There are songs you can’t put down. Songs that won’t leave you alone. Songs you imagine playing in the background at major events in your life. Like, there was a time that I was convinced Kanye’s and T-Pain’s “Good Life” needed to be played as I walked across the stage to get my master’s degree. Frank Ocean’s cover of Strawberry Swing is that song for me this year. There’s something about his voice and those needling Coldplay guitars. The way he weaves Chris Martin’s vocals in towards the end. The soul without the dramatic melisma. The emotion without any strain. One hopes it’s indicative of a new kind of R&B -- subdued, refreshingly derivative, disciplined, refined. If not, it’s enough, in and of itself. My song of the year.
2. "BTSU" - Jai Paul
Who is this guy? What is this song about? Is that a saxophone I hear? These questions need no answers. Just nod your head and press repeat.
3. Alabama Shakes - “Hold On”
I could hear this song playing in a crowded hipster concert venue. Or in a Pentecostal church. What’s so underwhelming about so many hipster interpretations of old soul is their inability, or reluctance, to go for it, full throttle. If you’re gonna sing it, sing it. The Alabama Shakes do. Barefoot and sweating.
4. Chris Brown - "Beautiful People"
This is the second year Chris Brown’s made my list. In spite of “The Incident.” Say what you will about him - and I have - he is the most consistent male R&B singer out right now. Usher’s too corny. Trey Songz is too... annoying. With this track, Brown embodies the tectonic shift happening in R&B right now. It’s getting faster, dancier, Euro. “Soul” music is going to Ibiza. This could be troubling. But songs like these remind you that we shouldn’t be afraid.
5. Foster The People - "Call It What You Want"
“Pumped Up Kicks” was catchy, but repetitive, and ultimately, boring. This song is not. Neither is the video.
6. Little Dragon - "Ritual Union"
If only the rest of the album were this good...
7. Jay-Z and Kanye - “Murder To Excellence”
Forget what you heard. “Watch the Throne,” though titillating, is ultimately a hot mess. Patched together across several continents, studios, and time zones. It’s not coherent. Just boastful. Obnoxiously so. When Jay-Z raps, “I’m planking on a million,” it makes you wonder -- Who is this inspiring? How can I relate? Doesn’t he know we already get that he’s very rich? That, with Kanye’s incessant brand name dropping, makes it more of a commercial than an album.
But there are flashes of brilliance, or at least relatability.. Rhyming to future children in “New Day.” Or speaking to realities of black-on-black violence in “Murder To Excellence.” It’s my favorite track on the album. Name dropping Danroy Henry and Fred Hampton, preaching unity. “The church ain’t got enough room for all the tombs. It’s a war going on outside we ain’t safe from. I feel the pain wherever I go. 314 soldiers died in Iraq. 509 died in Chicago.” Poignant. But in the second half of the song, what’s supposed to be an inspiration to Black excellence plays like a listing of rich Black man first world problems with an admonishing, "You should be more like us! Ya know, Will, Obama, Kanye and I.”
A Black elite “pull yourself up by your boot straps” story. But what if the ones who need to hear have no boots on? And yours are gold-plated? “Power to the people. When you see me, see you.” rhymes Jay, in the 1st half of the track, as if his wealth alone can serve as enough inspiration to cure Black America’s ills. For Kanye and Jay, their simply being Black and rich is enough. That’s the problem with this album. It’s not.
8. Beyonce - "Countdown"
Every good thing about this song has already been written, by some music publication or another. They are right to fawn over “Countdown.” But they are wrong to think that this is a new thing for Beyonce. This hyper, funky, space-age dance floor R&B has been her forte since the days of Destiny’s Child. You heard it on tracks like “Jumpin’ Jumpin’” from early DC days. Then there was “Get Me Bodied,” the anthemic dance floor call to action. Or the swag-dripping “Upgrade You.” Or the other-worldly “Diva.” Beyonce has this way of crafting whimsically eviscerating verses, that seem to have a cadence and structure that can only be her own. A genre unto itself. Beyonce Club Music.
9. M83 ft Zola Jesus - “Intro”
Breathtaking in a way the rest of the album never was for me. I put this song on one of my running playlists this year. Halfway through it, jogging down 5th, my arms went up, in a victory pose, involuntarily. This song will do that kind of thing to you.
10. Childish Gambino - Freaks and Geeks
The idea of Childish Gambino is a good one. Rap for nerdy colored kids, like me. Terry Gross references, indie rock samples. But it works best in small doses. Gambino’s (Donald Glover's) latest full-length effort, “Camp,” was a strange juxtaposition of “It’s hard being a Black nerd,” and “Ha! Look at all these white and Asian groupies I have!” All of the introspection of the album is overshadowed by its misogyny, and every time he says the N-word, I cringe. But this song, right here, is fun, light, driving, witty. And it’s enough; three and a half minutes of Donald Glover was all I needed in 2011.
