Top 6 Songs of 2010

Several years ago, I used to send out a list of my Top 6 albums of the year every New Year's Eve.  I don't really buy enough albums anymore to make a credible list of the bests albums of the year, so I am just going to limit this my favorite songs.  It is remarkable to me how dominated this list is by female singers, considering how averse I used to be bands fronted by women.  This is even true of the songs that just missed the list (Sprawl II by Arcade Fire would probably have been #7, while I only excluded Crown on the Ground by Sleigh Bells and Bad Romance by Lady Gaga because they were actually released in 2009).

6.) Beach House - "Zebra"
I actually think the band is a bit overrated given what indie critical darlings they were....many of their songs put me to sleep.  But the chromatic ascension to start the chorus on this one really hooked me in.

 5.) Vampire Weekend - "Giving Up the Gun"
"Contra" would have definitely been my album of the year if it weren't so damn consistent.

4.) Sleigh Bells - "Rill Rill"
"Treats" would have definitely been my album of the year if it weren't so damn inconsistent.

 
3.) Klaxons - "Echoes"
This song was all the rage in England when I was there in August....and you know I had to have some Britpop represented!

My top two picks are both from relatively new bands still obscure enough not to have wikipedia entries, one a single-woman project and the other a husband and wife duo.  But they were my two musical obsessions this year...one the perfect winter song with Bjork-inspired vocals and beats, icy electronics, and cathedral harmonies that evoke finally waking up from a long hibernation; the other, the perfect summer song with lo-fi guitar and keyboard backed by retro girl-group vocals singing of sailing at night off the coast of Florida.   I've probably spoiled the suspense now, but here they are...

2.) Glasser - "Apply"

(It seems like many of the videos for this song online are from an earlier version that I don't like nearly as much.  This is the (IMO superior) album version.)

1.) Tennis - "Marathon"

(I don't think the song has a music video, and all the live performances I can find are terrible quality.)