2010 Songs of the Year (Nos. 20-1)

20.  Kylie Minogue - Get Outta My Way

The flip side to Robyn's "Dancing On My Own," Kylie has no use for a man who won't make up his mind about her.  She tells him to get on the dancefloor and show her some moves, or get out of her way before she finds someone who will.  One of the best dance tracks of the year.

19.  Jonsi - Go Do

When I heard Jonsi was putting out a solo record I assumed, like most people, that it would be basically a solo Sigur Ros album, full of more orchestral guitar dirges.  "Go Do" announced the contrary.  Tribal drums, playful flutes and horns, and twinkling pianos showed a song bursting at the seams with life, telling us that "We should always know that we can do everything." (See also "Boy Lillikoi" and "Animal Arithmetic")

18.  Broken Social Scene - Sweetest Kill

Atypically slow and somber track from the Canadian collective, but one that pulls you in with its insistent vocal and hushed music.  "Sweetest Kill" is about trying to help a lover through something bad (depression, drugs, etc.) and losing them.  You can almost feel and touch the weariness in his voice when he sings the lines "All the time, we get by, trying to figure out our lives like a fade out."  It breaks your heart.  (See also "Texico Bitches")

17.  Rusko featuring Amber Coffman - Hold On

The dubstep producer smartly teams up with Amber Coffman of Dirty Projectors for this banging club track.  The song is a textbook example of how to build the perfect amount of drama in a song.  (See also "Woo Boost" and "Rubadub Shakedown")

16.  Kylesa - Don't Look Back

From my hometown of Savannah, these sludge metal rockers released the best rock song of the year.  Taking a cue from Pixies, they amp up the riffs to blisteringly loud levels, the double drummers pounding you into submission.  (See also "Spiral Shadow" and "Tired Climb")

15.  Big Boi featuring Vonnegutt - Follow Us

"Follow Us" was usually the one track off Big Boi's cd that every critic dissed because of him using Vonnegutt on the chorus.  I think it is the best track on the cd and love the chorus, with this ragged melody.  The track has some killer bounce to it.  (See also "Shutterbug" and "You Ain't No DJ")

14.  Girl Unit - Wut

Taking elements from lots of electronic genres (Dirty South hip hop beats, diva house vocals, air raid rave sirens, dubstep wobbly bass), Girl Unit puts together everything into his own signature sound.  At once it all sounds familar and completely fresh.  Makes you want to get your ass on the dancefloor.

13.  Kanye West featuring Jay Z, Rick Ross, Nicki Minaj, and Bon Iver - Monster

You cannot ignore this track.  The music alone threatens you with bodily harm if you do not listen, and even with all the guest stars (Nicki Minaj knocks a grand slam home run in her career defining rap) hogging the mike, Kanye still holds the floor.  Amazing track from a brilliant cd. (See also "Runaway," "All Of The Lights," "Power," and "Blame Game")

12.  The National - Conversation 16

High Violet really has no standout tracks because they all are standout.  It works best listened to as a whole.  The National have really become the band that chronicles what it means to be mired in middle class malaise.  Of all the songs on the album, "Conversation 16" sticks out for me, because it is such an amazing profile of how, with all the stresses of the day to day world, it can take all our energy not to run amok, that the narrator is "afraid I'd eat your brains/because I'm evil."  A quietly devastating song.   (See also "Anyone's Ghost" and "Afraid of Everyone")

11.  Rihanna featuring Drake - What's My Name?

This song for me is about the build from the verses to the chorus, how the synths ramp up and her voice gets more and more into the song.  Rihanna knows how to work a song, and in this case, she knows how to work a man, showing after a bleak year for her she is simply in control and you better watch out.

10.  Crystal Castles - Celestica

The gorgeous highlight of their second album, "Celestica" shows Alice Adams trading in her usual antagonistic screaming for a otherworldly whisper.  Driven by a propulsive beat and pillow soft beds of synths that caress and comfort her childlike vocals, the only destination possible is heaven. (See also "Baptism")

9.  Jamie Woon - Night Air

Jumping from generic singer/songwriter stylings to the more emotional and evocative textures of post-dubstep, Jamie Woon is a talent to be watched.  His rich baritone flows effortlessly over a dense and haunting production provided by Burial.  His voice reaches such a fever pitch towards the end of the song, becoming one with the night.