THE REST OF THESE ARE IN NO PARTICULAR ORDER:
J. Cole - Lost Ones
The smartest track on Cole’s solid debut. The tale of one young couple’s pregnancy, told through the voice of the soon to be father, AND mother. It’s a refreshing take on what is so often a one-sided story. When Cole rhymes as the woman in the situation, it’s believable. “Tryna take away a life, is you God, muthafucka? I don't think so! This a new life up in my stomach. Regardless if I'm your wife, this new life here I'mma love it. I ain't budging I just do this by my muthafucking self. See my mama raised me without no motherfucking help from a man.”
The song ends, and we don’t know if they kept the baby or not. If they stayed together or broke up. And that’s the way it should be. Stories like these can’t be tied up with a pretty bow at the end.
Lana Del Rey - "Blue Jeans"
She’s the perfect gimmick. Beautiful girl, oddly beautiful voice. Videos full of random hipsterdom. She may not be around next year, like any other record label’s experiment. But she leaves us “Blue Jeans,” so she can stay for now.
"Sure Thing" - Miguel
Perfect riding music. Also, check out his album. Came out in 2010. It’s surprisingly good.
Raphael Saadiq - "Movin’ Down The Line"
It’s virtually impossible to adequately followup an album as good as Saadiq’s “The Way I See It.” Stone Rollin’ is a valiant effort, but it never catches fire. However, Movin’ Down The Line is the perfect treat midway through the disc. The bass line floats effortlessly, the breathy background vocals fill up your headphones. It makes you wanna two-step. Saadiq’s still got it.
Kelly Rowland ft. Lil' Wayne- "Motivation"
The song is so smooth. So slick. So sing-along-able. So “Why the hell isn’t Kelly Rowland BLOWING UP in the states?” The winding Jim Jone’s bass line. The halting snare. Whatever guy in the background sing-songing “oh luvah.” You can see the sweat coming through your speakers. It works. Splendidly.
Justice - “Helix”
Another standout on my running playlist this year. Yep, that’s a Billy Ocean sample. Dance, I say. DANCE!
Jo Jo - "Marvin’s room (remix)"
Drake is SO bad that... a has-been teen-pop one hit wonder can out-sing him, on his own song. Jo-Jo takes Drake’s Marvin’s Room and makes it real, felt, textured. This song is all about the torture of love lost, and seeing your ex move on. She expresses that better than Drake. “I been up three days. Aderall and Red Bull.” This is serious.
Here’s the thing with Drake -- he can’t sing. Which is why having a vocalist re-interpolate one of his songs magnifies his inadequacy. And also, I hate Drake, so this is me giving him the middle finger.
The Rapture - “How Deep Is Your Love?”
Your next house party needs this song. Especially from minute 3:15 onward.
KARMIN - “Look At Me Now (Cover)”
When white people rap, they have to be either VERY good at it -- think Eminem -- or make fun of themselves -- think that Natalie Portman SNL skit. But the “Look at me, I’m a white person rapping badly,” meme is a tired one. It diminishes the [potential] skills of the White person involved, as well as any real respect they have for the genre. Enter Karmin. This homage to one of the years catchiest songs says, "Hey, I’m cute and girly, yes. But I really like this song! And I will give it due diligence.” She does. Watching her tackle Bustah Rhymes verse is a sight to behold.
Kreyshawn - "Gucci Gucci"
Obligatory. If only as a piece of high performance art. Read this review
College and Electric Youth - “A Real Hero” (Drive soundtrack)
A very good song from a very good movie.
"Fly" - Rihanna and Nicki Minaj
The most refreshingly uplifting song of the year, from two of the most sexualized artists of our day. Whodathunk.
[A holdover from 2010] Jessie J - "Do It Like A Dude (acoustic)"
I really don't know what she's getting at when she says, "Do it like a brother." But that's irrelevant. Just watch. Just. Watch. Right around the 2:00 mark:
Cake - "Long Time"
There’s something about John McCrea’s voice. It drips with an almost sarcasm. It’s deadpan, in an “I’m cooler than you” kind of way. Add a trumpet and a nice drum machine, some driving guitars. And you’ve got a gem. The yelps and handclaps in the breakdown at the end are golden. Most of you didn’t even know Cake put out a new album this year, did you?
Rebecca Black, as interpreted by a bad lip reader - “Gangfight”
Rebecca Black is the meme that keeps on giving. This video is simultaneously everything right and everything wrong with modern-day Internet culture. “Have I brought this chicken for us to thaw.” Lyric of the year.
Obligatory includes. Don't hate, you like them, too:
LMFAO - “Party Rock Anthem”
Maroon 5 - “Moves Like Jagger”
Rihanna - "We Found Love"
0 comments:
Post a Comment