Well here it finally is. The top 15 songs of last year. It’s what, March? Took me long enough – sorry. But this list just had to be finished, as it is still my go-to playlist on my iPod.
Look for some actual 2010 content coming soon (so many new albums to talk about!), and enjoy the excellent and long-awaited conclusion:
15. Owl City – “Fireflies”
Favorite radio song of the year
14. Discovery – “Orange Shirt” Ra Ra Riot + Vampire Weekend =
13. Julian Casablancas – “11th Dimension”
Makes me look forward to anything and everything by TheStrokes
12. Chiddy Bang – “The Opposite Of Adults (KIDS)”
Best sample of another song this year
11. Animal Collective – “My Girls”
An almost 6 minute sprawling epic. Like the Return of the King (of songs)
10. Owl City – “Hello Seattle” Postal Service ripoff? Maybe. Excellent song? Definitely
9. Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros – “Home”
Out of nowhere band/song that resonates with me for whatever reason and shot up the list
8. Swimming With Dolphins – “Everything’s A Miracle”
The type of song I would make if I had any talent
7. Kid Cudi – “Pursuit Of Happiness”
Best collaboration of the year with MGMT and Ratatat
6. Passion Pit – “Sleepyhead”
Song I’ve listened to the most this year…not surprising
5. Matt And Kim – “Daylight”
So infectious and catchy – even more so in person
4. Phoenix – “Lisztomania”
Best French import since the Statue of Liberty; Phoenix is legit
3. Grizzly Bear – “Two Weeks”
About as perfect a song as can be written
2. fun. – “At Least I’m Not As Sad (As I Used To Be)”
Best played live song I saw this year; fantastically sung by Nate
1. Passion Pit – “The Reeling”
Not the best song I’ve seen live or the best sung or the best from a purely musical standpoint. Feel like it has a little bit of everything making it stand out as my favorite song of the year
We all really want to finish this list out for a number of reasons (time to move on in earnest to 2010, several of you have told me need to find out what’s next, etc.), but I thought posting the final 55 songs all at once was too much. Look for the final posting later this week.
Enjoy the rest of the Top 115 list/playlist, and now you have more new stuff to listen to at work!
55. The Asteroids Galaxy Tour – “Around The Bend”
Best song used in an Apple commercial
54. Regina Spektor – “The Calculation”
Distinct voice makes for refreshingly good songs
53. Karen O And The Kids – “All Is Love”
Sweetest song of the year
52. Kid Cudi – “Dat New New (Viking Remix)”
Random song not on the album, but found it on Hypem.com
51. Swimming With Dolphins – “Sunset, 1989”
Synthesizer? Check. Autotune? Check. Still awesome.
50. The Very Best – “Warm Heart Of Africa”
Basically a Vampire Weekend song on someone else’s album
49. Thao And The Get Down Stay Down – “Cool Yourself”
High school friend continues blow up – great live show
48. Miley Cyrus – “Party In The USA”
Guilty pleasure of the year. Don’t hate.
47. Cobra Starship – “Good Girls Go Bad”
Soft spot for both Gabe and Leighton
46. Chiddy Bang – “Truth”
Anything featuring Passion Pit is bound to be catchy
45. La Roux – “Bulletproof (Redial Remix)”
Excellent beat somehow improved by the remix makes this a fun listen
44. Camera Obscura – “French Navy”
Late on the bandwagon, but recently shot up my list. Lead singer’s voice reminds me of Zooey D.
43. Discovery – “Osaka Loop Line”
Best duo side project song of the year
42. Flight Of The Conchords – “Hurt Feelings”
Funny, yet sad…hence, sad clown song of the year
41. The Lonely Island – “Motherlovers”
Could not get enough of this song – Justin and Andy need their own album.
40. The Hood Internet – “Good Ol Fashion Rump Shaker”
Favorite mashup of the year….and I like my mashups
39. Florence And The Machine – “Kiss With A Fist”
Shortest song on the list, but sure does pack a punch (haha…get it?)
38. Ingrid Michaelson – “Everybody”
With respect to Karen O, Regina, and others – Ingrid is my indie sweetheart of the year
37. Metric – “Sick Muse”
Sound a little like Stars. They more than hold their own, however.
