January 24, 201114 yr Author Chart run: 28-19-10-11-13-18-25-34-41-44-BIG GAP-29-16-08-07-03-04-10-14-22-31-40-49 This one had a couple of attempts to grow on me this year, the original was nice enough and a fairly faithful attempt at 80s synths with earnest vocals. I preferred the Arthur Baker remix that was released as part of the re-release, adds a bit of momentum and maxes that sax. Chart run: 26-12-05-02-01-01-01-02-04-08-13-16-19-28-35-43 It's time for the first of the #1s to fall and alas it's dearest Robyn who is out of the running. Well obviously not as she has like 30 songs still to come but it's not destined to be for Hang With Me. I did really like this at the time (and still do) but I've grown a little bit less fond over the year and think it ranks as the worst of the three singles. Still it went on to become her 9th consecutive #1 on my chart, slightly mad really. Loon up. 098|Toro Y Moi 'Low Shoulder' DNC Youtube say 2009. Whatever. This still counts as I certainly didn't know it before 2010 and it became yet another track that grew on me over the course of the year due to excessive ipod play. I've listened to a few of their other tracks and this one remains easily my favourite, one of the rare upbeat moments of 2010 for me. 097|Wild Nothing 'Cloudbusting' Chart run: 32-15-20-13-12-09-12-18-26-32-35-50 Kate Bush is obviously the true genius in this track but Wild Nothing make a surprisingly decent effort of covering one of my favourite songs. Really enjoyable and actually eclipsed everything he made himself in 2010. 096|Yeasayer 'O.N.E.' Chart run: 37-26-14-07-05-04-02-02-06-08-10-14-19-19-23-27-30-34-42-50 Yeasayer's second single of Oh'10 was an instant standout on the album for me and very nearly gave them a second #1. It now ranks as their worst single (although that still makes it great) as it's bouncy nature has made it age slightly less well than the others. Intrigued to see where they go next, I'd love them to be able to make an album full of tracks with the same high quality as the singles. Chart run: 30-25-17-15-13-12-15-24-40 My favourite new track from Marina last year ends up at #95. Her album easily ranks as one of the best pop efforts of recent years but the two main highlights for me were released last year (Obsessions and Mowgli's Road). Having said that, I did also love Oh No! and Hollywood but it appears I have completely neglected them in this countdown. Oh no! Chart run: 24-11-07-04-04-08-13-14-18-23-25-28-30... and on into 2011 This charted as the Klavierwerke EP but I Only Know (What I Know Now) was the highlight for me. A fairly simplistic tune (deceptively so possibly) but boy is it a beautiful composition. Again, hardly the sort of thing that I can envisage setting the charts alight - he really IS the weirdest Sound Of recommendation in quite a while, still more of the like for Sound Of 2012 if you please. Chart run: 33-16-12-21-30-44 If one act has consistently underperformed on my chart during 2010 then it's this lot. The singles didn't really click with me that well until I bought the Black Light album - years of okayish albums had made me somewhat reluctant to buy it but I relented anyway (as I always do when it comes to CDs) and discovered that it's easily the best album they've ever released. It had the one thing that previous GA albums never had, consistency in both quality and styling. The following White Light alternate album was also great, though you wouldn't really need both. Fabulous stuff, a real shame they're not continuing. DNC I can't resist any song that is a bit odd, this is your average tale of love between a woman and a cursed mummy. Watch the video which is very literal and you'll get the idea. I ended up really liking this even though I suspect I probably shouldn't... 091|Vampire Weekend 'White Sky' Chart run: 35-23-12-04-02-06-09-12-19-22-33-37-45 One of two obvious standouts for me on their Contra album, this is a bit Vampire Weekend by numbers but it's very much the side of them that I like where they continue to develop the African (or Paul Simon) influences within their music. Up there with their best for me although there is still one (far) better track to come.Â
January 24, 201114 yr Author Chart run: 20-09-04-07-12-23-38-47 I'm going to use the obvious and lazy reference point of the Cocteau Twins for this one. Dreamy female vocals over lovely synth and guitar backing to good effect - a band I really need to check out some more of as I'm yet to hear anything else by them but it's certainly a nice enough start... Chart run: 33-20-15-20-25-37-45 I had loved Quitter's Raga and at first I found this one a disappointment. A few plays later on down the year and I've seen sense and come to love it also. Yet another great electronica act in 2010, a genre that really is beginning to excite me again and I hope will continue to develop in Oh'11 (no, that really DOESN'T work). Chart run: 27-12-09-08-07-07-10-14-23-32-32-38-42 Next up it's the song that pretty much dominated 2010. Easily Eminem's best track in years and probably only second to Lose Yourself in my affections. No more commentary required really. Chart run: 30-24-13-03-01-01-03-06-08-15-20-29-36-39-40-43-47 Another that needs no introduction and the next #1 to fall. Obviously I love this much more than the #87 position suggests but it was really 2009 in origin so suffers as a result. :wub: none-the-less though. 086|Flying Lotus feat. Thom Yorke '...And The World Laughs With You' DNC Radiohead have always been one of my favourite acts so it's no surprise to find that the highlight of the Cosmogramma album was this. It sounds like a natural progression for Thom Yorke after his solo album a few years ago with Flying Lotus making full use of his unsettling vocal to provide a fantastic centerpiece of the album. Chart run: 03-01-01-01-03-05-05-09-17-24-28-34-37-47 Usually it's up to Emily Haines or Feist to steal the show when it comes to vocalists on a Broken Social Scene album and, while Emily made a fair stab at it again in 2010, it was Lisa Lobsinger who shone through for me. A gorgeous synth led track that just builds nicely over it's 4 and a half minutes before leaving you with the same gentle feeling it introduced itself to you with earlier. Lovely. Chart run: 41-20-09-09-09-07-05-10-16-27-37-49 Another track that was inescapable in 2010 but another that deserved it's success, nice to see Cee-Lo finally get another hit that even comes close to rivalling the success of Crazy. 083|Beach House '10 Mile Stereo' DNC I had no idea this had a video and everything, clearly the single release completely passed me by then. It attains it's top 100 placing instead through just being my most listened to track on the album, it's structure is probably safer than many of the others on there but it is lovely regardless. DNC This could have been any number of tracks from the Triangulation album but I opted for this as I think it best represents the mood and tone of the album. Reminiscent of the more chilled elements of Music For The Jilted Generation, this was a side to the dub-step movement that I could truly get on board with. Kinda dark and repetitive but that's also kinda how I like my dance music. DNC Another I hadn't realised was a single but it does make sense since it's the highlight of his Swanlights album by some margin. I was expecting this to be a personal choice but it's been cropping up in end of year lists all over the place so I guess not - still, it's a beautiful reminder of what Antony is capable of when he looks to his own emotions and experiences for inspiration.
