On New Year's Eve 2005, CFNY Edge 102 counted down their top 102 songs of the year. I would have posted their list earlier in the year, but I couldn't find it on their site. I finally wrote Alan Cross about it and he got me in touch with the guy at Corus who maintains the site who sent me here.
Instead of just listing the 102 songs, I'm gonna throw my two cents in the mix. What the hell, it's my site.
# Artist SongMy 2 Cents 102 Linkin Park/Jay-Z Numb/Encore 5/10 - Not a bad combo, just underwhelming. 101 Projet Orange Tell All Your Friends5/10 - This was an okay tune, it just failed to resonate. 100 The All American Rejects Dirty Little Secret 2/10 - I had little interest in this one. 99 LCD Soundsystem Daft Punk Playing At My House 7/10 - I thought this was pretty cool. 98 Arcade Fire Wake Up10/10 - #98?!?? Was it punished for hitting the charts too late in the year? It was my favourite track of the year. Appeared on SLS14. 97 Slipknot Duality 7/10 - I was a big fan of this single from Slipknot. I still shout out the refrain when I hear it. It appeared on SLS13. 96 Disturbed Stricken 6/10 - Not bad but not great. This was the final tune selected for SLS14. 95 The Music Breakin' 5/10 - The Music sound bored me. I just couldn't get into it. 94 Bloc Party Banquet 8/10 - I'm sorry I didn't throw this one on SLS14. It will likely appear on SLS15. I love it. 93 Depeche Mode Precious 3/10 - Wake me when it's over. Zzzzzz. 92 The Chemical Brothers Galvanize 1/10 - I'm giving this one a low score simply because I don't remember it at all. 91 Audioslave Your Time Has Come 7/10 - I thought this was a fantastic album and I put this tune on SLS13. 90 Mobile Montreal Calling6/10 - A friend of mine urged me to put this single on SLS14. It didn't make the cut, but it's not a horrible tune. It's sort of catchy, I suppose. 89 Alexisonfire Accidents2/10 - Shouldn't I like Alexisonfire? It's CanCon, yet I don't dig it. Accidents happen... 88 The Waking Eyes On A Train3/10 - This was rather forgettable. 87 Goldfinger Wasted4/10 - I used to like Goldfinger. Now their releases seem boring. 86 Thornley Beautiful 4/10 - If Thornley was American, we would never have heard this song on the radio. 85 Fall Out Boy Sugar, We're Goin' Down 5/10 - Not bad... At times, I enjoyed this one but it got tired pretty damn quick. 84 K-Os W/ Sam Roberts Dirty Water 6/10 - I don't consider this one of the stronger cuts on this fantastic K-Os release. Having said that, it's still pretty good. The album is fantastic. 83 Hedley Villain 2/10 - Mr. Canadian Idol pales in comparison to that cover of Levon the albino guy did in season one. 82 Death Cab For Cutie Soul Meets Body 8/10 - This song deserved a much higher ranking. It's pure sweetness and it appeared on SLS14. 81 The Used All That I've Got 5/10 - I can take it or leave it. 80 Metric Monster Hospital 7/10 - Another catchy number from Metric. It made SLS14. 79 Matthew Good Oh Be Joyful 8/10 - I really liked this song that appeared on the recent Matt Good greatest hits album. It easily made SLS14 because the ears want what the ears want. 78 The Bravery An Honest Mistake 4/10 - I tried and tried to dig it, but I guess it's not my scene. 77 Rise Against Swing Life Away 3/10 - Rise Against didn't get a rise out of me. 76 Alter Bridge Find The Real 4/10 - Post-Stapp Creed isn't terrible, but is completely unnecessary. 75 Switchfoot Stars 4/10 - I'm not going to trash Stars, I'm just going to pass Stars. 74 The Waking Eyes Beginning4/10 - Another forgettable tune from 2005. 73 Unwritten Law Save Me 5/10 - Save me. 72 White Stripes My Doorbell 9/10 - So catchy it should be illegal. Once you start singing it, you can't stop. Consider yourselves warned. 71 Foo Fighters D.O.A. 7/10 - I supposed I'm biased but I liked this tune. It appeared on SLS14. 70 Theory Of A Deadman Santa Monica 4/10 - They still play this almost every morning. I'm just tired of it. It wasn't that strong to begin with. 69 Louis XIV Finding Out True Love Is Blind 8/10 - I had a lot of fun with this single and put it on my top ten of the year. It appeared on SLS13. 