List of the Day: Top 10 Songs of 2009

Many people seem to get nostalgic about the music of the past few decades, even people in my age demographic (college-aged) often express their belief that they were born in the wrong musical era. I am not of a similar mindset, I firmly believe that the past ten years of music were the finest ten years of music the world has ever seen. I know that believing that the music you grew up with is the greatest music is about as stereotypical as believing that old music is superior but I'm sticking to my guns. 2009 was a particularly great year for music, which I realized on my college radio show this week, which featured music exclusively 2009. The following ten songs my top choices, with no artist being represented more than once.

Top 10 Songs of 2009

10) Treat Me Like Your Mother (The Dead Weather)
The Dead Weather's first album was notably stronger than their sophomore effort, and was replete with grimy blues-rock standouts. Jack White and Alison Mosshart argument of a song is the strongest track on the record.

9) Woods (Bon Iver)
Off of the Blood Bank EP, Bon Iver's excellent follow up to For Emma, Forever Ago. This song was recently sampled heavily on Kanye West's Lost in the World. The song's copiously layered vocals create a hypnotic gem of a song.

8) Cornerstone (Arctic Monkeys)
Alex Turner's lyrical storytelling gifts have never been more prominent than on this single off of his band's 2009 effort, Humbug. In just over three minutes, Turner recalls his attempts to meet women who resemble his ex-girlfriend, and his eventual and repeated rejection when he asks to call them by his ex's name.


7) That Look You Give That Guy (Eels)
Songs about unrequited love and the heartbreak that results from it, is not an uncommon topic in pop music. And his particular example of that sub-genre of song captures the agony of seeing the woman you love with another man.


6) If It's True (Yo La Tengo)
Ira Kaplan and Georgia Hubley are just adorable. I'm going to start calling them the Mom and Dad of indie-rock.

5) Maybe (Ingrid Michaelson)
A song I first heard on mixtape that was given to me as a gift (which arguably surpasses the vinyl record as the greatest format for experiencing music), this undeniably pretty song has since become a favorite.

4) Rude Boy (Rihanna)
Rihanna is the greatest female pop-star making music today. Lady Gaga might be more of a spectacle, but when it comes to music (have you heard Gaga's trainwrecked cliche of a new song?), Rihanna is the clear winner.

3) Supermagic (Mos Def)
My first encounter with this track by the mighty Mos Def came in the form of it's accompanying tranced-out video. He couldn't have opened The Ecstatic with a stronger song. That record by the way, is the greatest non-Kanye hip-hop album of all time.

2) Keep it Goin' Louder (Major Lazer)
Why can't all pop music be this good? The most radio-friendly cut off of Diplo and Switch's 2009 collaboration with a host of Jamaican musicians will MAKE you move. If you don't you may be a robot (although even a robot should be able to get down to this song).

1) Hysteric (Yeah Yeah Yeahs)
On their third record the Yeah Yeah Yeahs turned out ten amazing dance tracks that didn't compromise the intense emotion that is such a key element of their music. Quite the feat considering the rather soulless quality of most dance music. The lyric that stands out the most, "you suddenly complete me" is impossibly full of a sense of true love.