Walkabout \ˈwȯ-kə-ˌbau̇t\: rite of passage where male Australian Aborigines would undergo a journey during adolescence and live in the wilderness for a period as long as six months.This is by far my favorite collaboration this year, Atlas Sound and Noah Lennox (Panda Bear of Animal Collective). Clocking in at just 67 words it packs a lyrical punch. I’ve said it before, but I would love to live in this song. There is only one way I can describe this song and that is to say it is a return to innocence. After this year, after this decade maybe that’s a little of what we need.
http://www.songmeanings.net/songs/view/3530822107858787110/
When I listen to No. 9 on the countdown it feels as if I am getting a marathon tour of the Projector’s influences. You can hear everything from Ritchie Valens to Zeppelin to some drum machine driven hip hop of today. A friend of mine asked me what kind of music this was… and I paused… a while. Its a tough question, but get to the end of this song and tell me this is not Rock. While the ladies of the the Dirty Projectors have voices of angels they can also get down on their guitars with the best of them.
http://www.songmeanings.net/songs/view/3530822107858778600/
No. 8 comes from another one of the year’s buzz bands, Girls from San Francisco. If Grizzly Bear is reminicent of the Beach Boys in the Pet Sounds era, then the Girls are definitely the earlier Beach Boys in the California Girls era (+ some Culture Club for good measure). Great beach punk tune. A pizza and a bottle of wine always sounds a whole hell of a lot better than whatever you are doing when this song comes on.
http://www.songmeanings.net/songs/view/3530822107858775809/
It was hard to write the review for this song, because usually when I listen to it, it stops me dead in my tracks. I resisted the XX for as long as I could. It was until a friend of mine demanded I give them an honest listen. Just two tracks into their debut album, I was hooked. Now correct me if I’m wrong but the members of this band are just 20 years old. That is astonishing to me! Most 20 year olds just want to rock out, and the XX are content making meaningful chill music. The lyrics of this song are simply beautiful. The lyrics themselves are wonderful, but it is the conviction and subtle passion they are sung with that takes it to another level. “I think we’re superstars, you say you think we are the best thing”… Well, if that isn’t love then I don’t know what is.
http://www.songmeanings.net/songs/view/3530822107858790099/
Coming in a No. 6 is a song I’ve already said is one of my favorite songs of the year… its Grizzly Bear’s While You Wait for the Others. If guitars were ever as powerful as swords it would be because of this song. Here Grizzly Bear prove you can sound sweet while still being a complete asshole. My favorite part comes in at the 3 minute mark with a crescendo of ” and all we want” and “oooohs” mix with the clanging guitars for a beautiful climax. I have to admit a few people come to mind when I sing along to this song.
http://www.songmeanings.net/songs/view/3530822107858708885/
On Mos Def’s latest album Ecstatic he came back to regain the crown of underground rap. The beat sounds is lush and like something out of a foreign 70’s flick. If someone were to ask me about the state of politics in the 00s I would serve up the first few lines of this song as my thesis. Rap legend Slick Rick comes in with one of the best collaborations of the year. Rapping from the perspective of a solider on a 15 month tour in Iraq. Through all the distrust and confusion of war torn Iraq the soldier bridges communication gaps with “one of his fabulous raps.” Perhaps Slick Rick is offering up a way for the two cultures to effectively communicate.
http://www.songmeanings.net/songs/view/3530822107858782997/
I love the Through the Looking Glass lyrics and the Thriller-esque video for this song. My friend’s son once asked “Dad, what does dance till you’re dead mean?!?” my friend responded with “It means, you just keep dancing…” This song is so much fun its hard to resist the demands of “Dance! Dance till you’re dead!” I’ve said it once before that I think Karen O is the Rock Queen of the Decade, so its no surprise that she would play the Queen of Hearts and demand “OFF! Off off with your head!” I’m not sure if this video was made before or after the death of Michael Jackson, but either way it turned out to be a great tribute to the King of Pop.
http://www.songmeanings.net/songs/view/3530822107858763817/
I had many an argument with myself about the placement of this song. At this point its like the NCAA basketball tournament and there are 4 number ones. If you look at my iTunes it was my most played song of the year. I won’t even tell you the number because it is absolutely ridiculous! At this point in history I feel like this song is very apt. Maybe its a personal history, but “past and present, that don’t matter now, the future is sorted out.” I don’t really know what this song is about, but its a great jam. Anyone who tells you any different isn’t your friend. While writing this I just up my ridiculous play count by 5 or 7.
http://www.songmeanings.net/songs/view/3530822107858764495/
My number two song is the second on this list by St. Vincent aka Annie Clark. Her second album Actor was my one of my favorites this year, and something I played non stop for a couple of weeks. The first track off of Actor is Strangers, and gives you an accurate look at what the rest of the album has in store for you. There is a simplistic version of the meaning of Strangers, but I think have a more complex interpretation of what this song is about.
The song starts off innocently enough, but its darker tone becomes apparent with the lines “paint the black hole blacker.” Here I imagine Annie (St. Vincent) is painting a word portrait of a suburban wife stuck in a insipid pastel world (ala Edward Scissor Hands). In this world the wife is regulated to that 1950s lifestyle even though she is clearly more intelligent than the men in her life. These men or better these yet boys all have things to hide from her, which causes her not to trust them (painting the black hole blacker). She sounds innocent, but even this June Cleaver type character has her darker side. St. Vincent slowly brings out this darker side, until it is suddenly brought upon the listener with electrifying force. Its frighting and dazzling all at once. Lines like “desparate don’t look good on you, and neither does your virture” are cutting and I almost feel sorry for the poor sap that inspired such lyrics. Strangers has such a brilliant and beautiful composition I could listen to it for days and come up with 50 other compelling interpretations.
http://www.songmeanings.net/songs/view/3530822107858767623/
When I started this process of figuring out my favorite songs of the year, even though other songs had compelling arguments, I knew It would end with this song. Even if its not your “cup of tea”, it should be. Plain and simple this is an incredible piece of art. The lyrics of this song could stand alone as a great piece of poetry. My Girls is written from the prospective of a father, and is a universal celebration of family. If you look back on the last two years we have been on the brink of complete economic collapse and record unemployment. Then put that against a musical background that for the past 10 years has promoted a lifestyle of endless consumption, and is continuing to do so.
Then comes Animal Collective to remind us that what we want and what we need don’t have to be all that different. Recently families have tightened budgets and found that the only way to weather the hard times is to come together. Some of us have moved back home to help family, some are still looking for jobs, and while others have started whole new families in the darkest of times. In these dark times we found that the most important thing was to take care of the ones we love, and to be in the company of ones we love.
As much as this song is a celebration of family it is a beautiful promise.
There isn’t much that I feel I need
A solid soul and the blood I bleed
With a little girl, and by my spouse
I only want a proper house
I don’t care for fancy things
Or to take part in the vicious race
But to provide, for one who asks,
I will, with heart, on my father’s grave
I don’t mean
To seem like I care about material things
Like our social stats
I just want
Four walls and adobe slats
For my girls
Happy New Year everyone! Here’s to the year and decade to come next!
