{"id":8130,"date":"2019-12-19T08:00:00","date_gmt":"2019-12-19T13:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/meadowparty.com\/blog\/?p=8130"},"modified":"2019-12-18T21:59:29","modified_gmt":"2019-12-19T02:59:29","slug":"top-100-songs-of-the-2010s-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/meadowparty.com\/blog\/2019\/12\/19\/top-100-songs-of-the-2010s-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Top 100 songs of the 2010s."},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>I&#8217;ve been thinking about this post for six years, and now it&#8217;s here, and I don&#8217;t want to be done with it. We&#8217;re all watching the decade end, though, and while the world is changing in the blink of an eye, it&#8217;s a fine time to draw a line and put my name to a ranking of my favorite songs of the last ten years. It&#8217;s a rock\/indie-heavy list, as you might expect, and this reflects my personal tastes, not anyone else&#8217;s, considering neither commercial success nor critical opinions (although I may refer to either herein). I don&#8217;t adhere to previous rankings of songs by year, because while the songs haven&#8217;t changed, my opinions certainly have. My ranking of <a href=\"https:\/\/meadowparty.com\/blog\/2019\/12\/18\/top-25-albums-of-the-2010s\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\"the top 25 albums of the decade (opens in a new tab)\">the top 25 albums of the decade<\/a> went up yesterday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I&#8217;ve put these songs into <a href=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/playlist\/48StQv4isb84o63LJn6C1x?si=jBhLqx2KQtatElxcC2KdxQ\">a Spotify playlist<\/a>, in ascending order. You can use that link if you can&#8217;t see the widget below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed-spotify wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-spotify wp-embed-aspect-9-16 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe title=\"Spotify Embed: Klaw&amp;apos;s Top 100 songs of the 2010s\" style=\"border-radius: 12px\" width=\"100%\" height=\"352\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen allow=\"autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; fullscreen; picture-in-picture\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/embed\/playlist\/48StQv4isb84o63LJn6C1x?si=ftn4BcnMQCOwZFfMMWWosA&#038;utm_source=oembed\"><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>100. Savages \u2013 &#8220;She Will.&#8221; <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The best track from the female quartet who brought feminist\nindignation to their heavy punk debut album <em>Silence Yourself<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>99. Mark Ronson feat. Q-Tip \u2013 &#8220;Bang Bang Bang.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Ronson will forever be known as the man behind &#8220;Uptown\nFunk&#8221; (well, the parts he didn&#8217;t steal from the GAP Band), but he&#8217;s more\nthan just that one song, having produced Amy Winehouse&#8217;s <em>Rehab<\/em> and\nreleased quite a bit of other music, including this 2010 hit with a\ncontribution from one of my favorite MCs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>98. Foster the People \u2013 &#8220;Are You What You Wanna\nBe?&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>From the maligned <em>Supermodel<\/em> LP, which did poorly\nenough that Mark Foster turned his group back towards pure pop music, this\ntrack opens the concept album and shows Foster&#8217;s idea of incorporating music\nfrom different parts of the world in a traditional pop\/rock framework.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>97. Sleater-Kinney \u2013 &#8220;Bury Our Friends.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The best song from the trio&#8217;s comeback album <em>No Cities to\nLove<\/em>, which was their first record in a decade and was followed by this\nyear&#8217;s <em>The Center Won&#8217;t Hold<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>96. Drenge \u2013 &#8220;Bloodsports.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Drenge&#8217;s self-titled debut album remains the best\ndistillation of the guitar-and-drum duo sound that had a bit of a moment in the\nmiddle of this decade on the heels of White Stripes&#8217; success. There are a\nhalf-dozen great songs on the record but this has a particularly good guitar\ngroove that stuck with me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>95. Kendrick Lamar, the Weeknd \u2013 &#8220;Pray for Me.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The <em>Black Panther <\/em>soundtrack earned much acclaim,\nalthough the track that took the awards \u2013 &#8220;All the Stars,&#8221; featuring\nSZA \u2013 wasn&#8217;t close to the best on the record for me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>94. The Colourist \u2013 &#8220;Little Games.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A one-hit wonder from 2014 that probably would have fit\nbetter on pop stations than alternative, with two great hooks in the opening\nguitar riff and the melody in the chorus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>93. Mastodon \u2013 &#8220;Show Yourself.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Mastodon has a well-deserved reputation for lengthy,\nprogressive metal tracks that show off their technical prowess, but this\nthree-minute track distills most of what they do well into something far more\nlisteners will appreciate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>92. New Politics \u2013 &#8220;Harlem.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It wasn&#8217;t deliberate but I seem to have more pop-oriented\ntracks near the bottom of this list, including this earworm from the Danish\ntrio that crossed over somewhat to top 40 radio.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>91. Broods \u2013 &#8220;Bridges.