8.  Beach House - 10 Mile Stereo

My favorite memory of this song was hearing it as the closing number of their Coachella set.  The song starts out so simply, with a lone bass drum, loping guitar and that angelic voice.  Slowly elements are added: the pitter patter of snares, swirling string synths and guitars.  By the end, I was watching perfection.  Beach House had me in their spell, the drums kicking in, her voice a siren call, the strings washing over the crowd.  I was in a sea of thousands of people, with tears that would not stop and I did not care.  (See also "Norway" and "A Walk In The Park")

7.  Nero - Innocence

Just wait until the 1:05 minute mark of this song.  You will then know why this song is so high on my list.

6.  Darkstar - Gold

The haunting centerpiece to Darkstar's debut album North, "Gold," a cover of an old Human League B-side, wears its melancholy well.  Glitchy electronics and robotic vocals are the narrator's armor, his attempts to let someone know he is not affected by them, that he only views them as a pretty object (the gold of the title), and yet, by song's end, the voices and music become warmer.  The armor is gone, and the hurt is there.  (See also "North," "Dear Heartbeat," and "When It's Gone")

5.  Olof Arnalds featuring Bjork - Surrender

There is always something childlike and primal about singers from Iceland.  Perhaps it is a product of their surroundings.  Olof Arnalds' voice gets under your skin and harbors within long after the music ends.  "Surrender" is a perfect example, with her hushed voice detailing the gradual emotional catharsis of allowing a relationship to unfold, or perhaps even about giving birth and bonding with a child.  The delicate beauty of the song cannot even be derailed by the forceful voice of Bjork in the background.

4.  Interpol - Safe Without

Interpol is the final album to feature Carlos D on bass, and the album reflects the chaos that was likely going on inside the band's ranks.  Many songs are about change; dealing with its aftermath, and moving on from it.  "Safe Without" slowly builds and builds under deep drum fills, echoing guitars, and cascading synths.  Singer Paul Banks' is feeling the effects of the changes he's enduring (lost of a partner, a friend, getting over drugs), and is trying to convince himself it will be alright, singing "I am safe without it" as a mantra.  By the end, it is uncertain whether Banks' believes it or not, his voice cracking, showing emotion for the first time, unsure of himself, but revealing the hurt and moving on. (See also "Success," "Summer Well," "Always Malaise (The Man I Am)," and "Try It On")

3.  Sufjan Stevens - Futile Devices

"Futile Devices," has a almost unbearably deep meaning for me.  The song is about two friends, both of which probably have deep feelings for the other, and yet one is obviously too scared of losing the friendship to ever allow himself to express that love other than as just friends.  He comes up with stupid things to deflect the conversation away from it, like saying he sees the other person as his brother and that it can't be more than that.  I was that way once with my best friend and for the longest time refused to even accept that it was more than friendship.  Luckily I didn't let the fear hold me back and we are now together.  Everytime I hear this song I start crying because I realize I could have given up on the love of my life.  Yes, words are futile devices, but sometimes you don't have to say a word to express how you feel.

2.  Antony and the Johnsons - The Spirit Was Gone

Swanlights was the sleeper album of the year.  As much as I wanted to dismiss it as sub-par Antony, it never let its claws off my back.  The album is still widely uneven after the brilliance of his first two releases, but the highs here were sometimes higher than the best songs on them.  "The Spirit Was Gone," is difficult to listen to because it is dealing with a heady subject: death itself.  Antony's vocal is particularly affecting here as in the first verses he seems to be in control of his emotion and grief, but the voice lands off-kilter to the notes and almost appears to be working against the melody, but then, mid-point, after an almost sigh, Antony allows the emotion to kick in, to allow his grief to flow.  This song is the pure definition of Beauty.  (See also "Swanlights" and "Christina's Farm")

1.  Robyn - Dancing On My Own



All year long I played this song.  It is a song that gets better and better each time you hear it.  No one is better than Robyn at cutting right to the heart and emotion in a song.  Here, Robyn sees a former lover dancing with his new flame, and while she does give into the pain, she still dances, knowing that her heart and mind will be better for it in the long run. (See also "Fembot," "Dancehall Queen," and "Criminal Intent")