I don’t normally do year-end lists myself because I don’t often hear a lot of new music that I’m really excited about. But I think I’ve got enough ammo for the ferret-shooting cannon that is the decade-ending list. Ergo, I couldn’t resist.

1. Ween – White Pepper (2000)
2. Radiohead – Kid A (2000)
3. Brian Wilson – Smile (2004)
4. Tegan & Sara – The Con (2007)
5. Cafe Tacuba – Sino (2007)
6. Weezer – The Green Album (2001)
7. Coldplay – A Rush of Blood to the Head (2002)
8. Spiraling – Transmitter (2002)
9. U2 – All That You Can’t Leave Behind (2000)
10. The Shaky Hands – Let It Die (2009)

The new Weezer single (deep breath) “(If You’re Wondering If I Want You To) I Want You To” is out and I had to laugh at how much that riff sounds like the (dare I say) iconic bass riff in “Whales Sing” by The Shaky Hands. It’s exactly the same riff, except faster. Of course, it’s not the most original guitar phrase in the first place—I believe Otis Redding had a song with a very similar riff—but the two riffs are note-for-note the same! Of course, other than that the songs sound nothing like one another, but I thought it was worth noting. I can’t link to the Weezer song, but I’m sure you can easily find a stream of it on some music blog somewhere if you wanted to (I want you to).

Doesn’t it sound like just the thing for our boys to drum up some publicity for the new album… (kidding! …maybe)

Update 4:26 PM: I made a video comparing the riffs side by side.