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Broods&#8217; best song to date is still this piano-and-vocal\nnumber from their first record before the brother and sister duo turned towards\npoppier, electronic sounds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>90. Prides \u2013 &#8220;The Seeds You Sow.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Scottish indie duo&#8217;s first single, which I found similar\nto Bastille (in a good way), is still their best, although they&#8217;ve had some\nother solid tracks since then including &#8220;Say It Again&#8221; and\n&#8220;Let&#8217;s Stay In Bed All Day.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>89. Christine &amp; the Queens \u2013 &#8220;5 dollars.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The album <em>Chris<\/em> was the <em>Guardian<\/em>&#8216;s top album\nof 2018 and was widely acclaimed by critics, but for a record that turned\novertly towards pop it was a bit short on hooks. This song, however, should\nhave crossed over, and I wonder if H\u00e9lo\u00efse Letissier&#8217;s accent held it back.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>88. Disclosure \u2013 &#8220;When a Fire Starts to Burn.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I had no idea until I wrote this post that Disclosure never\nofficially released this song as a single from their debut album <em>Settle<\/em>,\nchoosing six other tracks instead. The sampled stanza from motivational speaker\nEric Thomas elevates this song beyond anything else on this house-music record\nfor me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>87. CHVRCHES \u2013 &#8220;Death Stranding.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This list is a little light on 2019 songs for two reasons \u2013\nI thought 2019 was a down year for music, and I&#8217;m trying not to overrate songs\nthat I&#8217;ve listened to more in the past few months. I do think this is the best\nthing CHVRCHES has done since <em>Every Open Eye<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>86. Coeur de Pirate \u2013 &#8220;Pr\u00e9monition.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>B\u00e9atrice Martin may be done recording as Coeur de Pirate,\nbut this lead single from her possibly-final album under that moniker is tremendous\nstart to finish, a tight, upbeat electronic pop number that builds beautifully\nfrom the opening piano to the singalong chorus (if you can sing in French, that\nis).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>85. Jake Bugg \u2013 &#8220;What Doesn&#8217;t Kill You.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Bugg&#8217;s self-titled debut album earned him praise as a young\nBob Dylan, and this lead single from his follow-up, <em>Shangri-La<\/em>, showed\nhe was versatile enough to move into harder rock territory, although he&#8217;s since\npulled back to quieter folk-rock sounds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>84. Bat for Lashes \u2013 &#8220;Laura.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Natasha Khan had quite a decade with <em>The Haunted Man<\/em>,\nthe concept album <em>The Bride<\/em>, and this year&#8217;s <em>Lost Girls<\/em>, showing\ngreat musical versatility, although I find I like her stuff best when the tempo\nis slower and her voice takes center stage, as on this piano\/vocals number from\nthe first of those albums.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>83. whenyoung \u2013 &#8220;The Others.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Irish trio&#8217;s debut album <em>Reasons to Dream<\/em> was one\nof my favorites of 2019 and was an honorable mention for my top albums of the\ndecade, with this and &#8220;A Labour of Love&#8221; the top tracks, both\nshowcasing Aoife Power&#8217;s voice with strong, shoegazey guitars backing her up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>82. Dan Croll \u2013 &#8220;Bad Boy.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This is Croll&#8217;s last single to date \u2013 released on my\nbirthday in 2017, so, thanks Dan! \u2013 but I hope we get more from the English\nsinger\/songwriter\/multi-instrumentalist who seems to have a good ear for\nindie-pop melodies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>81. Bat for Lashes \u2013 &#8220;Desert Man.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When I assemble these year-end rankings, I don&#8217;t curate them\nbeyond comparing song to song \u2013 I don&#8217;t worry about having an artist have two\nsongs too close to each other (like this one), or in this case putting too many\nsongs together from one year. I just compare each song to the ones around it\nand re-order until I&#8217;m satisfied. Anyway, Bat for Lashes is great and it just\nso happens I have two of her songs, both of which are built around her voice,\nin the 80s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>80. INHEAVEN \u2013 &#8220;World on Fire.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>INHEAVEN&#8217;s self-titled debut was a bit of a throwback to the\nkind of mainstream hard rock to which I grew up listening, but without the overproduced\nglam elements of hair metal to distract you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>79. The Holidays \u2013 &#8220;Tongue Talk.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>An Australian indie band that I&#8217;m pretty sure broke up after\nthis album (<em>Real Feel<\/em>), the Holidays had a few catchy hits but this one grabbed\nme right away for the rhythm guitar line that pops in and out over the course\nof the song, providing a huge textural contrast between verse and chorus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>78. HAERTS \u2013 &#8220;All the Days.