The Nation of Ulysses, "Cool Senior High School (Fight Song)"
Back in the day, there were troglodytes on Usenet that hated the Nation of Ulysses for being too arty, too pretentious, just too much. How stupid is that? This shit rocks, people are dumb.
Death Cab For Cutie, "I Will Follow You Into The Dark"
OK, you've all heard this song a billion times, on radio stations, as various crappy covers, and as the background music to a weepy scene on a middlebrow TV drama. So, whatever. What I want to talk about is this bit from the Wikipedia entry on the song, which I went to go look at to see how high this thing charted (which I no longer care about).
"Nearing age 29, [Ben] Gibbard had never lost anyone really special in his life."
That's right: this song was written because Gibbard HADN'T lost anybody. I find that incredibly hilarious.
Bob Marley, "Cry to Me"
Acoustic guitar ballad battle!
They Might Be Giants, "Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Theme"
This is totally fucking off the rails now! I sincerely hope we get some rancid pile of guitar dissonance next.
Squarepusher, "Come On My Selector"
Sure, full-on gonzo Squarepusher works also. Big Loada was an EP originally, but the US release tacked on another EP for a full album-sized release. And it's great, all frantic breakbeats, rapid-fire blurts of bass, and stutters of electronic noise. It's like an aural fireworks show.