50 Favorite Tracks of 2010

Listed in an order that is consciously meaningless but probably somehow subconsciously revealing, here are my 50 favorite tracks of the year. Due to an, ahem, actual work schedule this year, I had few chances to grab my pickax and go spelunking in the musical blogosphere. The music I listened to this year is less a product of exploration and more a mix of previously-established artist loyalty and referrals from friends and various monthly and weekly publications that I peruse while waiting for things to load on my computer. And, yes, I realize a couple of these technically came out in 2009, but they didn't reach the (read: my) consciousness until after the New Year. Also, sorry for the complete lack of country music; there's usually at least ONE country track that makes my year-end list, but nothing grabbed me this year.

OK, on to the music:

"Somebody to Love Me" by Mark Ronson & The Business INTL
*It's like a lost Smokey Robinson song that Mark Ronson dusted off, injected with his usual retro-cool soul (albeit with less funk than usual), and then recruited Boy George to come in and do what can only be described as "his thang."

"A Millie (A4 & Asian Trash Boy Remix)" by Asian Trash Boy & A4
*This bass-heavy remix of one of Lil Wayne's best singles sounds like it was recorded in Oscar's garbage can; it's maniacally, fancifully threatening.

"Cheers (Drink to That)" by Rihanna
*Rihanna sampling Avril Lavigne's throaty wail seems like some of kind of weird time-loop malfunction, but it works beautifully on the most melancholy party jam since that time we realized "Hey Ya!" is about a depressing break-up.

"Your Body on Me (Trash Yourself Remix)" by Kids at the Bar
*If you consider dancefloor one word--and why wouldn't you, really?--then the lyrics consist of, I think, ten total words. I don't plan on taking ecstasy at any point in my lifetime, but this song makes a pretty good (implicit) argument for it.

"All of the Lights" by Kanye West (and, like, 14 other people)
*Kanye's new album is a fascinatingly introspective journey, but I can only pick a few highlights, so let's grab this track, laden with guests (Rihanna, Elton John, Alicia Keys, rapping Fergie!) and rich with metaphor--all of the lights are judgment, exposure, temptation, and enlightenment.

"Rolling in the Deep" by Adele
*I don't know who pissed off Adele, but dude, thanks.


"Hang With Me" by Robyn
*Robyn churned out multiple perfect pop songs this year. I could've easily given this spot to "Stars 4-Ever", "Include Me Out", or "Criminal Intent", but "Hang With Me" boasts a chorus filled with so much fear and excitement--she warns a potential lover that loving her will be the most painful thing he'll ever do--that to include it out would have been criminal.

"Wonderplanes" by Mash-up Germany aka BenStiller
*I really enjoy "Wonderwall" and "Airplanes" on their own, but the former's lyrics mashed over the latter's lyrical hip-hop instrumentation is a bit of a revelation. The hope in Liam Gallagher's love letter is amplified and the result is shockingly romantic.

"Something Bigger, Something Better" by Amanda Blank
*When the Amazon women take over the world and make us all their slaves, this song will accompany the montage in which they set things on fire and laugh. (That was a compliment.)

"Gimmie Dat" by Ciara
*I'm a Ciara apologist, sure, but no apologies are necessary when a song designed to make you break-it-on-down pretty much forces your body to just that. A club jam at its very hookiest.

"Dream About Changing" by Sally Seltman
*Your mom will like this song and that's ok. It's perfectly-engineered singer-songwriterly pop made for sunny days and, for three minutes and 30 seconds, you might feel like you're in a movie about people falling in love in the south of France.

"Ambling Alp" by Yeasayer
*Let's celebrate individuality and wisdom-with-age! But let's be really weird about it!


"Lark" by Josh Ritter
*The Animal Years are behind us, but Josh Ritter can still play the "Paul Simon from Idaho" card when he wants to, and with "Lark"--a sweet, poetic song about, of all things, optimism--it wins the hand.