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I thought HAERTS would be huge after their first album (#20\non my best albums of the decade list) dropped, with so many radio-friendly,\ncatchy tracks and a great singer out in front in Nini Fabi. This track first\nshowed up on the 2013 EP <em>Hemiplegia<\/em> and then reappeared on <em>HAERTS<\/em>,\nwhere it was the best song by a shade over &#8220;Hemiplegia.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>77. Cloud Nothings \u2013 &#8220;Stay Useless.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It&#8217;s close for me, but I have this as Cloud Nothings&#8217; best\nsong over &#8220;Should Have.&#8221; This was a sort of peak for their (his)\nsound, though, as I don&#8217;t think the band has evolved at all since this record.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>76. DMA&#8217;s \u2013 &#8220;For Now.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Oasis comparisons are fair, but a bit insufficient, I\nthink; Oasis was better, but the DMA&#8217;s are influences by the Gallagher brothers\nwithout being entirely derivative \u2013 it&#8217;s more like Oasis cut with some\nshoegaze-era Ride.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>75. Cut Copy \u2013 &#8220;Need You Now.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Cut Copy had three songs I considered for this list,\nincluding &#8220;Black Rainbows&#8221; and &#8220;Where I&#8217;m Going,&#8221;\neventually landing on this track because I think it&#8217;s their most complete,\nwell-rounded song, and because my girlfriend and I discovered it&#8217;s a shared\nfavorite.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>74. Oh Wonder \u2013 &#8220;Ultralife.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Oh Wonder hit this list twice, because when this indie-pop\nduo is on, they&#8217;re way on \u2013 the five-note vocal twirl in the bridge and at the\nend of the chorus is a perfect pop earworm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>73. Slowdive \u2013 &#8220;Sugar for the Pill.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Slowdive&#8217;s self-titled 2017 album was their first in 22\nyears, but the record felt like they&#8217;d barely been gone other than better production\nquality, as their classic shoegaze sound was intact and as compelling as\nbefore.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>72. Superhumanoids \u2013 &#8220;Norwegian Black Metal.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>My favorite track from one of my favorite albums of the\ndecade, <em>Do You Feel OK?<\/em>, this actually isn&#8217;t a metal song at all, but an\nelectropop jewel featuring the majestic voice of Sarah Chernoff, who has since\nturned to releasing music under her own name.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>71. Jade Bird \u2013 &#8220;Love Has All Been Done\nBefore.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This Welsh singer-songwriter seems like a future star off\nthis lead single and her subsequent, eponymous debut album, an uneven but\npromising folk-rock album that shows off her Janis Joplin-esque voice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>70. Frank Turner \u2013 &#8220;1933.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If I was of the greatest generation I&#8217;d be pissed<br>\nSurveying the world that I built slipping back into this<br>\nI&#8217;d be screaming at my grandkids: &#8220;We already did this&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>69. Yeasayer \u2013 &#8220;O.N.E..&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Yeasayer&#8217;s high point to date saw the experimental group\ndiving headfirst into electropop, with some slight world music influences more\napparent on the album version (the one on my playlist) than the radio edit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>68. Atlas Genius \u2013 &#8220;If So.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Atlas Genius had a solid decade for themselves with this\ncross-over hit as well as &#8220;Trojans,&#8221; &#8220;Molecules,&#8221; and\n&#8220;Stockholm,&#8221; although we&#8217;ve had just one new song from the Australian\nduo since their second album <em>Inanimate Objects<\/em> dropped in 2015.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>67. Adele \u2013 &#8220;Rolling in the Deep.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Adele&#8217;s voice is incredible, but most of her music doesn&#8217;t\nspeak to me at all \u2013 if I never hear &#8220;Hello&#8221; again it&#8217;ll be too soon\n\u2013 so she&#8217;s just represented by this one real outlier track, which I think is\neasily the best thing she&#8217;s done.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>66. TV On the Radio \u2013 &#8220;Mercy.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This non-album single is the best thing TVotR did this\ndecade \u2026 but did you know they haven&#8217;t released any music since 2014&#8217;s <em>Seeds<\/em>?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>65. Portugal. The Man \u2013 &#8220;So American.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I think the general music-listening audience first heard of\nPortugal. The Man with &#8220;Feel It Still,&#8221; but that came off their third\nsolid album of the decade; this was from 2011&#8217;s <em>In the Mountain in the Cloud<\/em>,\nwith more progressive rock sounds that pack lots of tonal and tempo shifts\ninside of 4\u00bd minutes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>64. Jungle \u2013 &#8220;Busy Earnin&#8217;.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The music collective Jungle was founded by two white\nLondoners but their music is deeply infused with 1970s soul and funk, as on\nthis debut single&#8217;s falsetto vocals and memorable synth brass line.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>63. Black Keys \u2013 &#8220;Lonely Boy.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I think a lot of Black Keys&#8217; music is fine, but derivative,\njust derivative done really well; this song, off their 2011 album <em>El Camino<\/em>,\nwon two Grammys, and I think it&#8217;s their best song, with no gimmicky production\non the vocals or guitars, and that giant guitar hook that opens the track.