My Favorite Songs of 2009--An Introduction and 100-81

It's a relief to be sitting here, listening to the first new music I've heard in 2009 (Vampire Weekend's much awaited Contra), and finally be doing a best-of for 2009. We'll do my top 100 songs this week from Monday-Friday. Also to come are posts on Vampire Weekend, Spoon, and Kurt Vile. The delays were long and my list of excuses even longer, but without further ado, the my favorite songs of 2009:


100. Neko Case-Middle Cyclone: Neko Case wrote the best quiet songs of 2009, perhaps a surprise for someone with such a booming voice. But Middle Cyclone finds her restraining said voice for the duration of the song, instead letting her words do the real damage. Case in point: “Can’t give up acting tough / it’s all that I’m made of / can’t scrape together quite enough / to ride the bus / to the outskirts / of the fact that I need love.” The fact that Neko (yeah, we’re on a first name basis) holds a bit back here makes other moments on the album, which come later on this list, even better. (Other great lines here: “It was so clear to me / that it was almost invisible”; “Just for a chance to be / a spider web trapped in your lashes / for that / I would trade you my empire for ashes / but I choke it back / how much I need love”).

99. Harlem Shakes-Winter Water: This album (Technicolor Health) is chock full of breakup songs and sentiments, and this song in particular is thinking of the past-- “if we are leaving we’re leaving together / if we are sleeping we’re sleeping together.” This may sound trite in type, but it’s a sentiment that is delivered with sincerity and sadness. Beyond that the lines are delivered over beautiful squeals of guitar and the soaring choruses that seem to be ever-present on this album.

98. St. Vincent-Black Rainbow: A lot of this album has drawn comparisons, at least in sound, to Fantasia, and such a comparison is correct here. Of course, that’s before you get past your first listen and really start paying attention to what’s going on here. This song doesn’t really hit full stride until about the 2:30 mark, when Annie Clark finally starts hammering on her guitar, all at once complimenting and overpowering the strings that mark the beginning of the track. As they build toward a crescendo, it suddenly occurs that the beautiful build up to this point was in fact devious, disguising the dark lyrics portended by the title of the track, but which you had forgotten about because of the Disney-esque opening. And therein lies the genius of St. Vincent/Annie Clark and this album.

97. Jay Reatard-It Ain’t Gonna Save Me: Normally Jay Reatard is a bit…punk for my tastes. I respect it but it’s not something I listen to with regularity. However, he slows it down just a little bit, and It Ain’t Gonna Save Me is a hard song to ignore. The song is 2:22 three chord guitar and Jay’s voice, never slowing down, never boring, never disappointing. R.I.P.

96. Monsters of Folk-Dear God (Sincerely, M.O.F.): This song sounds like it could be the opening theme for a James Bond movie, only, well, much better (think grandiose and almost over-produced). The song also accomplishes quite a feat in that it talks about God/god without proselytizing, simplifying, or alienating. Of course, this is all helped by the fact that these conversations are delivered by some of the preeminent crooners in indie rock (I’m counting Jim James and M. Ward here, and to a lesser extent, Conor Oberst). This album is a fucking treat to listen to, and this opening salvo does not disappoint.

95. Nobunny-Mess Me Up: Sloppy, self-declared Chuck Berry-esque guitar pop. It’s brevity is a strength. Would be a wonder to see live.

94. Passion Pit-Little Secrets: Pure bubblegum, but bubblegum of the entertaining variety. And, somehow this year, I became desensitized not only to overbearing synths but also kids singing choruses. Help me.

93. Flaming Lips-Convinced of the Hex: The opener from the fairly dark Flaming Lips album, Embryonic, is perhaps one of the most traditional songs in terms of structure on the album. Even then, the chorus is haunting and strange—“See I believe in nothing / and you’re convinced of the hex / that’s the difference between us ”, and the guitar line is a bastardized version of those old Neil Young one-note guitar solos.