January 26, 201114 yr Author DNC Another fantastic instrumental from 2010, this time it's the opening couplet from the lovely Black Sands album. Technically this is obviously two tracks but they're blatantly really the same thing and Kiara just doesn't work as well without the lovely string section that precedes it. Lovely schtuff. 079|David Guetta feat. Kid Cudi 'Memories' DNC CHAV ALERT. I should hate this, I really should... but, alas, it has become the ultimate guilty pleasure for me in 2010. It's just so bloody catchy and it just sounds amazing in a club[/TF] - yep, it was while we were on holiday in Cyprus last year that this really took a grip on me, it was being played everywhere and it just wore me down until I completely relented. Shameful. 078|Forest Swords 'Rattling Cage' DNC Another track that's grown on me loads during the year and yet another rather fantastic electronic effort. Full of atmosphere with crashing drums, guitars and wailing... highly recommended to anyone who's a fan of the genre. Last year's Dagger Paths album has been re-released this month and is worth a listen if you like this. Chart run: 34-17-05-03-02-03-04-04-10-17-23-28-36-41 Next up it's the final offering from Glasser, this was the first thing of hers I'd heard and I instantly fell in love with it. Hypnotic arrangements both musically and lyrically combine to great effect, reminding me of early Bjork in the way that it sounds completely fresh and unique. DNC The earliest and best James Blake track in the end of year is this one, splicing samples of Kelis and Aaliyah together to create something completely unrelated and unrecognisable when compared to the originals. This is probably as commercial as I've heard his music get to date (although I've yet to listen to his new album) and so is a great starting point methinks. 075|Kanye West feat. Too Many People To Bother Listing 'All Of The Lights' DNC (until 2011) I know it's all cool and whatever to worship Kanye's album this year but after many an attempt I still find it to be wholly overrated, there are however a couple of very noticeable exceptions and this is the first of them. Rihanna is the obvious person to mention and she does another good job of lifting an urban track with a killer vocal in the chorus and in doing so features on no less then four songs in my top 200. Who'd have thunked that one eh? Chart run: 24-08-08-07-08-08-11-18-23-27-35-38-44 The title track from her album, this was a strong indicator that good things were to come and it proved to be the case after the disappointing Saltbreakers album. It's everything a Laura Veirs track should be, it has a subtle melody that creeps up on you when you least expect it but then sticks in your head all day long, it's arrangement sounds simple yet is far more complex when you concentrate on it and the delivery of the lyrics is as effortless and delightful as ever. DNC There's no obvious progression over the first 3 albums from this lot and in that sense they have proved to be quite a disappointment. On album #3 though they have delivered my favourite song of theirs to date in the form of this, it's a despondent tale and is more reflective than their usual chirpy ditties but is all the more powerful for it. 072|Owen Pallett 'Lewis Takes Action' Chart run: 34-23-21-22-21-20-17-20-27-38-44 This was another slow burner for me (as the chart run shows - although at least it made it unlike most of the others in this group!) and is a song I've ended up loving far more than I imagined I would - this is primarily down to the strength of the parent album which I absolutely played to death this year and is yet another record that I found to be entirely unlike any other in 2010. Love his orchestral arrangements, talented guy :wub:  071|Trey Songz 'Unfortunate' DNC There are two problems with this track. Firstly he uses a 'z' in his name, secondly it's rather too urban for my tastes... yet here it is none-the-less. I don't hear many tracks like this but when I stumbled across this on Pitchfork I found myself really rather enjoying it, the lyrics are fairly direct and okay enough but it's the music that draws me in as the beat and synths in the background with the odd crescendo every now again. Hypnotic.Â