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>62. Arcade Fire \u2013 &#8220;Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond\nMountains).&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>One of Arcade Fire&#8217;s best tracks is this callback to early &#8217;80s\nNew Wave with lyrics reflecting the culturally bankrupting experience of\ngrowing up in the suburban sprawl of Houston.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>61. A Tribe Called Quest \u2013 &#8220;We the People\u2026.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The comeback, and the farewell, began with this prophetic\nsong that slammed the white-nationalist turn of the United States electorate\njust before it took over the White House in 2016.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>60. The Wombats \u2013 &#8220;This is Not a Party.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;Greek Tragedy&#8221; was a bigger alternative radio hit\nbut I&#8217;m partial to this track off <em>Glitterbug<\/em> thanks to the amusingly\nridiculous lyrics and shout-along chorus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>59. St. Lucia \u2013 &#8220;Elevate.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If I&#8217;d kept going on my best albums of the 2010s ranking to\nabout 40, St. Lucia&#8217;s <em>When the Night <\/em>would have shown up, thanks to this\nincredible pop track as well as &#8220;All Eyes on You&#8221; and\n&#8220;September.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>58. Django Django \u2013 &#8220;Default.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The proggy art-rock Djangos have continued to record similar\nmusic since their self-titled, Mercury Prize-nominated debut record, but\n&#8220;Default&#8221; remains their big hit and the sound I think they continue\nto try to re-create. (&#8220;Hail Bop&#8221; is a great song from the same\nalbum.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>57. San Cisco \u2013 &#8220;Awkward.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I&#8217;m especially partial to this because my daughter, who was\njust 5 when the song came out, liked it immediately despite having no concept\nof the lyrics (it&#8217;s about a date from hell because the guy doesn&#8217;t get the\nmessage that she&#8217;s not interested).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>56. Janelle Mon\u00e1e \u2013 &#8220;Tightrope.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Given what a multimedia star Mon\u00e1e is today, it&#8217;s kind of\nhard to believe that a song this good, with a guest appearance by Big Boi, could\nhave so little commercial success at the time of its release. The concept album\nfrom which it came, <em>ArchAndroid<\/em>, was at least critically acclaimed at\nthe time, and I still think it&#8217;s her best musical work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>55. Childish Gambino \u2013 &#8220;This is America.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A rare case of the Grammys getting one right. Also, give\nDonald Glover credit from taking his Childish Gambino from a fringy vanity\nproject to the level of a legitimate musical artist on this (apparently last)\nalbum.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>54. Royal Blood \u2013 &#8220;Lights Out.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Not their only song on the list, but it&#8217;s still heavy and\nloud and great.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>53. Phantogram \u2013 &#8220;Black Out Days.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Sarah Barthel&#8217;s best vocal work comes on this track off <em>Voices<\/em>,\nwhich I find has the perfect blend of guitar work and electronica elements out\nof their oeuvre to date.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>52. Speedy Ortiz \u2013 &#8220;Death Note.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When I did my top 100 old-school hip-hop songs ranking, a\ncouple of people were mad online that the one Mobb Deep song on the list was a\nnon-album track, &#8220;Flavor for the Non-Believes,&#8221; rather than one of\ntheir more popular hits like &#8220;Shook Ones (Part II).&#8221; Speedy Ortiz\nhave put out some interesting albums this decade, often reminding me of Helium or\nthe Jesus &amp; Mary Chain, but my favorite track from them is also a non-album\none, eventually appearing on their <em>Foiled Again <\/em>EP.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>51. Oh Wonder \u2013 &#8220;Hallelujah.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It&#8217;s new, so I could change my mind, but right now I think\nOh Wonder&#8217;s best song is their newest one, which is unapolegetically poppy and\ncatchy and generally great.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>50. Bombay Bicycle Club \u2013 &#8220;Shuffle.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The rhythm of that piano sample never seems to line up with\nthe rest of the song, yet somehow it works no matter what else gets piled on\ntop of it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>49. Chairlift \u2013 &#8220;I Belong In Your Arms.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>My introduction to Chairlift was &#8220;Bruises,&#8221; from\nthis same album, but &#8220;I Belong In Your Arms&#8221; is a better song and\ndoes far more for Caroline Polachek&#8217;s wide-ranging voice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>48. Temples \u2013 &#8220;Holy Horses.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Maybe my favorite guitar riff of 2019, &#8220;Holy\nHorses&#8221; was just one of many great psychedelic-rock tracks from <em>Hot\nMotion<\/em> album, although that swirling line is what sets this song apart.