I was going dissect all the music I've downloaded that came out this year and come up with a top 10 list, but this was waaay easier. Uh, except for the fact that I switched computers halfway through the year and had to merge two different play counts together. Actually it turned out to be a pain in the ass, but because it didn't rely entirely on my present recollection of how much I enjoyed the music I found some surprises on the list. That was pretty cool. I used every means I could to determine whether a track was released in 2009 (i.e. discogs, Myspace accounts, artist/label websites, and Youtube postings) but sometimes I still could not tell. I used my best judgment in those cases. These are all tracks I'd recommend listening to/downloading. Here we go!
20.
Lovin' - Edwin Van Cleef (Download via electrorash)
These first few tracks are all more melodic than I'd like to think I prefer, but obviously, the play counts don't lie! This track has a real innocence to it that I enjoy. I suppose it could be categorized as electro house these days, but about a decade ago (before trance cranked up the BPMs and became a niche genre again) this would have been called trance.
Electrorash, by the way, is an excellent house blog with contributors primarily out of Australia, I think. It will eventually go on the blogroll, if I ever create such a thing.
19.
Young Love - Love Between Equals (Download via RedThreat)
I love how melodic yet distorted this track is. Again, a little more melodic than what I would like to think my tastes are. But listen to those bass stabs! So granular, syncopated, and, well, growly! This is how electro basslines should sound. Not like giant farts. Just sayin'.
RedThreat throws up a million mp3s per post and has great info on shows in the Chicago area. If you have nothing to do for the week and are living in the upper Midwest, check out the list of events. You won't be disappointed.
18.
Work It Out (A1 Bassline Remix) - Esser (Download via Discobelle)
A1 Bassline took a laid back indie dance number and gave it a youthful enthusiasm. Really sweet, I think. I used this on my mix
Indie Rocks Electro, so if you like the sound you may want to listen to the whole mix.
Discobelle, for those who don't know, are pretty much the pinnacle in electronic music blogging. So many posts! On their post you can watch the video for Esser's original of the track.
17.
Ain't We Funkin´Now (Todd Terje Radio Miks) - Brothers Johnson (Download via BeatElectric)
Now for something completely different! Obviously the Brothers Johnson had a disco classic with the original. Todd Terje just dusted it up and made it a little more DJ friendly. You can check out the
Beatelectric post to hear a few more of Terje's re-edits. Man this top twenty list is turning into it's own mini-blogroll! If I had unlimited time and expertise (obviously wishful thinking here) there are about 30 or so disco/funk era tracks that I would love to do re-edits of. Luckily Mr. Terje is doing just fine on this without my help!
16.
Drop The Tough (The Twelves B-LIVE Remix) - Groove Armada (Download via RedThreat)
I love Groove Armada so much! They are one of a few popular 90's era electronic acts that have not only survived the new decade but have flourished. They or their label also happen to pick excellent remixers for their tracks. Witness the Twelves chill take on the original. The only reservation I have about this track is that it's part of a Bacardi sponsored remix campaign. I guess big liquor corporations are okay if they pay for good music, right?
15.
Get Fresh - Kid Sister (Download via rcrdlbl)
Okay, so Kid Sister's album Dream Date came out in late 08, but this track was released as a single in 09, so we're counting it. Really all of Kid Sister's body of work should be up here because most of the album is excellent. I really don't understand how this lady isn't getting major label attention. Great pop music!
Rcrdlbl is an excellent blog that spans numerous genres, allowing indie acts to get exposure. Professionally run. Check it out.
14.
Diesel Paint Job (LOL Boys Blend) - Dorrough Music + Sukh Knight (Download via RedThreat)
This LOL Boys blend blew up blogs this spring and with good reason. I cannot stop listening to it even now. Hip hop and Dubstep just seem made for each other. I chose Chicago's
Hot Biscuits' link because I like their content, but the link was yanked, so we're going with the dependable RedThreat.
13.
Lets Talk - Pezzner (stream)
Pezzner is one half of the incomparable duo Jacob London. I posted a link to this track on Facebook as soon as I heard it. So well-proportioned, well produced! I would play this track early in the evening because even though it is not balls to the wall energetic, it is subtly irresistible.
12.
Us - Regina Spektor (Youtube)
So officially I'd prefer listening to a Bach cello suite. But this is about as close as you can get to Bach in pop music today. My guilty pleasure!
11.
