With a new year only a little over a week away, it's time to review the best songs 2010 had to offer. Please excuse the overly cheesy 2010 logo I stole from some very unsuspecting site.
50) Lupe Fiasco - The Show Goes On
We finally got a taste of what to expect from Lupe Fiasco's upcoming release, Lasers. Sampling a speeding Float On by Modest Mouse, Lupe dazzles as he always does, and gives a reason to expect a huge 2011.
49) Deep Ella - Summer Love
Deep Ella may never receive the respect they deserve, which is a shame since there is a lot of talent here. Summer Love is a fun track, so take a listen and see if you can figure out how this has not ended up on a CW show yet. (Talking to you One Tree Hill)
48) Memoryhouse - Lately (Deuxième)
Another lo-fi bedroom project with much more somber result than the others. Featuring a quite haunting production value, resulting in a music box feel topped with thee usual chillwave vocal distortion, making an all in all lovely song.
47) Frightened Rabbit - Swim Until You Can't See Land
Even though I was a little disappointed with their latest release, it was still a quality album with a few great tracks. This was obviously one of them, a skillfully crafted piece of Scottish indie rock.
46) Two Door Cinema Club - Something Good Can Work
I honestly don't know why this band wasn't bigger in 2010, but it's quite possible that I'm the only dork who enjoyed them so much. Simple, catchy, British indie rock is all this is, but it was done so well it may be the best in years.
45) Los Campesinos! - In Media Res
The title track from Romance Is Boring continues the great pace Los Campesinos! love to start on every record. Let's start off slow, acoustic guitars, maybe a glockenspiel, then pick it up quick, as we angrily vent about some evil woman, continue to pepper the song with that darn charming glockenspiel, then bring them back down slow while chanting something intended to produce an overwhelming nostalgia. Sounds weird on paper, but works beautifully every time.
44) Codeine Velvet Club - Reste Avec Moi
The newest venture from The Fratellis frontman Jon Fratelli was in my opinion, a success, though a short-lived one. With the dissolution of the band we only have 11 tracks to go on, so check out this noir inspired, 60's alternative rock thing. Something like that...
43) Chromeo - Night By Night
Definitely one of the most fun, and most funky groups around, Chromeo continued their electronic storm with this tune that will more than likely make you want to dance like a moron.
42) Kid Cudi - Erase Me (featuring Kanye West)
I'm not sure I enjoy Kid Cudi's newest record as much as everyone else seems to, but I do love his latest single with the always awesome Kanye, whose outspokenness seems to match the tone of this broken man's confusion.
41) Surfer Blood - Floating Vibes
Surfer Blood came out of Florida with some of the best west coast indie rock this year. As with most of the new indie rock, it takes cues from doo-wap sounds while intertwining it with a more modern and rhythmic guitar and bass.
40) Small Black - Despicable Dogs
A great emerging chillwave band from Brooklyn who released a pretty darn good album only a few months ago. Their best song though appeared on their self-titled debut EP featuring their very noteworthy lo-fi sound.
39) Twin Sister - All Around And Away We Go
Indie pop at its finest here, featuring a slow steady beat with vocals so quiet it's almost ingenious with they way it makes you pay attention. Watch out for Twin Sister in 2011 when they'll presumably release a debut album.
38) Girls - Substance
The first Girls song on our list is quite a personal one of theirs, which I'm sure you've deduced is about drugs. His personal struggles are highlighted here, fighting between the decision of choosing what's right, and what helps him function well enough to keep going. Deep stuff to such happy, doo-wap music.
37) Wild Nothing - Chinatown
Wild Nothing perfectly capture a summer love nostalgia here with such a simple innocence. And of course, it's lo-fi indie pop. (Ten points if you can guess what the most popular sound of the year was.)
36) The Walkmen -Stranded
As I enter this song into my list, I'm seriously contemplating if there are 35 others better than this one. Simply put, it's just brilliant rock music, that is drenched emotionally in every guitar stroke, drum beat, and word sung.