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>47. Milky Chance \u2013 &#8220;Stolen Dance.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I suppose history will call these guys one-hit wonders, even\nthough &#8220;Cocoon,&#8221; from their second album, is a great song in its own\nright.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>46. Kid Astray \u2013 &#8220;The Mess.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This Norwegian indie-pop group has had a slew of fun synth-heavy\nsongs since their debut with &#8220;The Mess,&#8221; including &#8220;Diver,&#8221;\n&#8220;Cornerstone,&#8221; &#8220;Can&#8217;t Stop,&#8221; &#8220;Day in June,&#8221; and &#8220;Joanne.&#8221;\nThis song is just a little crazier and fresher and probably easier to dance to than\nthe rest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>45. Mumford &amp; Sons \u2013 &#8220;Little Lion Man.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The worst thing Mumford &amp; Sons ever did was get popular;\nthey went from indie darlings to overplayed platinum artists over the span of a\nfew weeks, and it seemed like in April it was cool to like their debut album <em>Sigh\nNo More <\/em>but by August it was tired. I admit I haven&#8217;t listened to any of\ntheir music in years, other than this song, their first hit and still their best\nsong, powered by that staccato strumming in the verses and, of course, the once-surprising\nF bomb in the chorus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>44. Death Cab for Cutie \u2013 &#8220;You Are a Tourist.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you&#8217;ve read this far in the list, or just generally read\nmy thoughts on music, you&#8217;ve likely figured out that I can be sold on a song if\nit has a great guitar riff in it, especially if it leads off with that riff.\n&#8220;You Are a Tourist&#8221; is the best guitar riff DCFC has ever produced,\nalthough I admit having a hard time leaving &#8220;Stay Young, Go Dancing&#8221;\n(also from <em>Codes and Keys<\/em>) off the top 100.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>43. Cloves \u2013 &#8220;Frail Love.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Cloves was just 20 or 21 when she recorded the first version\nof this incredible piano\/vocal ballad, although she has that Fiona Apple thing\ngoing where her voice sounds like she&#8217;s actually 40. I have a high standard for\nquiet, slow songs like this, but &#8220;Frail Love&#8221; is devastating and\nnearly perfect.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>42. CHVRCHES \u2013 &#8220;The Mother We Share.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The first CHVRCHES song I ever heard is still one of their\nbest, although it&#8217;s funny to go back to this now and hear how sparse the\nproduction is \u2013 and how Lauren Mayberry&#8217;s voice still cuts through everything\nelse to make it clear she&#8217;s the star of this show.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>41. Lemaitre featuring Betty Who \u2013 &#8220;Rocket\nGirl.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This song should have been a huge hit, damn it. Betty Who is\nso perfect for these lyrics, and Lemaitre put just enough music behind her to\nfuel the engines. I have some hope that eventually there will be a movie about\na woman astronaut and the producers will realize the perfect theme song is\nalready out there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>40. Everything Everything \u2013 &#8220;Kemosabe.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When I first heard Everything Everything&#8217;s album <em>Arc<\/em>,\nI thought this was the best song, but over time I ended up preferring one other\nsong from the record. &#8220;Kemosabe&#8221; is still great, and I think EE are\nat their best when they&#8217;re at their most dramatic, to the point of histrionics.\nIt&#8217;s so over the top, and yet it <em>works<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>39. Arctic Monkeys \u2013 &#8220;Arabella.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Yeah, okay, that&#8217;s the two-chord bit from &#8220;War Pigs,&#8221;\nbut Black Sabbath didn&#8217;t sing about Mexican Cokes and a Barbarella silver swim\nsuit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>38. Grimes \u2013 &#8220;California.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This is my favorite track from <em>Art Angels<\/em>, although that\nalbum is such a cohesive work that it feels weird to pull any single song out\nof it and then exclude similarly great tracks like &#8220;Kill v. Maim&#8221; or\n&#8220;Flesh Without Blood&#8221; or &#8220;Venus Fly&#8221; (featuring Janelle\nMon\u00e1e).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>37. alt-J \u2013 &#8220;Breezeblocks.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This was the first alt-J song I heard \u2026 and I kind of didn&#8217;t\nlike it. Joe Newman&#8217;s vocals are offputting, at least at first, but the music\nis clever and surprising, and the song becomes more intricate as it progresses,\nso I kept returning to it, and to the album, and within a few weeks I was\nenraptured. Also, the song is full of <em>Where the Wild Things<\/em> <em>Are <\/em>references.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>36. Tame Impala \u2013 &#8220;Solitude is Bliss.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Kevin Parker&#8217;s toddler project \u2013 &#8220;I do it myself!&#8221;\n\u2013 wows the critics, but I find a lot of his songs self-indulgent and wearying. This\nwas the first Tame Impala song I heard, which probably affects my opinion\npositively (primacy bias!), but I also like that he kept his ambitions\ncontained to a shorter length and simpler structure here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>35. Ceremony \u2013 &#8220;Turn Away the Bad Thing.