30. Girls - Heartbreaker
With a clear reference to "Hellhole Ratrace," Girls does what they do best - paint a wistful, empathetic portrait, and **** on the rest of your faves. Like, can you/they ever?
The answer is no.
See also: Girls,
"Thee Oh So Protective One",
"End of the World"
29. Taylor Swift - Dear John
The first track I listened to when I approached
Speak Now, "Dear John" evokes the same response it did all those months ago: ****, she killed him.
Blackbagged him.
Laid all his **** in the street.
Why did she have to go so hard? And, in the bluesy production, why'd she have to beat him at his own game so well? Why? WHY??/!???
See also: Taylor Swift,
"The Story of Us;" "Haunted"
28. Vampire Weekend - Diplomat's Son
Diplomat's Son proves that as much as VW produces great singles, their album tracks are arguably better. Six minutes long, but the furthest thing from an "epic," the song is a love letter to unrequited love among NYC's elite. (There's a homo-sex angle somewhere in here, so you know I'm all for it.) No one else can capture the upper class, with as much derision - and as much heart - as Vampire Weekend can. Truly the rockstars our generation deserves.
See also: Vampire Weekend,
"Taxi Cab", Lovelife,
"Jimmys"
27. Rihanna - What's My Name?
Let's ignore the superfluous rap at the beginning, and concentrate on the meat of the song. "what's my name" shows Rihanna taking the sound of "Rude Boy" and twisting the lyrics to reflect her current state; happiness. But the toughness, the self-confidence doesn't disappear; there's no doubt that she's the one in control. Far from strident, "wmn" shows Rihanna more than willing to give pleasure - just as long as she receives some first.
See also: Rihanna,
"Skin", Ciara,
"I Run It"
26. Cheryl Cole - Happy Tears
Unconsciously reminiscent of a album track from Brandy's
Afrodiasiac, "Happy Tears" finds Cheryl delivering
Oprah Tyra platitudes about starting over. Easy to write off, until the chorus comes - one of the most emotive melodies on the whole album. Once she reaches the bridge of sorts, and audibly smiles as she admits that destroying her ex's things produced happy tears, it's clear that she's connected to the lyric - and so have you.
I would do a See Also for this song, but that would tip my hat to a track that's in the top ten.
25. Robyn - Call Your Girlfriend
Who knew that in a 15 year career, Robyn could still surprise us? "Call Your Girlfriend," with Robyn fully immersed into the role of the 'other woman,' is so out-of-character for the persona Robyn's established that I fully believe the proper intepretation of this track is one wherein Robyn is actually the devoted girlfriend. How else can one explain how comfortable Robyn sounds, telling the silent, permissive appendage on the phone that he should tell his girl "how different it is when [they] kiss?" But who knows, maybe Robyn is more complex than I - or anyone else ever gave her credit for.
P.S.: **** a Billboard list - with the perfect balance between melancholia and joy, and at least three monster hooks, this is the song that should be a hit on pop radio in 2011.
See also: Robyn,
"Time Machine;" The Walkmen,
"Stranded"
24. Local Natives - World News
See also: Local Natives,
"Camera Talk",
"Sun Hands," Dale Earnhardt Jr.,
"Simple Girl"
23. Nicki Minaj - Roman's Revenge/Lil' Kim - Black Friday
It's become somewhat of an accepted meme to declare that Nicki demolished Kim - but only those ignorant of true hip-hop, or youngsters born in the 90s, would ever truly believe this.
They're just about even.
Nicki hit the ground running, and got in some of the best hits - and best bits. "What the **** I look like getting back to a has-been? Yeah, I said it - has-BEEN. Hang it up - flatscreen." (I think that was the moment all listeners' jaws collectively dropped.) Using a well-chosen Busta Rhymes reference (like, who knew anyone remembered dungeon dragons anymore?), Nicki threw down the gauntlet.Perhaps the best moment, of many, was the ending to her first verse: "You need a job; I know it's tough - but enough is enough." For anyone even half-aware of all the unsolicited shade Kim threw at Nicki in the past six months, that empathetic but strong statement was necessary.
It was necessary for Kim, too - it woke her up. For too long, Kim's being throwing out tacky **** like Download, and sounding like a dead woman walking on various unreleased remixes. (The less said about her "contribution" to Hot Tottie, the better.) Maybe she needed an adversary - a relevant one, at least - to get her back to fighting spirit. Truly a camp masterpiece upon first listen, it's hard not to crack up at everything that's over the top; the Godzilla theme song sample, the Nicki interview that's met with a nice STFU, the Nicki impersonation at the end that's half Valley Girl, half DEAD ON. But to just write it off as camp is to dismiss all the great hits that Kim gets in, and all the technical mastery she employs. Turning Nicki's cadences on their heads, Kim revisits great lines like "I got em shook, scared, panicking/Overseas, church, vatican" into "Go stick your head in a tornado, brainstorm/I drop bombs, flex, napalm." Who else but a legend could do it?
I just wish Khia had waded into this mess. CAN YOU EVEN IMAGINE IT??!??
See also: Foxy Brown, "Christmas Massacre" (although y'all know that Foxy's on some other ****, and it's going to be terrible.)
22. Miranda Lambert - Only Prettier
See also: Miranda Lambert,
"Sin for a Sin;" Taylor Swift,
"Better Than Revenge"
21. Bear in Heaven - Lovesick Teenagers
It's hard for me to describe why I love this song so much, but here goes: with it's sputtering drumming and knowing lyrics, it's the sexiest thing I heard all year. It also sounds so futuristic, but not in the usual sense - it doesn't belong to 2010, it belongs from somewhere thirty years from now.
In a way that just connected to me in this very moment, it sorta of sounds like the stuff I could imagine Aaliyah doing if she was still here. How could I not love it?
See also: Bear in Heaven, "
Lovesick Teenagers (Twin Shadow Twins in Heaven Remix);" "You Do You"