Tuesday 21 December 2010

My 50 Favourite Songs Of The Year: 20 – 11

The story so far

50. I Am Kloot – Northern Skies
49. Islet – We Shall Visit
48. Erykah Badu – 20 Feet Tall
47. The Vaselines – I Hate The Eighties
46. (We Are) Performance – The Living
45. Hole – Skinny Little Bitch
44. Vit Päls – Odysseus
43. Katy Perry feat. Snoop Dogg – California Gurls
42. Drive-By Truckers – Birthday Boy
41. The National – Anyone’s Ghost
40. Ke$ha – Your Love Is My Drug
39. Wild Nothing – O Lilac
38. MGMT – Song For Dan Treacy
37. Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti – Beverly Kills
36. The Black Keys – Everlasting Light
35. Four Tet – Angel Echoes
34. Shearwater – Landscape At Speed
33. The Heartbreaks – Liar, My Dear
32. Ed Harcourt – Lustre
31. Best Coast – Boyfriend
30. David Byrne & Fatboy Slim feat. Florence Welch – Here Lies Love
29. Sleigh Bells – Crown On The Ground
28. Belle and Sebastian – I Didn’t See It Coming
27. Gil Scott-Heron – Me And The Devil
26. The Fall – O.F.Y.C. Showcase
25. Villagers – Becoming A Jackal
24. The Hundred In The Hands – Pigeons
23. LCD Soundsystem – I Can Change
22. Zola Jesus – Lightsick
21. Big Boi – Shutterbugg


20. Diana Vickers – Once
Me: OMG have you heard this amazing pop song? It’s called ‘Once’ by Diana Vickers. I’m not kidding it’s amazing! Have you heard of her?
Everyone else in the UK: Er, yeah, she nearly won X Factor.
Me: Oh … *plays it again anyway*



19. Gold Panda – Same Dream China
Nothing really bad could ever happen to you while you’re listening to Gold Panda. I think this is the most beautiful track he’s ever done. A whole album of Japanese folk next please.


18. Crystal Fighters – Champion Sound
They are the band I most want to be in. Is it Afrobeat? Or is it just what indie sounds like nowadays? I cannot make head nor tail of this lot and that’s just dandy with me.


17. The Magnetic Fields – You Must Be Out of Your Mind
They have yet to lose it. Prolific, wry, melodic, damaged, sweet. Everything you’ve ever liked about The Magnetics is still there in abundance and all of it right here in one song.



16. iamamiwhoami – Y
Sweden ain’t over yet. This song is a cut-glass triumph of pace and production and frailty. Yes, Kate Bush obviously, but also Royksopp too, and just what do they think they are doing two minutes in with that synthesiser? Outrageous and gorgeous.


15. Darwin Deez – Bed Space
Adorable corkscrew-headed pixie releases album with one track that simply towers over the rest. The ever-so-slightly Paul Simon touch to his voice echoes like a little ghost over those Strokes-y guitars. Won me over in seconds.



14. Janelle Monae feat. Big Boi – Tightrope
Right up there with Kelis, Badu and Rihanna in the space of one record (albeit one we waited three years for), and not a dull moment on it. This is the most audacious of the lot. It’s the new ‘Single Ladies’ and every bit as good.



13. Ratatat – Drugs
Stupid one-song-per-band rule. Ratatat make a great leap forward with every album yet some of the finest tracks from LP4, this included, hark back to early gems like ‘Seventeen Years’. If you don’t utterly love this one try ‘Bare Feast’. The only band who could out Daft Punk Daft Punk.


12. Kelis – 4th Of July (Fireworks)
It could’ve been that ‘Acapella’ was just a flukey not-quite comeback single. Who knew there was something even better waiting for us? This is proper piano rave that straight-up tears you a new one every time.



11. CEO – Oh God, Oh Dear
Another Swedish gem, and just one person apparently, Eric Burgland. This song arrives like a sweeping Indian epic then proceeds like post-modern chamber pop. Probably the damned catchiest thing on this whole damn list.


Spotify playlist is right HERE.

Tune in Christmas Day for the top ten if you like!

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