68 My Chemical Romance I'm Not O.K. 3/10 - I don't get the whole My Chemical Romance thing. I don't think I'm missing anything. 67 Coldplay Fix You 6/10 - Nice tune and all, but you're better off just spinning "Don't Panic" on a continuous loop. 66 The Mars Volta The Widow 8/10 - This was one of my ten favourite tracks of the year and it appeared on SLS13. 65 Collective Soul Counting The Days 3/10 - Are these guys still around? 64 Matt Mays & El Torpedo Cocaine Cowgirl 5/10 - Depending on my mood I either thought this was a pretty cool tune or a waste of time. It's the epitome of 5/10. 63 Simple Plan Me Against The World 1/10 - Will Simple Plan please go away. 62 Jakalope Feel It 4/10 - I left this tune off of SLS13 because it's simply unworthy. It's okay, but okay isn't good enough. 61 311 Don't Tread On Me 4/10 - This is a truly mediocre single by 311. There's enough mediocrity in this world. 60 Bif Naked Let Down 3/10 - I used to really like Bif Naked but now she's a wannabe pop princess. #60 is awfully flattering for this song. 59 Nine Inch Nails Only 6/10 - It's been a while since I really liked a NIN song, but I really liked this one. It appeared on SLS14. 58 U2 City Of Blinding Lights3/10 - I've been done with U2 for a while now. This is another fine, nice song from my Irish brothers. Whoopie. 57 Franz Ferdinand Do You Want To? 6/10 - It's catchy and good enough for SLS14. 56 Staind Right Here 4/10 - These guys disappoint me. They show so much more promise than they deliver. They could be great. 55 Kaiser Chiefs I Predict A Riot 7/10 - This was a cool track I was happy to put on SLS13. I think it's better than #55. 54 Kasabian Club Foot 6/10 - I almost put this track on SLS13 but it got cut at the last second. It's not bad. 53 Garbage Why Do You Love Me 4/10 - This is another band I used to really like but no longer admire. They're stale now, offering less than stellar material. 52 Franz Ferdinand This Fire 9/10 - When this song was fresh, it was fantastic. It's still good, even two thousand spins later. 51 Keane Somewhere Only We Know6/10 - If you want a mellow track, you can't do much better. It's sweetness. 50 Arcade Fire Rebellion (Lies) 9/10 - This is perhaps my second favourite song on my favourite album of 2005. It's spectacular. 49 Weezer We're All On Drugs 5/10 - This song bored me. 48 The Trews So She's Leaving 5/10 - I don't think I particularly enjoyed this song, but whenever it came on I found myself singing along. 47 Marilyn Manson Personal Jesus 6/10 - Was this 2005? We slapped this remake on SLS12. It was a weak period - it's not a great song. 46 Sum 41 Some Say 2/10 - Some say Sum 41 are good. I'm not one of them. 45 Sloan All Used Up 7/10 - This was a surprise hit from Sloan and I was happy to hear it. Fun power pop. 44 Nickelback Photograph 2/10 - Sappy, weak song with cheesy lyrics. Pure crap. 43 Jimmy Eat World Work 4/10 - I have Futures, and it's a disappointing disc. This might be the best song, but that's not saying a whole lot. 42 The Offspring Can't Repeat 4/10 - I miss the boys from Smash. Have you seen them? 41 U2 Vertigo 3/10 - If you scroll up, you'll read my U2 thoughts. Lets move on. 40 System Of A Down B.Y.O.B. 9/10 - One of my ten favourite songs of the year. SLS13 was lucky to have it. Bring it on. 39 Lenny Kravitz Lady 4/10 - That's nice. 38 Jack Johnson Sitting, Waiting, Wishing 5/10 - That's also nice. I'm tired of nice. 37 Oasis Lyla 7/10 - I thought this Oasis track was as good as the Oasis I remember. It was truly solid. 36 Stars Ageless Beauty 9/10 - One of my ten favourite songs of the year. It appeared on SLS14. 35 Death From Above 1979 Romantic Rights 10/10 - Does it get much better than this? A heavy favourite of mine and a high finisher in my top ten of 2005. SLS14 was anchored by this gem. 34 Social Code Beautiful 5/10 - A lot of songs get the title "Beautiful", have you noticed that? 33 Modest Mouse Float On 9/10 - How did this make the 2005 list? It appeared on SLS11 which was released in June of 2004. This sucker had legs. 32 Boy Up In This Town 4/10 - I barely remember Boy. 31 Beck Girl 8/10 - This was a great Beck single and worthy of SLS14. 