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The lead single and best track from my favorite album of\n2019. Ceremony&#8217;s transition from punk band to post-punk\/new wave sensations mirrors\nthe music scene&#8217;s own shift, and while I know some folks miss their first\nincarnation, this is the best new wave album since the genre died out the first\ntime.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>34. The Vaccines \u2013 &#8220;Teenage Icon.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A punk-pop gem, kind of amusing lyrically, sung with a sneer\nand a bit of snark, excellent for making you want to hit the gas pedal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>33. FKA Twigs featuring Future \u2013 &#8220;holy\nterrain.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>She&#8217;s very talented, so much so that we will overlook that\nshe dated Shia LeBouche. I don&#8217;t know that Future adds a lot here; her voice is\ntoo compelling to make room for anyone else. &#8220;Good to Love&#8221; and\n&#8220;sad day&#8221; similarly showcase her vocals with strong melodies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>32. Arcade Fire \u2013 &#8220;Everything Now.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The album, also called <em>Everything Now<\/em>, was kind of a\nmess, and even outright embarrassing in parts (both parts of &#8220;Infinite\nContent&#8221;), but this song is peak Arcade Fire: thoughtful lyrics, great melodies,\na chorus you want to sing, interesting and lush instrumentation. And here they\nboost it with a sample from Cameroonian musician Francis Bebey playing what\nsounds like a pan flute.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>31. Glass Animals \u2013 &#8220;Life Itself.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Glass Animals&#8217; calling card is weird drum\/percussion sounds,\nand they didn&#8217;t disappoint with this lead single from their second album, <em>How\nto Be a Human Being<\/em>, which sounds a bit like the drum line is being played\non bongos filled with Jell-o.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>30. Belle &amp; Sebastian \u2013 &#8220;The Party Line.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Belle &amp; Sebastian got hammered a bit for <em>Girls in\nPeacetime Want to Dance<\/em>, which was their poppiest record to date \u2026 but\nthat&#8217;s what I liked about it: They tried something different, keeping essential\nelements of their sound, and it worked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>29. Bastille \u2013 &#8220;Pompeii.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Yes, it was played to death, but it&#8217;s a genuinely great\nsong, if quite morbid. And now that duh duh duh bit is in your head.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>28. Jamie xx featuring Romy \u2013 &#8220;Loud Places.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I&#8217;m a bit tepid on the xx themselves, but Jamie xx&#8217;s proper\nsolo debut <em>In Colour<\/em> had some tremendous high points, including this and\n&#8220;See Saw,&#8221; that showed he has an ear and a style well beyond the trio\nthemselves have ever shown.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>27. Turbowolf \u2013 &#8220;Domino.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This hard-rock song kicks the door down and plows right into\nthe room, which I guess isn&#8217;t shocking when Royal Blood&#8217;s Mike Kerr is a guest\nartist on the track.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>26. Stars \u2013 &#8220;Hold On When You Get Love and Let Go\nWhen You Get It.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Few songs have grown on me over the course of several years\nlike this one has. &#8220;Take the weakest thing in you\/And then beat the\nbastards with it&#8221; is one of the greatest lines of the decade.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>25. CHVRCHES \u2013 &#8220;Leave a Trace.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>There are so many CHVRCHES songs I like that it&#8217;s odd to\nthink of a single favorite, but this one ends up on top because I think it&#8217;s\nthe ideal distillation of their sound, better produced than anything from the\nfirst record but still essentially Lauren Mayberry and just the right dose of trip-hoppy\nelectronica behind her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>24. New Pornographers \u2013 &#8220;Brill Bruisers.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I had to look up the meaning of this song&#8217;s title; it refers\nto the Brill Building in Manhattan, which (according to Wikipedia) housed over\n160 music businesses in 1962, and led to the &#8220;Brill Building Sound,&#8221;\nwhere hired songwriters churned out hits for artists who were told what to\nsing. How much that has to do with the lyrics themselves is questionable \u2013\nmaybe it&#8217;s all metaphor \u2013 but the vocal harmony line helps make this TNP&#8217;s best\nsong of the decade.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>23. Everything Everything \u2013 &#8220;Cough Cough.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The zenith of EE&#8217;s crazy, all-hands-on-deck approach to\nmusic, so mad it must be genius, veering into every curve at such speed you\nthink it&#8217;s about to go off the rails. I love it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>22. M83 \u2013 &#8220;Midnight City.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If Space Invaders was a movie, this would be the score. That\nwhingeing synth line is the part you remember, but there&#8217;s a lot else going on\nin the song, like that apparent laser attack right before the chorus and the\ncompeting synth lines behind the one you know.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>21. Frank Turner \u2013 &#8220;Recovery.