Midterms: The seven best singles of 2006 so far

7) "Funny Little Frog" by Belle and Sebastian Petrarch may have been the greatest poet of unrequited love, but even he's no match for the fun beats, handclaps and kooky slant rhymes that Stuart Murdoch lays down here. 6) "One Crowded Hour" by Augie March English majors of the world, unite. Glenn Richards and I are tied together by our impractical degrees, but he's out proving the value of his education with so many dazzling puns and sharp turns of phrases. Whereas I'm happy just to rock the tan questions in Trivial Pursuit. 5) "Don't Feel Right" by The Roots Ever since 2002, I've had serious and very vocal doubts that the Roots would be able to top Phrenology. I'm still stubbornly dubious, but if they somehow manage to put out an entire album that's as powerful as this song, they may stun me yet. 4) "We Share Our Mother's Health" by The Knife My test for great music is often this simple: would it scare my mother? Well, rest assured that this single could terrify my whole family. That is, of course, if they're not too busy piling onto the dancefloor. 3) "Lloyd, I'm Ready To Be Heartbroken" by Camera Obscura When you write a response to a heartbreaking song (Lloyd Cole's "Are You Ready To Be Heartbroken?"), you set the bar pretty high for yourself. When you leap over that bar and throw in the organ for devastating effect, you officially earn my love. 2) "When You Wasn't Famous" by The Streets If Eminem and Charles Dickens had a baby and got it coked up and forced it to watch Access Hollywood Clockwork Orange-style, it probably would've written this song. Thankfully, we just got Mike Skinner to do it. 1) "Live With Me" by Massive Attack Some songs take ten listens before they win my approval. Others impress me from the first spin. But all it took for "Live With Me" was the first few seconds when Terry Callier croons "ooooooooo-ooooooh." Right then, it became clear that this was soul music with actual soul, an ode to longing, need and desire so rich that stands up to the best in Massive Attack's beautiful catalogue.