"Cousins (Toy Selectah Remix)" by Vampire Weekend
*Already a great track, but Toy Selectah took his pliers to it and made a partystarter that may or may not be my ringtone.

"I Don't Believe (Don Diablo Remix)" by Rox
*I'm American and I forget that Kylie Minogue isn't still somewhere doing the Locomotion. So while I'm over here forgetting, here's a great cut from Don Diablo that takes Rox's well-sung affections and slices them into gibberish and then reassembles.

"Window Seat" by Erykah Badu
*It's so easy to focus on the attention-grabbing nudity-at-the-JFK-assassination-site video, that you might not realize how this song layers Erykah's sensual ache over a groovy bass line.

"Miracles" by Norwegian Recycling
*A mash-up that blends, oh, 50 songs or so, to create a inspirational ballad that seems clever at first, but then it starts to become intoxicating.

"Tighten Up" by The Black Keys
*No one's been able to replicate The Black Key's beautiful distortion. And that's because people forget that, underneath the lite distortion, there's passion.


"Bad Romance" by Lady Gaga
*She wants our love, our disease, our despair, and even our leather accessories! She's so needy! But, like, in a musically good way.

"The High Road" by Broken Bells
*This is all I've wanted from The Shins for a while now. Thank God someone told Danger Mouse for me.

"Stillness is the Move" by Solange Knowles
*Good job, Beyonce's sister! You took one of my favorite songs from last year, tweaked the melody, layered in a sample from Erykah Badu's "Bag Lady" (which I'm sure is a sample from something else but I don't care enough to look it up) and made one of the most amusing--and sexy--viral hits of the year.

"True Romance (Penguin Prison Remix)" by Golden Silvers
*With music like this, I have a tough time picturing British people without supercool sunglasses.

"Raise Your Glass" by Pink
*"Don't get fancy, just get dancey"? I'm willing to accept a lyric like that from Pink, especially in such an uplifting underdog anthem. One of the few major pop stars who actually sounds like she believes every word she sings.

"Rude Boy" by Rihanna
*A perfectly produced, hook-laden track that made the best possible use of Rihanna's snarls, moans, and Barbadian 'tude.


"Diplomat's Son" by Vampire Weekend
*The Columbia prepsters upped their game this year in a major way and "Diplomat's Son" felt like a track that encapsulated the breakthrough. A bit of vocal experimentation, heartfelt storytelling, and a sense of cleverness that never felt suffocating.

"I Can Talk" by Two Door Cinema Club
*I love this little collection of Northern Irish teens because, well, they're not afraid to be joyful. "I Can Talk" is a straightforwardly simple pop song that's all too easy to get lost in.

"Your Song (Blackmill Dubstep Remix)" by Ellie Goulding
*Elton John's song has been covered, like, a lot. It's been cloying (Ewan McGregor) or downright bizarre (The Streets), but I haven't heard a version as hauntingly romantic as Goulding's and Blackmill's. It may be your song, but she's the one who seems totally possessed by it.

"The Black and Gold" by Wale
*Wale rapping over a remix of Sam Sparro's "Black and Gold" that, with a wink, flips Sparro's spiritual rumination into commentary on minor celebrity? Where do I download?

"Mowgli's Road" by Marina & The Diamonds
*I just... I dare you to not enjoy this.


"Ray Ban Vision" by A-Trak feat CyHi Da Prince
*With a beat that sounds like a Rube Goldberg one-man-band and fresh, at-times-silly rhymes, these guys almost make me care about sunglasses as much as they do.

"Triple Double" by Girl Talk
*I was a bit disappointed with ALL DAY--I like my Girl Talk as cacophonous as possible and ALL DAY is a lesson in restraint--but "Triple Double" manages to make every artist it samples sound better. That Ludacris-over-Phoenix opening? Don't talk to me while I'm listening to it.

"All Things Go" by Chiddy Bang feat. Sufjan Stevens
*Oh, Chiddy Bang. Never grow up. Keep playing with Pro Tools and indie rock samples and rapping about your time in college. I'll tell you when I've had enough.

