A New Year's Eve playlist
"Happy," The Rolling Stones (from Exile On Main Street Deluxe Edition) — Thanks to Life, a memoir as bold, brash, and rakishly charming as his best riffs, it's been the season, if not the year, of Keith. When he took over the mic to proclaim, "I need a love to keep me happy" back in ’72, nobody thought he'd live to see the end of the decade. A full 38 years later, he's still going strong, and this signature song rings as true as ever. "Help Me Mary," Liz Phair (from Exile In Guyville) — If Phair's Exile really were a song-by-song answer to the Stones' Exile then the match for "Happy" would be "Fuck and Run" — probably not the best strategy for a successful new year. Better to celebrate tempering "hatred with peace" and weaving "disgust into fame," especially since Phair impressively channels Keith's loose yet propulsive chordings on this ultimately uplifting track.
"P.S.," Ryan Adams and the Cardinals (from III/IVI) — It's almost always worth looking to the past before moving forward into new year/decade. This rousing glam kiss-off came out of ’07’s Easy Tiger sessions. Why it's taken so long for alt-country's allegedly reformed king of dramedy to unburden himself of it is anybody's guess. Just glad to finally have it.
"Ready to Start," The Arcade Fire (from The Suburbs) — The Grammy-bound Arcade Fire made a bit of history in 2010 by hitting #1 with an indie release. Win Butler never quite sounds like he's ready to bust a move — he's far to cerebral for that. But this instructive, upbeat ode to new beginnings rocks most of the moodiness out of him until he indeed resolves that he's "ready to start."
"Not Afraid," Eminem (from Recovery) — Anyone who can go from Relapse to Recovery in the span of a year deserves props. Poised to overshadow The Arcade Fire and just about everyone else at the Grammys, the new Eminem made some major New Year's resolutions when last the the ball dropped. He may sound angry and defiant at the start of "Not Afraid," but before long he's apologizing (!!) and urging us all to take his hand and move into the future. Redemption, not to mention recovery, is, as Martha Stewart would say, a good thing.
"Just Dance," Lady Gaga feat. Colby O'Donis (from The Fame Monster) — Just because — because she brought spectacle to a new level and had a fashionably great time doing it. So just shut up and dance. It's New Year's eve. . .
"Wake Up Everybody," John Legend feat. the Roots (from Wake Up!) — Sure, the video plays a bit too much like a big-budget PSA and Legend's channeling of What's Going On-era Marvin Gaye comes off slightly stilted. But the Roots come to the rescue, grabbing the groove and then the mic to take this socio-political wake-up call places Gaye never had the chance to dream of.
"Daft Punk Is Playing At My House Tonight," LCD Soundsystem (from LCD Soundsystem) — With Daft Punk busy deflecting lukewarm reviews of their Tron Legacy soundtrack, it's not likely they'll be playing any house parties over the holidays. LCD Soundsystem's electrofunk homage/send-up "Daft Punk Is Playing At My House Tonight" isn't just the next best thing, it's better. For best results, press play and repeat.
The Invisible Hand, "The Future of Music" (from The Invisible Hand) — It just wouldn't be right not to celebrate something Charlottesville as we ring in the new year, and The Invisible Hand have all the makings of the future of the local scene, if not quite the future of music. Angular melodies, hyperkinetic drums, gloriously noisy guitars, and a frontman who sings with the kind of passionate intensity Yeats would approve of. Give it a shot.
"Fake Empire," The National (from Boxer) — Until something better comes along, every New Year's Eve should end with "Fake Empire," an epic ode to staying out "super late" that begins as a slow dance and gradually gains a glorious kind of momentum. By the time the lights go out, Matt Berninger is crooning "No thinking for a little while" as the horns kick in and the drummer drives off into the rising sun.
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