Clearing out the closet, I’ve concluded that while everything else was in shambles, musically, 2009 was indeed a great year. While the year brought to earshot many, many names of new bands like Florence and the Machine, La Roux and Animal Collective, unfortunately in my microcosm, their offerings were not enough to crack me and make me pay attention. The reasons being that 2009 brought many repeat offenders to glory once again and out of the shadow of doubt of musical progress such as the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, U2, Kasabian and Franz Ferdinand.
To further aggravate my grievances with new artists, this year’s summer festivals brought with them the return and now rule of Blur into my musical world, which was a huge blow to new artists as rediscovering a band with seven studio albums took most of my time in the latter part of 2009. Also, I wasn’t able to overlook the immense presence of auto tune, a technology that I cannot say I am very fond of. Of course, this did not stop pop music from being king and the eventual death of Michael Jackson in the latter part of the year made it even more obvious that I am not a fan of pop music. With this in your mind, I’d like to offer you my much labored top ten tracks of 2009. (You can also download a convenient .zip file of all this year’s picks here.)
1. Daniel by Bat for Lashes (download)
This ode to a fictional hero, Daniel Larusso, brought me to notice the incredibly talented Natasha Khan. Not enough can be said about her incredible composition, and it is in this song where we see one of her many talents, a mixture of the 80s and today’s sensibilities. A cross-over hit, Daniel gained Natasha notoriety and her wonderful performance in this year’s Glastonbury Festival even more so. She quickly became one of my favorite current artists and I imagine she will continue to surprise me in the future.
2. Heads Will Roll by Yeah Yeah Yeahs (download)
Hearing of synthesizers and melodies scared many old fans of the YYYs, some doubting their efforts would compare to their past efforts. Of course, Karen O and company proved them wrong with the release of this year’s ‘It’s Blitz’. This song, along with their previous single ‘Zero’, the YYYs proved that them changing their sound does not necessarily mean a bad thing.
3. Underdog by Kasabian (download)
2009 was yet another year that Kasabian has seen great success. Their much awaited third album, ‘West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum’ brought us an album full of schizophrenic, seemingly unrelated sounding songs that work together and show further growth in Kasabian’s studio and songwriting abilities. And one of the best, in my opinion, is this track, which is a continuation of the Kasabian spirit of musical conquest.
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4. No Line on the Horizon by U2 (download)
I chose the title track off of U2’s latest effort because it is in this track where I see the best representation of the overall sound of the whole record and of the progress the band has made. In this track, I can hear everyone, something that I have been waiting for decades to happen and something that they were lacking. It’s not all about the Edge; it’s not all about Bono. Adam and Larry are brought to the center, for once, and it is beautiful.
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5. Panic Switch by Silversun Pickups (download)
While this band has been around for a while and I still don’t know much about them, this song made a great impression on me from the first time I heard it on an indie rock station and I was glad to hear it on a modern rock station. I get the hype, to say the least.
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6. Hearing Damage by Thom Yorke (download)
Many whine about the Twilight fever that has enveloped millions of teenage girls, one cannot deny the accompanying soundtracks are top notch. One of the best comes from Thom Yorke, with his contrasting voice against a simplistic sound that conveys the song’s theme effectively and succinctly.
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7. Back to the Start by Lily Allen
Since choosing a Lily Allen track was a must for this year, I chose ‘Back to the Start’ as it was the track that impressed me the most in her latest album. The sound is most distinct from the rest of the album, but what I noticed more was the theme of the lyrics: envy, and growing out of that envy as it probably hits a personal chord.
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8. No You Girls by Franz Ferdinand (download)
I always have a lot of fun listening to Franz Ferdinand’s songs mainly because of the way their lyrics seem to change and reveal themselves to be something quite quirky and different at the end of the song. This track is especially lovely in that respect as the last verse reveals.
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9. Black Hearted Love by PJ Harvey & John Parish (download)
I’ll be honest in saying that PJ Harvey’s efforts after ‘Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea’ haven’t impressed me in a while, but her collaboration with producer John Parish, and most notably this track, has renewed my faith in her. There’s certain darkness to this song, yet Harvey’s vocals bring forth a distinct bittersweet feeling which she does best against ringing guitars, something I always have loved about her.
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10. Hvad Der Sker by Sune Rose Wagner (download)
It could not be a complete list of top songs until I bring out one of my most obscure. Released last December, Sune’s distinct retro sound transfers well into his native Danish. And despite not knowing a word of what he is singing about, this track is as beautiful as any of his previous work.
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Honorable and still worthy mentions:
Another great and more recognizable track from ‘West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum‘.
Glass by Bat for Lashes (download)
Much more complex than the previously mentioned ‘Daniel’, ‘Glass’ offers a view of Natasha’s great sound composition skills.
D.O.A. (Death Of Auto-Tune) by Jay-Z (download)
Jay-Z always manages to impress me with his tracks, and this song is one of those. As well as a hope from yours truly to end the reign of auto tune.
Single Ladies (Put a Ring On It) by Beyoncé (download)
No one could escape this song, including myself. I will never say Beyonce is crap; she’s one of the good ones.
Poker Face by Lady Gaga (download)
While I’m still trying to decide whether or not I like Lady Gaga, I’ll just say I like this song because of the fever it instilled in the general population. I guess it’s good accompanying music to better parts of the year. That and its cleverness made an impression.
