Today I continue my ten-part series showcasing my personal picks for the best songs of last year.
20. Kid Sister – Right Hand Hi
We waited a long time for Ultraviolet, and it was worth it. Sure, most of the tracks had been previously heard (thank you Internet), but having them all in one cohesive package made for a pretty stellar dance mixtape. Not to mention it began with this banger, an ode to “stackin’ money and drinkin’ all night.” How could you not get that hand up high?
Today I continue my ten-part series showcasing my personal picks for the best songs of last year.
40. Phoenix – Lisztomania
It’s been a long time coming, but thanks to Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix, the French quartet are now a festival circuit band and one of the biggest groups in the world. Their jazz-fused, stream-of-consciousness take on upbeat pop is clearly expressed through this track, featuring an unconventional chorus that, like so many things Phoenix, works perfectly, even if it’s a bit outside the boundaries of what we normally hear on CHR.
Today I continue my ongoing feature showcasing my personal picks for the best songs of the past decade, posting ten songs at a time.
270. The Shins – New Slang
I heard all the brouhaha about Garden State and the hype surrounding this band, but I didn’t actually see the film until I met my good friend Kim in college. I believe it is still one of her favorite movies, and it is one that I enjoyed immensely, though I haven’t watched it since. I managed to get my hands on a copy of Oh, Inverted World back in high school, and, honestly, I didn’t really get it. Sure, the songs were pretty and soft, but I was initially bored. And dumb. It took repeated listens and a few years for me to appreciate it; what a brilliant little debut from a band that would, along with Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, probably be the first in the new indie-Internet age to become too popular too quick.
Some of the things I love come under intense fire and scrutiny, and I am forced to intensely defend them. Conversely, there are things that I am done defending – they have crossed a certain line of mediocrity that I cannot follow. And then there are a few things that certainly have made mistakes, but I have not given up on yet.
So, because, as you know, I love lists, after the jump you will be treated to five things I constantly defend, five things I’m done defending, and five things that I feel still deserve defense, even if they’ve slipped up recently.
Today I continue my ten-part series showcasing my personal picks for the best songs of last year.
80. Nickel Eye – Brandy of the Damned
Seems like all last year, the Strokes were running around doing all kinds of different things unrelated to their core band. Julian and Albert pursued solo projects, while Fabrizio started Little Joy. The only one that sat around and counted money was Nick Valensi. Bassist Nikolai Fraiture started the Nickel Eye project, churning out a debut album in January of 2009. While I was mostly underwhelmed with the majority of the disc, “Brandy of the Damned” is the ultra-repetitive, ultra-catchy standout.
20. Kid Sister – Right Hand Hi