36. Passion Pit – “Little Secrets”
Could have put the entire Manners album on here (and I almost do – keep reading)
35. Snob Scrilla – “Chasing Ghosts”
Sweet drums, good rapping in this random one
34. Weezer – “I Want You To”
While Weezer has gone downhill, they’re still catchy and I still like this song
33. Matt And Kim – “Good Ol Fashion Nightmare”
Biggest, Longest Continuous Smile Award goes to…Kim
32. fun. – “All The Pretty Girls”
Ex-Format member, Nate Ruess, excels with his new band
31. Vampire Weekend – “Horchata”
If the new songs are any indication their sophomore effort coming out in January that came out in January will live up to the large expectations
30. Passion Pit – “Moth’s Wings”
Hello again Passion Pit. Sit down, stay awhile.
29. Chromeo – “Night By Night”
More Canadians on the list make some electrofunk magic with this one
28. Kid Cudi – “Day N Nite”
My most played rap song this year
27. Empire Of The Sun – “Standing On The Shore (Dirty Disco Youth Remix)”
Favorite remix of the year – which is saying something
26. Animal Collective – “Summertime Clothes”
Second best song on the album still beats most everything else
25. Phoenix – “1901”
Ditto
24. Thao And The Get Down Stay Down – “Know Better Learn Faster”
Maybe I’m biased, but song is undeniably good. Expect big things.
23. The Lonely Island – “I’m On A Boat”
Funniest song of the year. Hands down. Previously never thought I would want to own a nautical themed pashmina afghan
Between my vacation for the last 10 days, and the fact that we didn’t really get our shit together until the last week of December, I’m still playing catch up a bit. If you know me, or if you’ve been reading WJM for a bit, I’m sure this doesn’t surprise you.
Below is Tripp’s Top 10 Albums of 2009. We have some obvious overlap here, but there’s also some really great stuff here that I didn’t list…and he wrote a lot more than I did haha.
Note: I didn’t link to songs directly this time, but a quick search for any of these artists on hypem.com will lead you to what you’re looking for.
Enjoy:
10) jj – jj n° 2
Light, breezy, and intoxicatingly beautiful, jj have created an album that brings to mind a warm, sunlit spring day where the listener has no cares in the world. Yet throughout the nine short songs of Swedish band jj’s first full-length release, a feeling emerges that there is a weight, a gravity to this album that is not reflected by a quick glance or a brief snippet of vocals and instrumentation. Listening to the album in its entirety, focusing on the lyrics (especially in lead songs “things will never be the same again” and “from africa to malaga”) and the technical proficiency (with the Lil Wayne-inspired “ecstasy” leading the way) gives one the full view of an astonishingly complex, brilliant, and simply beautiful work of art.
9) Drummer – Feel Good Together
The most consistent album on this list also doubles as the album least likely to appear on most end-of-year lists. A collection of drummers from other bands (led by Patrick Carney from The Black Keys), Drummer was formed in early 2009 and put out this collection of rock songs which ironically focuses very little on the drums. Instead, guitar hooks and synth backing lead to a set of songs which powers through from start to finish, at no point holding back or letting up. “Mature Fantasy,” the best song on the album, showcases how the drummers-turned-band can change tempo, volume, and emotion on the fly without losing a beat, something they do on every song with remarkable skill.
8 ) Matt & Kim – Grand
The high energy. The slightly off-kilter drumming. The staccato pacing. While not the best album of the year, Grand stands out as the defining sound of 2009. The album that produced the song that produced the Bacardi ad that introduced the world to Matt & Kim goes down as one of the best albums of the year thanks to its recognizable yet entirely unique sound.
7) Dirty Projectors – Bitte Orca
The hipster band of the year put out the hipster song of the year (“Stillness is the Move”), and as a result I’ve never wanted to be a hipster more. The sound of this album is unlike anything I’ve heard before, and is fairly well indescribable for someone so new to the hipster scene, so I’ll just say that I love it and leave it at that.
6) fun. – Aim and Ignite
A sweeping, epic pop album that features two of the best songs of the year (“Barlights” and “At Least I’m Not As Sad (As I Used to Be)”). The first of four straight albums I saw performed live this year; this concert was the most fun of the four. Something about fun.’s music just makes the listener smile; the band’s music lives up to the band’s name.