January 26, 201114 yr Author 070|Azari & III 'Reckless With Your Love' DNC We go forwards on the countdown with a bit of looking back, primarily to the late 80s and early 90s which is firmly where this remix lies with obvious references to Soul II Soul and C+C Music Factory along the way. Should be one for anyone who enjoyed them first time around... DNC Has there ever been a bad song that rips off the dun-dun-dun-dun-dun-dun-dun beat from Blue Monday? It managed to improve upon Kylie's Can't Get You Out Of My Head and Robyn was the latest to use it to grand effect on this album track from the third and final Body Talk instalment. Not an initial standout but yet another Robyn track that made pop tolerable in 2010. 068|Sky Ferreira 'One' Chart run: 49-45-43-46-44-39-36-23-16-13-07-03-02-04-08-14-21-31-33-37-48 I was initially only interested in this because of the Cloudbusting-esque chord progression and expected to forget it as quickly as I'd discovered it... as the chart run suggests, it gradually became one of the pop tracks of 2010 for me with the at first annoying one, one, one, one, one bits firmly lodged in my brain. Of course my love for it was always going to result in it flopping majorly, sorry Sky. :(  Chart run: 09-03-03-06-17 (and on...) I guess this is the obvious choice from his album and it is the track that I've found myself returning to most often since it's release. Love the video for it, it's not something I would have expected from a Sufjan track but it really suits the track - ends up being the highest placed Sufjan track in what I feel was a year where he released two great albums yet the individual tracks weren't quite as standout as some of his earlier material. 066|The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart 'Heart In Your Heartbreak' Chart run: 28-19-14-05-04-07... and galloping onwards into this year After an initial love for them I'd found myself feeling completely indifferent to this lot, recent singles had done very little for me and I wasn't expecting much from this one either... however this has all the elements that made me love them before and roll them up into what is probably their finest 4 minutes to date. Simple and catchy. Chart run: 23-10-10-19-28-46 More atmospheric and quirky electro up next, this one plays out like a less coherent track from The Knife's Silent Shout album... LOVE the breakdown and slow re-build in the second half of the track. At the risk of overusing this comment, it's another one that's ipod related in terms of my love as it's a favourite on my stark urban greyness playlist. Chart run: 28-18-12-10-06-03-02-03-06-12-21-26-38-50 The final of three top 2 hits on my chart in 2010, Madder Red was the most subtle single to date (which says quite a lot about the others as opposed to this) and was yet another highlight of the year. I think only 3 acts managed to achieve 3 top 2 singles this year so YAY for this lot etc. The other two still have 3 songs a piece to come... DNC Finally The National are actually beginning to get a bit of recognition by continuing to produce songs as strong as the material they've been releasing for years now - they're going down the Kings Of Leon / Elbow stealth route. This was the highlight for me (and judging by others' charts, Mark and Tony also), the lyrics are just lovely and the subtle changes in the backing aid the track's progression without ever feeling like any part of the track is more significant than the rest before it all falls away to the final few ahs. 062|Sleigh Bells 'Tell Em' Chart run: 47-25-33-47-bit of a gap-20-11-10-09-11-18-25-31-40-50 Another track that seems to be in everyone's end of year list, this is by far my favourite thing by them to date if I'm honest as I didn't overly care for the album as a whole. Still, turn this one up and enjoy. Chart run: 32-20-15-08-08-15-12-20-32-45 Primary 1 sounds strangely Bowie-esque on this which is always a great start, add in a bit of the lovely Nina and you really can't go wrong. Love the way the full 6 minute version builds the intro before the vocals kick in, and when they do they form one of the most satisfying combinations heard all year. Plus more brass, this should have been a hit, darn it! Â
January 27, 201114 yr Some excellent stuff there, as expected... After dismissing it originally I've begun to really like Kanye West's album, probably because I live with two massive rap fans. It is a bit overblown in places but its high points are ultimately brilliant, and I think there are at least 5 wonderful songs on it and 'All of the Lights' is obviously one of them, it's probably my favourite album of his.  Don't be ashamed for liking 'Memories' either, I've loved it since I first heard it when his album came out. Kid Cudi makes it though. 'Heart in Your Heartbreak' has really grown on me too this past month, I can't wait for their album.
January 27, 201114 yr Author I can't let myself love Kanye's album, it's just far too sweary in places and that means I don't actually enjoy listening to it.[/prude]Â I can appreciate that it's quite an epic album and that a lot of work has gone into it, it's just not necessarily my thing to listen to. The two songs that made my chart however are easily my favourite two of his since Jesus Walks.
