Year-end indigestion

For whatever reason, I left a bunch of stuff out of consideration for year-end purposes. The most common reason: "I have not heard this and have no interest in ever hearing it." But there was also some stuff I'd like to give token placement on top whatever lists.

Hilary Duff: "Wake Up" and "Beat of My Heart" -- I couldn't get my hands on all of Most Wanted for the life of me, so I've only heard bits and pieces. "Wake Up" actually took a while to grow on me, and "Beat of My Heart" I somehow avoided until like three weeks ago. Either could have taken a spot in my singles list, although I actually like "Beat of My Heart" better, despite the incredible #1 RD dominance of "Wake Up," a song never even released as a single! I'm not sure that either of them was released separately -- made it all the way to Top 40 radio from Disney call-ins, which wouldn't be the first (or fifth) time that's happened.

Brie Larson: Finally Out of P.E. -- This Pandora experiment has yielded a few awesome results so far, including Brie, another crossover from the kiddie TV/movie realm. You might recognize her from NOW! That's What I Call Underage!, also known as Sleepover. Anyway, these songs are great. The title track is CLASSIC. (This just in: Brie Larson has the greatest Myspace ever.)

Katy Rose: Because I Can -- This one's from 2004, actually, but forgive me for not finding it until now. I can't believe Katy Rose hasn't gotten more press (she was on the Mean Girls OST I guess) -- for all those poor rock superstars unfairly tagged Avril Lite, here's the one those lazy critics were looking for the whole time. Simulatenously better pop AND more intense lyrically than ever-MOR Avril -- what kind of badass has the nerve to follow a line like "MY EYES BLEED WATER" with a highly processed multi-track vocal harmony chorus ("Watching the Rain")? If all those dopey emo bands ever figure out how to use a vocoder, all hell will break loose. Although I don't think a vocoder's even gonna do it for Teen Pop Mega Hyper Sugar Set random pick Spill Canvas (?????), who Pandora tells me should be in my playlist. (This is where we disagree.) Sorry, Josh, had to be said. (Hey, Katy's dad co-wrote and produced this album with his (then) 16-yo daughter...another family-friendly indie classic!)