Yeah yeah yeah… everyone is doing it, right? Counting down their favorite songs of the year, or favorite songs of the decade. I don’t know if I have the energy to review a whole decade worth of music, and I think it would be way too easy to overlook something I liked 7 or 8 years ago… but thanks to the magic of iTunes, it’s pretty simple for me to browse through the tracks that I listened to the most in 2009, and with a bit of rearranging, I managed to get them into a pretty decent order for a countdown.
If I had to describe my taste in music in one word, it would probably be “electro”. Not quite as generic as “techno” or “electronica” or “edm”. Electro has been used for genre-blending with more frequency over the past few years with everything from hip-hop to indie rock to mainstream pop, so it has become quite a versatile sound if anything. Of course, there’s a few tracks in my list that stick out quite a bit… but what can I say… sometimes you get into a certain mood to listen to very specific songs.
Anyway… here we go… Top 25 songs of 2009:
25. He’s Frank - The BPA featuring Iggy Pop
Norman Cook’s non-Fatboy Slim contribution to 2009 came in the form of a new project under the title of “The Brighton Port Authority”. The debut album “I Think We’re Going to Need a Bigger Boat” was chock full of Fatboy-esque tracks including “Toe Jam“, an awesome collaboration with David Byryne and Dizzee Rascal, and “Seattle“, a more laid-back listen. Still, the song that stood out on the album for me was “He’s Frank” with Iggy Pop. The guitar riff loop reminded me of the one used 10 years ago in The Rockafeller Skank… but much less annoying in a less repetitive manner. Great song if whether if you’re a fan of Iggy or a fan of Fatboy. Plus, the music video is fun to boot:
24. Raindrops - Basement Jaxx
I’ve been a fan of Basement Jaxx ever since I first heard Red Alert 10 years ago, and their work has been consistently solid ever since. They’re the kings of multi-layered genre-bending and I always look forward to what sort of strange new sounds will make it onto their next album. 2009’s “Scars” hasn’t been given as many listens through as I would have liked yet, but their first single “Raindrops” was a pretty solid addition to the 2009 soundscape:
23. Dat New New - Kid Cudi (VIKING Remix)
Isn’t everyone from Columbus supposed to like Kid Cudi since he’s from Cleveland? I love seeing an Ohio artist rise to fame, but for me this is another example of where it took an obscure electro remix of a b-side track to really get my attention. The tempo of the original song is about half this speed, so just a warning… once you listen to the remix you can never go back to the original:
22. Metropolis - Cicada (The Twelves Remix)
Before this song, I had never heard of Cicada before, but I’ll listen to just about anything that The Twelves remix. Those guys are magicians. Case in point. Here’s the original track (which is ok). And below is the remix that easily became one of my favorite songs of the year. The way they cut up the vocals is nearly unintelligible, but ridiculously addictive to listen to:
21. Vocaloid - Charlie Tippie (Terror Dactel Mix)
This track came out of left field for me really late in the year, but quickly grabbed my attention. I don’t really know a whole lot about Charlie Tippie, or about Terror Dactel, but it all came together nicely:
20. Paparazzi - Lady Gaga (Redlight Remix)
Yeah, I’m not embarrassed to say that I enjoyed some music by Lady Gaga this year. A lot of her music is pretty cringe-inducing even for bubble-gum pop, but I’ve been actually pretty surprised by some of her more euro-dance influenced songs like Paparazzi and Bad Romance (the latter song I’ve unsuccessfully tried to describe as one part 80s Madonna, one part Fischerspooner, and a dash of the Bloody Beetroots). Anyway, the Redlight remix treatment helps this one out even more (this video is fan made, so the synchronization is pretty terrible):
19. Waking Vision - Gil Mantera’s Party Dream
Got to give a little love to semi-locals Gil Mantera’s Party Dream for their 2009 album “Dreamscape”. My favorite track on the album is Walking Vision. Of course, I can’t find a video for the original track, with GMPD being as “indie” as they are, but here’s some footage of a live version that actually sounds pretty good (skip to 1:24 if you want to bypass The Ultimate Donny’s crowd interaction):
18. Study Hard Drugs School - Fear Of Tigers
This is another group that I know little about, except for the fact that everything they produce and/or remix is usually pretty solid. The following track is no exception. If you like it be sure to also check out “The Adventures of Pippi Longstrump” and their remix of “Dawn of the Dead” by Does it Offend You, Yeah? On to the video:
17. Invaders Must Die - The Prodigy
I was a big Prodigy fan when The Fat of the Land dropped in 1997. It was perfect music for a 17 year old who was just starting to migrate away from “grunge/alt-rock” and into exploring anything under the electronic umbrella. Good transitional music. I sort of lost touch with The Prodigy after they bombed with their follow up album that took like 7 years to make and was a complete departure from anything I was remotely interested in at the time. Thankfully, the group decided to return to their roots and put out “Invaders Must Die” in 2009 which might as well be named “The Prodigy: The Lost Levels”. It sounds like it was pulled out of a time capsule that was buried in 1996. Some of the synth sounds the used in Omen, Warrior’s Dance, and Take me To the Hospital sound like they were lifted straight off their 1995 album “Jilted Generation”. Anyway, to make a long story short, this isn’t the kind of music I can listen to everyday in 2009, but it certainly was an amazing blast from the past worth revising here and there throughout the year. Turn the volume way up and the title track delivers:
16. Finish Line - Fanfarlo
I can’t remember how I stumbled upon these guys, and I still don’t know a whole lot about them, but I love their sound. I want to say that certain songs remind me a bit of the Talking Heads. And that’s a very good thing.
