Best of Twenty - Ten (15 - 1)
15. Kanye West – Monster (Feat. Bon Iver, Rick Ross, Jay-Z, Nicki Minaj)
- Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZI_8IzGWDzk
- Lyrics: http://www.songmeanings.net/songs/view/3530822107858842645/
“You can be the king, but watch the Queen conquer”
That is one of the hottest lines, this side of “the Miseducation of Lauryn Hill.” Nicki Minaj steals this track from under Kanye West and Jay-Z. If you have been stuck with me in an office for an extended amount of time you know I like to quote this song at nauseum. I challenge you to play this song and not feel like a complete badass or monster.
14. The Arcade Fire – We Use to Wait
- Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w44cdIOor7E
- Lyrics: http://www.songmeanings.net/songs/view/3530822107858832982/
“I use to wait for it/ hear my voice screaming/ sing the chorus again/ WAIT FOR IT!/ WAIT FOR IT!/ Wait for it
Maybe because I grew up in Phoenix, which has been conquered by suburban sprawl that I relate or find Arcade Fire’s latest LP so fascinating. “We Used To Wait” has a slow driving intensity that creeps up on you. Then towards the end the guitars clamor in defiance as chorus is repeated “WAIT FOR IT/ WAIT FOR IT/ Wait for it”. If you aren’t prepared, it is the kind of ending that stops you in your tracks.
13. Caribou – Odessa
- Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aiSa7THgxrI
- Lyrics: http://www.songmeanings.net/songs/view/3530822107858817133/
“Taking the kids, driving away/ Turn around the life she let him siphon away”
Chilling electric tune that is oddly danceable. I say oddly danceable because when I consider the lyrics, which are about a woman working up the courage to end an abusive relationship, I feel a tinge of guilt thinking this is a dance song.
12. The Black Keys – Tighten Up
- Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DNXwicxlsvI
- Lyrics:
http://www.songmeanings.net/songs/view/3530822107858821618/
“Someone said true love was dead/ And I’m bound to fall, bound to fall for you you”
“Tighten Up” is an unassuming jam from one of my favorite rock n roll duos, the Black Keys. It took a while for me to give their new album, Brothers, a spin. Part time constraints and part fear that the Black Keys’ sound might take a stale turn. I was wrong to doubt the Key’s, because their Brothers LP does not disappoint. For those who complain about contemporary Rock music I offer up, “Tighten Up”.
11. Cee Lo Gree – F**k You!
- Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watchv=CAV0XrbEwNc&has_verified=1
- Lyrics: http://www.songmeanings.net/songs/view/3530822107858841708/
“If I was richa, I’d still be witcha/ Now ain’t that some shit?/ And although there is pain in my chest/ I still wish you the best”
By far the easiest review I will write. I mean who hasn’t been there once or twice? Cee Lo has been underrated for quite some time finally gets his due with this highly relatable, highly contagious hit. I discovered this track one sleepless night at 3 am, and played it about 30 times in arrow. I finally realized how huge this song was when 3 completely different friends professed their love for this song. Check out the typography version of the video. It is the best version of the video, but you have to be signed into Youtube to see it.
10. Snake! Snake! Snakes! – We Come Out At Night
- Youtube: http://t.co/zLzqmIE
The number 10 spot on the countdown goes to a band that shows a lot of promise. Snake, Snake Snakes call Phoenix their home, and if they take the right steps are the next big thing to come out the desolate wasteland, that is the Phoenix Music Scene. They have been described as Arcade Fire meets Radiohead and so far from what I have see that’s apt. The baseline of “We Come Out at Night” is the driving force of the song. It will hook you until the end.
9. Vampire Weekend – Diplomat’s Son
- Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qd_dNHh3PSo
- Lyrics: http://www.songmeanings.net/songs/view/3530822107858811946/
“To offer that to you would be cruel/ When all I want to do is use, use you”
“Diplomat’s Son” is hands down my favorite track from Vampire Weekend’s sophomore LP, Contra. The song plays well in your office, home, or the beaches of some Caribbean country. The song tells a nice little story taking you back to the 80s. This song is chock full of references and even the perspective of the story teller is not at all clear. Regardless of the meaning it is a beautiful song.
8. LCD Soundsystem – Drunk Girls
- Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1xT6cdfP_cM
- Lyrics: http://www.songmeanings.net/songs/view/3530822107858823666/
“… Love is an astronaut/ Comes back but it’s never the same”
“oh oh ohhhh/ I believe in waking up together/ that means making eyes across the room”
I will be the first to admit that I am not a fan of the subject. I hardly think “Drunk Girls” are a proper subject for a quality song. I had this same problem with Kanye West and Mos Def on “Graduation,” but LCD Soundsystem gets past the throw away title and subject to give us one of the best songs of the year. The video is hands down the best of the year. Spike Jonze directed it, if that means anything to you. If not then just have fun watching a band getting their asses kicked in their own video.
