50 Top 10 Lists of 2007

Top 10 Albums

#6. Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga
by Spoon

Six albums in, Britt Daniel, indie rock's minimalist-in-chief, keeps on stripping songs down to nothing — and then taking one more thing out of them. Rhythm & Soul is crafted out of a bass line and a hi-hat; even the chorus ("And you know/ Mmm, rhythm and soul") sounds like the product of a wartime austerity program. What moves all of this nothingness beyond mere hummability and into the realm of serious catchiness is Daniel's rasping vocals, which sound so cool that you just presume his abstractions mean something.

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