List of the Day: Top 10 Songs of 2010

In 2010 my music habits moved from reactionary to anticipatory. In other-words I stopped trying to play catch-up as much and even managed to pick up a few records on the day they were released, it was like I had a whole new series of holidays to celebrate. I know my days of catch-up are far from over and I'll probably be discovering great albums that were released in 2010 for the rest of my life. But I'd like to think I was at least a little more in touch with cool music that I have been before. So here is some of that cool music presented below in list form. As with my Top Songs of 2009 list there is a one-song-per-band limit.

Top 10 Songs of 2010

10) "Shutterbug" (Big Boi)
Big Boi assembled an all-start cast of southern hip-hop greats for his long-awaited solo debut. If he would have put out that record in a year that Kanye West didn't release an album, Sir Lucious Left Foot might have been the only album indie kids listened to in 2010 instead.

9) "Little Lou, Ugly Jack, Prophet John" (Belle and Sebastian)
Despite having one of the ugliest song titles of the year, this cut off of Belle and Sebastian's latest is a thing of beauty. Norah Jones dueting with Stuart Murdock also somehow makes a ton of sense after hearing it here.

8) "What's My Name" (Rihanna)
If you're toggling through radio stations, you can't take a ten minute drive without hearing Rihanna's voice, and honestly, she's pretty much the only thing making Top 40 radio tolerable right now. I never thought that I would miss snap-rap so much, or at all.

7) "Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains)" (Arcade Fire)
So many bands have tried to replace a lack of meaningful lyrics with vague and abstract ones, Arcade Fire totally bucks that trend and instead is brutally honest and relatable. This track is a perfect example of that almost awkward sentimentality and straightforwardness.

6) "Hurricane J" (The Hold Steady)
At some point I will write at length about how slept on The Hold Steady's 2010 album, Heaven is Whenever was, but in the mean time I'll simply reference this track, which good enough to hang with anything Craig Finn has written.

5) "Rainbow in the Dark" (Das Racist)
I don't know why I like this song so much. Das Racist talk about junk food, girls, the internet, Joe Pesci and nothing that terribly meaningful. Maybe between Odd Future freaking everyone out and Kanye West taking hip-hop to new places, we need a couple of guys who just make fun of everything.

4) "Over" (Drake)
Drake is the Arcade Fire of hip-hop, what he may lack in abstract or mysterious jabbering he more than makes up for with honesty (I honestly forgot they were both from Canada when I thought of that comparison, I swear). He is endlessly fascinated with himself and how great he's become in such a short time. But it's okay because I'm fascinated by it too.

3) "Monster" (Kanye West)
Rick Ross doesn't even need to make full length albums anymore, he should just introduce other rappers in their own songs. The track would already have been better than almost everyone else, and then Nicki Minaj loses her mind. As a bonus, you have Justin Vernon sounding downright evil.

2) "Crown on the Ground" (Sleigh Bells)
You need to listen to this song as loud as possible. I would be honored to lose my hearing at the hands of this hardcore-pop masterpiece.

1) "Tightrope" (Janelle Monáe)
As if Janelle Monáe wasn't talented enough, she proved on this collaboration with Big Boi that she could rap almost as well as she could sing. For more proof, check out the remix, on which she shows up both Lupe Fiasco and B.o.B.