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Turner&#8217;s paean to the difficulties of getting clean (and the\ncost of not doing so sooner) is a rollicking folk-punk track that inspired me\nto learn it on guitar and even play it once on a Periscope chat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>20. Wild Beasts \u2013 &#8220;Big Cat.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The best song from <em>Boy King<\/em>, an album all about toxic\nmasculinity, uses the metaphor of a feline at the top of the food chain to\nlampoon the male gaze and boys&#8217; attitudes to women. It&#8217;s also very catchy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>19. Courtney Barnett \u2013 &#8220;Pedestrian at Best.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Barnett&#8217;s laconic vocals are an acquired taste, but her\nlyrics are second to none, and on this track (from <em>Sometimes I Sit and Think,\nand Sometimes I Just Sit<\/em>) she rocks out a bit more than usual, helping\noffset the slight monotone to her singing and letting you focus on her knack\nfor wordplay and storytelling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>18. Sleigh Bells \u2013 &#8220;Rill Rill.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I heard this and thought I&#8217;d found a new band over which I\ncould obsess \u2026 but this isn&#8217;t representative of Sleigh Bells&#8217; sound. &#8220;Wonder\nwhat your boyfriend thinks about your braces\/What about them\/I&#8217;m all about\nthem&#8221; should be the rallying cry for tin grins everywhere.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>17. Little Green Cars \u2013 &#8220;Harper Lee.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This Irish quintet broke up in March after ten-plus years\nand two albums, both hits in their native country, but they leave us this one indie-folk\nsong, my #1 track of 2013, which has a sound like the Mamas and the Papas with a\ndark subtext to the lyrics. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>16. Queens of the Stone Age \u2013 &#8220;The Way You Used to\nDo.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Mark Ronson appeared on this list as an artist at #99, and\nhe&#8217;s way up here as a producer, giving QotSA \u2013 with a string of strong albums\nalready under their belts \u2013 a fresh new sound on this track, which seems like\nthe song Josh Homme always wanted to sing but never could write himself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>15. Of Monsters &amp; Men \u2013 &#8220;Little Talks.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This is the cut line for me: From this point up are songs I\nat least considered at some point for the top 2-3 spots on the list. &#8220;Little\nTalks&#8221; remains a favorite of mine and my daughter&#8217;s, as we would do the call-and-response\ntogether when she was still just 6 years old and the song first appeared, and I\ndon&#8217;t think OM&amp;M ever get enough credit for how smart the lyrics are to\nthis track.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>14. Foster the People \u2013 &#8220;Helena Beat.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I know &#8220;Pumped Up Kicks&#8221; was the hit, but this was\nand still is a better song, hands-down \u2013 there&#8217;s more depth to the music and\nthe song doesn&#8217;t rely so much on a chorus that&#8217;s annoying\/catchy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>13. Royal Blood \u2013 &#8220;Out of the Black.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I still can&#8217;t get over how Mike Kerr gets that huge,\nmuscular guitar sound from a bass guitar and an octaver pedal, but he does, and\nthis song, my #1 track of 2014, is truly menacing in tone and rage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>12. Belle &amp; Sebastian \u2013 &#8220;Nobody&#8217;s Empire.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;The Party Line&#8221; and &#8220;Allie,&#8221; both from\nthe same album, are probably more immediately catchy, but this song is just so\ngorgeous in every way, right up to the last vocal crescendo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>11. Jungle \u2013 &#8220;Happy Man.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I didn&#8217;t think they&#8217;d top &#8220;Busy Earnin&#8217;,&#8221; but they\ndid and then some with this lead single from their second album, which starts\nout sounding so dark but morphs into something that blends upbeat music with its\nadmonishing lyrics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>10. A Tribe Called Quest \u2013 &#8220;Dis Generation.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This is old school rap without apology or explanation. <em>We\nGot It From Here \u2026 Thank You 4 Your Service<\/em> wasn&#8217;t a victory lap, or just a\nrehash of a bygone era, but it did give us one shining moment where the whole\nTribe was back together, along with longtime friend and collaborator Busta\nRhymes, spitting lyrics like it was still 1992, and it is glorious.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>9. Michael Kiwanuka \u2013 &#8220;Rolling.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>My #1 song of 2019 bundles you up and throws you in a time\nmachine back to 1975, a soulful funk-tinged track with a stutter-step drum\nline, a walking bass, and an eleven-note guitar riff that is so simple yet so\nmemorable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>8. Chairlift \u2013 &#8220;Ch-Ching.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Utterly brilliant, with perfectly crafted music for Caroline\nPolachek&#8217;s quirky vocal style, a pop hit from an alternate universe where every\nkid sets their combination lock to 27-99-23.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>7. Radiohead \u2013 &#8220;Burn the Witch.