So I wrote about entire CD’s of music (yes, I have graduated from calling them “albums”) in my last post. Now, here is my take on songs. Not just any song, but songs that made it out into the world. Songs that made me smile when I heard them blasting from a co-worker’s desk or on a dance floor. Certainly there were songs that I never saw on MTV or heard even once on KCRW that I still loved. And there were songs on CD’s that came out but weren’t released as singles. Beyond that, there are other songs that didn’t make this list but will make the year-end best-of playlist. But here I wanted to look at fifteen songs that I feel permeated the culture and had an impact either socially or creatively.

Can you tell I want to write for a music fan-nerd blog in an alternate universe?

Here we go.

15. REHAB, AMY WINEHOUSE – So this is my first and only lie, as this song got like no play anywhere. I don’t even think it came out in the U.S. yet. But it is just so good, that from the second I found it online, it was love. “They tried to make me go to rehab, and I said no, no, no.” Some say this is a very autobiographical tale for Amy, and her passionate delivery adds to that idea. Also the 50’s era sound and production is a stark contrast to the very present story line. It’s like a song from the past with the subtext on its sleeve. So good. So excited for her entire album to come stateside in March. Look for it.

14. TOO LITTLE TOO LATE, JOJO – Now this would be number one in my ‘guilty pleasures’ countdown, but since I don’t have one of those, number fourteen here will have to do. And I am okay with that, as there is something to this pop radio creation that I found so sweet. JoJo’s slightly synthesized voice and the manufactured to please chorus just begged to be sung along to. In the end, it all took me back to my days in junior high when I had Teen Beat magazines and cut pictures out for my walls. Not that I do that anymore.

13. WIND IT UP, GWEN STEFANI – The yodels. The Sound of Music samples. The self-promotion. The tongue-in-cheek delivery. Oh, and the beats. It’s all about the beats with this song. Seriously, after hearing it about ten times, I was so into it. And on the dance floor, it kills. Like she says, “Let the beat wind you up and don’t stop till your time is up.” In all honesty, I think some people got this one, and some people didn’t. And I don’t think that it is for everyone. But it was so for me. And I just think Gwen is music royalty now, and we have been losing that sense of “stars” in music. I’m glad she brings it still.

12. PROMISCUOUS, NELLY FURTADO W. TIMBALAND – Right before this song hit its zenith, I couldn’t escape it. Every cubicle was blasting it. It was in commercials. Somehow Nelly Furtado had gone from this sweet girl from Canada to a marketing machine. And she had the goods to back it up. The tune is addictive. The back-and-forth vocals seductive and fun. Now would I want my 12-year-old singing along to this in the car, if I had a 12-year-old? No. But for now, I’ll get up and groove to it.

11. MY LOVE, JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE W. T.I. – Sexy. Completely sexy. The music. The lyrics. His delivery. Sexy. One of the best tracks from his new album, My Love certainly demonstrates why J.T. is going to be around for a long time. There is something to the chant of “My love…my love...” where it’s layered to sound like a small chorus of people are backing him up on it. Like it wasn’t enough for him alone to tell the girl that she’s his love. He had to hire a choir to help. Now, that’s the kind of man that I am looking for. Sexy. Completely sexy.

10. IRREPLACEABLE, BEYONCE – When I first got this album, Irreplaceable was the song I kept gravitating to. It’s still the one that sticks out to me with having the most charisma and mass-appeal. And given its simple guitar licks and biting words, it also seems to me to be the one song on Beyonce’s new album with a deep resilient soul to it. Sure, other songs jump. But this one jumps and sinks in. Ms. B is all about the benjamins for sure, and she makes no excuses about it. Still there is something pure in her honesty that rings true here.

9. FIDELITY, REGINA SPEKTOR – The beat plucks out so sweetly in this mainstream introduction to an alarmingly powerful songwriter. Our heroine learns that her inner thoughts are distracting her from connecting to love in her actual reality. And this self-realization is heartbreaking, as to cause one’s own emotional demise is sad. Um, hi. Relate much? To recognize and see the steps she took to get beyond it to find love is beautifully transcendental.

