losing faith in The End

107.7 The End plays mainstream alternative music, mostly unobjectionable, sometimes suprisingly good. But the Top 107 songs of 2005: why in the (insert expletive) is Weezer's anemic, lyrically stultifying "Beverly Hills" in the top ten? And who chose Nine Inch Nails' cliché-ridden "The Hand That Feeds," a Sunday morning hash of the weekend's musical leftovers, Trent Reznor's worst song in a decade?

At least the people get it right, choosing their top five:

1. Death Cab For Cutie - Soul Meets Body
2. Gorillaz - Feel Good Inc
3. Matisyahu - King Without A Crown
4. The Killers - Mr. Brightside
5. Green Day - Holiday

Tough to argue with that lineup. "Soul Meets Body" was reason enough for my wife to purchase Plans. "Feel Good Inc." is danceable alterna-hop, infectious, ebulliently melancholic. "King Without a Crown": Orthodox reggae. Enough said. Killers, Green Day, you've already read all about them, I'm sure.

But nothing on the list carries half the gravitas and joy of last year's triumphant "Float On" or "Ocean Breathes Salty" by Modest Mouse, from the sterling album Good News For People Who Love Bad News. It was a mediocre year for alternative music.

How the Mighty Have Fallen: Bands Who Shouldn't Have Sucked in 2005, But Did
The Strokes
The White Stripes
Coldplay
Foo Fighters
Weezer
Audioslave
Depeche Mode
Nadasurf
Jimmy Eat World
Garbage