Best Singles of 2009: #40-31

40. The Gossip "Heavy Cross"
Beth Ditto is a vamp, and her vocals are absolutely delicious. I long to hear more music like this on the radio.

Fave line: "We can play it safe, or play it cool/follow the leader, or make up all the rules"



39. T.I. feat. Justin Timberlake "Dead and Gone"
Make no bones about it, T.I. is a commercial rapper, but his flow here is PERFECT and he's never sounded more introspective, questioning those around him and even lamenting on his own mortality. Justin is only icing on the cake.

Fave line: "Ever had one of them days wish you would have stayed home? Run into a group of niggas gettin' they hate on?"


T.I. - Dead And Gone ft. Justin Timberlake

T.I. | MySpace Music Videos

38. Friendly Fires "Jump in the Pool"
When I first heard this song, I thought it was Bloc Party; the two bands possess the same synthy energy. Too bad Bloc Party hasn't done a song this great since 2005.

Fave line: "I looked at you i knew you wanted to jump in the pool"




37. The Dead Weather "Treat Me Like Your Mother"
Love the banter between Mosshart and White on this one. The guitars and drum, too, are pretty effing awesome.

Fave line: "Don't act like you can't act/stand up like a man"



36. Rihanna "Russian Roulette"
One of the most controversial songs of the year, a lot of people didn't really get it. What was Rihanna singing about? Is she suicidal? Um. No. I think the metaphors are waaaaay too easy, so I won't explain them here. (Y'all are smart, right?) Let's just say it's the most cryptic song she's ever done and one of the better written songs on this list, on the disc and of this year. And that gunshot at the end?? Damn.

Fave line: "So many won't get the chance to say goodbye, but it's too late to think of the value of my life"



35. Lady GaGa "Bad Romance"
I still blame Lady GaGa for causing the link for the live stream of McQueen's Spring/Summer Ready-to-Wear 2010 collection to collapse. Damn her for announcing to the whole of twitter (she has over one million followers) that she was debuting the song there! But oh my GAWD what a song it is!! Ra ROH!

Fave line: "Walk walk, fashion baby/work it, move that bitch crazy"



34. Kid Cudi feat. Kanye West and Common "Make Her Say"
Quite possibly the funniest song of the year. Yea you read right. Funny. And Common is on the track. Great Lady GaGa sample, too.

Fave line: "Getting brain the library, cuz I love knowledge"




33. Fever Ray "When I Grow Up"
Sounding like something lifted from her band's "Silent Shout", Karin Andersson sings, like a preening child, about her adulthood plans. Love the steel drums.

Fave line: "You've got cucumber on your eyes/too much time spent on nothing, waiting on your moment to arise"



32. Yeah Yeah Yeahs "Heads Will Roll"
Dance, dance, dance till you're dead! If that isn't sound advice, I don't know what is. Love how this track just builds and builds and i LOVE the video!

Fave line: "The glitter's all wet, you're all chrome"



31. Maxwell "Pretty Wings"
The gentlest, sweetest, most heart-breaking thing I heard all year. Maxwell's falsetto could sooth a thousand nations at war.

Fave line: "I should have showed you better nights, better times, better days/and I miss you more and more"

Currently Getting Into...

Jay-Z got a lot of flack for this album, but really, he doesn't care. Swizz Beatz, Alica Keys, Rihanna, Kanye West, Young Jeezy and Pharrell all turn up to pay homage to Jay-Hova, helping to make his finest album since The Black Album.

Di lickle island gyal grow up and mi love har even more! Anyone who thinks Rihanna is devoid or incapable of actual depth needs listen to "Fire Bomb" or "Cold Case Love" and everyone else who just wants to dance, "Te Amo" and "Hard" are there for you too.

It's hard to believe this disc is almost 4 years old with how ahead of the pop curve it is. Popping up on every other list of the best albums of last decade, critics were slow to actually admit that JT had given us one of the best pop/dance albums in a very long time. Ignore the song names (they all have "Sex" or "Love" in their titles), ignore the singing and lyrics if you will. But do yourself a favour and concede to Timbaland's glorious bottom-less, 21st century production.

Lady GaGa has amassed a large following in the one year she's been on the pop scene all thanks in part to this baby right here. Chocked full of dancefloor stompers, weird one-liners like "I'm lyin' with my muffin" and mega-hits like "Bad Romance" and "Poker Face", GaGa proves that The Fame was no one-off thing; she's here to stay.