7. Deerhunter – Revival
- Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VaqyXRAxUsE
- Lyrics: http://www.songmeanings.net/songs/view/3530822107858831264/
“Freedom, silence, they don’t make no sense/ Darkness always”
It took me a while to pick up the new Deerhunter album. “Revival” is a song about being saved, but not really being saved. The song reminds me a bit of the lead singer Bradford Cox’s Atlas Sound song “Walkabout,” minus the childlike innocence. Beyond the melodic back drop this is rock n roll at its core. This song will be on repeat on my iPod for a long time to come.
6. Yeasayer – Ambling Alp
- Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZKXujEphWS8
- Lyrics: http://www.songmeanings.net/songs/view/3530822107858740666/
More often than not I find myself in the business of giving advice, not so much on the receiving end of advice. Though there were the moments this year when I gave advice thinking I probably need this advice as much as the person I’m telling it. If you are looking for a pep talk then look no further than Yeasayer’s Ambling Alp. The references to historic bouts between Joe Louis vs. Max Schmeling take the song to another level of inspiration. For those unfamiliar the story American Joe fought German Max Schmeling in two fights during the 1930s, and held great political and social significance during the time. Louis lost the first bout after 12 rounds only to come back two years later in a second fight and knock out Schmeling in the first round. This song reminds me of the Joe Louis story and the pressure he must have felt after he lost that first match. Every now and then this song will be on repeat for days at a time.
5. Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeroes – Home (RAC Mix)
- Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_yJGMK8clxk
- Lyrics: http://www.songmeanings.net/songs/view/3530822107858786021/
“Ah, home/ Let me come home/ Home is whenever I’m with you”
Home, a place I haven’t been in a while.
A couple of good friends of mine got engaged this year. In both cases the genuine love and excitement these couples have for each other is thing of beauty. From the moment I heard “Home” I had a soft spot for it. Both of my friends called me when they proposed, and when I think about how they may have felt in that moment, I think of this song.
4. Janelle Monae – Tight Rope (Feat. Big Boi)
- Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pwnefUaKCbc
- Lyrics: http://www.songmeanings.net/songs/view/3530822107858829106/
“Some people talk about ya/ like they know all about ya”
Plain and simple if you aren’t moving when this song comes on then you should get yourself checked out. Do yourself a favor 1) watch the video for this song, because Janelle Monae’s some killer James Brown moves 2) download this song 3) put this song on repeat. Your ears will thank you.
3. Sleigh Bells – Rill Rill
- Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uLRnmQ-4Yp0
- Lyrics: http://www.songmeanings.net/songs/view/3530822107858827980/
“Wonder what your boyfriend things about your braces/ What about them/ I’m all about them”
This year’s slow motion jam of the year is award to Sleigh Bells for Rill Rill. Sleigh Bells takes the swagger of the Dirty Projectors, slows it down, and add some killer hooks you have one of the best songs of the year. If this song isn’t already in some movie about teenage angst it should be.
2. Kanye West - Devil in a New Dress (Feat. Rick Ross)
- Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=De8b0i0u3uA&feature=player_embedded
- Lyrics: http://www.songmeanings.net/songs/view/3530822107858843567/
“Why argue any way? Oh I forgot its summertime”
“Out all of the colors that fill up the sky you got green on your mind”
“You love me, for me./ Could you be more phony”
This is an extremely tragic song. Heart break, the loss of innocence, even the feeling of being jaded is all here. This song conjures up moments from the past year that I would rather forget, but need in order to grow and learn. The guitar solo between Kanye and Ross’ verses transports me to one of the lower moments of the year where I sat in silence for what felt like an eternity. West raps about the loss of religion which for someone who is not particularly religious might be a turn off, but swap religion out for any monolith in your life and the overall theme is highly relatable. At the end of the guitar break down Rick Ross comes in with a smooth verse that puts you on ice. I felt the subject of Ross’ verse did not fit the song, but after the loss of faith and innocence that West spoke about in his half of the song the vanity and superficiality of life become the only thing a person lives for. While being a tragedy “Devil In a New Dress” is on par with seductive songs like The Beatles –“She’s So Heavy.”
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2010 was a year of personal trials and tribulations, but at the end of it all I think I’m ending on a high note. It took a lot of soul searching to get here. It is hard to imagine a song changing the entire course of your year, but that’s why the next song finds itself in the number 1 song. Besides being a kick ass songs from one of my favorite bands in the world it became the anthem and a driving force in 2010.
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1. The Arcade Fire – The Month of May
- Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OqBTL-HWPvA
- Lyrics: http://www.songmeanings.net/songs/view/3530822107858838124/
“Well, some things are pure and some things are right/ but the kids are all standing with their arms folded tight”
“I know its heavy, I know it ain’t light/ But how are you going to lift it/ with your arms folded tight!?”
I know exactly where I was when I first heard this song. Working at ASU I just saw that Arcade Fire was releasing two new singles and that they were about to be played on BBC radio 1. I rushed back to my desk to play the live stream. I was not disappointed. Month of May is by far the loudest most defiant song in the Arcade Fire catalog. It demands to be played loud. The song was relentless and the spark I needed. After hearing this song every month after become the month of May.
