WHEEEEEE!!!!
It's year-end list time!
You know what that means!
It means I try to do one of these year-end lists in one sitting, and wind up getting so bitter about shit that by the end of it I'm ready to gouge my eyes out with a brick of sharp cheddar!
Like I said, WHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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1.)Fang Island - Patterns On The Wall (feat. Andrew W.K.)
I can say without hyperbole that the last 90 seconds of this song is probably the greatest thing in the history of the human world. <Cue Pavlovian response on the ol' tearducts.> That is all.
Video: no video of this song available, so click above and you can listen to the actual song just like they used to do in the days before "Tee Vee." You're welcome, dick!
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I've said it before, but I'll say it again- this song sounds like Blue Album-era Weezer covering Asia's "Heat of the Moment" while secretly enjoying itself by sitting too hard on one of these. Not too shabby! Moreover, here's hoping their major label debut is more "Swim" and less "Slow Jabroni!"
Video: Studio version. Watched a few concert clips and these guys really didn't seem to be that great of a live band. Thoughts?
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3.) Gorillaz - Superfast Jellyfish [feat. De La Soul and Gruff Rhys]
The best rap song I've listened to since NWA's Efil4zaggin. Wait, did I say "best?" Because I meant to say "first!"
Video: "Official Visual Video." Whatever the fuck that means.
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4.) Arcade Fire - Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains)
Video: Arcade Fire's most recent SNL performance. Can Regine pull it off? You decide!
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5.) Arcade Fire - Half Light II
Yup, "Half Light II" has all the grandiosity/massiveness/arena-ready bombast of a U2 song without, you know, being unbearably awful like a U2 song. Shouldn't this song be the soundtrack to a misleadingly optimistic Archer Daniels Midland commercial or something, with bucketloads of smiling multicultural faces, "arty" animations and aerial video of amber waves of grain from sea to shining sea as captured by a helicopter cam? Who's with me on this one?
Video: Studio version. Why wasn't this released as a single?!
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6.) Sleigh Bells - Crown on the Ground
Whatever you do, Alexis, please don't lose that ass.
Video: live, filmed in NYC at (le) poisson rouge last December. Hot fucking damn.
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Since every single goshdarn motherhumpin' stinkin' godforsaken friggin' blessed bleedin' cotton pickin' fershluginer article written about Fang Island (including ones on this site! Seriously, check for yourself!) is legally mandated to mention the "everyone high-fiving everyone" self-description of what Fang Island's music sounds like, allow me to fulfill said obligation now: this is the high-fiviest song from the high-fiviest album of the year.
Video: Official music video for the song, which is pretty piss poor with the exception of them awesomely recreating the castle guy from the cover of the album.
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8.) Gorillaz (feat. Mark E. Smith) - Glitter Freeze
Yup, more Gorillaz wackiness, this time featuring awesomely chilly 80s synth lines, Mark E. Smith's unmistakable, inscrutable blacked out rambling, and an updated version of the beat from Rock and Roll part 2. Fuck yeah.
Video: Official music video, starring a ship.
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Very much in the vein of last year's second-best song, the freaking awesome "I Wanna Kill." In fact, yes, one could note that this one is in the vein of a lot of Crocodiles stuff. I dig this shit.
Video: live in-studio version recorded by Insound. As I've stated before (in various states of inebriation), these guys put on a nice live show, especially since adding the full band.
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10.) Beach House - 10 Mile Stereo
The best song on an album full of stunners.
Video: live version at Webster Hall from earlier this year. I shoulda fuckin' been there, goddamn it. Notice Victoria kinda eats shit at about 3:50, heheh.
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11.) Melvins - Pig House
A quintessential riff-packed multi-part Melvins hyper-jam.
Video: Live in Seattle. Video starts about a minute or so into the song [bummer]. Towards the end, however, shit hits the fan when Jared puts down his bass, jumps offstage and personally bum rushes some unlucky bastard the fuck out of the building. From the comments: "It helps that Jared's dressed like a space barbarian." Feel free to read all about the incident here! Or not.
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12.) Kylesa - Dust
This is both the prettiest AND the most psychedelic song Kylesa has ever put out.
Video: [edit] hmmmm, looks like they removed the video from YouTube overnight on a copyright restriction. Yer on yer own on this one, kiddos!
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13.) Marnie Stern - Cinco De Mayo
Important to include a pic of the finger-tapping technique for this song. Widdlywiddlywiddlywiddly...
Video: studio version/fucking fantastic.
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14.) LCD Soundsystem - I Can Change
How fun would it be to perform this song at karaoke?! And I *HATE* karaoke!
Video: from Jules Holland 5/14/10.
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15.) Fang Island - Careful Crossers
Widdlywiddlywiddlywiddly (sorry, getting tired/unmotivated up in here.)
Video: official music video. Equal parts "awesome" and "seizure inducing," much like [deleted]'s cocaine intake!
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16.) Marnie Stern - Her Confidence
A ballsy, riffy rocker, not unlike '08's "The Crippled Jazzer." Of course, Zach Hill kills it on this song.
Video: only a partial performance, but still worth watching.
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17.) Perfume Genius - Learning
I can think of at least two people who will make fun of me for enjoying this song. [NOTE: those two people comprise approximately 100% of regular Muddd readership.]
Video: ummmmmm
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Uhhhh... yeah... see the comment on #17... [hides behind couch}....
Video: official music video.
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19.) Prince Rama - Lightening Fossil
Yup, this is some real hippie bullshit right here. In other words, "I'll have a little more of what the comments for #s 17 and 18 are having, thankyouverymuch."
Video: studio version.
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20.) Fang Island - Davey Crockett
"Hi, we're Fang Island. This is our one-two-three-fourth time so far on this list, and Tuddd still can't seem to think of anything interesting to say about us that doesn't involve the term 'widdly widdly.' Fuck you, Tuddd, you unoriginal, ambitionless bastard."
Video: live in studio at KEXP.
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You
Out
Shine
Them
All.
Video: live. Another show that I shoulda been at. Fuk.
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22.) The Magnetic Fields - You Must Be Out of Your Mind
Since by this point I've apparently resorted to just quoting lyrics instead of coming up with original content;
"You can't just go 'round sayin' stuff
Because it's pretty
And I no longer drink enough
To think you're witty."
HA!!
Video: studio version.
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23.) Beach House - Zebra
Um, <3 U, Victoria? Fuck, I got nothing. NOTHING!!!!
Video: probably a nice live or studio verison from somewhere or nowhere. Check for yerself. I'm getting kinda ornery up in here.
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24.) Boston Spaceships - Come On Baby Grace
OK. One of the reasons that this year's GbV reunion was so great is because it hearkened back to the time when Uncle Bob was actually capable of writing more than one or two decent songs in a whole fucking year. This is oh-ten's good Bob song. Skip ALL the others. I am serious.
Video: crapola, I can't find anything. Instead, watch this video of an even better Boston Spaceships song.
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25.) Mark Sultan - Ten of Hearts
God I love this one. I wish there was a video of it somewhere online so that, on the off chance YOU haven't heard it yourself, I could share this song's awesomeness with you. But, alas, there isn't, so I can't. So watch this instead because it's hilarious and because I feel like throwing in the towel. Tuddd out.
at least you didn't rank fitz and the tantrums, jukebox the ghost, or fonda claws, wacky the wacky, or bababa and the pibjers
Posted by: beej | December 08, 2010 at 10:37 PM