2008: 20-11

20. "Get Like Me" - David Banner
19. "Sexual Eruption" - Snoop Dogg
18. "Take You There" - Sean Kingston
17. "Womanizer" - Britney Spears
16. "Just Dance" - Lady Gaga
15. "Whatever You Like" - T.I.
14. "Flashing Lights" - Kanye West
13. "Girls In Their Summer Clothes" - Bruce Springsteen
12. "Lollipop (Remix)" - Lil Wayne
11. "Swagger Like Us" - T.I.

While reviewing a tracklist for a forthcoming year, my wife asked me, "Would you like this song if it wasn't Bruce?" My answer: "No, probably not."

The song was the folk-cheeser "Secret Garden", an unreleased bonus track on Springsteen's 1995 Greatest Hits disc, made popular by Jerry Maguire a couple years after its release, and made even more popular by a super cheesy radio remix featuring dialogue from the film. And before you accuse me of some sort of bias, based on undying loyalty to the man who recorded several of my favorite albums of all-time, let me explain.

My moderate fondness for "Secret Garden" is not simply because of who wrote it. What I meant was, if Bruce had not written it, it wouldn't be any good at all. It just wouldn't have the right production elements, the right tone, the right sentiment, even the right type of lyrics. For example, if it had come from John Mayer, it'd be sappy, creepy, self-important and overproduced. Dave Matthews would have made it too busy and ugly, while also faltering lyrically and vocally with something silly and gratuitous. Same with Conor Oberst, but in his own way. Finally, Jason Mraz would have made it cutesy or thrown in some awful pseudo-clever "wordplay" or, worse still, scatting.

Which brings me to the point I want to make about "Girls In Their Summer Clothes". I feel like, had this not been Bruce, it might have been received better, and appreciated for what it is - a super catchy, uplifting, kinda retro "pop" song. "Pop" in the sense of AM radio, 60's bubblegum, Burt Bacharach, even 70's power pop. Maybe, without his all-too-recognizable vocals, lush production and over-earnest lyricism, it would have even been a better song, or at least more accessible to and/or appreciated the mainstream. Either way, it fared well on the charts compared to most of his post-80s efforts, and to me, it's nearly great, up there among his all-time best, for sure.