5) Phoenix – Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix
Home to two of the most popular songs of the year (“1901” and “Lisztomania”), Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix may be the surprise hit album of the year. Perhaps more than any other indie album, this album crossed over into the popular consciousness and got the buzz it deserved among mainstream listeners and critics. Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix is full of powerful songs that, upon hearing them, won’t be leaving your head anytime soon.
4) Yeah Yeah Yeahs – It’s Blitz
Of all the albums on this list, It’s Blitz contains the most songs that could easily be seen as radio singles. Led by Karen O’s amazing voice (which, if you’ve seen her live, is but a part of her awesome stage presence), the Yeah Yeah Yeahs have crafted an album that, pure and simple, rocks from start to finish. While “Zero” was the lead single and has been named the Song of the Year by multiple sources, there are nine other songs which could be considered the album’s best (Hint: there are only nine other songs on the album).
3) Passion Pit – Manners
The most anticipated album of the year for the list-makers here at WJM, and it certainly did not disappoint. Just as good live as it is on your iPod (based on the two times I saw them this year, at least), Manners places the most tracks of any album in my Top 40 Song list with three (“Little Secrets”, “Moth’s Wings”, and “Sleepyhead,” which was accidentally left off the list submitted to WJ). It could easily have been more.
2) Sunset Rubdown – Dragonslayer Dragonslayer is an album not likely to be seen on many end-of-year lists, but this album was above all others for me this summer. Over a short 9-track playlist, haunting piano play combines with beautiful drumming and lyrics to make an absolutely astonishing album. There can be no doubt, though, that my love for this album is based mostly on my love of one song: “Dragon’s Lair”, the ten-plus minute long, somewhat-titular track that ends the album. While it’s not the most beautiful song of the year (“Stillness is the Move”) or the most impressive (“My Girls”), “Dragon’s Lair” is the song I most want to introduce to the public consciousness. It reads like a novel in the way it builds to a climax, and is a perfect capper to an album that tells an amazing story. Give the lyrics a listen and be inspired.
1) Animal Collective – Merriweather Post Pavilion
Obviously. On January 5th, less than a week into 2009, Stereogum asked if MPP was the best album of 2009. 51 weeks later, there can be no doubt that the answer is still yes. The most technically proficient, yet beautiful and moving album of the year, MPP redefined music and its possibilities in the future. The construct of “My Girls” is an absolutely amazing feat: a few basic lines, and a few basic hooks, layered on top of each other at different points in the song, shows exactly what music can and should be, from the lyrics to the instrumentation. MPP is clearly the album of the year.
Now I know that some of the other blogs/sites you might read probablydefinitelyhadposts about Virgin Mobile FreeFest 2009the day the hour after it ended. However, being as I’m just one person, and being as I went on vacation right after VirginFest: sorry, I’m just now getting to it…
So we miiiiight have started the day off by getting a KegBus to take us from Arlington to Merriweather Post Pavilion. We miiiight have spent the entire day at the 2nd stage, not the main stage. We also miiiight have been front row for Girl Talk. Who knows?!
Now I obviously knew of The Hold Steady and had heard their album a few times. Never totally did it for me, but I stayed and listened…and obviously they put on a really great show. The keyboard player was particularly hilarious. I mean come on, look at him! I’ll probably be listening to them more now after seeing them live.
Umm, obviously not really my jam. After watching The Hold Steady we sort of stumbled back over the main stage. It was completely packed. The group kinda split up. We found the food and beer stands. Then we somehow made it back to the best stage the side stage and were able to catch a few songs from Public Enemy. It was pretty hilarious to watch. Flava Flav totally stole the show:
The National
Approachability: Medium/High
Very similarly for me to The Hold Steady, The National is a group that I’ve heard many times, but I just never got that into them. I think RP3 knew every word to every song, and they definitely put on a good show. I’ll probably also listen to them more now that I’ve seen them live.
Girl Talk was easily the primary reason that I purchased acquired a ticket for this day of great music. I’ve listened to his album so many times, and I’ve heard from several of my friends’ first hand accounts that he puts on an amazing show. I can definitely corroborate their stories.
