Top 25 Songs of 2010, Tracks #10-1

2010 was a great year for music, and these next few articles list my favorites from 2010. We’ve already gone through tracks 25-11 for the top individual songs of the year, and today we’ve got the top 10. If you’re angry that I missed out on something you loved, leave a comment so I can make sure to check it out.

10. Gorillaz, “Empire Ants”

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“Empire Ants” is one of the few songs on Gorillaz’ Plastic Beach that doesn’t take a single awesome loop and drag it out for four or five minutes. Instead, it’s got two loops! That said, though it’s unsubtle, it’s mystifying as a tranquil, dreamy tune that morphs into a hip-hop trance track. When the beat kicks in, it hits you like a ton of funky bricks, and it’s held together by melancholy vocals from former Blur singer Damon Albarn and guest Little Dragon.

9. Robyn, “Hang with Me”

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Maybe there is hope for pop music after all. Swedish pop star Robyn’s open embrace of ’90s electronic pop way after its heyday is a sign of authentic enjoyment rather than a cynical cash-in. “Hang with Me” is a pop song that gets at a fundamental truth about love: strong companionship trumps exciting romance all the time. Robyn entreats her potential lover to confront and correct her when she’s in the wrong, to keep her confidence, to be present. All that’s harder than it sounds, and to focus on these elements of relationships while warning against falling “recklessly, headlessly in love with me” is the kind of maturity pop music could use a lot more of.

8. Kanye West, “Lost in the World”

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There are so many different elements bouncing around in this song, and Kanye just lets them build and build. It’s like a little leak in a dam cracking up more and more concrete until the flow is a flood and the spectacle is truly awe-inspiring.

7. The National, “Conversation 16”

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Whether you’re a Christian or not, at some point in your life you have to come to grips with the fact that you are demonstrably fallible, flawed, and full of desires and actions that are pure evil. The National’s “Conversation 16” understands that fact and brings us a powerful, cathartic admission of it. Singer Matt Berninger guides us through vignettes of unraveling domestic life with lyrics that swerve from darkly comic to despairing to majestically poetic, like a Chekhov play. In the chorus, he abandons his trademark mumble for a brazen shout: “I was afraid I’d eat your brain, ’cause I’m evil.” The song explodes into a furor of pounding drums, heavy piano chords, and vocal harmonies that make Berninger’s weary baritone voice soar.

6. The Innocence Mission, “God is Love”

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There’s something powerful in the quavery voice of Karen Peris, the lead singer and songwriter of the veteran indie group The Innocence Mission. You hear her singing about her faith with the kind of conviction you’ll never hear from the fame-hungry flavors of the week in contemporary Christian music — a quiet, fearless challenger to mockers and deniers. While most of her songs focus on seeing the incarnation of goodness and redemption in man, “God is Love” is concerned with the shortcomings of man. If we were able to find unfailing love, virtue, or trustworthiness in any person, place, or thing, why would we look for it in someone we can’t see, touch, smell, or taste? “God is Love” is a song for the moments of disappointment and disaffection in our lives, a song to remind us of the only true source of all that is good. And with its humble but powerful expressiveness, the song is a worthy tribute to the subject of its title.

5. ceo, “White Magic”

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“Just when you thought you had it, out of nowhere, White Magic.” Recounting a period of psychological and spiritual confusion and despair, Erik Berglund of the Tough Alliance forgoes any further lyrics to describe the awakening and revival he experienced. Instead, he tells the story instrumentally, indulging in a generous dose of noble savage fantasy. Unsettling jungle drums give way for a MIDI pan flute loop that somehow communicates tranquility without whitewashing the turbulence and uncertainty that the song’s narrator is escaping. Redemption in the face of overwhelming evil is one of the most powerful themes you can communicate, and Berglund does it in a way that’s both universal and fresh.

4. Panda Bear, “Alsatian Darn”

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The other half of Animal Collective’s songwriters is no stranger to solo endeavors and success. What kept me from enjoying his lauded sophomore album Person Pitch was its monotony. Even though he created incredible loops that would build into overwhelmingly saturated soundscapes, ultimately he was only working around a single chord, and the tracks often felt more like monastic chants than songs. However, with his three singles released in 2010, he’s crafted real songs with traditional structures and stripped-down guitar and drum arrangements to carry his trademark multitracked vocal harmonies. “Alsatian Darn” is easily the best of his new tunes, a thumping, staccato romp that shifts from mystery and longing to optimism so palpable, you can feel sunshine breaking through the seams in your speakers. I really can’t tell what he’s saying at all, but regardless, this song (and the single You Can Count on Me on which it resides) shouldn’t be missed.

3. LCD Soundsystem, “Dance Yrself Clean”

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Normally I’m bored outta my skull when a song reaches five minutes’ length; too many songwriters just don’t have the creative heft to stretch a single idea that long without pulverizing the interest and goodwill I had at the start. However, James Mercer’s opening track to what is purportedly the final LCD Soundsystem album, This is Happening, is absolutely engrossing all the way through. Starting so simply, with slight percussion and a single bass synth bouncing back and forth between two notes, it allows Mercer to sing a stark, misanthropic dirge highlighting his disconnection from fans, friends, and himself. Around three minutes in, the volume goes up, a real drum set kicks in, and Mercer starts wailing and shrieking his way through the song.

You’d be in total rapt attention if you weren’t involuntary dancing; even in your comfy computer chair, you’re bobbing your head and swaying your shoulders. The synth breakdowns are amelodic, a representation of Mercer’s mind zipping around in every direction, finally settling back into the calm, predictable routine of those first two bass notes. He’s shouted for our attention and received it, but then, what is he to do with it? Just retreat, just retire. When all is said and done, there’s nothing to show for being a rock star, so maybe it’s better to quit while you’re ahead. “Dance Yrself Clean” is a fitting opening to the “goodbye for now” that is This is Happening.

2. Pogo, “Wishery”

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I probably last saw Snow White on VHS when I was four-years-old, and this remix of the film’s audio elements brings me right back to that time, discovering a work of art which is entirely groundbreaking for its medium and masterfully executed. This isn’t Australian DJ Pogo’s first or most famous piece based on a classic Disney film, but it’s his absolute best. Whereas previous hits like “Alice” remain low-key and subtle, “Wishery” is vibrant, bold, and busy — a celebration of how human creativity can transform disconnected sounds (or bottles of ink) into meaningful beauty.

1. Deerhunter, “Helicopter”

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Take the nostalgia of “Wishery,” take away any defined object for it, and give it lyrics and a melody you can sing along to, and you’ve got the new shoegazing classic “Helicopter” by Deerhunter.

Singer Bradford Cox begins with a timid revelation of impending death, an inescapable, overpowering force symbolized by “helicopters circling.” Then when the chorus hits, he does what any sane human does in this situation: prays to God. The sublime, fuzzy guitar chords come through in rolling waves as the narrator finds relief in the peace of God. Light pours into his cave; all the failures of his life such as drugs and detachment wash away. Close your eyes, and you’ll feel your own burdens falling away for these few brief minutes.

Finding a single by an influential indie group that not only faces the vanity of this life but reveals the correct response to it is a true marvel. My golden rule is that taste is subjective, but if you can’t get into this song I don’t want to be friends anymore.

Stay tuned for the top 10 albums of 2010.