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It&#8217;s no secret that I&#8217;m in thrall to early Radiohead, up to\nand including <em>OK Computer<\/em>, which I&#8217;d rank among the greatest albums in\nrock history. Since then, their experimental sound has often left me cold, or wondering\nwhere the damn guitars went, but this particular experiment is an entire mood,\nand I think it&#8217;s one of the best vocal performances Thom Yorke has ever given\nus. This was my #1 song of 2016.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>6. Pure Bathing Culture \u2013 &#8220;Pray for Rain.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It&#8217;s not possible for me to tire of this electro-pop song,\nwhich stands apart from most of Pure Bathing Culture&#8217;s output in tone and\nespecially in melody; the chorus is perfect, the tumbling style of the vocals\nfits the lyrics, and if anything I wish there was more of it all. That new acoustic\nversion, though \u2026 woof. No gracias.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>5. Beck \u2013 &#8220;Dreams.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This stands up there with &#8220;Loser,&#8221; &#8220;Think I&#8217;m\nin Love,&#8221; &#8220;Girl,&#8221; and &#8220;Where It&#8217;s At&#8221; among Beck&#8217;s\nbest songs, although it seems to have slipped a bit under the radar because critics\nwant Beck&#8217;s more &#8220;mature&#8221; (read: slow) material. When he wants to go\nall out, he can rival Prince for playfulness and invention, and he does that\nhere, my #1 song of 2015, a track that eventually reappeared on <em>Colors <\/em>two\nyears after its release.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>4. Portugal. The Man \u2013 &#8220;Feel It Still.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>My #1 song of 2017 was an obvious hit from the start, and\nyet I was still surprised when it actually became a hit \u2013 and just kept going,\ncarrying other tracks from their superb <em>Woodstock<\/em> LP to radio play too.\nIt&#8217;s not totally indicative of their sound, but &#8220;Feel It Still&#8221; is\nbuilt on a couple of great ideas and the band doesn&#8217;t try to do too much with\nthem, letting those few hooks stand on their own merits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>3. Arcade Fire \u2013 &#8220;City with No Children.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>My #1 song of 2010 isn\u2019t everyone&#8217;s favorite from <em>The Suburbs<\/em>,\nbut it&#8217;s mine, for the music and for its &nbsp;straightforward, melancholy story of nostalgia\nfor a childhood that probably looks a lot better in hindsight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>2. alt-J \u2013 &#8220;Tessellate.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Putting this at 2 instead of 1 nearly broke my brain, and\nmaybe six months from now I&#8217;ll decide I had it wrong, especially since it was my\n#1 track of 2012 ahead of the song that&#8217;s #1 here. They&#8217;re both great songs,\nwith this seductive, brooding track off <em>An Awesome Wave<\/em>, my favorite\nalbum of the decade, a perfect marriage of its simple drum line, a repeated\nkeyboard line that&#8217;s mostly just three notes, and a break that lets Joe Newman\nshow what he can do at the top end of his vocal register.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>1. Arctic Monkeys \u2013 &#8220;R U Mine.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Spotify said this was my most played song of the decade, and\n\u2026 okay, it was, I&#8217;m completely certain of that. Alex Turner can turn a great\nguitar riff, and he writes brilliant lyrics, both of which are on full display\nhere, including that little interlude that&#8217;s barely a guitar solo and still\nmanaged to impress me when I sat down to learn to play it years later. Turner\nis the only man working multiple times in this song as the bass and drums stay quiet\nso it&#8217;s just his guitar and perhaps his voice, and yet it never feels like the\nband took a minimalist approach \u2013 it&#8217;s a full-bodied rocker throughout, still a\nsong I go back to over and over again seven years after I first heard it. I\ncould make some critical argument that other songs are more innovative, or have\nbetter arrangements, but at the end of the day this is a ranking of my favorite\nsongs, and I&#8217;m going to put the song I love most at the top.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I&#8217;ve been thinking about this post for six years, and now it&#8217;s here, and I don&#8217;t want to be done with it. We&#8217;re all watching the decade end, though, and while the world is changing in the blink of an eye, it&#8217;s a fine time to draw a line and put my name to a [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[260],"class_list":["post-8130","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-rankings","entry"],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/meadowparty.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8130","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/meadowparty.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/meadowparty.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/meadowparty.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/meadowparty.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8130"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/meadowparty.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8130\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8132,"href":"https:\/\/meadowparty.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8130\/revisions\/8132"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/meadowparty.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8130"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/meadowparty.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8130"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/meadowparty.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8130"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}