AA 24/7 (Diplo Remix) - Dance Area (stream)
What a beating! Diplo's side project Major Lazer took most of the spotlight this year but this remix bangs pretty hard. I'm not a fan of the vocals, but they're hidden over 3 minutes in so it's not too much of a loss. Do yourself a favor and don't listen to this track on computer speakers. Find yourself a sound system with a sub. Also the video on
Fader is of the original track, not the remix.
10.
Voodoo People (Pendulum Remix) - The Prodigy (Download via RedThreat)
Thought I was going to have to stream this, but RedThreat has a download of it. Thanks
RedThreat! Pendulum is my exhibit A as to why electronic acts are making better rock music than rock bands. Of course, Pendulum is sort of a band, so I guess that makes sense. This remix is about as mind blowing as the original was when I first heard it in about 1995. It was on a cassette, since that was how folks pirated music back then.
9.
Farewell To The Fairground (Yuksek Remix) - White Lies (Download via RedThreat)
This won't be the last time Yuksek shows up in this list. He had one hell of a 2008, and 2009 wasn't too shabby either. I really love these remixes of more indie rock artists. This is danceable and still has some lyrical meat.
8.
My Girls - Animal Collective (Youtube)
This track is the opener on my mix
Indie Rocks Electro with good reason. The synths percolate and sparkle, complimenting the vocal harmonies. The video is pretty cool too.
7.
Dance Dance Dance (Buraka Som Sistema Mix) - Lykke Li (stream)
Buraka Som Sistema has been in the process of slamming into the blogosphere like a tidal wave for the last year or so. I really like the Baile Funk-esque stuff going on in the group. Back at the beginning of the decade a very different tribal sound had developed based on the large crowds that clubs were bringing in. Nowadays the club scene has contracted and Buraka Som Sistema is the result- a scaled back sound where each tap on the drum can be heard as though it were up close. This is the new intimate sound of tribal music.
6.
Purple Rain - Chew Fu + Steve Clisby (Download via HotBiscuits)
Admittedly a large part of this track's appeal lies not with the artists but with Prince's classic lyrical and melodic mastery. But the deceptively simple production on this version deserves consideration.
HotBiscuits makes an appearance here finally too! Go visit the site, it has good music for free.
5.
I Was Drunk feat. Noze - Riva Starr (Youtube)
I actively dislike Noze, and especially dislike the lyrics to this track, but Riva makes up for it with his excellent production. I have had this track running through my head for months! It's like a freakin' gypsy curse. I dance around the house to no music at all and my wife thinks I'm psychotic. This is what good music does to a man. Sad.
4.
Jump In The Pool (Thin White Duke Remix) - Friendly Fires (stream)
This track is exhibit B for why electronic music artists make better rock music that rock artists. There is a desperate vitality in this remix that I find difficult to convey in mere words. Of course Thin White Duke has been producing music of this caliber for years now. I want to be in a sweaty mass of young people jumping up and down in unison to this.
3.
Wanna Be Dancin' (Eli Escobar Mix) - The Glass (stream)
By the time Eli Escobar got around to remixing this The Glass track about a thrillion other DJs had gotten there first. No matter. If the Friendly Fires remix in the 4 position was all about electronic indie rock, this track is about classic dance music. Simple synths twist and mutate around piano stabs and ratcheting percussion. I love, love, LOVE a good acid line, and that's what Escobar's synths amount to. This is the track you want to be listening to when the drugs kick in, and that's a compliment.
2.
Silvia - Miike Snow (stream)
Miike Snow is the one group I really regret not having seen when they came to town this year. Miike Snow seems to have made a career out of arpeggiation. And who can argue with that? The synths flutter and turn in patterns Mozart would have been proud of. I would recommend checking out the whole eponymous album (and the great remixes floating around out there too)!
1.
Keep that Control (Yuksek Lost Control Remix) - The Shoes ft. Scream Club (Download via Redthreat)
Well, here we are. I may have mentioned my love of acid lines and Yuksek does not disappoint in that regard. Needless to say I have included this track on a
mix this year. But that's really only the beginning. I frequently have this fantasy where I travel back in time with an ipod and let my teenage self listen to all the newest music styles from the future. If there were one track from 2009 that I want to show my 16 year old self, it's this one. The rhythm, the builds and breakdowns, everything about this track adheres to the classic standards of dance music while cranking up the intensity to 11. In an alternate universe my 16 year old self has just died an ecstatic death due to a massive brain hemorrhage sustained while trying to take in the sheer power of this track. What else can one expect when altering time and space in the name of music? Some songs are simply too powerful for such meddling endeavors.