January 30, 201114 yr Author DNC Border Community have been one of my favourite electronic labels of recent years providing us with the excellent Nathan Fake and James Holden. 2010 was the turn of Luke Abbott to provide the bleep bleep soundtrack of my year with his excellent Holkham Drones album. This was one of the highlights and reminded me of Holden's amazing 'Idiot' from a couple of years back. DNC Lindstrøm has been quietly making fantastic dance records for years now, in 2010 he teamed up with Christabelle to make one of his more commercial records to date. This was one of the highlights, he manages to make 2010's version of a classic Michael Jackson song with the synths and brass competing for attention - even Christabelle seems to sing with deliberate shades of the late MJ at times. Yet another track I didn't know at the time too, 2010 really has been the year of growers for me hence why I haven't based it solely on my personal chart this time around. 058|I Blame Coco 'Self Machine' Chart run: 35-24-07-01-02-05-04-06-11-15-20-26-32-39-46 ...and from a comment about the songs I didn't appreciate at the time of release to one of 2010's #1s for me. I've realised I lied earlier when I commented that Yeasayer were 1 of 3 acts to make the top two with 3 separate releases as I'd completely forgotten about this lady... I don't love this now quite as much as I did when released but it's still a fine pop song, this is probably the one track where you can really hear that she is Sting's daughter though as the song is very Police-esque. This was supposed to be her big breakthrough hit really wasn't it? Alas it was not to be for Coco as it bombed in the same manner that all her other releases have... 057|Gold Panda 'Snow and Taxis' Chart run: 32-13-05-01-01-03-07-08-17-26-38-45 Gold Panda up next with their biggest hit on my chart to date as it reached #1 back in October on the back of my loving their album. This was another textural track splicing eastern samples with glitchy beats which is very typical of the rest of their material, check out the album if you approve of this... 056|Class Actress 'Journal Of Ardency EP' Chart run: 37-13-08-18-26-36-48 This was an EP I thought momentarily was brilliant before (as the chart run suggests) deciding it was completely overrated. I'm now of the opinion that it's somewhere in the middle of the two but that Let Me Take You Out (featured in the link) is just wonderful, it plays like a simple late 80s female fronted guitar pop track and was a welcome addition to the soundtrack of 2010... Chart run: 24-17-10-13-16-23-30-42-50 Yet another grower. There is a distinct Martha Wainwright vibe to this one and it ended up being one of my favourite folk tracks of the year, I've been meaning to check the parent album out for months now but never quite managed to get around to it - must rectify that ASAP. Still. DNC Synth pop next up in the form of one of my Unknown Pleasures entries. Cicada are a very variable band in terms of their sound and this is by far my favourite track of theirs, there's something very Sally Shapiro about it as the icy vocals swoon over an Italian house backing. Could easily have been a hit methinks. 053|Hot Chip 'I Feel Better' Chart run: 24-17-09-06-05-07-13-16-22-26-31-34-37-47 Hot Chip had always been a very hit and miss band for me with every album throwing up a couple of gems. 2010 was no different and this was by far the standout track from another mediocre album, poppy synths and a full on pop vocal really too, loved it. Weird video though. :D  Chart run: 30-14-08-06-05-04-05-03-02-03-08-12-16-24-27-39 When this lady gets it right, boy does she get it right. Janelle has been responsible for some of my favourite pop moments of the past two years and Cold War is a great example of them being a full on 3 minute stormer of a track. She just seems to be one of the few artists around at the moment that is capable of having fun with her tracks, you can tell that she's straight out of the Outkast camp in that respect. 051|Lissie 'When I'm Alone' DNC Most of the mainstream albums released in 2010 were shockingly bad, Lissie is one of the few who managed to break that trend. Coming across like a hybrid of Shawn Colvin/Sheryl Crow/Amy MacDonald all nicely wrapped up into one country/MoR album that you mum would love while you secretly listen along too. I dare say this one graced many a Radio 2 airwave and it's the highlight of the album for me, it's just so catchy that it's impossible to resist.Â
January 30, 201114 yr Author 050|Strange Talk 'Climbing Walls' Chart run: 22 Another song that I entered into the Unknown Pleasures contest and one that actually did well, huzzah! This made #1 for me at the beginning of 2011 and, while I know it's like a low rent Pheonix track, it's just so catchy that I can't resist it. I haven't heard anything else from them yet, will be interested to see if they can match this with any future releases. DNC From one of mine to someone else's UP entry. This was introduced to me by Mr Triangle Triangle Triangle and I totally did not love it at all during the contest - I don't even think I gave it any points(!) which is a shame as it now rates as one of my favourite ever entries. LOVE the bit at about 1:30 onwards and the breakdown and build back up again bits! Chart run: 42-22-12-05-03-04-05-07-09-14-21-27-34-42 It's like Howard Jones for the 2010s or something. Love everything about this one, the synths, Caribbean percussion and vocal delivery combine to make this the catchiest track and highlight of their Settings EP for me. 047|LCD Soundsystem 'All I Want' Chart run: 33-32-33-36-45-44-45-46 Highlight of the LCD Soundsystem album by some margin for me, so much so that I charted it even though it wasn't a full single. I knew I was going to love this as soon as I read on Pitchfork that it was Bowie-esque and sure enough it plays out like a modern day Heroes (which is of course FAR better than the version of Heroes we did have to endure in 2010), joins the similarly titled All My Friends as my favourite track by him. 046|Pallers 'The Kiss' DNC Yet another slow burner of a track, this was one of 2010's more beautiful moments. The synths layer up and simply wash over you as you listen before the whole thing steps up a gear halfway through. Simply gorgeous. DNC Another album highlight next, this time it's the turn of Broken Social Scene with the fabulous and aptly titled Chase Scene as this one has a real pace to it. Love the clashing synths and string sections that create a real sense of drama as the track progresses, the vocal chants also relentlessly keep up the pace to the final crescendo. Chart run: 44-26-08-06-04-02-02 Patrick has been one of the most successful acts on my chart in recent years and this continued the trend as it became the first #1 of 2011 and gave him his fourth #1 after Bluebells, The Magic Position and Hard Times. There's no denying that this is a very poppy track for Patrick and that it perhaps lacks the depth and intricacy of some of his earlier works, however it's so melodic and the way the track builds back to the final chorus is just brilliant. 