Maybe it’s a sign that after the 10th anniversary of 9-11 we’ve moved on when a song whose lyrics “I was in the air when the towers came down” comes in least preferred in Moogaz’s latest informal poll of Paste Magazine’s top 25 songs of 2011 so far.
The test was to listen to Paste Magazine’s list and decide if their honors were merited. Four random Portland Mainers, two guys, two girls stepped up to take the exam. Average ratings ranged from 4.6 to 1.9. (The original scale was 1 to 5 where 1 was suckdom and 5 was glorious awesomeness).
With a score of 1.9, The Low Anthem “Boeing 737” had the second highest standard deviation, so it was liked by some. But ultimately – harshly or not given its context – the panel of 4 scored the trombone ballad lowest.
Coming in highest with very little disagreement was the The Civil Wars “Barton Hollow” which no doubt explains their rocket indie ascent into the pop charts.
Other high marks were earned for:
- Bright Eyes, “Shell Games”, latest Conor Oberst
- Rye Rye “Sunshine (featuring M.I.A.)”, an 80s Blondie meets indie meets TLC rap
Songs did get progressively better moving from 25 to 1 but barely, and not statistically as this graph shows. Without a major crescendo, the Paste Magaziner is left to to frown as he/she moves to number 1.
But good exercise. Ironically, on a third listen to “Boeing 737” I find myself warming a bit to the melody. Like 9-11 itself, maybe time heals wounds.
