I just realized my list is bookended by 2 Swedish artists. That has to be a record of some sort.
Thursday, December 9, 2010
The Radio Dept. - "Heaven's On Fire"
I just realized my list is bookended by 2 Swedish artists. That has to be a record of some sort.
Surfer Blood - "Swim"
These guys are from Florida, and this song is pretty catchy. That’s all I know about them.
Ke$ha - "Tik Tok"
On one hand, the cringe-inducing lyrics (and questionable dental hygiene habits mentioned in the first verse) set a pretty awful example for any young girls who might listen to this song. On the other hand, the synth riff is killer.
Kanye West - "All of the Lights"
Kanye is known for throwing childish tantrums at award shows whenever he doesn’t win. I don’t typically condone this behavior, but if his new album doesn’t sweep the 2012 Grammies, can we all agree to give him permission to go apeshit?
My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy is the best album of 2010.
The Besnard Lakes - "Albatross"
These hosers are from Montreal, eh? Their long, pretentious song titles hurt my brain, like taking a hockey puck to the toque, but the layers of droning guitars are sweet like a maple-glazed doughnut from Tim Horton’s.
The Bird & The Bee - "Heard It On The Radio"
This is the one original song on their album that is otherwise all Hall & Oates covers. The covers work better in theory. This song, however, is pleasantly hummable.
Erykah Badu - "Window Seat"
Her New Amerykah Part 2 album isn’t the accomplishment that Part 1 was, but it’s still full of quietly superb songwriting.
Patty Griffin - "All Creatures Of Our God & King"
I love Patty Griffin. Her voice give me chills. Her 2010 album Downtown Church is made up of all gospel songs, and was recorded in the Downtown Presbyterian Church in Nashville with Buddy Miller. It’s a fantastic album.
This particular tune was written by Saint Francis of Assisi in the early 13th century.
Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings - "I Learned The Hard Way"
A lot of bands seem to be jumping on the classic 60’s & 70’s soul revival bandwagon. These guys still do it best.
By the way, the title of my next side project: 60’s & 70’s Soul Revival Bandwagon.
Josh Rouse - "I Will Live On Islands"
Josh Rouse’s music is like a personal diary. A few years back he got divorced and wrote songs about being sick of American culture. A couple of years later he wrote an album about moving to Spain, getting sober, and meeting a new girl. Now he’s back with an album full of Spanish-sounding tunes. To his credit, he seems to have effortlessly picked up a good feel for the style.
Cee-Lo Green - "F*** You"
This is easily the best single of 2010, if not the past 5 years. Humorously, it can’t even be played on the radio. It is nominated for a Grammy under the title The Song Also Known As "Forget You". Your Grandma would hate these lyrics, but she’d still have to shake her booty to the beat.
Katy Perry - "California Gurls"
With the exception of the aforementioned Cee-Lo tune, there wasn’t a catchier radio hit than this one in 2010.
Peter Gabriel - "The Book Of Love"
This is a great old tune written by The Magnetic Fields, given new life by Peter Gabriel. It’s extremely difficult to write a love song without veering off into cheesy territory, but this one manages to be both moving and slightly sardonic.
Superchunk - "Digging For Something"
Superchunk is back!!! Yay!!!
This video is pretty rad, by the way.
Girl Talk - "Oh No"
Girl Talk once again released a stellar 70-minute continuous mash-up of pop songs that rivals his earlier masterpiece Feed the Animals, my favorite record of 2008. Better yet, the whole thing is free. You can download it here.
Ray LaMontagne - "Beg, Steal, or Borrow"
How consistently good is Ray LaMontagne? He sounds like he came straight out of the 1970's. He'd be at home with Joni Mitchell or The Band. You rarely hear music of this quality anymore.
Robyn - "Hang With Me"
From ABBA to Ace of Base and now Robyn, insanely catchy dance music has now become Sweden’s #3 export, trailing Bikini Teams and cheap, difficult-to-assemble furniture.
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
Wilco - "You Never Know"
Great harmonies, guitar tones, and piano sound in this one. One of the better Wilco singles in a while.
Jay-Z - "Empire State of Mind"
It's not like New York needed yet another anthem, but this one has to be the best since Sinatra's.
Neko Case - "People Got a Lotta Nerve"
Neko Case continues to make some of the best music of our generation.
Lady Gaga - "Paparazzi"
Gotta hand it to Ms. Gaga and her ability to churn out #1 singles. This one is my favorite of her hits.
The Pains of Being Pure at Heart - "Come Saturday"
You're lucky your music doesn't suck, because your band name sure does.
Charlie Wilson - "There Goes My Baby"
Apparently there are malls with valet parking? We gonna have some babies!
Grizzly Bear - "Southern Point"
I bet this is what an old America album would sound like if you were on acid.
Maxwell - "Pretty Wings"
This one is very close to my favorite song of the year. Warm horns, tight rhythm section, great vocals. What more can you ask for?
Justin Bieber - "One Less Lonely Girl"
Okay, so when I first heard this song I thought it was a woman singing. Turns out it's some teenage boy. So I suppose millions of preteen girls and several child molesters agree with this pick on my "Best Of" list. Whatever. It's still a catchy melody and well-produced.
Keri Hilson - "Knock You Down"
I was flying / Now I'm crashing/
This is bad, real bad, Michael Jackson/
Now I'm mad, real mad, Joe Jackson
Yo Keri, I'm really happy for you, and Im'ma let you finish, but Kanye has one of the best hip-hop stanzas of all time!
Miss Li - "Bourgeois Shangri-La"
Someone in the advertising department at Apple has good taste in music. I suppose that's not exactly news.
Sam Roberts - "Them Kids"
I like the rare rock song that makes you want to dance while also chastising its listeners for not knowing how to dance.
The SA-RA Creative Partners - "Gemini's Rising"
If you watched an episode of classic 70's children's TV show "The Electric Company" after taking way too much cough syrup, I bet it would sound a lot like this.
Ida Maria - "Oh My God"
Remember when there were lots of women who kicked ass? Like Joan Jett or Patti Smith? I mean, bully for the Sarah McLachlans and the Colbie Caillats or however you spell her name, but I'd much prefer more music like Ida Maria.
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