Favourite Tracks of 2009

It might seem a bit early to be posting a list of my top tracks of the year, but there probably won't be too much else coming out in the next couple weeks (and I've got more lists to post!). This was a big year for Brooklyn bands and summery singles, and not so much for plain old rock. And what a breath of fresh air, amiright? Don't get me wrong, I love me some despressing ballads and balls-out anthems, but there was something even more exciting about 2009's feel-goodness. So here's a list of 50 songs that I've been digging, with videos for the top ten. Keep checking the blog for my top albums of the year (likely next week), and my top albums of the decade (a little longer).

Oh, and one more thing (Columbo?), there is only one song per artist. And if you want to check out the other stuff, I think it's pretty much all on youtube.

50. The Antlers - "Two"

49. jj - "Ecstasy"

48. Doveman - "Breathing Out"

47. Wilco ft. Feist - "You and I"

46. Passion Pit - "The Reeling"

45. Memory Tapes - "Bicycle"

44. The Big Pink - "Dominoes"

43. Destroyer - "Bay of Pigs"

42. The Pains of Being Pure at Heart - "Young Adult Friction"

41. Rural Alberta Advantage - "The Air"

40. xx - "VCR"

39. Delorean - "Seasun"

38. Wild Beasts - "All the King's Men"

37. Discovery - "Swing Tree"

36. Foreign Born - "Vacationing People"

35. Bill Callahan - "The Wind and the Dove"

34. Papercuts - "Jet Plane"

33. Pictureplane - "Trance Doll"

32. St. Vincent - "Laughing with a Mouth of Blood"

31. Yacht - "The Afterlife"

30. Camera Obscura - "French Navy"

29. Bear in Heaven - "Lovesick Teenagers"

28. Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings - "Inspiration Information"

27. Here We Go Magic - "Tunnelvision"

26. Flaming Lips ft. Karen O - "Watching the Planets"

25. Bat for Lashes - "Travelling Woman"

24. The Very Best ft. Ezra Koenig - "Warm Heart of Africa"

23. Blue Roses - "I Am Leaving"

22. Micachu & the Shapes - "Turn Me Well"

21. Girls - "Lust for Life"

20. Tiny Vipers - "Dreamer"

19. Kurt Vile - "Overnite Religion"

18. Megafaun - "The Longest Day"

17. Real Estate - "Fake Blues"

16. Phoenix - "Lisztomania"

15. Japandroids - "Wet Hair"

14. Volcano Choir - "Island, IS"

13. Sleigh Bells - "Crown on the Ground"

12. The National - "So Far Around the Bend"

11. Suckers - "Easy Chairs"

10. Cass McCombs - "You Saved My Life"

Cass McCombs was a huge discovery for me this year. Specifically this song caught my attention, with its waltz-like rhythm and its sweetly sincere lyrics, it's one of the best love songs I've heard in a while.




9. Washed Out - "I Feel It All Around"

Washed Out is a perfect representation of 2009's summer theme. This song combines just the right amount of bounce and haze. It's everything you ever wanted out of 80's pop.




8. tUnE-yArDs - "Fiya"

The stand-out track on a pretty far-out record, "Fiya" exists to tug at heartstrings. Delicate ukelele, Dodos-like percussion, piercing yells and sampled screaming children carry this track towards a pretty sweet catharsis. Not much of a video though.




7. Atlas Sound ft. Panda Bear - "Walkabout"

I would almost think the credit for this one is all Panda Bear's if I wasn't so confident in Bradford Cox's writing chops. Still, this song sounds straight out of Person Pitch , which is good, because that album is amazing.




6. Animal Collective - "My Girls"

What else can be said about AC? This is an amazing track; it's probably their best and most accessible.




5. Bowerbirds - "Northern Lights"

Bowerbirds make solid bearded-man indie-folk, and this song is their loveliest. I loved it on summer evenings, but it's also making me warm in these colder months. This is a great live version from the indieATL music series.




4. Bon Iver - "Blood Bank"

Justin Vernon is my man crush. There. I feel better. I love the story-telling in this song, and I love even more that it's based on an episode of "Northern Exposure". Bon Iver is making me reconsider short-lived 90s dramas!




3. Grizzly Bear - "Two Weeks"

I remember seeing GB play this track live last year and knowing that it would be just huge. This is a bright, bubbly pop track from an otherwise meticulous art-rock band, and it's perfect.




2. Dirty Projectors - "Stillness in the Move"

So many good things on this song. Mariah Carey-esque vocals, hypnotic guitar line, African-influenced drums and super quirky video. It's indie rock gone R'n B, and I want that.




1. Yeasayer - "Tightrope"

No other song stuck with me this year as much as Yeasayer's contribution to Dark Was the Night. It's simple enough, it's fairly light, easy-listening, but I loved it more than anything else. Here's a great live performance from The Current 89.3