20. K'naan
A decent rework of a great song, even if it was for Coke. And even if Spain ruined Germany. Again. It still hurts.
19. Janelle Monae
All-out assaults like this snap you out of it, whatever it is.
18. Twin Sister
Light.
17. Blood Diamonds
Another successful instance of the chipmunk voice. Alvin, Simon....Theodore!
16. Shad
Shad is agreeable. Great foundational sample. Glen Beck better duck!
15. Four Tet
Love Cry makes you anxious. Even at 9 minutes, it's not long enough for you to find out what happens.
14. Caribou
Approaching Hot Chip territory, on purpose.
13. Sufjan Stevens
Survive the intro and be richly rewarded.
12. Sleigh Bells
I'm one to regard most things loud as obnoxious. Not this. They were too big for the stage at Coachella.
11. Yelawolf
I miss my Deliverance-era Bubba Sparxxx, and holy macaroni does this fill in nicely.
10. Hot Chip
Modern sweet.
9. Ol' Dirty Bastard & Ludacris
Think about this right after he got out signed with Def Jam: "Got somethin' to prove I done got my groove back and all in the news//But papa got a brand new weed bag and some new blue suede shoes//I got another pep in my step, and a whole new glide in my stride//Sixty thousand on my neck and a million dollar look in my eye//And then she thought about it twice and said I can hit again//And I been waitin' for this moment since I got out the pen!" R.I.P.
8. Robyn
No other artist could make this beat sound so good, and no other beat makes Robyn sound so good.
7. Ray Lamontagne
Classic guitar riff and (gasp) meaningful coming-of-age lyrics.
6. Mayer Hawthorne
Is it racist if you're surprised he's white?
5. Delorean
If this can't warm you up, go to the doctor.
4. Tame Impala
Everytime something is tagged as "psychedelic rock," I hope it sounds like this.
3. LCD Soundsystem
It'll be at the top of most lists. Best of Coachella moment. Bowie loved it.
I'm old enough now to know that this is a classic. Meaghan, remember that day at your lake on your birthday?
This is great! I envy the fact that you could actually make decisions like these...100 of them in fact! I basically COULD have a comment for every song but...
ReplyDeleteI appreciate the 2 Sleigh Bells tracks, but personally i thought Rill Rill was the highlight of that album. That Funkadelic sample was genius!
I also think Marry Me by St. Vincent was an incredible release and deserves some attention.
Just off the top of me head...
Adam C
Oops...my bad i guess i should do my research before i make such claims...Marry Me was released in '07! I just recently heard it so i figured it was one that slipped through. Sorry
ReplyDeleteAdam C
: ) Checking release dates ruined 8 or 9 of my original picks!
ReplyDeleteI will definitely look into St.Vincent though.
You should make one of these man, you've put me on to more good stuff over the years than anyone else!
This is a great list Nathan, thanks for posting it. Sifting through best of lists over the holidays is second only to being drunk and glutonous for god knows how many days straight.
ReplyDeleteOh but i'm afraid you made one terrible, terrible mistake. "Hang with Me" by Robyn is the best track on the album, maybe my favorite non-love love song in the whole wide world. ...and its Robyn, wtf?
Anyway, Thanks for the goodies!
lisa j
Word. There were probably 8 or 9 Robyn tracks that could have been on here. That new "Call Your Girlfriend" is a great non-love love song.
ReplyDeleteI actually have the Body Talk albums as #2 for the year; that list will be finalized soon.
Now go get drunk and glutonous!