92. Nobunny-Nobunny Loves You: Beyond making me laugh every time I look at the song title, this track is also good.

91. Miniature Tigers-Like or Like Like: Hard not to “like like” a song that makes you laugh within the first few seconds, as ____ quips “I was wearing that dumb sweater / I looked like a girl.” Beautiful pop song that manages to deal well with that conundrum of beginning to “like like” someone who was before just your friend.

90. Devendra Banhart-16th and Valencia Roxy Music: The title is pretentious, the lyrics are weird or dumb or nonsensical, and I’m usually not a fan of the cute, but somehow, somehow, Banhart makes this one work. Maybe it’s that he makes me laugh—“I know I look high / but I’m just free dancing.” What the fuck is free dancing? Who cares?

89. Grizzly Bear-While You Wait for the Others: Another trademark Grizzly Bear slow-burner. This one is buried 10 tracks into the formidable Veckatimest, meaning most of you probably didn’t make it that far. Not your fault. But here, the chorus is worth it.

88. The Dutchess and the Duke-The Prisoner: As bitter as a breakup song as you’ll find, so bitter I think this one resonates for you no matter which side you were on. It’s helped along by some Aftermath-era Rolling Stones guitar. Full of parting shots-- “I hope that you find what you’re looking for / but I won’t be around to see it.” Later: “I hope that when you find what you’re looking for that you’re not too blind to see it.” This one works because it’s so true. The cast off lover does, of course, eventually want their ex to be happy (right?), but who can resist a snide remark concerning how they go about doing it?

87. Dan Auerbach-Mean Monsoon: In which Auerbach does a damn good CCR/Fogarty impression. If the Big Lebowski had been made today, no doubt it’d have some Auerbach/Black Keys on it. Auerbach plays the role of the intentionally wayward man— both aware of his perceived flaws and yet unwilling to change—who still wants his old flame back— “What’s he got that I ain’t got / besides stability?” –very well.

86. Jay Reatard-I’m Watching You: Not as much about stalking as the title would suggest. Not sure that makes for a better song, but this one is good. The sounds on this song are a little more textured and distinct than on the rest of the album, especially the guitar that comes in around the 1:33 mark.

85. The Antlers-Kettering: I feel weird putting any songs by the Antlers off of Hospice on here because taken out of context, I’m not sure they amount to much. But this song stands out on the album as a whole. I’ll probably explain more when I get around to doing the best albums of 2009 (am I doing the best albums of 2009? Sighs…).

84. YACHT-The Afterlife: Weird, cult-like indie dance pop. Good.

83. Dirty Projectors-Remade Horizon: Starts out straightforward with some acoustic guitar and then 30 seconds in they cut that out, and start harmonizing over electric guitar bursts, and then back to the original. Which is a good representation of how this whole album is—they start with something beautiful and straightforward, shift gears and create something much more dissonant and a little more worthwhile before going back to soothing your ears. Great contours, context, contrast, and other words that begin with cont. Heh.

82. Neko Case-The Next Time You Say Forever: This track follows the bellowing opener, and gives the listener a brief respite yet doesn’t slow the album down. Instead we get traditional Neko fare, replete with the best line—“the next time you say forever / I will punch you in your face,” delivered with a haunting sweetness. She closes with a warning—“you never know / when I’ll show / you the never.” I would annoyingly describe this song as quietly loud.

81. Devendra Banhart-Rats!: I think about once an album Devendra tends to do his best Led Zeppelin impression, and this time it’s on Rats! He’s in no rush here, echoing vocals over a bassline for the first minute. When the guitar finally comes in at 1:14, it’s a classic Page line, understated but powerful. Here though, Devendra shifts immediately into the bridge, giving us a break and then pulling us back at the 2 minute mark. The change in tempo is powerful, and allows for some extended guitar work afterwards (the same break is repeated later in the song as well). The bottom line is that this is a rock song in a more classic sense than most things released in the past 10 years. Rats!