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Lists 4 Bitches

Now, for some actual music.  First, my last.fm account if you want a quick snapshot of what I like.  (Yes, I know, the name is stupid, go ahead and laugh, I don't care...)  Also, I made you bitches a list...bitches love lists...

Top 10 Songs of 2011 (so far):
  1. The Weeknd - Wicked Games:  This song is perfect.  The best track off of the most interesting album to come out this year (It's also free, you should download it and give it a listen if you haven't already: Link).  The overblown drums and grimy guitars give the song a lot of momentum and a great ambiance, but really, the song is all about Abel Tesfaye.  His voice is hauntingly perfect (or perfectly haunting, either one works) and his songwriting is on point all the way through.  I tried to pick the best part of this song, but I just can't.  It's that good.
  2. Tyler, The Creator - Yonkers: Should have won Video of the Year.  At least he won Best New Artist. Kid deserved it. His mom looked so proud. Anyways, he's got a great rapping voice and a great flow, and he raps about bizarre shit.  The real draw is the beat, which sounds like something The Neptunes would give Clipse when they still mattered.  The best part, though, is the little dubsteppy synth squiggle that comes in between verses and basically serves as the chorus. Damn that thing is catchy.  (Also, check out his twitter.  He insists he's a table and picks fights with vacuums.  It's great.)
  3. Adele - Someone Like You: This song, and Adele's performance of it, will floor you like nothing else in music this year.  Just a voice and a piano, making magic happen.  It's currently the #1 song in America so I doubt anyone hasn't heard it already.  However, I would just like to draw attention to the unsung hero of the track: the piano.  So many other songs with just piano backing sink because the pianist sticks to just playing chords.  This sucks out all the momentum and makes the track feel incredibly static.  In contrast, the pianist here constantly plays relatively fast arpeggios which serve as a great counterpoint to the slower melody line and tempo of the song.
  4. Foster the People - Pumped Up Kicks: Turns out lyrics of the song would fit perfectly with Gus Van Sant's Elephant, but really, who cares.  All that matters is that chorus, which is undeniably the single best melodic line to come out this year.  (Well, sort of this year.  The song was released over a year ago, but it got big only recently.  Quite a long road.)  Too bad nothing else the band's done even approaches the greatness of this track.  I'd bet on the band being a one hit wonder.
  5. Adele - Rolling in the Deep: So, Adele's amazing, but, unlike Someone Like You, this song isn't really about her at all.  It's about that monster of a beat Paul Epworth gave her.  (Seriously, I can't believe this is the same guy that produced Bloc Party's Silent Alarm)   How a homely British chick got the hardest banging beat of the year is beyond me.  Literally anyone could sound amazing over that track (See: Lil Wayne).
  6. Jay-Z & Kanye West - Illest Motherfucker Alive: Kanye West is his typically embarrassing self (Seriously, who the fuck writes the lines "Russell ain't the only Russell/Russell Brand, Russell Crowe" and then proceeds to rap that line for fucking Russell Crowe? At the 6:20 mark.).  Jay-Z is far better. He sticks to the usual topic of how great he is, but he does it with style and an unparalled great flow.  More importantly, the best is amazing.  The slow tempo, heavy drums, and piano arpeggios make it sound positively epic.  There's a lot of good parts to the beat, but the best is when the low synth arpeggio comes in to signal the return of the bass drum.  Oh god, hold on, I need a tissue.
  7. Beyonce - 1+1: The best song B's done besides Crazy in Love.  Possibly the best song The-Dream's ever written, and this is the guy that wrote Baby, Umbrella, and Single Ladies (and yes, Baby is a brilliant song, don't try to deny it).  I love the raw vocals and the guitar solo at the end is just perfect.  Really remind me of Purple Rain, which makes it the best Prince song since Sign O' the Times came out in '87.
  8. Drake - Marvin's Room: The chorus to this song is the best thing Drake's ever done (both the "Fuck that nigga..." bit and the "I'm just saying you can do better" bit).  The man is really taking rap and R&B in an awesome new direction.  The beat fits the song perfectly, and I also really like the half-rap, half-singing thing he does on the third verse.  Also, just personal opinion, but I love how evocative, personal, and direct his lyrics are.  Feels like he's actually just talking to someone.
  9. Frank Ocean - Strawberry Swing: Frank Ocean cops the beat and the melody from Coldplay's song of the same name, but somehow makes it a million times better.  His voice just cuts through the track in a way Chris Martin's never could, and the way he never sings quite on beat actually gives the song a ton of emotion.
  10. Elbow - Jesus is a Rochdale Girl: I love the simplicity of the song.  Just voice and guitar.  Yet, with just those instruments, Elbow's able to convey such a great sense of nostalgia and melancholy.  Also, this is one of the few songs where I feel the lyrics really add something to the song.  They're as specific as the lyrics of a great country song (which, BTW, totally should've won Song of the Year at the Grammy's last year), and really lends a sense of realism to the whole thing.
tl;dr: I like songs. I know too much about them.  I think too much about them.  But damn it, they're all really fucking good, so give the ones you don't already know a listen, would you...pretty please?

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