To me, it was a year of singles, not so much complete albums. There were a few good ones released, no doubt, however there wasn’t really one that I could play all the way through on repeat. However, there were more than enough single tracks to keep me happy. It’s interesting to note that I had four different artists repeat in the top 25. Not sure what that means, maybe I didn’t branch out enough or maybe there just wasn’t anything worth branching out to. But all in all, I’m content with my selection. With that, I bring you my favorite songs of 2010:
25. The Radio Dept. – Heaven’s On Fire
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“…i’m a little like you | ugly on the inside | but while I dive into the gritty | you just stand by…”
24. NightBus – Guys Like You
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“…but i’m not with you for material things | you know i’m the modern girl | and as long as daddy doesn’t find out i’ll take you all over the world…”
23. Bruno Mars – Marry You
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“…cause it’s a beautiful night | we’re looking for something dumb to do | hey baby | i think i wanna marry you…”
22. Yeasayer – I Remember
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“…i remember making out on an airplane | still afraid of flying, but with you i’d die today…”
21. Sun Airway – Put the Days Away
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“…but you’re gonna find something to hold close | in the moonless night I wait for your ghost…”
20. Hanson – Thinking ‘Bout Somethin’
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…”cause the love i’ve got is better than what you gave…”
(Whatever, the song made me happy. Shut up.)
19. Sia – I’m In Here
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“…i’m fearing it all | stuck inside these walls | tell me there is hope for me…”
18. Japayork – Teenagers
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“…we feel great taking too much and some more we feel alive | the bright lights take us where we’ve never been before…”
17. Robyn – Dancing On My Own
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“…stilettos on broken bottles | i’m spinning around in circles…”
16. Kanye West – Monster (feat. Jay-Z, Rick Ross, Nicki Minaj & Bon Iver)
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“…now look at what you just saw | this is what you live for | aaaahhhh i’m a motherfucking monster”
(the reason this song is on here instead of “Power” or “Runaway” is because of ms. minaj. her wicked 1 minute and 20 second verse is by far the hottest thing to hit my eardrums in 2010. period.)
15. Arcade Fire – Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains)
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“…they heard me singing and they told me to stop | quit these pretentious things and just punch the clock | these days my life, i feel it has no purpose | but late at night the feelings swim to the surface |
’cause on the surface the city lights shine | they’re calling at me, come and find your kind…”
(the opening lines from this song have my vote as the best lyrics of the year. And this song needs to be the soundtrack to Freedom.)
14. Cee-Lo Green – Please
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“…but with all the wrong i’ve done | how could love ever love me…”
13. Dirty Gold – California Sunrise
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“…i’ve been sleeping far too long | hibernating from your love | i need some summer sun to come and wake me up…”
12. How to Dress Well – Decisions
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“…don’t forget to check your cell phone…”
(they’re really the only lyrics i can make out in this song)
11. Vampire Weekend – California English, Pt. 2
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“…this girl was smarter than television scripts | this girl wasn’t damaged her jeans were just ripped | this girl was the girl that the girls in your world thought about when the night was cold…”
10. Sara Bareilles – Bluebird
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Unlike “Gravity” which ended Bareilles’ last album, her sophomore closer brings a message of new beginnings however lonely they may be. It’s one of those sad-happy songs that after coming to a close make you think that just maybe this bluebird, too, will have this chance fly over the rainbow.
09. Alphabeat – DJ
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This was Wes’ song of the year and, weirdly enough, my most played song on iTunes. No matter where I was or what mood I was in, whenever I heard it I smiled and started dancing…all night.
08. Mumford & Sons – After the Storm
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I wrote about this hauntingly beautiful song here and I can’t really say anything more about it.
07. Rufus Wainwright – Zebulon
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Rufus has always sung with bravado and drama backed usually with a full band, a reason why so many love his music. But here, it’s just his voice and a piano. There are not many things that are more beautiful sounding than this. It’s tender, sweeping, haunting, emotional. The output of feeling he has in this song is almost tangible. This song further solidifies that Rufus’ voice is a perfect instrument, and one that continues to amaze me.
06. Cee-Lo Green – F**k You
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This song topped many 2010 lists and for good reason. It was super catchy, had retro 70s swag that felt fresh, and everyone likes a good fuck you song. It also had some of the best lyrics in a track this year including, “i guess he’s an x-box and i’m more atari”. Being an Atari myself, I readily hopped on the f**k you bandwagon.
05. Robyn – Fembots
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Robyn was a force in the music scene this year. With an ambitious three album project, hot videos, and a tour, I’m not sure how she had time to keep her teeth so nicely filed. It seemed every time I put on my headphones a new slammin new Robyn song was playing. It was hard to choose which song would crack my top 10, but “Fembots” (off of Body Talk Pt. 1) grabbed me from the start and never let go. It’s effortlessly smooth chorus was one of the best this year and paired perfectly with the robotic verses and blips and bleeps throughout the track. It was the perfect start to an awesome year from Robyn.
04. Yeasayer – O.N.E.
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After Animal Collective’s monster album last year there has been a definite swing to the style that they perfected. Yeasayer has piggybacked on this, and, in their own right, has created more of a pop version of a similar sound. The roots are there, the bad isn’t going anywhere, they just need to tighten up and edit a bit more. For me, O.N.E. is the best on the Odd Blood, an 80′s electro throwback with killer verses and awesomely heave beat drops. And if you haven’t seen the video, it’s quite a trip.
03. Martin Solveig – Hello
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French electronic music DJ and producer Martin Solveig featured Canadian electropop group Dragonette for this ridiculously amazing work. The video for the song was recorded at Roland Garros where Martin Solveig faces Bob Sinclar, another DJ, in a tennis match…during a real match. Sweet. It’s such a great, fun, summer song. And hand claps! You know how I love hand claps. And when the beat drops. Oh. So. Nice. Hello Martin and Dragonette, thanks for coming to play. Game, set, match.
02. Arcade Fire – We Used to Wait
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Oh, C minor chord. Your haunting, persistant, continuous keys. You make this song move. From the opening to the closing you are there. I can’t really think of a song that has the same chord played with such a determined purpose over the course of the entire track. It’s almost as if the chord is the sound of the runner’s footfall with each stride he takes. If you haven’t played around with the interactive video, it’s one of the coolest things I’ve seen in a long time…and makes me love the song that much more. It’s a massive album with some great standout singles, but “We Used to Wait” is special. It has that thing that only Arcade Fire can do. That thing where you are in the song, where it’s about you, not anyone else on the metro or on the sidewalk, but you. And, as Win Butler sings, it’s strange how something so small (like a song) can keep you alive.
01. LCD Soundsystem – I Can Change
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I’m not sure there are many things better than LCD Soundsystem recording a great song. It can be a complete work of art, in my opinion. From lyrics like “love is a murderer | but if she calls you tonight, everything is alright” to “I can change | if it helps you fall in love”, the emotional baring and stripping that James Murphy goes through is remarkable, almost cringe worthy at times if we ourselves had never felt the same way. With it’s quirky little 70′s blips permeating the track to Murphy actually using that smooth voice of his (even going into falsetto) to infect lyrics that get stuck in your head well after the song has ended. Please, please don’t change. This is why I fell love with LCD Soundsystem.
Get the Best of 2010 .zip file here (179MB so be patient, it’s be worth it)
