Thanks for all the comments everybody.
Roger’s Top 60 Tunes of 2010
40. Kanye West – Runaway
Given how well his other singles (this is 1 of 3) and album are going to place on this year’s chart, this may seem like a low showing for a very high-profile song. Nonetheless, “Runaway” is probably my 2nd least favorite track off the new album, but that isn’t to say it isn’t awe-inspiring in its own right. A simple piano lead in segways into one of the more memorable choruses of the year, where Sir West strips demons of douche bags, scum bags, and those who never take work off. It is an admirable effort, but one that can get tired, and there is much better on the album.
39. Jimmy Eat World – My Best Theory
In a similar vein to Anberlin, this is just one of those steady rock tracks that always sounds great when you hear it. I’m still laughing at MC’s realization of their acronym being JEW – haha, classic.
38. Phoenix – Lasso
These guys are honestly the little band that could. They slowly but surely have built all of their singles into Modern Rock hits, and this one should follow suit in early 2011. It has a very similar opening riff to “Lisztomania” (coming later), and then breaks it down into the toe tapping chorus of ‘Where would you go, where would you go with a lasso’. Another great lyrical highlight is ‘Forever is a long long time when you’ve lost your way’. Cannot wait to see what these guys offer on their second album.
37. Neon Trees – Animal
This might just be one of the catchiest songs of the year. And speaking of building a single, this track spent the better part of the year saturating all formats; first Alternative, then CHR, then Hot AC. That kind of multi-format appeal is unparalleled, and is a true indication of how great a track it is.
36. M.I.A. f. Jay Z – XXXO (remix)
This is the first of two tracks on the year-end that Jay Z made so much better than it originally was with a killer cameo. M.I.A.’s latest album “MAYA” was a commercial disappointment and probably her least applauded effort from a critical perspective. This track echoes a lot of her previous sound and could be one of the reason I enjoy it so much, because I’m definitely not feeling the rest of the album. Oh, and Jay Z’s cameo, brilliant.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x4yWDvfpBz4
35. KO – Capable
Relatively unknown unless you live in the Greater Toronto Area, as this song was a big hit on our Modern Rock station, Edge 102. It is incredibly well written, an authentic story of a cracked out girlfriend that he hates to love and put his strength behind. The chorus is ****ing mind blowing – if you haven’t heard this yet, please do yourself a favor and check out the link. “See I never knew, I never had a clue that, that you were capable of love.”
34. B.o.B. – Nothing On You (f. Bruno Mars) | Airplanes (f. Hailey Williams)
This guy sure as hell came out of bloody nowhere. He did two great things this year; exposed the world to the talent that is Bruno Mars, and shed some much needed light to an already established, but still underrated talent that is Hailey Williams of Paramore. ‘Nothing On You’ and ‘Airplanes’ are extremely relatable, likeable, and are probably two of the best produced Top 40 singles in recent years.
33. Alicia Keys – Empire State of Mind (Part II)
The original was #3 on my year-end for 2009, and this was an absolute class act follow up. I gotta give up for Alicia Keys, very rarely does she make mistakes musically and this is the perfect example. She took the authentic roots of the original track and sprinkled elegance, and a rich sensibility that very few are capable of doing. She shows that she was the star of the original track, despite how big Jay Z sounds on it.
32. The Black Keys – Tighten Up
I remember making a prediction in the Mediabase thread that this would be the track to log a huge run at #1 on the Modern Rock chart through to near the end of the year. Was I not right? And so well deserved. This track has that vintage vibe, with rusted out vocals and the infectious whistling background. Modern Rock’s most unlikely and defiant hit of the year.
31. Brandon Flowers – Only The Young
The first of two for Mr. Flowers, who released one of the most unconventional albums of the year with its bizarre yet “only he could pull it off” sound. This track probably would have charted a bit lower had I not seen his show live a few weeks ago, where he catapulted this from a B+ album track at best to a mammoth anthem. It was funny, because that kind of happened to the whole album during that show. Regardless, the beating drum and looming keyboard tone humming in the background builds nicely into the shimmering of the chorus, where he simply chants, “Only the young, can, break away, break away.” Simple, but effective, and there’s some sign of ‘Day N Age’ here.
Roger’s Top 10 Albums of 2010
There was three non-Rock/Alt albums I enjoyed this year, and two of them sort of serve the same purpose. So here they are, at #10 and #9.
10. Rihanna – Loud | Katy Perry – Teenage Dream
There’s not much to say about these two albums except that they serve the same purpose; a jukebox for Top 40. Both of them are halfway decent singers, with Rihanna showing better chops live – but really, give it up for their production teams. These ladies work with the best of the best, consistently putting out tracks that become instant hits and strike a chord with the masses. So how much is that production and how much of that is these girls themselves? Well without a vehicle, you can’t go forward. These two have an incredible knack at making tracks their own, and stapling a trademark sound that is distinctively their own. How many #1’s will it take until people realize this is as good as it’s going to get until Lady GaGa finally drops “Born This Way”. Well done. And a last note, it’s nice to see Rihanna return to her dance-hall roots after the diversion (albeit a good one, artistically) that was “Rated R”. And for Katy – lots of brew ha ha about the album not selling more in it’s first week. Did anyone actually think she was going to sell 750k just because ‘California Girls’ was that huge? She nearly sold 5x more than “One of the Boys” did in it’s first week, that is definitely something to be happy about. Not to mention, the overseas appeal of both these ladies is enormous.
9. Drake – Thank Me Later
Whether it’s Drake himself or his PR team, who cares, but this guy knows how to mount a successful album launch. Last year, he unleashed teaser singles in ‘Best I Ever Had’ and ‘Successful’ from a mini-EP that made music fans thirst for more. This year, he drops a full length album and is led by the absolutely monstrous “Over”, which had one of the best lyrics of the year in, ‘What am I doing, what am I doing, oh yeah that’s right I’m doing me.’ (more on that later). But, the album itself is actually quite a side track from the hard and ferocious feel of the lead single. A lot of it takes a turn for the mellow and not so face forward, especially in tracks like ‘Fireworks’ with Alicia Keys, which surprisingly enough, has not been serviced as a single. I think Drake does it better, and “do right and kill everything”, when he does up his game, and nothing shows it better than a track like “Miss Me” – an epic feature with Lil’ Wayne where he shows both side of the coin and spits out bar after huge bar. Great debut effort from our home-grown Canuck.
**** that was a lot.
Top 30 soon. Albums #8-6 soon.
