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"

Best Singles of 2009: #50-41

50. La Roux "In For the Kill"
Borrowing heavily from Bjork, this is one propulsive song that should be on every radio and club playlist from now till next year

Fave line: "We can fight our desires, but when we start making fires we get ever so hot"



49. Dragonette "Fixin to Thrill"
The lead singer sounds like Ashlee Simpson, but that twat could never have made something like this. Played this one so many times, my four-year nephew probably knows it by heart by now.

Fave line: "Oh we could do it any way you want/We only like you cause you're cute and young"



48. Jamie Foxx feat. T-Pain "Blame It"
I think this track proves more than anything, that if Jamie Foxx really wanted to have a respectable singing career, he could. My fave club track of the year, hands down. It's even better to dance to drunk.

Fave line: "I was unaware how fine you was before my buzz set in"
 



47. Kid Cudi feat. MGMT and and Ratatat "Pursuit of Happiness"
I'm really not a Kid Cudi fan, his flow is a bit too lazy for me, but there's summin about this song... I think it's chorus...

Fave line: "Tell me what you know about night terrors- nothing"



46. Passion Pit "The Reeling"
Reading the lyrics, this is a pretty depressing song. You'd never know though, with how busy and sunny everything else is.

Fave line: "We dug these holes we crawled into now they're my home"



45. Bat for Lashes "Daniel"
A haunting song about who knows what, Natasha Khan's descriptions about cinders and rain, fires, and marble movie skies are as vivid as ever.

Fave line: "And you have set fire to my heart"



44. Friendly Fires "Skeleton Boy"
Apart from their Mercury-Prize nomination, i'm really surprised this band wasn't buzzed about more. Oh well. Love them. Love this song.

Fave line: "Give me your hand, let's face this night and see it through"



43. Shakira "She Wolf"
Here's the most ridiculous song i've heard all year replete with howling, the use of "lycanthropy" and panting. Despite all that though, the song still works, resulting in one of Shakira's most effervescent songs ever.

Fave line: "Eternal creatures are not so prudent/the moon's my teacher and i'm her student"



42. Animal Collective "Summertime Clothes"
More than any other song this year, the importance of a physical connection is expressed wonderfully. The Collective really impressed me this year. Really.

Fave line: "My bones have to move and my skin's gotta breathe/You pick up the phone and i'm so relieved"



41. The Dead Weather "Hang You From the Heavens"
Creepy, pulsating, sexy are just some of the words I can think of to describe this. It also sounds a lot like what the White Stripes would if the lead singer were female.

Fave: "I never know how to treat you/you say I love you, but it aint true"

My Wish List

Stephen King's my fave writer, i'm ecstatic every time there's news of him releasing a book, good reviews or not.

All Madonna's greatest hits on one album?? You have got to be kidding me! Sign me up!

Love Shakira; can't wait to own this.

Currently Getting Into...

Had this one for about 2 years in my room, finally gotten around to reading it. With the big "Booker Prize Finalist" sticker on the front, you can imagine the buzz surrounding it; but really, i'm about 1/4 way through and not liking it one bit. Let's hope I don't throw it out before finishing it.

Another Man Booker-associated work (this one won the award in 1999), Disgrace is the third book i've read from Coetzee, the first from him I actually liked after I was finished. It's an awesome work on post-apartheid relations in South Africa. The motifs and themes fit the story quite well, with some very memorable, heavily loaded sentences. It's a little morose, a little cynical, but it's a masterpiece.

The books follows the plight of Suleiman, a nine-year-old boy living in Tripoli in Libya, after his father is forced to flee the family household by Qaddafi's state police due to his involvement in anti-State activities. Almost through with this one. It's nicely written, but loses much of its power by never giving us the bigger picture of the unrest that Libyan residents experienced at the time of its plot.

Currently Getting Into...

One of my faves from The Blueprint 3, Swizz turns Justice's D.A.N.C.E. sample into something a bit eerie.



Some say it sounds dated, others say she's trying to regain her former glory. I say it's brilliant; one of her finest dance moments in years! Love the choreography of the video and the feel of the song. Won't even mention the fashion and the lead dance guy.



Trying to match the tough-girl stance of the song, Rihanna and team come up with a gloriously over-the-top video glorifying explosions, nipple tape and heavy artillery. Hard, indeed.



Trippy and fun fun fun, Animal Collective release the last song on Merriweather Post Pavilion, my fave album of '09 (more on that later). It's a great song, and the video captures the energy of the song perfectly.



I dunno what it is about this song, but I can't get enough of it. Love the bombast, and the vocals remind me of something from the 80's.

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.

Currently Getting Into...

One of the greatest war movies ever made, a front-runner for this year's Best Picture Oscar. Even if the film doesn't win that, I certainly hope Bigelow wins Best Director; she'd de the first woman to ever do so.

I didn't like "Titanic", but the rest of the world apparently did (it still stands as one of the all-time highest-grossing films at the box office). The whole world loves "Avatar" too, it seems- unadjusted for inflation, the film has joined "Titanic" on that list too. But whatever your opinion of the two films, director James Cameron is a genius. In ten years time, we will still be talking about this film.

Call it a throwback film if you will,  but "An Education" is one of those films that will have you going down memory lane if you were alive during the time period (the 60's) and location (London) it is set. If like me, you aren't, you'll appreciate how detailed the sets are. Everyone here is in fine order, especially Carey Mulligan who I hope will walk away with the Best Actress Oscar come March.