20. Coast Of Carolina, Telekinesis (from Telekinesis! – Buy Here). Do not resist – you will love this ridiculously infectious power pop song.
19. The Strangers, St. Vincent (from Actor – Buy Here). I jumped on her bandwagon late, but what a lovely, richly-layered song that melds a potent melody with a kaleidoscope of sonic nuggets.
18. Beach Comber, Real Estate (from S/T – Buy Here). While their band name is hardly Google-friendly, their dreamy pop is easily accessible.
17. Antenna, Sonic Youth (from Eternal Youth – Buy Here). Ah Sonic Youth…I will never tire of your well-worn palette of melody and noise.
16. Funny Little Frog, God Help The Girl (from S/T – Buy Here). God Help The Girl is essentially Stuart Murdoch (Belle & Sebastian) with a stable of unknown of female singers. This track is actually from B&S’ last studio release in 2006, but I love the new production and voice so much that I decided to include it in this year’s list.
15. Little Lion Man, Mumford & Sons (from Sigh No More – Buy Here). A product of London’s re-emerging folk scene, Mumford & Sons’ debut album is one more evidence that sometimes foreigners do Americana better than Americans.
14. More of This, Vetiver (from Tight Knit – Buy Here). Very few songs make me want to dance (I don’t dance), but there’s something inviting about the simple, retro-feel of this song.
13. Hellhole Ratrace, Girls (from Album – Buy Here). Here’s what I wrote about this song a couple of months ago: Beautiful song. The sing-along melody sets a serenely pastoral scene for the first half of the song, but it slowly and steadily builds with percussive elements and distorted, atmospheric guitars. And believe it or not, the lyrics are rather life-affirming. Wow, what a beautiful song.
12. Sick Muse, Metric (from Fantasies - Buy Here). I love Emily Haines. What, you want other reasons? Ok, here’s one – crazy hooks.
11. My Girls, Animal Collective (from Merriweather Post Pavilion - Buy Here). I didn’t buy into the annoyingly omnipresent hype upon the album’s release in January, but I relented a few months later and ok, ok, I was dead wrong. This track alone is almost worth the hype.
#11, enjoyed this tune immensely, by the way, if you all didn’t know this “very” important fact… Merriweather Post Pavilion is a concert venue in suburban DC/Baltimore, named after Marjorie Merriweather Post, a great supporter of live (symphony) music. Mrs. Post also supported a mighty fine museum in Washington DC – called Hillwood. http://www.hillwoodmuseum.org/
Yeah, I knew about being named after the venue, but didn’t know the rest. Too bad Amanda isn’t a heiress…
maybe Amanda is an heiress, she’s just created a very elaborate lifestyle to cover up the riches…. I know that’s what my husband is doing…. I just know it
maybe Amanda is an heiress, she’s just created a very elaborate lifestyle to cover up the riches…. I know that’s what my husband is doing…. I just know it – sorry Amanda, for blowing your cover
I’ve been super busy and bad at keeping up with things (will I have time to make my own list?! I don’t even know!)… but there’s some stuff here I don’t have and will surely check out… eventually.