This has been a great year for music. Some years it's difficult to find 10 songs by June. This year has been exceptional, and the only problem has been narrowing a list down to my favorite 20 songs. My choices are based on my eclectic tastes, and do not adhere to what the industry considers Top songs.
#20
Andrew Bird is a brilliant musician, and his earlier cd, Oh the
Grandeur, would definitely be in my top 100 cds of all time. Even
though his recent release Break it Yourself isn't on the same
level as Grandeur or The Art of Making Eggs, it still
has some pretty nice tracks. My favorites were eyeoneye,
Orpheo Looks Back, Danse Caribe and Desperation
Breeds. After listening to these songs over and over, I decided
my choice for #20 is Orpheo.
#19
Is a track from Major Lazer's Free
the Universe,
it's
called "Get
Free" (featuring
Amber from the Dirty Projectors). The Original Don was a great piece
of work. This song is nothing like O D and I still think it's great.
#18
Is "Primitive Girl" from M Wards The Waste
Land. Matt W has been working with Zooey Deschanel for the past
couple of years, as Him in She and Him, and I'm glad to see he's
decided to go it solo again. His earlier works, Transistor Radio
and The Transfiguration of Vincent were brilliant.
#17
Hemisphere by Paradis. J'aime pas quande ca chante en
francaise. Really this song and the girl at the end of the video are
magnifique.
#16
Is a Bon Iver cover, "Skinny Love" by a
really talented chick named Birdy. I thought BI's take was
great, but I think B's is better.
#15
Willis Earl Beale is a super unknown out of Chi town. His first cd is
called Acousmatic Sorcery, there's a tract on this
called "Evening's Kiss" I think the song is
beautiful. This guy has a lot of talent I hope he follows up.
#14
Is a song called "Hood" from the cd Put Your Back
N 2 it, by Perfume Genius. It's a great cd with lots of nice
tracks. Sounds a little like Antony and the Johnsons, which isn't a
bad thing.
#13
Is by a Swede named Christian Matsson, who performs under the name,
The Tallest Man on Earth. His most recent release is called There's
no Leaving Now. It's not on the same level as 2010's The Wild
Hunt, but it has a song called "1904" which is a
really cool piece of work.
#12
is a song called "Floats my Boat" by 2 talented frat
rappers, David von Mering and Carter Schultz. A really catchy tune.
#11
Comes from the CD What We Saw From the Cheap Seats, the best
thing by Regina Spektor since 2004s Soviet Kitsch and her
follow up Begin to Hope. I really like 2 tracts, "All
the Rowboats" and "Don't Leave me," but if
I had to choose one, I guess it would be the latter.
.
Part
deux, which should be up soon, will cover my top 10.