043|I Blame Coco 'In Spirit Golden' Chart run: 32-24-20-08-02-03-06-14-19-24-31-37... This narrowly missed out on being her 3rd chart topper of 2010 after losing out in November to someone who she duetted with earlier in the year. This grew on me after buying her album, alas the album didn't have too much to offer outside of the three singles that feature in this countdown. Still, let's stay focused on the positive and bop along merrily to this one instead. 042|Girl Unit 'Wut' Chart run: 10-03-04-04-06-10-16-23-27... Yet more electronica in the form of Girl Unit's best offering of the year. Wut combines a simple vocal sample with plenty of snares and simple synths to lovely effect - the best moment comes in at 4:46 when the synths go momentarily classical before the main hook kicks back in. Chart run: 38-32-25-24-19-11-08-14-26-32-47 This was the first truly great Massive Attack track in about a decade. Hope Sandoval provides her typically haunting vocals to a track that is firmly in the Protection/Teardrop style, still if it ain't broke... Clearly the main reason this works is the claps, songs with claps are ALWAYS fantastic, FACT.Â
January 30, 201114 yr Author Chart run: 29-21-21-01-01-01-03-07-16-20-25-26-30-42-46 As much as I adore the 10 minute epics that we've become accustomed to, it was equally nice to hear a gorgeous 4 minute single from Joanna Newsom and it became her first #1 on my chart as a result. Not my favourite on the wonderful triple disc album but great as a stand alone track. DNC The very brief but very brilliant highlight of her July Flame album was this. Laura Veirs has been consistently amazing for years now and this ranks among my all time favourites of hers, the beautiful strings come in after a hazy beginning and her typically dead-pan delivery style sits perfectly among the drama as a constant calm among the bursts of nature around it. 038|Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti 'Round and Round' DNC I really didn't like this back when it was being raved about everywhere, in fact it took me about 4 months of thinking "I really must delete this" when it came on random before my opinion changed. It's the joyous "Hold on..." sections that eventually made me pay attention and I haven't looked back since with it... 037|Future Islands 'Walking Through That Door' DNC The opener to their wonderful In Evening Air album and a track that wonderfully sets the tone of what is to follow. It's got a wonderful driving rhythm to it as the whole thing chugs along on the hypnotic guitars and synth line, I could seriously listen to it for 10 minutes or more and still not be bored... Chart run: 30-09-06-04-03-03-07-13-19-29-38-46-47-50 I had absolutely no hope of this lot making anything worth listening to ever again after the disappointment of their debut album. This therefore took me completely by surprise as I'd ignored all of the hype here on BJ but it really is by far the best thing they've ever made. It's just beautiful, if there was any justice it would have had Chasing Cars style success but alas it couldn't even make the top 40. The way it builds is majestic until the drums and strings kick in for the final couple of minutes, adorable. Chart run: 49-36-26-24-16-14-11-07-05-04-02-01-03-06-10-14-19-24-27-29-33-33-38-43 Lady Gaga's third #1 on my chart came in the form of Telephone. I hadn't really expected this to make it but the video completely changed everything, it was such an event when it was unveiled and so fabulously OTT that it ended up being easily my favourite video of the year. The song itself actually stands up brilliantly well on it's own when the visuals are removed and Beyoncé (who I'm not normally a fan of) is really effective on her verse and the end segments. Probably second in my affections to Bad Romance but still a stellar pop single. Chart run: 32-15-09-14-22-30-44 This should have done so much better, both on my chart and the real one! Another fabulous video that enhances the mood of the track, this time Janelle disobeying the no dancing rule to teach everyone the tightrope, genius. This could be an Outkast track as they are definitely the band of recent years who would have made something this carefree and joyous and Big Boi actually graces this one with a very effective rap. I'd love to hear Janelle join Outkast, the album could be amazing. 033|Scissor Sisters 'Invisible Light' Chart run: 42-36-19-11... Finally released at the end of the year to pretty much no fanfare, this was the fantastically epic album closer from Night Work. Featuring a cameo from Ian Mckellen which just lifts it even further, this was the sound of them returning with a 'we don't give a f*** if you buy it, we're doing exactly what we want this time around' attitude and boy did it work for me. Chart run: 22-12-11-12-14-21-25-29-37 This is the opening and imo best track on the Stridulum II album. It's 4 minutes of swirling and building with a somewhat gothic intent before finally hissing out. Will be interested to see what Zola Jesus come up with next as the whole album shows real promise and delivers something very different to anything else I heard in 2010. 031|Tove Styrke 'White Light Moment' Chart run: 18-11-11-11-09-05-01-01... The final #1 of the year makes it all the way up to #31 in the year end chart. It's entirely thanks to Gooddelta that I heard this as he made the Robyn comparisons glaringly obvious and hence caught my attention. Still, I wasn't expecting to love it quite as much as I ended up doing and it ended up being the most unlikely #1 on my chart of the entire year, very much deserved though as it's certainly one of the very best pop moments of 2010 and the delivery of the vocals is just sublime.Â
January 30, 201114 yr 'Spanish Sahara' is amazing. I had no real interest in them after their first album but their second really took me by surprise. Enjoying the countdown :)Â
January 30, 201114 yr 'Spanish Sahara' is indeed quite beautiful, and this is from someone who refused to pay attention first time around (I HATED Cassius). But alas, it's increasingly difficult for indie to break into the mainstream at the moment, so this never really stood a chance.