30 Papa Roach Getting Away With Murder 6/10 - This is another tune that seems more 2004 to me than 2005. It appeared on SLS12 which tells you I thought it was pretty good. 29 Hot Hot Heat Middle Of Nowhere 7/10 - Another solid single from Hot Hot Heat scored them an appearance on SLS14. 28 Seether Remedy 6/10 - I've said it before and I'll say it again. This song was written and performed to sound like Nirvana. The Kurt in his delivery is eery but it just makes you miss the real deal. 27 U2 Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own 2/10 - Another U2 song? Argh. 26 K-os Crucial 7/10 - This was a great album. 25 The Marble Index Not So Bright 6/10 - For the longest time I thought this song would appear on SLS13. It didn't, but it was very close. 24 Green Day Wake Me When September Ends 8/10 - Great album and great song. 23 Audioslave Doesn't Remind Me 9/10 - This was one of my favourite songs of the year. It's an instant classic and it appeared on SLS14. 22 Bedouin Soundclash When The Night Feels My Song 3/10 - I know people loved this song, but I hated it. I just thought it was weak. I heard it 100 mornings in a row and it put me in a sour mood every time. 21 Social Distortion Reach For The Sky 5/10 - I'm surprised to find this song so highly ranked. 20 Hot Hot Heat Goodnight Goodnight 8/10 - James and I both loved this song. It appeared on SLS13. 19 Our Lady Peace Where Are You6/10 - At first I didn't like this song, then it grew on me and I started to like it, then I got sick of it. The new OLP album was rather disappointing. 18 Arcade Fire Neighbourhood # 3 (Power Out) 9/10 - Dammit, every song on this album is mind blowing. This tune appeared on SLS13. 17 Theory Of A Deadman No Surprise 6/10 - I like the fact this song got soccer moms to say "that bitch is killing me". 16 White Stripes Blue Orchid 9/10 - Awesomeness - crunchy style! It appeared on SLS13. 15 Thornley Come Again 6/10 - Not bad at all... It almost made SLS13 too. 14 Audioslave Be Yourself 8/10 - I like Audioslave, can you tell? 13 Beck E Pro 8/10 - A return to form for my pal Beck. It appeared on SLS13 12 Nine Inch Nails The Hand That Feeds 5/10 - I fought against this song's inclusion on SLS13 because I didn't feel it was SLS-worthy. I eventually gave in, but I'm now exacting my revenge by humiliating Trent with a pathetic score of five. 11 U2 All Because Of You 2/10 - U2 again?!?!?! Never has mediocrity been so celebrated! 10 Gorillaz Feel Good Inc. 8/10 - I regret this song never appeared on an edition of SLS. It grew on me late in the game and I opted for "Dare" on SLS14. 9 Coldplay Speed Of Sound 6/10 - This is nice and all, but it didn't rock my world. Try that "Don't Panic" thing I suggested above. 8 The Killers All These Things That I've Done 7/10 - That "I've got soul but I'm not a soldier" part is gold. This song appeared on SLS13. 7 Green Day Holiday 6/10 - I never really loved this song from American Idiot. There were many better. 6 Weezer Beverly Hills 6/10 - Catchy enough to appear on SLS13, I got pretty tired of it fairly quickly. 5 Queens Of The Stone Age Little Sister 8/10 - Solid, straight up rock. It appeared on SLS13. 4 Foo Fighters Best Of You 8/10 - A solid first single from this double album from the Foo. It appeared on SLS13. 3 Green Day Boulevard Of Broken Dreams 8/10 - I preferred this slower single to the high powered opening single "American Idiot". It appeared on SLS12. 2 The Killers Mr. Brightside8/10 - I'm pretty sure this song peaked in 2004, but I suppose it was strong enough to linger well into 2005. All in all it's a rather contagious single that was suburb when it was fresh. It appeared on SLS12. 1 Sum 41 Pieces 3/10 - Are you kidding me? Is this some kind of joke? What a pathetic choice for #1. I suspect the members of Ajax' Sum 41 have pictures of Alan Cross in compromising positions.
