#67 Natalie Bassingthwaighte, "Alive"

Is this real?
'Cause this heart is just startin' to heal
And you're so close to makin' me feel
Me feel
Alive, alive, alive, alive

"Alive," the debut solo single from the woman who provided the main voice of Australian group the Rogue Traders for their second and third albums, still has me confused about what I think of it months after its debut. There's something about it that still feels...generic to me and yet it's one of the songs I love to cue up on my iPod while driving. That has something to do with the lovely floating-in-outer-space-or-underwater middle 8, but even just the chorus itself seems to pack so much punch then. It's as if the the opportunity to sing along brings out some extra quality that I can't quite tap into when just listening to it. It's appropriate that "Alive" comes right after "Womanizer" is this countdown: it's kind of like a more subdued version of that song, with some of the sharp annoying edges rounded out. Maybe that rounding out cost the song something, causing that feeling of generic-ness, but the plus side is that "Alive" is incredibly easy to listen to and still manages to stumble upon a few sparks of magic, even if the spark of the chorus only flares up when sung along with. Let me make one thing clear, though: I love this song.

Find it on: Alive (single)