January 30, 201114 yr Author Oooooo, actual real comments, thanks guys! :D Rich - how be thee? Haven't seen you about the place for aeons... hope all is good. Shoat, nice to see you liking something that is actually good! :DÂ
January 30, 201114 yr Author 030|Erykah Badu 'Window Seat' Chart run: 35-24-20-09-12-14-19-23-26-34-40-48 Erykah Badu is probably my favourite urban act of all time, she's just so effortlessly cool in everything she does and this was no exception. The New Amerykah part II album probably wasn't as good as Part I but this opening single was her at her very best... wonderful vocal over a melody that gets caught in your brain after a few listens and a nice slice of social commentary. Great stuff. Chart run: 16-12-11-11-08-10-17-26-36-47-50-50 Just how catchy is this then? I was probably a bit biased in it's chart run for it not being indie enough for my usual tastes but this is an excellent single. In any normal year this would be by far my favourite urban track of the year, this year however faced tough competition from Erykah below it and a few more still to come. His album was pretty decent too (although this was the high point). DNC I didn't get this album until towards the end of the year but it really is beautiful and the opening track is my current favourite. The subject matter seems to be entirely about loss and abuse so is not the most comfortable of listens if you're in need of some cheeriness but it's pretty special if you're not... 027|Robyn 'Indestructible' Chart run: 28-10-01-01-01-03-04-05-07-11-15... More Robyn! Surprise all round there I bet... this time it's 10th #1 in a row in made up Dandyland where Robyn remains the biggest star on the planet for the 4th year running. Congrats Queen of Sweden. Chart run: 28-18-12-08-09-13-19-23-29-35-41-45-40-29-30-38-45 Salem up next with the opening track and first single from their rather excellent album. Supposedly has lots of unpleasant undertones but I care not, it's just a bloody good listen. Chart run: 28-14-05-03-02-02-03-04... Burial helps out on this one and it's noticeable from the production point of view... I've not actually heard anything else from this guy yet but this is enough to suggest to me that he's one of the more promising acts on the Sound Of list this year. Really relaxed track which doesn't seem to last anywhere near it's 5 and a half minutes in length... Chart run: 08-03-02-02-02-03-04-09-14-15-21-25-33-40-44-43-45-50 Tiësto really isn't my usual cuppa but this is magnificent. Dance/pop at it's very best, clearly entirely made by Tegan and Sara's vocals... although the elongated fade out on the album version is rather special too. Love it. 023|Kanye West feat. Pusha T 'Runaway' Chart run: 01-01-04-06-07-09... Here's the final Kanye track then, the fantastic and rather epic Runaway in it's full album version. By far my favourite single of his to date, this finally provided him with a #1 on my chart. Love the simple piano notes and the way the rest of it comes crashing in... the breakdown and build back is also rather special. Chart run: 29-22-13-05-01-01-01-02-03-05-07-15-22-28-31-37-45 Highest of the I Blame Coco tracks is this one, the first I heard from her. Robyn makes this into something slightly more special for me (surprise again) as her chorus lifts the song. That said, the two of them compliment each other very well... Played this to my mum to see if she liked it and she thought Robyn was singing with a bloke though, poor IBC. :(  Chart run: 02-02-02-04-04-06-07-07-07-15-20-26-36-40-47-49 I almost made this a #1 on each of it's weeks at #2 and I really wish I had done in retrospect as it kicked off an amazing era for them. LOVE the new direction they took this year... well I say new, more focused is probably a better way of describing it. Vanished was always my favourite track on their debut and the second album certainly focused more on songs of a similar ilk. Great stuff.Â
February 1, 201114 yr Author Let's just get this over and done with... here be my favourite 20 songs of the year:  020|Caribou 'Jamelia' DNC The rather fabulous closing track from the equally fabulous Swim album, this is all about the section where it all kicks in towards the middle of the song, it just suddenly runs off and never takes a second to look back. One of two Caribou tracks that dominated much of my year, the other is to come shortly... 019|Baths 'Maximalist' Chart run: 24-13-08-11-13-16-23-27-36-42 The first track I heard by Baths and one that I instantly liked even if I didn't love it at the time. It was the release of Cerulean that made me totally fall in love with this guy and repeated plays of that album made me realise that I had completely undervalued this track. Yet another moment of electronic beauty from the past year, such a good year for the genre :wub:  018|Future Islands feat. Katrina Ford 'In The Fall' DNC The highlight of what has been an amazing year for Future Islands, unfortunately this doesn't feature on the album but is instead available on their EP that preceded it. It's difficult to say anything different about this to the other FI tracks that have featured but suffice to say that it's yet another amazing song from them, I really haven't heard a bad thing they released all year. Chart run: 10-02-03-07-15-26-36-41-50 I don't think I would have discovered this were it not for one of the Unknown Pleasures contests... obviously I'd heard of HEALTH and thought they were decent enough but their second remix album had completely passed me by - this ranks as my favourite discovery by some margin as the adoption of the synths just lifts their music to an entirely different plane, easily their best track to date. Chart run: 38-28-33-47 Of all the songs to make my chart this year, this is the one that I undercharted the most. Four poultry weeks and a #28 peak?!!! This is now my all time favourite Groove Armada track and should easily have made #1 for them, it's stunning in both it's Black Light and White Light forms - with the original featuring lovely vocals from Mr Bryan Ferry. Bye bye Song 4 Mutya, your time is up! As mentioned earlier, they are supposedly retiring from music so this marks an absolutely perfect end to their career... if they don't get back together... Chart run: 09-04-02-04-02-02-04-04-08-12-23-33-41-50 Finally we get to my favourite urban track of the year... at the astonishingly high position of #15. The looped soul sample in the background is simply amazing and probably what most attracted me to it - however I do find him to have the same style of rapping as Kanye and the other few that I actually don't hate. Highly recommended, should have been HUGE. 014|Yeasayer 'Ambling Alp' Chart run: from 2009... 02-02-01-01-01-03-04-07-13-16-21-27-31-37-43-48 The first new #1 of the year for me, this was the first single to be released from the Odd Blood album and remains their best for me. It's all bouncy rhythms and basslines with somewhat standard lyrics over the top but it just works, the first song I truly loved this year and one I'm amazed to see outside the top 10 at the end of it tbh but there was just too much amazing music released last year for it to hold on. Chart run: 07-02-01-03-05-07-10-12-15-21-24-29-38-43-48 This is very specifically the remix linked above. The original was okay but the remix upped the intensity levels and had a far better build to the track as the beats gradually kick in at each stage. Not totally sure who even sings this one but they add a typically great indie female drone over the top of the track, his best single to date methinks. Chart run: 18-04-03-02-02-02-04-04-06-14-18-23-27-35-42-48 This was the instant highlight of their Contra album from the very first play and is most likely my favourite moment of theirs to date so I probably ought to have made this a #1 at some point during it's run. Their second album didn't show much progression from the first but this was probably one of the few tracks that did move them forwards, it just sounds more complete than a lot of their other material. Chart run: 47-33-12-06-03-02-01-01-01-01-02-02-02-06-07-10-20-30-37-45-49 Another act who seem to take influence from the wonderful Cocteau Twins, this was their first #1 on my chart and easily their best single to date. The drumbeat really keeps this one going brilliantly while the dreamy vocals add to the overall effect, my favourite bit is actually the outro (no offense intended SOSB!)