35) Local Natives - Airplanes
Local Natives we're receiving buzz long before their debut album dropped this February, namely for this song which is a lovely tribute to one of the members grandfather. It's a perfect balance of emotion, harmony, and percussion that may stick with you for a while.
34) Jens Lekman - The End of the World Is Bigger Than Love
It's great to hear something new from Jens, though it's quite strange this song received little to no buzz. Just by reading the title, you know this one borders a little on the dramatic, yet in his classic style, he'll have charmed you into belting out the chorus halfway through the track. And as always, his attention to detail is impressive along with a little clever wordplay to make this one a favorite.
33) Janelle Monáe - Dance Or Die (Feat. Saul Williams)
Saul Williams joins Ms. Monáe on this intriguing funky R&B track that really sets a precedent for the record. Like most the songs on the album, it's a little ambitious, but she has the skills to make it seem so effortless.
32) Vampire Weekend - White Sky
Vampire Weekend continue their awesome streak with this fun song that shows off a very clever arrangement and production value by band member, and producer, Rostam Batmanglij. That's also a really awesome name, I mean seriously, it has Batman in it.
31) Girls - Carolina
To me, this song really shows Girls growth as a band with this 7 and a half minute experiment. A very trippy intro leads to a great instrumental piece before completely changing course into something more their style for the last few minutes. They pull this track off perfectly, so we'll see if there's more of this style on their next LP.
30) LCD Soundsystem - All I Want
This track i a lot more Rock Band than DJ Hero, which is probably frustrating to every band without a drum machine. I mean they already dominate the electronic world, so it's totally not cool of them to take on indie rock, but god dangit, or course they do it incredibly well. Freaking James Murphy.
29) Cee Lo Green - F@*k You!
Absolutely, without a doubt the catchiest song of them year. It manages to walk to fine line between ridiculously catchy and overly annoying so well in my opinion, which you probably can't say for most the crap you hear on the radio. Plus, not many people seem to notice the great style of this song which is carried out throughout the whole record, though with a little less anger.
28) How To Dress Well - You Won't Need Me Where I'm Goin'
More bedroom music project here, rocking the falsetto distortion, a faded guitar hook, and a soft beat throughout.
27) Freelance Whales - Generator ^ First Floor
Having one of my favorite records of the year, it was really tough to pick just a couple of the best off the album. So I went with the first track which is a great preview of what to expect from the album. As soon as the banjo kicks in to coincide with the four piece harmony, you'll most likely find yourself loudly belting "bah-bah-bah-bah-bah-bah-bah-bah-bah-bah-bah-bah-bah."
26) Yeasayer - Ambling Alp
A very electronic anthem coming from pretty hyped album. The first half of the record was actually pretty awesome, but around tack eight they start to lose it and don't have enough time to get back in line. But just ignore that and listen to this crazy track.
25) Foals - Blue Blood
The songs starts off kinda droll like most of the indie rock coming from Europe these days, but in a surprising turn it's pick up quite nicely while maintaining a slightly folky twang.
24) Arcade Fire - Wasted Hours
This is arguably the most striking track on the record as it summarizes one of the main themes in only 3 and a half minutes. It probably wouldn't be so poignant if this was just a story and not an actual life description. Arcade Fire at some of their best.
23) Das Racist - hahahaha jk?
Despite every indiction, and there are many, this track is not a joke. It may be a little unorthodox, but it's really just a dope beat with many pop culture references and about half of my grocery list. And they manage to drop the line "Call me Dwight Schrute the way that I eat beats." It really doesn't get more gangsta.
22) Best Coast - Goodbye
This is most likely the happiest sounding breakup song you'll ever hear while still holding onto the original lyrical intentions. Very Beach Boys meet Regina Spektor in LA around '64.
21) Baths - Aminals
I'm not entirely sure why the track is a misspell of "animals," because I don't believe that word is mentioned once in the song. In fact, there's not many words at all in this mostly electronic song, but there is an adorable british child speaking followed by children giggling so that adds up for something
