THE TOP 40 SONGS OF 2010



40. Fight Bite- Swiss Ex-Lover
A lot of the songs in this Top 40 sound a bit like Beach House. This is one of them.

39. Blue Hawaii- Blue Gowns
Featuring perhaps the least subtle allusion to the act of lovemaking of any song this year.

38. Sunset- Late Night Dawning
ABBA-esque, but not in the high energy "Music Go Music" sense. Rest of their stuff's worth checking out too.

37. Fight Like Apes- Come On, Let's Talk About Our Feelings
Typically confrontational synth-pop goodness from angry Irish folk.

36. Pigeons- No Other Way
Pigeons are rubbish. This song isn't.

35. Com Truise- 2 Sundriped
M83, but even more 80's. Yeah, I didn't think that wasn't possible either.

34. Teen Daze- Let's Fall Asleep Together
Teen Daze's album is called "Beach Dreams". At least they're honest about who they're ripping off.

33. My People Sleeping- Take Anything
If you like the Besnard Lakes/very high falsettos, you'll probably like this.

32. Young Galaxy- Cover Your Tracks
Adequately fulfilling my marimba quota for 2010.

31. Zola Jesus- Run Me Out
OH HAI 80'S GOTH BALLAD REVIVALISM.

30. Sufjan Stevens- I Walked
One of the less infuriatingly self-indulgent messes Sufjan's come out with this year.

29. Twin Sister- All Around And Away We Go
Not quite as amazing as anything off "Vampires with Dreaming Kids" but gotta love that 70's Motown bassline.

28. Dom- Jesus
Like listening to Camera Obscura through a bedroom wall. But in a good way.

27. The Besnard Lakes- Chicago Train
I've actually listened to this song on a train from Chicago. TRUFAX.

26. Dirty Projectors w/ Bjork- On And Ever Onward
You wouldn't necessarily think a mostly a capella Bjork/Dave Longstreth collaboration would be this accessible/enjoyable, but there you go.

25. Arcade Fire- The Sprawl II
Regine Chassigne channels spirit of Blondie, with surprisingly palatable results.

24. O Paon- Masques
Dark, atmospheric and unsettling, like Soap & Skin at her most gothic. Nice Spiracle-esque scream of anguish towards the end.

23. Florene- Space Cadets
Fuck Buttons, but more so. Pretty intense.

22. Cults- Go Outside
Obligatory 'glockenspiel-heavy tweefest' entry.

21. School Of Seven Bells- Windstorm
Shoegaze-y/dream-pop band channels the Eighties. AGAIN.

20. Oberhofer- I Could Go
Dan Deacon meets Alvin Band. I'm genetically predisposed to like this.

19. Wet Wings- Running Like A Man
Due to an clerical error, a song that could be vaguely classified as "folk" has slipped into this list. Sorry for any inconvenience.

18. Emily Neveu- I Wonder If The Children Know
Impossibly pretty piano-led balladry. -10 Masculinity Points for every minute spent listening to this.

17. Janelle Monae- Tightrope
To summarise:



16. Braids vs Green Go- Lemonade
Wonderful, propulsive remix of one of my favourite songs of 2009.

15. The National- Blood Buzz Ohio
"I was carried to Ohio in a swarm of bees." Don't try this at home, kids.

14. Menomena- Queen Black Acid
Most beautiful song Menomena have ever written. Think Modest Mouse before they went shit.

13. Happy Birthday- Subliminal Message
As you may have gathered, woozy lo-fi indie-pop is in vogue at the moment. That doesn't necessarily make it a bad thing.

12. Holy Fuck- Stilettos
ADRENALIN RUSH: ACTIVATE!

11. PAVLOVR- Hell, Heaven
If Menomena and Dan Boeckner ever joined forces, they might sound like a bit like this.

10. Sleigh Bells- Infinity Guitars
Music to annoy your parents.

9. Fang Island- Welcome Wagon
The Mae Shi with riffs. What more could you possibly want?

8. Ava Luna- Black Diamond I
The rattling, lo-fi chaos of early Wolf Parade/Cold War Kids with added horns and female harmonies? Yes please.

7. Titus Andronicus- The Battle Of Hampton Roads
Best experienced with a bottle of bourbon in one hand and a bayonetted Limey in the other.

6. CocoRosie- Lemonade
Delightfully winsome whimsy courtesy of mustachioed oddballs.

5. Joanna Newsom- Good Intentions Paving Company
Screechy harp lady evolves into Carole King.

4. The Whiskers- Ornithopters
Frog Eyes fanboys shift allegiance to Sunset Rubdown, with pretty spectacular results.

3. Beach House- Walk In The Park
Not fully sold on the cult of Mme. Legrand, but this song = dream-pop perfection.

2. Owen Pallett- Lewis Takes Off His Shirt
Yeah, this was in my 2009 list. Yeah, I posted this video then too. What of it?



1. LCD Soundsystem- Dance Yrself Clean
Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah, aaaah-aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah....T-T-T-T-BA-BA-BA-BOOM (and so forth).