Since Todd and Honey did theirs (and they’ve been waitin’ for me to do mine), I’ve finally got around to the first Friday Melodies of the year. And yes, this was extremely, extremely difficult, because there’s really good stuff out there that’s not on this list, and I actually had to whittle this down from 75. If you notice, a lot of my favorite
music is on the mellow tip. Here’s a quick breakdown:

Rap/Hip Hop Entries – 6
U.S. singles: 12
Outside of the US: 13
Songs with guitar solos: 2
Songs not on the Essential CDs of 2004: 11

Wanna hear it? Here it go!

The Essential Songs of 2004.

01 – Magic Number with Jane Hamilton – Fly Away. The percussion, strings, bass, and the sounds of Jane Hamilton. How often do we hear a song with arrangements and vocals like this? This is my feel-good song.

02 – Gaelle – Falling. I played percussion while growing up, so now you see why I’m tapping my desk, steering wheel, and tapping my feet to this groove as well as the one above. How often do you get to hear acoustic
guitar/electronica/percussion? Fade out/fade in near the end, similar to Fly Away.

03 – Foreign Exchange – Nic’s Groove. We just want to chill and let you party. Enough said.

04 – Tortured Soul – Why. A band that can play live and sound exactly the same as they do on the recording are good people to wanna pick up. Live house.

05 – Julie Dexter – Small World. Her album, Conscious, was just released, and this turns out to be my most played song on iTunes in thelast 3 months. It’s also my recommendation to J-Notes.

06 – D’Nell – This Thing. I haven’t heard Todd sing this yet. You haven’t heard me sing it yet either. You should be frightened.

07 – Sweetback – Circles. Everytime Anitra and I hear this song, we just want to wave a lighter in the air. Either that or play air guitar. I even mentioned it here.

08 – Gaelle – Repetition. If I had a love song to describe how I feel, this would be it. Love song with an electronic mix, with three words repeated throughout the song. I’m not a romantic, but this one makes me come
close to it. It sedates me after I listen to Parkway.

09 – Patricia Marx – Diz. Brazilian mellow hip hop. How often do you get to hear this? I dropped it here
first.
10 – DJ Zeph – Midnight Crewsade. George hipped me to DJ Zeph, so when he did it, I played this quite heavily. More drumming, and this time with horn section. Classic.

11 – Tortured Soul – I Might Do Something Wrong. See #4. This is J-Notes’ favorite- one of mine as well.

12 – Van Hunt – Out of The Sky. I played this way more than I played Dust. I love it.

13 – Amp Fiddler – Unconditional Eyes. Waltzin’ With A Ghetto Fly, anyone?

14 – John Legend – Let’s Get Lifted. I put this on repeat alot also.

15 – Zap Mama – Bandy Bandy. Ask Todd what the lyrics are.

16 – Magic Number with Lucy Campbell – Suddenly. More of Ross Hillard’s good tunage.

17 – Beanfield with Ernesto – Someone Like You. I love it when I’m feeling uptempo. Great electronica and bass mix. Ernesto
enhances it too.

18 – Air – Cherry Blossom Girl. Jason hipped me to this CD. I love this cut. Makes me think of The Beatles if
they recorded in 2004.

19 – De La Soul – Verbal Clap. Just ask KB or Jason how good this is. Forilla.

20 – The Strange Fruit Project – Luv Is. Todd Kelley graced me this one too (Sup, yo?). I haven’t gotten their complete sets yet, however. Hard to find and sold out everywhere.

21 – Siji – Sanctuary. A bCD to watch for this year.

22 – Foreign Exchange – All That You Are. See #3.

23 – Clara Hill – For Your Love. My favorite cut of hers off of Restless TImes. Honey’s is Maybe Now.

24 – Lewis Taylor – Out of My Head Is The Way I Feel. My retrospective song whenever I’m in a quandry. It best describes my state of confusion when it happens.

25 – Handsome Boy Modeling School with Cat Power – I’ve Been Thinking. Like KB says, don’t sleep. I love laid back hip hop like this. I think I’ll be investing in Cat Power this year. Handsome Boy Modeling School ‘s in heavy rotation, and I may just place this in my best of 2005.

Your thought?