The Listomania I make the lists, you shoot them down. Quid Pro Quo.

99. Editors – Bullets

Yeah, just like everybody else, occasionally I will like something more than I should for no legitimate reason. Like the American public with Dancing with the Stars or young actresses with Woody Allen, sometimes a fancy just can't be explained. I think I like Editors more than anyone else I know. I'm pretty sure of that actually. And I know I probably shouldn't like them, or "Bullets" as much as I do. But I do like it. A lot. For a long time, it was the Number One Most Played song on my iTunes. So, I guess it's time to figure out what makes this song so good.

Ok, got it. That took a while. It's that it sounds exactly like a more emotional version of some of my favorite bands. Editors don't do anything new. At all. But what they copy, they copy well. And to me, this band sounds exactly like a host of bands I've loved my whole life, like Interpol and Bloc Party. Who are themselves rip-offs of other bands I love, like Joy Division and New Order. So I guess the allure of "Bullets" is that it's a third generation knock off of some of my favorite music but with something a little extra BAMMED into the mix a la Elzar – sincere yearning.

The song explodes out of speakers, coming at you immediately with full force. And that does something interesting for my listening experience. Usually, my favorite part of a song tends to be the biggest part. But with "Bullets" my favorite part might be the smallest. In the verse, when he sings "Not right now." Yeah, that's it. That's the money of this song. Because it sounds like he actually means it. The chorus has a shimmering guitar line like U2-lite, the post-chorus has Interpol ringing and New Order bass thud. The vocals alternately soar and scrape and ramble like Kele, and when the bell-chime guitar pulses into the background adding a layer beneath the flight path lead guitar, I can't help but connect with this song on an emotional level like the band is just as nostalgic about my own favorite music as I am. But nothing beats believeabiliy, in music or film or TV or whatever, and when he utters the phrase "Not right now," I actually believe that he genuinely cares, genuinely wants, and believes. And in music, that is a rarity.