February 1, 201114 yr I couldn't possibly comment on the whole list, but there is certainly some great stuff here! Good to see Kid Cudi, Crystal Castles, Kanye all featured. :wub:Â Completely agree about 'Runaway' being his best single.
February 1, 201114 yr Author Chart run: 21-05-01-01-01-04-05-06-09-14-19-23-25-29-37-45-49 First up in the top 10 of the year is this gem from Caribou. Initially this is possibly quite irritating until you get used to the feline-esque repetitive sample, once you do then it becomes one of the most brilliantly addictive tracks of the past few years. Love how his vocal style has developed since his years as Manitoba too, this could easily pass as a better version of some of the Kings Of Convenience tracks. Chart run: 21-05-03-02-02-03-07-11-15-20-17-19-23-26-28-34-39-47 The highest charting non-#1 song of the year goes to Diamond Rings with the excellent Show Me Your Stuff. This track just has so many hooks in it that it's difficult to know where to begin... one downside though, why on earth didn't he put it on the album? It's his most commercial thing to date and I really don't agree that it wouldn't have fitted in - whilst not as guitar based, the overall tone of the track is so steeped in 80s nostalgia that it sounds perfectly fine next to his other tracks. Chart run: 18-01-02-02-04-06-11-19-16-21-24-25-30-34-40-40-45-48 This is probably the most joyous track of the year, it's like The Go! Team if they used more guitars. I've never got bored of listening to this, it's reasonably novelty in composition I think but joins the likes of I'm From Barcelona in managing to transform it to something amazing rather than annoying. The unexpectedly brilliant song of 2010 for me. 007|Robyn 'Call Your Girlfriend' DNC This is Robyn at her absolute best, laden with hooks to the extent that it's difficult to spot which bit is actually the chorus. Pitchfork got the review of this one right, it's a clever Robyn track as it takes everything that makes her songs so great (emotion, empathy, a sense of sadness, amazing beat) and turns it on it's head so that she's actually the one who's assisting in the hurting yet somehow manages to end up with the moral highground as she's so sensitive in how she's telling him to dump her. Amazing song, right up there with her best and could have been even higher had it been a single... :wub:  006|Arcade Fire 'Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains)' DNC Next up it's by far the best thing to feature on The Suburbs. The album as a whole was mightily disappointing for me but this is so wonderful that it actually competes with No Cars Go and Rebellion (Lies) for my favourite song of theirs to date... the Blondie influence is easy to hear on this one and it was a good direction to take, especially giving Regine the vocal as she really turns it into something special. DNC There are several reasons why I love this track so much... firstly it has Joanna's typical ability to write an amazing set of lyrics over a tune that twists and turns around you without ever sounding out of place. Secondly it moves her sound forwards as she employs drums and a piano rather than solely rely on the harp (as much as I absolutely LOVE her music with the harp, it's nice to hear something else too). Thirdly and perhaps most importantly it just reminds me of when I was growing up and my parents used to often play Kate & Anna McGarrigle records while we used to prepare for picnics and frolics on the back garden... and hence just resonates with me in a way that no other record has managed to do so in 2010. Chart run: 17-04-02-02-02-01-01-01-03... and easily still charting into 2011 The sound of one of my favourite acts of 2010 collaborating with one of my all time favourite acts. Robert Smith is amazing on this, his vocals sound absolutely perfect over a backdrop that I wouldn't have necessarily expected him to excel with. It probably helps that it's a cover of an early 80s record that was similarly styled to The Cure anyway but even so it's easily the best thing Robert Smith has been a part of in many a year. Collaboration of the year. DNC The highest placed album track on the countdown goes to Owen Pallett. This is easily one of my most listened to tracks of 2010 and would have easily been #1 in my chart for many a week had it been released. It's just a beautiful Sufjan Stevens-esque ditty sung with a real delicacy and fragility that suits the orchestral backing to an absolute tee. I can't even begin to tell you my favourite things about it, I'm listening now and I keep thinking "that bit" until the next verse or orchestral section kicks in when I think it's that section instead, the whole thing is just a wonderful composition. 