2009 in 2 Hours

Give me two hours and I'll give you the best songs of 2009.

Alphabetically by Artist

1. Band of Skulls – I Know What I Am
A bluesy/rock lesson in rhyme. Album – Baby Doll Face Honey.

2. The Big Pink – Dominoes
So freaking catchy. This is my favorite track off their self-produced debut album A Brief History of Love.

3. Billy Boy on Poison – On My Way
Lo-fi wonderfulness with some great chunka-chunka guitar. This was one free iTunes Single of the Week that did not disappoint. I just heard it used on a Dayquil/Nyquil commercial, too.

4. Cage the Elephant – Ain’t No Rest for the Wicked
Just good garage-rock storytelling from the self-titled debut released this spring. Loving the slide guitar. Also check out Back Against the Wall.

5. Cascada – Evacuate the Dancefloor
Guilty Pleasure Pop Song of the Year.

6. Dirty Projectors – No Intention
Good lord, the first time I heard this song. The harmonies blew my mind. And the classical guitar? Forget it. Check out this live performance on Sirius XMU : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WXjtDwJGeDI. Other gems from Bitte Orca? Cannibal Resource, Stillness is the Move, and Two Doves.

7. Doves – Kingdom of Rust
This melancholy tune has cello and violin for an orchestral melody that makes me want to break and run. I also like the 10:03. Album – Kingdom of Rust.

8. Edward Sharp and the Magnetic Zeros – Home
On Letterman : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qb9jY8yAxgs. I love the talky part in the middle, “Jade … Alexander …”. This one makes my heart hurt for home. Serious times.

9. Franz Ferdinand – No You Girls
Freaking LOVE this video : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j-5L5McaBAY. Also check out Ulysses and Lucid Dreams. Album – Tonight: Franz Ferdinand.

10. The Gaslight Anthem – Old White Lincoln
New to Me Song of the Year. Their album The ’59 Sound dropped August 2008. Where the hell was I? Reminds me a lot of Springsteen, and I’m ok with that. Also check out Great Expectations. Roll the top back, pull your baby close, and settle in for a long highway drive.

11. The Harlem Shakes – Strictly Game
Sing along with me now, “Make a little money. Take a lot of shit. Feel real bad and get over it. This will be a better year.” Album – Technicolor Health.

12. The Heavy - Sixteen
From the album The House That Dirt Built. All the advice your older brother and friends tried to give you about that douche-bag you were sooo in love with in middle school but you were too much of a know-it-all punk teenager to listen. Also try How You Like Me Now. And if you haven’t already, go back to their 2008 album Great Vengeance and Furious Fire and get Colleen and That Kind of Man. You won’t be disappointed.

13. Imogen Heap – First Train Home
Another song that got me longing for home. Such beautifully rich and textured electro. The other must have is Aha! Album – Ellipse.

14. Islands – Switched On
Quirky and totally fun. Great harmonies and lyrics. Album – Vapours.

15. Karen O. and The Kids – All is Love
From the Where the Wild Things Are OST. She’s up for a Grammy for this song.

16. The Limousines – Very Busy People (Single)
There is a time and place for everything. It’s called college.

17. Matisyahu – One Day
Poignant. Positive. Policitcal without beating you over the head with it. I was so stoked when I heard this on a commercial for the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver the other day. Album – Light (Deluxe Version).

18. Matt & Kim – Daylight
Such a creative video : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WgBeu3FVi60. Just. Plain. Fun. Get Good Ol’ Fashion Nightmare, too. Album – Grand.

19. Muse – Uprising
Rock Opera Anthem of the Year. “If you could flick a switch and open your third eye, you’d see that we should never be afraid to die.” The last minute of this song makes me feel like I could conquer the world. Album – The Resistance.

20. The Pains of Being Pure at Heart – Young Adult Friction
This is my favorite song off their self-titled debut album. A total throw back to the indie-pop of the 80s.

21. Passion Pit – The Reeling
Indie-rock meets disco. And I love disco. Album – Manners.

22. Phoenix – Lisztomania
I’m pretty sure the YouTube Brat-Pack Mashup (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qtRQsCgYmtc) sealed the deal on this song for me. Now, I can’t listen to it without dancing like Molly Ringwald in The Breakfast Club. Album – Wolfgang Amedeus Phoenix. My other faves off this album are 1901 and Love Like a Sunset Pt. I.

23. The Raveonettes – Last Dance
I don’t really like much of their stuff (Too much reverb on the vocals and distortion on the guitars …), but this one really stuck with me. Album – In and Out of Control.

24. Regina Spektor – Folding Chair
Total summer awesomeness. I admit that her dolphin noises are a bit weird, but I’ll live. Album – Far.

25. She Wants Revenge – All Wound Up
I love this sound. It is so very different from any of their other stuff. Off their Up and Down EP.

26. Shiny Toy Guns – Major Tom
Cover Song of the Year. Used in the 2010 Lincoln MKZ commercial : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YvDX5qGN1J0.

27. Vampire Weekend – Cousins
Killer video : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1e0u11rgd9Q. This single (as well as Horchata) was released early in anticipation of the new album, Contra. It drops in the states January 12, 2010.

28. The Very Best (feat. Ezra Koenig) – Warm Heart of Africa
World pop alternative indie-rock awesomeness. Is there anything Ezra Koenig can’t do?

29. White Rabbits – Percussion Gun
How much do I love the drums in this song? 11. Album – It’s Frightening.

30. Wolf Mother – New Moon Rising
I have one question. Do you wanna ROCK?! Album – Cosmic Egg.

31. Yeah Yeah Yeahs – Zero
This one builds and builds until the drums, guitar, vocals are all mixed up together and screaming at the end. “Was it the cure?” Other must-haves include Heads Will Roll and Dull Life. Album – It’s Blitz!

32. Yeasayer – Ambling Alp
I remember hearing about how this was *the band to watch in 2009. I do love the full eletro sound and his crystal clear vocals in this song. Off the Abling Alp EP. The new album Odd Blood drops February 9, 2010.