I literally didn’t move from the stage area after Public Enemy left, and by the time he came on, I was right up against the barriers at the front row. After every band finished, people shifted around, and we threw some bo’s, and pretty soon we were right up front. The place was packed:
He pulled like 50 audience members up on stage with him, and shit got pretty nuts pretty quickly:
They were shooting toilet paper ALL OVER the place (as you can see above) and they were throwing these big plastic beach-ball-esque things into the crowd. So fun. At the risk of sounding like a 12-year-old girl, we were so close that when he ran down off the stage and jumped around with the front of the crowd, we could touch him (OMG!!11 LOLZ!!).
Whenever he wasn’t in front of his laptop (and sometimes when he was!) he spent a lot of time on top of his table, jumping around with the crowd on stage, and then with the crowd on the ground. It was such a crazy show. I heard more than one person around me say it was the best show they’ve ever been to. When the stage crew came on afterward, they literally squeegeed the stage off.
My favorite description of the set came from Stereogum: “the traveling hipster roadshow that is a Girl Talk set.” Hilarious.
For more info, go to his MySpace:
http://www.myspace.com/girltalk
This was one of the more fun posts I’ve done in a while. Got to re-live the day a bit. Super fun, great music, perfect weather. Amazing day.
Preview Of Things To Come
September is a busy month for me. I’ve already been to VirginFest and seen Kings of Leon (post forthcoming). I’m seeing Matt and Kim tonight, then seeing fun. this Friday, and finally seeing Ra Ra Riot in 2 weeks. And let’s not even talk (yet!) about all the sweet music coming out/just released.
In the final throes of this Friday-posting-blitzkrieg, I’m just going to share a few songs/links/band updates/etc. that I found recently, but can’t really classify into the typical WJM format.
Additionally, I read at I Guess I’m Floating that fun. has a little concert/live webcast (starts around 2 min 30 sec) floating around. I listened to part of it, and it’s pretty good stuff, but the video’s not great and I got annoyed with it haha.
Finally, here are just a few random songs I found that needed to be shared.
The first one is a song I found on some blog somewhere, and I just love it. I tried some of The Very Best’s other stuff, and couldn’t get into it, but this one featuring Vampire Weekend’s Ezra Koenig is just fantastic:
The Very Best – Warm Heart of Africa (ft Ezra Koenig)
(Approachability: Very High)
I found this remix while reading about and listening to Yes Giantess. Bo Flex is the producer/studio of Passion Pit…or something like that. I don’t entirely understand the relationship, but Passion Pit, Yes Giantess, and Bo Flex are all very closely tied. Whatever, the song is awesome:
US Royalty – Keep it Cool (Bo Flex Remix)
(App: High)
Another random remix of Passion Pit that I found, and it certainly fits with the other stuff I’ve posted today. Kind of a clubbed-up version of The Reeling:
Passion Pit – The Reeling (Shuttles Super Club Mega Mix)
(App: Medium/Low)
And that’s all I’ve got from this week – phew! Hope you enjoyed all the different posts today, and have a great weekend.
First of all, I’d like to correct something from 2 posts ago when I first mentioned fun..I credited finding fun. to Megs. I should have known that all of the good music I hear from Megs comes from Galkin! (She will readily admit this.) Apparently fun. was in the awesome playlist that Galkin put together for a party at her house. Sorry Galkin. I should’ve known haha
The good news about the aforementioned error is that in correcting it, Galkin turned me onto The Format, which is Nate Ruess’s (the lead singer from Fun.) previous band.
The Format
Approachability: High
The Format is an older and now broken up band, but quite good pop-rock. They released two full-length albums before they split: Interventions and Lullabies in 2003, and then Dog Problems in 2006. Dog Problems is especially good. As I find in a lot of younger indie/alt-rock, the lyrics can sometimes be shockingly morbid, particularly in the catchy, upbeat songs. Either way, they are usually a pleasure to listen to.
I actually listened to them for the first time during a long car ride from DC to upstate New York for a wedding. My friend Sachin put them on randomly, I got excited, and it turns out we all had shockingly similar taste in music. Funny coincidence. Take a listen to The Format, and enjoy:
The Format – Time Bomb: The Format – Dog Problems:
fun.