002|Crystal Castles 'Baptism' Chart run: 43-28-05-01-01-01-01-01-04-05-07-09-15-17-17-21-26-30-33-43-48 It has been almost impossible to separate the top two, both have been an absolute constant on my ipod all year long and I adore them both - in the end I had to revert to the old fashioned way of separating them by chart run. Ending the year with two songs in my top 5 is a rare achievement but both Crystal Castles are amazing, this one edges it for me though due to the rave based sections between the vocals - which while we're on the subject are not my typical listen at all, far too shouty for my usual tastes but for some reason I not only don't mind but in fact think is one of the best vocal performances of the year in terms of power and effect. An amazing track that I'm sad I had to chart only at #2. Chart run: 03-01-01-01-01-01-01-02-02-02-04-06-10-16-22-31-34-35-36-42-40-37-35-35-41-48 Well I guess it was never likely to be anything else, I'll be amazed if there's anyone reading who hadn't guessed this already but both shock and horror at Robyn ending my 2010 at the top. I remember my initial excitement at hearing about the Body Talk project was suitably quashed when some of the tracks began to leak... they were okay but just not quite the Robyn I loved or wanted... then this leaked as a 30 second clip and I just KNEW from the very first play that it was going to be my song of the year and that the era would be okay after all. She taps into your heart strings yet again on this one by singing about a situation that everyone will be familiar with, the yearning after someone you can't have from the sidelines while someone else is getting in there first - ah, it's the story of everyone's teenage years. It's the little details in the song that make me love it more than any other this year, especially the little clicking sounds at 0:37 and of course the breakdown bit which inevitably ends with everything coming back at you in one massive hit at about 3:10. Ah, sod it, the whole thing is just :wub: from beginning to end... long may she continue to rule!  Oh and... FINALLY I can say FIN. Phew. Thanks for reading if you have... hope you liked it! ^_^
February 1, 201114 yr Author Oh and, for ease of reference, a final RE|CAP: 200|Clare Maguire 'Ain't Nobody' 199|Cut Copy 'Take Me Over' 198|Danger '4h30' 197|Eric Lau feat Muhsinah & Kaidi Tatham 'Always Will' 192|Sufjan Stevens 'All Delighted People' 190|Tinashé 'Zambezi' 187|LCD Soundsystem 'You Wanted A Hit' 184|Hurts 'Silver Lining' 181|Duck Sauce 'Barbra Streisand' 179|Kathryn Williams '50 White Lines' 172|Robyn 'In My Eyes' 171|Sub Focus feat Coco 'Splash' 168|Husky Rescue 'We Shall Burn Bright' 165|Baths '♥' 164|Best Coast 'Crazy For You' 161|Future Islands 'Swept Inside' 155|Maximum Balloon 'Communion' 137|Bad Autopsy 'Rotpot' 135|Crystal Castles 'Vietnam' 129|Hard Mix 'Memories' 125|Take That 'Kidz' 120|Flotilla 'Behave' 116|Jónsi 'Animal Arithmetic' 112|Deerhunter 'Memory Boy' 110|Belle & Sebastian 'I Didn't See It Coming' 108|Blithe Field 'I Love You Tate' 098|Toro Y Moi 'Low Shoulder' 097|Wild Nothing 'Cloudbusting' 096|Yeasayer 'O.N.E.' 091|Vampire Weekend 'White Sky' 086|Flying Lotus feat. Thom Yorke '...And The World Laughs With You' 083|Beach House '10 Mile Stereo' 079|David Guetta feat. Kid Cudi 'Memories' 078|Forest Swords 'Rattling Cage' 075|Kanye West feat. Too Many People To Bother Listing 'All Of The Lights' 072|Owen Pallett 'Lewis Takes Action' 071|Trey Songz 'Unfortunate' 070|Azari & III 'Reckless With Your Love' 068|Sky Ferreira 'One' 066|The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart 'Heart In Your Heartbreak' 062|Sleigh Bells 'Tell Em' 058|I Blame Coco 'Self Machine' 057|Gold Panda 'Snow and Taxis' 056|Class Actress 'Journal Of Ardency EP' 053|Hot Chip 'I Feel Better' 051|Lissie 'When I'm Alone' 050|Strange Talk 'Climbing Walls' 047|LCD Soundsystem 'All I Want' 046|Pallers 'The Kiss' 043|I Blame Coco 'In Spirit Golden' 042|Girl Unit 'Wut' 038|Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti 'Round and Round' 037|Future Islands 'Walking Through That Door' 033|Scissor Sisters 'Invisible Light' 031|Tove Styrke 'White Light Moment' 030|Erykah Badu 'Window Seat' 027|Robyn 'Indestructible' 023|Kanye West feat. Pusha T 'Runaway' 020|Caribou 'Jamelia' 019|Baths 'Maximalist' 018|Future Islands feat. Katrina Ford 'In The Fall' 014|Yeasayer 'Ambling Alp' 007|Robyn 'Call Your Girlfriend' 006|Arcade Fire 'Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains)' 002|Crystal Castles 'Baptism'
February 1, 201114 yr Wonderfully wonderful. I need to start commenting/sharing music again. It's been too long!
February 1, 201114 yr 031|Tove Styrke 'White Light Moment' Chart run: 18-11-11-11-09-05-01-01... The final #1 of the year makes it all the way up to #31 in the year end chart. It's entirely thanks to Gooddelta that I heard this as he made the Robyn comparisons glaringly obvious and hence caught my attention. Still, I wasn't expecting to love it quite as much as I ended up doing and it ended up being the most unlikely #1 on my chart of the entire year, very much deserved though as it's certainly one of the very best pop moments of 2010 and the delivery of the vocals is just sublime. I've been following your chart and enjoying the comments, but I'm very pleased to see this here :wub: I'm glad my hard sell approach on promoting the track worked :lol: It really is one of the most excellent Scandi-pop songs of the last few years - mesmerising.
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