1. “Balance,” The Moody Blues, 1970. Spoken word prog rock ballad. That I enjoy it is much beside the point. 2/10
2. “I Just Don’t Know What to Do with Myself,” The White Stripes, 2003. I like it quite a lot, but Elephant is soooo 2003. 6/10
3. “It’s a Crime,” The Magnetic Fields, 1999. From 69 Love Songs, arguably the most pretentious album of the last 10 years. A song that, for no apparent reason, never gets cited as one of the “favorites” from the album, but it’s intriguingly atonal, if you like that sort of thing. 7/10
4. “In a Sentimental Mood,” Ella Fitzgerald, 1957. From The Duke Ellington Songbook, probably the coolest of the series. And this is one of the best songs from that album. Q.E.D. 10/10
5. “Alexander’s Ragtime Band,” Ella Fitzgerald, 1958. From The Irving Berlin Songbook. Loses a point for being the second Ella in a row; loses a couple more for being just about my least favorite Berlin song ever. 6/10
6. “When God Made Me,” Neil Young, 2005. Perhaps the most anti-Christian song of the year, but I have to admit, I prefer my anti-religion songs to be more angry, less dissappointed. 5/10
7. “Good Day Sunshine,” The Beatles, 1966. Such a…Paul song. 4/10
8. “Cloudy,” Simon & Garfunkel, 1968. One of the very few misfires from Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme. It’s not “bad,” but it doesn’t do much of anything. 5/10
9. “Natural Anthem,” The Postal Service, 2002. My antipathy towards this group has been documented, but this is probably the most interesting song on the album. 6/10
10. “Crazy On You,” Heart, 1976. I really have no idea what to do with Heart. They kind of invented Grrl rock, so let’s go 8/10.
5.9/10. That’s too high…I don’t know what I overrated, though.
Bonus Track: “Child of Vision,” Supertramp, 1979