Approachability: Very High
Nate Ruess is now the lead singer in fun. As I mentioned before, their debut album, Aim and Ignite, comes out on August 25.
I wrote about fun. in my last post, so just go read that one for more information. However, I wanted to mention them again for two reasons:
1) They are coming to DC on September 18 to Jammin’ Java. I’m going with Galkin and some other friends. For tickets and more info on the concert: http://www.jamminjava.com/home/events/fun
2) You can stream their entire new album if you visit their MySpace page: http://www.myspace.com/fun. It’s wonderful, light hearted, pop rock, fun..
Hope you all enjoy the new format (pun intended haha).
I’m off to Virginia Beach for the holiday weekend to enjoy some beach sunshine, good food, drinks, and friends, and probably sitting in tons of traffic haha. More great new stuff this week, so here we go:
fun.
Approachability: Very High
Megs actually found this band (she’s a sucker for piano and singing…), and then through RP3 it was blasting in our living room. They’re a new band, formed in the winter of 2008 in NYC. Their debut album comes out on August 25th, and hopefully it’s as good as some of the stuff on their space – especially what’s likely their first single, At Least I’m Not As Sad As I Used To Be.
Enjoy: http://www.myspace.com/fun
(Note that you can listen to 6 of their songs live via youtube, and 1 song via the myspace music player)
Miike Snow Approachability: Medium
I had previously heard his song Burial and I liked it a lot. His new self titled album is out now via all the usual outlets. This is definitely a little more electronic than some of the stuff I’ve been posting recently, but I think it’s still quite fun to listen to. You can hear what I’m guessing is the first single, Animal, on his space, as well as Burial and Song For No One. I think they’re all pretty awesome, but Animal is def. the standout.
MJ As everyone is now immensely aware, Michael Jackson died last week. I have been pretty much obsessed with the Discovery album ever since I got it a couple of weeks ago, and I find it almost eerie that they included such an awesome cover of the Jackson 5 song I Want You Back on their first LP.As my own little tribute to MJ, here’s that cover: Discovery – I Want You Back
Ra Ra Riot @ 930 Club Ra Ra Riot tickets for October 1st at the 930 Club in DC are now available on Tickets.com. Go buy yours before they sell out!
Virgin Mobile’s FreeFest So this year in DC, the usual Virgin Fest has moved venues, and tickets are free. Yes, totally free. They apparently went very quickly, as they’re now “free’d out,” but you can still get tickets via volunteering somehow. I’m sure they’ll be on StubHub too for, umm, not free. Apparently all 35,000 tickets were snatched up in minutes. Thank you Richard Branson!
This is one of those events that I got tickets for totally on a whim, and am looking forward to seeing all the supporting acts (Girl Talk, Franz Ferdinand, The National, The Bravery, The Hold Steady) but pretty much couldn’t give a shit about the headliners (Blink 182 and Weezer). Maybe that means we can get out of there before the traffic really starts? haha
Concerts There are some pretty good concerts coming up, so here’s a little synopsis. I probably will miss more of them than I would like, but hopefully you can make some of these:
Paolo Nutini @ 930 Club, Thurs, July 23
Los Campesinos! @ 930 Club, Wed, Aug 5
Hackensaw Boys @ State Theater, Fri, Aug 14
Bat for Lashes @ 930 Club, Sat, Aug 15
Jimmy Buffett @ Nissan Pavilion, Thurs, Sept 3
Matt and Kim @ Black Cat, Wed, Sept 16
Passion Pit and Phoenix @ Rumsey Playfield (NYC!), Sat, Sept 26
Ra Ra Riot @ 930 Club, Thurs, Oct 1
Dirty Projectors @ Black Cat (I think in Oct/Nov?…don’t remember the date unfortunately)
Stillness Is The Move Video RP3 showed me this video posted on Stereogum earlier this week. Pretty funny video for a really awesome song. Enjoy the llamas and synchronized dancing!
I do not own any of the music here, and I do not claim to. All music and images belong to their respective bands. All music here is for promotion and sampling use only.
If you are the owner of a song, or any other content posted here, and would like it removed, contact me and I will immediately remove it from the site.
Posted by Weird Jim 
