54. Kelly Clarkson - I (Do Not) Hook Up
What happens when a great singer singlehandedly makes a mediocre song into something special.
IDNHU, written by the worst judge in the history of reality TV and Katy Perry, is a bit of a shambles (seriously, that second verse has NOTHING to do with the rest of the song. That was probably Dioguardi's contribution), but Kelly's assured vocal steers the track into pop nirvana. Where it really comes alive, though, is live - away from all the studio trickery applied to much lesser singers (hi Katy!),
IDNHU burns the house down.
53. Girls - Lust For Life
Quote:
Oh I wish I had A boyfriend!
I wish I had a loving man In my life ...
|
There was really no way that I was not going to love a song that starts off like that. Although the opening lines are endemic to me,
Lust for Life opens it's arms and welcomes all of the world's losers, from those wanting bigger things (the aforementioned opening couplet, natch) to those who could get by with life's smaller pleasures("a sun tan, a pizza and a bottle of wine.")
Lust peters out shortly after the two and thirty second mark, and not a moment too soon - anything longer would obscure the song's focus - the exquisite pain of wanting.
52. Mariah Carey - Obsessed
(
It must be the weed, It must be the E/ cause you get it poppin' hood, you get it poppin') YASSSSSSSS!
As my good friend B-Rocka pointed out,
Obsessed is so shocking - and so powerful - because of it's staggering aggression. It's just so hard! (ay yeah yeah yeah!) The Dream/Tricky buffer the song with some sickening drum'n'bass, and Mimi goes in! Every line here stings, even the ones that don't quite work (bathing in Windex!. Without a doubt the best diss track of the year. (And as a bonus, it coaxed the overly plasticized Eminem out of his irrelevant cave to produce his only worthwhile track in five years). [Sorry Ryan and Johnny!]
51. Telepathe - Chrome's on It
French girls (who happen to be friends with TV on the Radio members, natch) appropriating 00s hip-hop and using dirty words - what's not to love? While others were rocking out to jj's
ecstasy or Discovery's
Orange Shirt,
Chrome's on It scratched my itch as the soundtrack to drunken Brooklynites not realizing the world's closing in on them. :spoileralert!:
50. Bat for Lashes - Daniel
I was always suspicious of Natasha Khan's talent. I loved
What's a Girl to Do? from her first album, but I never even downloaded the song!
Glass, the first single from
Two Suns, is terrific, but a tad too obvious in it's callbacks to ... well, let's just call a spade a spade and say Kate Bush, shall we? But
Daniel, a peon to (what else?) the lead character from
The Karate Kid, is a real wonder - and a sign of a true artist. Funny, solemn and heartbreaking.
49. Lykke Li - Tonight
The best ballad not heard on Top 40 radio this year (and better than all but one - you'll see that one later!) Stunning in the context of
Youth Novels, even more heartbreaking on its own.
48. Noisettes - Never Forget You
What do you get when you take a cup of Phil Spector's epic scope, a pinch of the waltz and a healthy tablespoon of Tina Turner at her '60s (not to be confused with her '80s!) peak?
Never Forget You, a song that by all rights should not work - the 60s bandwagon was crushed to death with the lumbering dinosaur that was Sugababes' Girls, and too many girls have tried (and failed) to co - opt Amy's signature tone - but the feeling of pure majesty the band (led by Shingai Showniwa, the most capable lead in all of pop) is undeniable. The rare feat of nostalgia that totally rings true.
47. Spoon - Written in Reverse
Written in Reverse, the first single lifted from Spoon's upcoming
Transference, finds the band in what some would call a rut. Many fans have written WiR off as a science experiment of sorts, with elements from their past four albums chucked in a blender with the song as the result. But, must a band that's done as much as Spoon has make an obvious show with every album of some sort of hackneyed "evolution?" With results as good as
Written in Reverse (I love how it actually reverses itself!), I think not.
46. Rihanna (featuring Young Jeezy) - Hard
Probably the most quotable song of the year. After the valiant effort of
Russian Roulette ( song that was hindered by clumsy production and a vocalist not up to it's demands),
Hard finds Rihanna assuming the role of the swagger-tinged princess, challenging all those that would knock her off her pedestal. Her luxuriously flat voice works wonders on songs like this (seriously, try to imagine any other current pop star tackling it with success - you can't, can you?), and Jeezy finally delivers a guest verse that EVERYONE can agree on. It's not a
great single, per say - there are a few dodgy lyrics (seriously, another Maybach reference? and that "bloggers" line in the bridge - SMDH.) and the production could be, in Riri's own words, "edgier" - but it mostly works. It's going to be a much bigger hit next year, which will prove one prophecy true - that Rihanna rain/reign just won't let up.
!!!
I'm gonna act like you NOT out your monkey ass mind for this one. And as far as all the "it's" when referring to possessive traits, I'M DEFIANTLY not having that. 
