson, “Relator”:

It's jaunty and upbeat and not quite the type of thing I normally listen to. For the most part, it's been a background song on my commute that I don't pay attention to, but on Thursday morning I caught myself bopping my head back and forth to it and imagining how idiotic I must have looked to the people driving behind me. It was in that moment that I realized that yes, yes I did like the song. It bopped its way into my subconscious. It could be possible I was also affected by The Iron Man 2 trailer, which includes Miss Johansson amid the awesomeness that I've probably watched 20 times since it debuted on Wednesday. (Note to self: consider “trailers” as a possible future My Fives topic).

5) The Airborne Toxic Event, “Sometime Around Midnight”:

Love this one. It just builds and builds, in both volume and tempo, even as it paints a vignette, a rare structure in the age of verse chorus verse. Never heard of these guys before; hope to hear more.