The 100 Best Songs Of 2011: 70-61
70. BAD MEETS EVIL ft. BRUNO MARS ‘Lighters’
Credit where credit is due: the usually okay-at-best-but-not-The-Lazy-Song-that’s-just-horrific Bruno Mars is great here, as the nearly anonymous chorus-vocalist in this, the big hit single from Bad Meets Evil’s 2011 mini-album/EP/whatever. Eminem and Royce Da 5’9″ reunited this year for Hell: The Sequel, which just missed out on being in my top albums of the year, and ‘Lighters’ is a big cry-along melodrama which reminds me of past Eminem classics like ‘Sing For The Moment’ and ‘Like Toy Soldiers’. The glory of ‘Lighters’ is in the anxiety of the verses giving way to the chorus, and producers The Smeezingtons (which means Bruno again) bring the pop sensibility they brought to past triumphs ‘Fuck You’ and ‘Grenade’.
69. JAY-Z & KANYE WEST ‘H•A•M’
Another one of those apparent “disappointments” I cannot fathom – ‘H•A•M’ is fucking awesome, was the perfect lead-in for Watch The Throne, and deserved to be on the main tracklist. That cascading choir during the chorus (all this alliteration, I feel like Courtney Stodden) makes this feel like some ancient epic sent to us through the power of time travel, and while Kanye is weaker than usual, Jay-Z is at his best here. That “really half a milli” section is one of my favourite bits of any song released this year.
68. COLDPLAY ‘Every Teardrop Is A Waterfall’
I love the lyrics in this, which copped a bit of flack for being “cheesy”. Cheesy is fine by me when it sounds this good, and lines like “cathedrals in my heart” are so beautiful and ridiculous that I can’t help but fall in love. ‘Every Teardrop Is A Waterfall’ is, yes, built for stadiums and crowd participation, but it’s also a song about having a personal, one-on-one relationship with music. Sound sugary and saccharine? You bet, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.
67. FLORENCE + THE MACHINE ‘Shake It Out’
I don’t think Flo is that much like Kate Bush, they’re just both English and have red hair, but ‘Shake It Out’ feels like her ‘Running Up That Hill’. It’s a shout-it-from-the-mountain anthem that feels like a bomb dropping in slow motion, and now that I’m listening to it again I feel like it is the female version of the Coldplay epics we’ve been discussing previously. With some of the best lyrics of the year, this is a summation of everything Florence is about, and it very nearly tops her best song, ‘Rabbit Heart’. Nearly.
66. LADY GAGA ‘Yoü And I’
Shania lives! Like ‘Marry The Night’, ‘Yoü And I’ is not the right choice for a single and the video was boring but it is a great track in its own right. It has already proven itself as a rousing live anthem and whether you’re a fan of ballad Gaga or not, it’s hard to deny that ‘Yoü And I’ has some great lyrics and a surprisingly authentic classic rock feel. “Muscle cars drove a truck right through my heart” is one of my favourite lines on Born This Way, and while the video and the drag king stupidity left a bad taste in my mouth, it still didn’t ruin this excellent song.
65. ALEXANDRA STAN ‘Mr. Saxobeat’
I’m so happy The Cheeky Girls are still influencing pop all these years later. This piece of European trash gloriousness is straight from the nineties and I couldn’t be more pleased. It even cracked America! Alexandra Stan rides this 1995 beat with her nonsensical ode to the titular Mr. Saxobeat, who could really be anyone or anything – who cares. The melody and the throwback vibe is the star here, and I hope Alexandra continues to revive Alice Deejay and doesn’t become a one-hit wonder.
64. KATE BUSH ‘Snowflake’
The opening track on 50 Words For Snow is one of the slowest and most atmospheric Kate songs ever. With lead vocal taken by Kate’s son Bertie, who sounds almost creepily like the choirboy on 1982′s ‘All The Love’, ‘Snowflake’ drifts along very gently, with Kate dropping in every now and then. Of course, she is playing the beautifully simply piano during the song, and the mix of voices and sounds are deceptively straightforward. This uncomplicated track is the important introduction into the world Kate has built for this remarkable album.
63. RUPAUL ‘Glamazon’
The extravaganza of this song! ‘Glamazon’ is a monstrous werqout that sashays and shantés all over the place. With OTT lyrics like “SASHAY! SHANTÉ! PANTHER ON THE RUNWAY!” and a huge, catchy chorus, this is simply a boatload of fun. Keeping in with Ru’s key theme of being yourself and being fabulous, this tale of a “female phenomenon” is presented as being about one person, but it’s really about anybody who has confidence in themselves and isn’t afraid to show a bit of realness in the way they carry themselves.
62. BRITNEY SPEARS ‘I Wanna Go’
‘I Wanna Go’ is one of my most played songs of the year but I’m putting it a little bit low on this list because it really does sound a lot like the single that directly preceded it, ‘Till The World Ends’. But the track has its own unique charms, including Britney’s not entirely convincing claim that she hasn’t already shown us all the dirt she’s got running through her mind. We remember ‘Touch Of My Hand’, girl! Such filth. But the pure pop rush of the chorus and the awesome video made sure ‘I Wanna Go’ was a huge hit (in America at least) and one of the clear standouts on the defining Femme Fatale.
61. BEYONCÉ ft. ANDRE 3000 ‘Party’
This is so old school (old school for me = late nineties). I feel like TLC are about to pop up on guest vocals, or at least Missy Elliott. And we do get a star from yesteryear as a guest in Andre 3000 – when Outkast get another album out I’ll call him current again – whose precise, laid-back flow fits this beat perfectly. Meanwhile, Beyoncé gets her swagu (I don’t know what that is) on and rolls around in the four-poster-bed that is the ‘Party’ instrumental. The “we like to partayyy” hook is infectious and this trip back in time is a centrepiece of the uneven 4.
