so, favorite! songs! of! the! year! this is, of course, a purely subjective topic, and if you throw a rock out into the music blogosphere, you’re sure to hit at least fifty different lists. which is fabulous! i love these lists.
buy this print at etsy HERE.
recently, the husband and i were discussing this (again, yes. we’re nerds like this) and he was talking about the need to do the top 10 albums released in 2010. and i was sort of mind-boggled, because i don’t know if i could come up with ten albums (being a singles girl and all). two…three? maybe four? but definitely not ten.
so! i have decided to merely hand over my favorite songs of the year. get ready for a monster post, in no particular order, excepting the last two…
*** there is something about kaiser cartel that proves irresistible to me. maybe it’s how courtney kaiser and benjamin cartel sing in tandem. maybe it’s because their songs are easy on the ears, or maybe it’s because their lyrics are meaningful without being brassy. whatever the reason, their latest release, secret transit, is a keeper – and brave enough is the shining star. mary is walking down silver lake road/these days her old friends don’t feel at home/glamour and flash go through her as she goes/but someone to talk to she doesn’t know/are you brave enough speak your mind/is it safe enough this time?
read my original post about this song HERE. buy secret transit, the album brave enough is off of, HERE.
*** yeah, yeah. i know. it comes from the how to train your dragon soundtrack. and as this is a kid’s movie, some may say it’s a kid’s song. does this detract from the sheer awesomeness of sticks and stones? nope. this is all because of jónsi (of sigur rós fame) and his ability to make pretty much everything awesome. and boy, is this song that. eyes open wide, blinded by the sun now/orange and white, dark red, green and yellow/rainbow colors! do not hide, see the view!/step aside, go through!
(mp3) sticks and stones by jónsi
*** another song from another soundtrack. anti-twilighters, ignore the fact that this came from a movie featuring a sparkly old vampire falling for a teenage girl (i know, i know – the more you think about that fact, the ickier it sounds, right?). instead, focus on how good beck and bats for lashes sound together in let’s get lost. but then again, beck pretty much always sounds great. let me come closer, i’m not your shadow/with our eyes shielding from the oncoming counts/it’s not hard for us to say what we should not/just for tonight, darling/let’s get lost
buy the eclipse soundtrack, the album let’s get lost is off of, HERE.
(mp3) let’s get lost by beck and bats for lashes
*** like the wheel is an easy song to fall in love with. simple guitar chords, plaintive vocals, meaningful lyrics…the tallest man on earth sings auditory beauty. breathtaking. and in the forest someone is whispering to a tree now/this is all i am so please don’t follow me/and it’s your brother in the shaft that i’m swinging/please let the kindness of forgetting set me free
read my original post on the song HERE. buy sometimes the blues is just a passing bird, the EP like the wheel is off of, HERE.
*** kid canaveral really kicked it with good morning, but i’ve gotta admit, i like this song better. hyper, cheery, and addictive, left and right is the perfect pick-me-up song. and hello! the band is scottish, so obviously you know i’m going to love them.
buy shouting at wildlife, the album left and right is off of, HERE.
(mp3) left and right by kid canaveral
*** a million plays on my ipod (plus writing playlists) and i still adore it just as much as the very first listen. josh ritter created a masterpiece here: change of time is nuanced, insightful, and timeless. swoon! i had a dream last night/and when i opened my eyes/your shoulder blade, your spine/were shorelines in the moonlight/new worlds for the weary/new lands for the living/i could make it if i tried/i closed my eyes/i kept on swimming
read my original post about this song HERE. buy so the world turns, the album change of time is off of, HERE.
(mp3) change of time by josh ritter
*** lo-fi brilliance. crank resolutions taunts its listeners with elusive vocals cloaked behind filters and driving beats – and while this can be frustrating in other songs, here it only adds to the allure. listen to this song by meursault at top volume and revel in it’s beauty and mystery. now everything gets older the further that i go/and i hope that someone is praying for me out there at home./ and i never saw you waving./at least that’s what i’ll say/when they carry me away.
read my original post about this song HERE. buy all creatures will make merry, the album crank resolutions is off of, HERE.
(mp3) crank resolutions by meursault
*** loud, distorted, messy, and FUN, sleigh bells is my go-to music of the year when i want noise. and infinity guitars is my fav by far off their debut album treats. deaf chords, dead ends/sling set can’t meet their demands/dumb whores, best friends/infinity guitars, go ‘head
read my original post about this song HERE. buy treats, the album infinity guitars is off of, HERE.
Sleigh Bells “Infinity Guitars” from Phil Pinto on Vimeo.
*** i am such a matt berninger fangirl. honestly? the guy has a voice of a god. and the national is such an amazing band that they rarely ever makes duds (um…honestly…can’t think of one right now). high violet is a remarkable album, filled with so many good songs it makes your head want to explode. conversation 16, though, really stands out. i’m a confident liar/had my head in the oven so you’d know where i’ll be/i’ll try to be more romantic/i want to believe in everything you believe/i was less than amazing/do not know what all the troubles are for/fall asleep in your branches/you’re the only thing i ever want anymore
buy high violet, the album conversation 16 is off of, HERE.
*** now for my favorite 2010 song of the year!
man. this was a tough one – i mean, i knew it would be a frightened rabbit song, because HELLO, frabbit=awesomeness. but i’ve had so many song crushes off of the winter of mixed drinks, it’s ridiculous. in full disclosure, i almost chose things, nothing like you, and not miserable, too. but footshooter… yeah. it’s pretty bloody brilliant. plus! scottish! I LOVE THIS SONG. in the stark and the sobering dry sunlight/i will blink my eyes and hope the blink can erase/all the shit that I said and did
read my original post about this song HERE. buy the winter of mixed drinks, the album footshooter is off of, HERE.
(mp3) footshooter by frightened rabbit
next year – look for me to squee about the new death cab for cutie album. i can hardly WAIT!!