"Waka Waka (Esto Es Africa)" by Shakira
*A bit of a ringer since I went to Cameroon this year and this World Cup anthem uses choral vocals from the country. But I truly can't imagine a more jubilant bit of world pop than "Waka Waka".

"Shutterbugg" by Big Boi feat. Cutty
*HOW WAS THIS NOT A HUGE HIT?!?! In a totally rational world, this would have been #1 for 12 weeks.


"Shark in the Water" by VV Brown
*Animal metaphors and similes can be really annoying, but, like a majestic eagle, this song soars.

"Dance Yrslf Clean" by LCD Soundsystem
*I guess I'm in the confused minority that thought This is Happening was a post-Sounds of Silver letdown. Oh well, at least the kickoff track, which sounds like it takes place at a board game night for people slightly cooler than you, is small-to-big electric shock that reminds me what James Murphy is capable of.

"Tightrope" by Janelle Monae
*This is the self-esteem/individuality/screw-the-haters anthem that everyone's tried, but no one's pulled off with this much energy, verve, or... well, individuality.

"What You Know (Redlight Remix)" by Two Door Cinema Club
*Yes, TDCC again, because they overnight FedEx their genuine hooks directly to your earholes.

"Cosmic Love" by Florence + The Machine
*I keep trying to find a reason for why this might not be the most romantic song ever in the history of all time, but damn if I'm having trouble coming up with one.


"F**k You!" by Cee-Lo
*You've already watched the video too many times so I'm not embedding it. But you watched it so much because it just added to the mythology of the song--a viral, buoyant, flippant send-off that had everything you could want in a song (heart, humor, story, funk, nostalgia) without ever feeling overcrowded. Or crowded at all. No, this song has flow.

"Love The Way You Lie" by Eminem featuring Rihanna
*I hate that the Eminem track I chose is the one that so easily lent itself to massive mainstream radio airplay, but I still can't listen to this song without feeling invested in the beyond-destructive relationship it depicts. I can't think of the last #1 single that captured hurt so well.

"Rome" by Yeasayer
*A gloriously unhinged rock song that still has bounce--it feels like maybe it came from a soundtrack to a Muppets movie that couldn't possibly exist.

"I Wanna Be Your Telephone" by Jamie Lidell
*I totally don't get what he's talking about, but he seems to have strong ideas about foreplay.

"I Need a Dollar" by Aloe Blacc
*Many artists create time-machine soul that's perfectly serviceable, but Sharon Jones has, for the most part, been carrying the weight by herself. Sharon, meet Aloe.

"Get Some" by Lykke Li
*The Scandavian pixie who used percussion and heartbreak to woo us in 2008 has changed up her method. Now she just wants to be sultry and, hey, the music hasn't suffered for it.


"Xxxo" by M.I.A.
*She became bizarrely, aggressively iconic this year, a year in which her music seemed less inspired than ever before. But we got "Xxxo," a hypnotic, tech-referencing single about changing who you are--until you can't anymore.

"Monster" by Kanye West
*Creepy, crazy, and downright engrossing. Put it on repeat, but have a straightjacket ready.

"Glass Mountain Trust" by Mark Ronson & The Business INTL
*D'Angelo makes his triumphant return... while not quite sounding like himself. Ronson holds back on the horn section, too--normally a blasphemous move--but the restraint creates a mood that washes over you rather than clamors for your attention.

"Riot Rhythm" by Sleigh Bells
*Everyone went gaga for "Rill Rill" which its own special brand of basement-headbashing, but gimme "Riot Rhythm" with its competing layers of sound, and a feeling of making-it-up-as-they-go-along that imbues the song with a fun unpredictability.

"Dancing on My Own" by Robyn
*Plain and simple, the best pop song of the year.



Oh, the past: 50 Favorite Tracks of 2009
On the twitter at @aaronisthinking