15. Off Our Backs - MEN (Pegase Remix)
Another band I know little about, although judging from their music video (which looks as if it were directed by my friend Jim Lauwers) they seem like a cross between the aforementioned Gil Mantera’s Party Dream and Hot Chip. The original song is ok, but the Pegase remix is much better.
14. Bulletproof - La Roux (Lapse Remix)
One of my favorite euro-pop acts of the year: La Roux. I feel as if I can call it euro-pop and not mainstream american pop as it doesn’t seem like she really got enough attention in the US even though she was extremely popular in the UK. I can’t find a video for the Lapse remix that I enjoyed quite a bit, but the original version of Bulletproof isn’t too bad on its own:
13. Lessons Learned - Matt & Kim
The video is a bit gimmicky, but the song was somewhat anthemic for 2009. More on Matt & Kim later on…
12. Better Off As Two - Frankmusik
If there’s any one “guilty pleasure” song on my list, it would have to be this one. Pure euro-pop bubblegum ridiculousness. But quite catchy, no?
11. The Reeling - Passion Pit (Miike Snow Remix)
I noticed that Passion Pit’s 2009 album Manners seemed to top a lot of “best of” lists, but I honestly couldn’t really get into too many of their songs. The original version of The Reeling is alright, but the Miike Snow remix was really their standout track of the year for me:
10. You’ve Got the Love - Florence + the Machine (XX remix)
Once again… another band I know very little about. Just somehow stumbled upon this song and really enjoyed it quite a bit. Good downtempo track for the year:
9. True Stories - Datarock
I actually liked Datarock’s 2005 self-titled album better overall compared to 2009’s “Red”, but their salute to The Talking Heads was one of my favorite non-cover tribute songs of the year:
8. Thriller - Michael Jackson (Villains Remix)
I’m fairly certain that this remix came out this year. It’s always hard to tell with a 27-year-old song like Thriller that’s probably been remixed 10,000 times in the past three decades. Anyway, I stumbled upon this one shortly after Jackson died earlier this year, and it instantly won me over:
7. Silvia - Miike Snow
Miike Snow is a band that probably needs little introduction. They’re another one I spotted on a lot of other people’s “best of 2009″ lists. I actually just read that their single of Silvia isn’t being released until January 2010, but it’s on their album from 2009, and they’ve already got a video out for it too:
6. I’m Not Your Toy - La Roux
Yep, another track from La Roux. This one didn’t seem to have the same mainstream success as Bulletproof, but as far as pop songs go, I think it’s a better track overall. I almost listed the DatA remix of the song in this spot, but honestly, I think the original might be better.
5. Spilled Time - VoltronixX
According to their myspace page, VoltronixX is an electro trio from Antwerp, Belgium and their track “Spilled Time” only has 362 listens as of Dec 30, 2009. Does that make me “underground” for liking it so much? Seriously, it’s a great song, and I look to hopefully more good things from this group. There’s no music video available, so I’ll leave you with a link to where you can listen on The Hype Machine.
4. Daylight - Matt & Kim
If there’s anything that the indie/hipster rock community could learn from Matt & Kim, it’s that SMILING makes people happy. I think they’ve found the perfect balance between simplicity and catchiness with Daylight. It’s a song that’s hard to get sick of turning up on the radio in the car and singing along with.
3. Heartbreaker - MSTRKRFT (ft. John Legend)
For me, MSTRKRFT’s albums leave a little bit to be desired when compared to their amazing catalogue of stellar remix work, but Heartbreaker was an amazing track from their Fist of God album this year. The Wolfgang Gartner Remix might have gotten a few more listens by me when compared to the original, but both have solid legs to stand on. Great video to boot:
2. Stand Up - The Prodigy
Yeah, I know I said earlier that The Prodigy’s new album wasn’t something that I felt like I completely identified with as a 29-year-old, or at least not the same way that I did when I was 17… but the new album’s closing track “Stand Up” was quite the funky unique treat on an album otherwise filled with their brand of teen angst and dance aggression. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had this song stuck in my head this year. Even after weeks of not listening to it. That horn loop just doesn’t want to leave my brain some days.
1. Animal - Miike Snow (Punks Jump Up Remix)
And there you have it… my number one track of the year. A semi-popular Swedish band with a pretty impressive debut album. The original song is alright, but this Punks Jump Up Remix kicks it up to eleven for me. I guess I’ll let the music speak for itself: