Songs that rocked me

All year long, I've been keeping a list. No, not a "Best CDs" list -- though that would have been a swell idea, because it would greatly ease the task of making that (almost) impossible list now. It's more of a jot list of songs from 2006 that reached out, grabbed me by the throat, and shook me around a bit. In a good way.

The best of the bunch? Hands down, "Not California" by Hem. Friends had told me about this band for years, but I never checked them out. Until the release of "Funnel Cloud." And, dang -- I realized I should listen to my friends more. It's a super CD (hint, hint), and this song is one of its many gems. Sally Ellyson's voice soars even as it aches, and the song speaks of separation and being a stranger in a strange land. It's simple, and it's beautiful, and it hurts, and it soothes. Can't ask for much more than that!

My other favorites, in no particular order, and in no way intended to be a complete list of all kick-ass songs this year:

Galaxies -- Laura Veirs
Laura Veirs is another artist I discovered this year (and I don't even remember how), and I'm glad I did. Her voice -- or her inflection, anyway -- isn't like anyone else's, and neither are her lyrics. Sometimes in this song they fall short of poetic -- "When we kiss, when we kiss/Bears and boulders vibrate through the air./Gravity is dead you see/No gravity" -- but they work with the space-y, go-with-the-flow vibe of the song, and for that matter the whole "Year of Meteors" album.

Juicebox -- The Strokes
Holy crap. Try to listen to this song in your car and not drive fast. It can't be done. This song has cool, and it has rock-n-roll screaming, and then more cool, and then more good screaming. All laid on top of a frantic, catchy-as-hell guitar riff. Tasty. And completely irresistible. If this song was among my "First Impressions of Earth," I'd think Earth was a pretty hip, joyously rockin' place.

Speed of the Whippoorwill -- Chatham County Line
As sweet a love song as you could want, and it doesn't even end in murder! About lovers separated by an earthly concern like work, the song juxtaposes images from nature (like that whippoorwill, and wind) with scenes from railroad work to find a narrator caught in the middle -- and surrounded by movement that pulls in two directions. But the song, from the album of the same name, mixes optimism into the work weariness, and you get the idea that our hard worker really will get home to his love eventually. Sometimes things do work out, even in Americana music!

Steady As She Goes -- The Raconteurs
The guitar is retro, and it rocks mightily. The melody and the lyrics add to the crunch, and ensure this song by Jack White and friends is cemented in your head from the very first time you hear it. That first time, you might be too busy booty-shaking (try not to! Try!) to pay much mind to the lyrics, but once you settle down a bit, you'll notice the bite. "Settle for a girl/neither up or down/Sell it to the crowd/that is gathered round." Sounds like true love might be a sham, and isn't that the stuff delicious rock songs are made of?