And here we are. Finally. #1. It's been close to a month in the making, but we're finally here. And what else could possibly be #1 but a song that has suddenly become one of my ten favorite songs EVER?
[1] Muse - Starlight
-- The strangest thing about making the first preliminary Top 50 over three months ago was that, right away, I knew exactly what song was going to be #1 at the end of the year. It would have taken a song so--no, no, there WOULDN'T be another song. For close to six long months now, i've known exactly what song would be #1 at the end of the year and, frankly, all of you knew it too. It all started when I first heard this song back when
Black Holes And Revelations first leaked. After the first track on the album, "Take A Bow", finished, I was simply trying to breathe after such an incredibly epic track. Then this low-key, ballad-ish song comes on and i'm thinking to myself, "Wait, what the hell?" Of course, I continue to listen to the song, and then I finish. I loved the track on the first listen, which is the mark of most of my favorite tracks ever. I finished the album first listen(which, as you guys know, is my #1 album
) and immediately played "Starlight" again afterwards, just to figure out why I loved this song as much as I did. And then I listened to it again. And again. And again. And suddenly, I was in love with a music track like rarely before.
Everywhere I went, I had to listen to this song. Whether it be via MP3 player, CD player or my
very lovely(notice the thick sarcasm here) computer, I couldn't go a day without listening to this song, trying to figure out what makes this song so special to me. Finally, after listening to this song all the way to the end of 2006, I have figured out exactly why this song is so special to me: The vocals. Everything in this song is perfect or this close to perfect. The lyrics are great, the music is amazing, as low-key as it is, and every single verse and chorus in this song could not have been done better by anyone else, even if they tried very hard. But it's the vocals of Matthew Bellamy which make this song as special as it is. Rarely have I heard vocals so incredible and so beautiful in my life. And that last minute...oh, man, sends shivers down my spine.
In 2006, there were a lot of tracks that I listened to that captivated me, entranced me and even brought me close to tears. But no song did all three like "Starlight" did this year. There's no need to try and find another song like it or better than it from 2006, because it's not possible. In a year with songs like "Red Sky", "Vicarious", "Coming Undone", "Nausea", "Wolf Like Me", "The Wolf Is Loose", "The Pot", "Crazy" and Muse's own "Knights Of Cydonia", "Starlight" was, without a doubt, the top song of the year. And no song was close.
2005 #1: Nine Inch Nails - Only | 2004 #1: A Perfect Circle - Blue
A big thank you to every single one of you who commented on my Top 50 and every other year end countdown I posted for you guys and I will see every single one of you, hopefully, next year for the 2007 Year End Crazy Ambition. Remember, kids, to stay classy and enjoy the new year.