The Top 40 Songs By Of Montreal (Songs 25-21)

If you're new to this 8-week countdown, please check out the last 3 weeks to catch up!

Week 1   |   Week 2  |  Week 3

#25 - "Vegan in Furs" from the album, Satanic Panic in the Attic (2004) - "Vegan in Furs" is probably the best album-ender in Of Montreal history.  With a catchy melody, crazy guitars, and a sing-along quality coda (I think that's the second time I've used that phrase in the last 48 hours), this song is undeniably awesome.  It drips with Of Montreal's trademark indie pop sound and Kevin Barnes' usually strange lyricism.  It reminds me of the good times before Of Montreal turned into a group that 15-year old girls can dance like skanks to.  For that, this song makes it to #25.

#24 - "Butterscotching Mr. Lynn" from the album, Coquelicot Asleep in the Poppies: A Variety of Whimsical Verse (2001) - At under 2 minutes long, it would be easy for many to overlook this great song.  It perfectly captures Coquelicot's whimsical feel while remaining sane enough (for the most part) for even the most casual of listeners to dig it entirely.  Again, I do tend to get a little sentimental when I listen to old classics like this one.  It's so perfectly constructed, deep, and exciting, that it makes a fly beat and cool bass line seem like child's play.  Not to completely trash Of Montreal's newer work, I love that stuff too.  But there's just something about songs like "Butterscotching Mr. Lynn" that absolutely does it for me!

#23 - "An Epistle to a Pathological Creep" from the album, Satanic Panic in the Attic (Japanese Bonus Tracks) (2004) - It's a little known song, sure, but it's an absolute blast to hear.  When I first got wind of it, I was in college, so Barnes' rant about a guy who "speaks as if you should be taking notes" rang true with me.  So many arrogant d-bags in college, and Kevin manages to nail every single one with his characterization of this pathological creep.  Lovely!  And because it's so rare, I've uploaded it for your listening enjoyment.

#22 - "Wraith Pinned to the Mist and Other Games" from the album, The Sunlandic Twins (2005) - Ahh, the song that made Of Montreal into a household name.  While it's true that the Outback Steakhouse commercials really ruined hope of me every liking this song to the same degree that I did when I first heard it, nothing can erase the first time I popped The Sunlandic Twins into my CD player and jammed to this song on repeat.  Hell, it was even on Cloverfield!  Yes, my favorite little band has grown up and starred in T-Mobile commercials, mostly due to this song.  Make no mistakes, it is a brilliant piece of pop music, and one that is oddly relatable.

#21 - "The Problem With April" from the album, Horse and Elephant Eatery (No Elephants Allowed) (2000) - This may or may not have been the first Of Montreal song that I ever heard, I can't remember.  But what is important is that it's an amazing song that captures the heartbreak and hopelessness of being dumped, but does so with an amazingly upbeat, parade-march song.  The lyrics are easily rememberable (Actual word?  Spell check thinks so.) and easily some of Barnes' catchiest to date.  And hey, who doesn't love New York in June?  Besides radical Muslims...