8. CRAZY, GNARLS BARKLEY – Ok, so who didn’t cover this song? I feel like everyone was doing their own version just seconds after this original hit the streets. And rightfully so. The sound is fresh in its utilization of classic rhythm. The lyrics are funny and cut deep as they celebrate the reality of insanity and how we all have it. This song asked us to embrace our insanity and recognize it. At this point in time, there could be nothing better or more refreshing. Plus, it had one of the best videos this year, hands down.

7. NUMBER 1, GOLDFRAPP – Driving home from work one night, this song came on Metropolis, KCRW’s amazing evening music show. At the time I didn’t know who it was, but I was incredibly grateful when they told me it was a Goldfrapp tune. I bought it on Itunes the next day, and it quickly moved into my Top 25. The music is romantic and languid. It makes me feel like a kid in the 80’s staring up at the stars. And I look forward to finding the man who will be my favorite moment, my Saturday.

6. MANEATER, NELLY FURTADO – The beat here is dirty and fun. The music for this one grinds. Like a car revving its engine. And Nelly just spits the lyrics out. It’s not the prettiest of tunes, but it’s a damn good time at the speakers. And it really demonstrated Nelly’s distinct sound better than Promiscuous did. You can certainly taste the Timbaland here. But there’s something to the vocal’s passion that really gives it a distinct persona that is all Furtado’s own.

5. AIN’T NO OTHER MAN, CHRISTINA AGUILERA – “Do your thing, honey.” And damn, she does. This track mingles classic horns with some bouncing drum tracks so seamlessly. And Xtina wails like her life depended on it. Like her house was being robbed. Like she was trying to alert dogs in a distant county of her presence. It was a great return for her, and for me, it was the dance jam of the summer. This song moves with a speed like nothing else this year. And sometimes you just need to move like your life depended on it.

4. NOT READY TO MAKE NICE, THE DIXIE CHICKS – Written as a direct response to the hoopla surrounding their anti-Bush statements at a UK concert, this song speaks truth from both a personal and universal place. The title alone shows how the group has taken a stand in the current political landscape. Not Ready To Make Nice is a modern protest song that told listeners that they were “mad as hell” and with just reason. We are a country that so easily demonized them when they decided to point out our own stupidity in electing our officials. This song certainly helped them gain the right fans. And it was well-done too.

3. WHEN YOU WERE YOUNG, THE KILLERS – This is by far the best song to sing along to while driving. With its religion-laden lyrics and emotional delivery, this song talks of how childhood dreams fade as adult reality finds its way in. How when we’re young, anything seems possible. For some, Jesus is the man we’re meant to be in love with. But then we grow up, and Jesus doesn’t come. So we look for a savior elsewhere. And we hope that when we find him, he is more than we ever could have imagined.

2. SAY IT RIGHT, NELLY FURTADO – This one just hypnotized me upon first listen. The music sounds like weathering a storm. The lyrics speak of the fear that exists when you’re letting someone in, and deals with wanting to let that fear go. And there is a sexiness that flows throughout the entire song. Above all, Say It Right takes Nelly Furtado to the next level in her career. This song could have existed on her last CD, but Timbaland’s production displays how she is looking towards the now. And how ready for it she is.

1. JUMP, MADONNA – I have written about this one before. How it is my favorite song from the last album. How it may be one of my favorite songs Madonna has ever recorded. How it makes me feel how I could take on the world. So is there any question that once it got released as a single, it would be my favorite song of the year. So Warner fucked up the campaign and the single was buried at radio. And the video was less than what it could have been in my opinion.

Still, it’s a damn good song and a mighty motto for the year.

Now I know I may not be ready to conquer the world, but I sure as hell need to take on 2007 with my fists out and my balls swinging.

What do you think?