The 100 Best Songs of 2010: #40-31

ROBYN

‘Dancing On My Own’

from the album Body Talk Pt. 1

I must admit I had a bit of an eyeroll when I found out what ‘Dancing On My Own’ was about – it really seemed like an unnecessary retread of themes explored brilliantly in previous singles. But the song is executed perfectly, with rapid fire beats, a euphoric chorus and a wonderful vocal performance. When the music drops out then returns machine-gun style – that’s the kind of little moment that gets Robyn such across-the-board acclaim.

NICKI MINAJ

‘I’m The Best’

from the album Pink Friday

The perfect track to open Pink Friday, ‘I’m The Best’ tells the Nicki Minaj story from the start, with liberal amounts of bragging and clever wordplay to keep it interesting. The crowning moment, however, is the chorus: “I hear they comin’ for me/Because the top is lonely”. Hip-hop is rife with paranoia, from Nas’ classic line “I never sleep, because sleep is the cousin of death” to the entire career of Kanye West. While Nicki tries to enjoy her success, she’s always looking over her shoulder for the next upstart to proclaim herself the “best bitch doin’ it”, which gives ‘I’m The Best’ an extra element of emotion and vulnerability.

SCISSOR SISTERS

‘Any Which Way’

from the album Night Work

I was sure that ‘Invisible Light’ or ‘Night Work’ would follow ‘Fire With Fire’, but when ‘Any Which Way’ was announced as second single from Night Work it made me revisit the song and listen to it in a different way. As if it needed to be released as a single to ensure the brilliance of it wasn’t lost under more immediately impressive songs, it suddenly becomes clear than ‘Any Which Way’ is a complex and well-written track, complete with a glorious spoken bit from Ana Matronic and the kind of amazing chorus it seems this band could write in their sleep.

TAKE THAT

‘SOS’

from the album Progress

Following ‘The Flood’ was no easy task, and ‘SOS’ doesn’t match up to that incredible first single, but it does a great job of moving new old Take That into more adventurous areas single-wise. Whether that works out for them is yet to be seen (if ‘The Flood’ can stall at number two then literally nothing can be considered a surefire megahit “in times like these”), but we can be happy that they made a good choice artistically. The song sort of reminds me of what might happen if Coldplay went electro – and I love Coldplay, but let’s be honest they’d be even better if they went electro – but Chris Martin doesn’t have four other guys to help him out on the vocals when he needs it, and ‘SOS’ benefits from the back-and-forth between multiple vocalists that helps take “male vocal group” songs onto that other level they can sometimes get to when done really well. And this, my friends, is done really well indeed.

TAIO CRUZ ft. KYLIE MINOGUE

‘Higher’

from the album Rokstarr

Blah blah blah generic blah blah blah why wasn’t some album track a single blah blah blah Kylie should only ever do one style blah blah blah X was a mess blah blah blah. A simple pop song with a big dance floor beat never hurt anyone, especially not Kylie Minogue of all people, and while ‘Higher’ might not be deep or complicated, for me it recalls the joyous hooks of her PWL years and I see no problem with that at all. This is a song you don’t think about too much, you just tap your feet and sing along. Not innovative, not revolutionary, but 100% fun. 100% fun is always better than 1% fun and 99% overthinking it.

RIHANNA

‘Only Girl (In The World)’

from the album Loud

‘Only Girl (In The World)’ is the first Rihanna single since ‘Umbrella’ that I have not bought as soon as it went on sale. It wasn’t because I didn’t like it, but because I knew I would buy Loud the moment it was released, and I didn’t feel like spending $2.19 on a song when I could open my window and hear it any time I felt the urge. ‘Only Girl’, with its infectious beats and screamalong chorus, was everywhere I went, it became the type of inescapable pop single that Rihanna seems to attach herself to once every six months or so. ‘Pon De Replay’, ‘SOS’, ‘Umbrella’, ‘Don’t Stop The Music’, ‘Disturbia’, ‘Rude Boy’, and now ‘Only Girl’. And I bet my life there’ll be at least two more we can add to that list by the time this era is over. And the most amazing thing about all this? ‘Only Girl’ doesn’t sound like an obvious retread of anything Rihanna has done before, and neither do any of those songs I just listed. I’m going into a full-on fan mode now but how amazing is it that such an incredible run of megahits could also claim to be so diverse? I LOVE RIHANNA SO MUCH.

TAYLOR SWIFT

‘Back To December’

from the album Speak Now

Wistful guitar? It’s here. Slight country twang, but not so much that it scares off anyone who “wouldn’t normally like that sort of thing”? Present and accounted for. Sweet voice, personal-but-relatable lyrics? All right there. That’s right, you’ve just encountered the 2010 So-Good-It-Hurts Taylor Swift Ballad, and if it weren’t for the piano version of ‘Forever & Always’ I’d have to say ‘Back To December’ is the best T-Swizz ballad ever. The lead single ‘Mine’ might have been more instant but ‘Back To December’ has the more beautiful melody, better lyrics and a more sincere vocal performance. This song is a prime example of why people have taken Taylovelorn into their hearts and their iTunes libraries all over the world: because she writes amazing songs and she sings then in an amazing manner. And that, as Forrest Gump might say, is all I have to say about that (until the next time I find a reason to talk about her).

PET SHOP BOYS

‘Together’

from the album Ultimate

It takes several listens to click but when it does, ‘Together’ will stay in your brain for quite a while. Even my sister was going around the house singing it at one point, perhaps breaking the Guiness World Record for the youngest person to actually hear this song. ‘Together’ was the new single for the hits album Ultimate, and while it doesn’t stack up to previous PSB hits-collection-new-tracks like ‘Was It Worth It?’ or ‘Flamboyant’, it has its own special little identity while staying very much in line with the singles from the recent album Yes. Like so many Pet Shop Boys classics, the beat of ‘Together’ is up while the lyrics are ambiguously down, which, on one hand, ensures a platform for epic remixes, and on the other hand it makes sure you continue thinking about what the song means long after it has finished.

ROBYN

‘Don’t Fucking Tell Me What To Do’

from the album Body Talk Pt. 1

KICKDRUM. I said most of what I have to say about ‘Don’t Fucking Tell Me What To Do’ in my Body Talk Pt. 1 roundup, but I will just say again that it was one of my most played and most loved listening experiences of the year.

KE$HA

‘Your Love Is My Drug’

from the album Animal

In January I labelled ‘Your Love Is My Drug’ the first truly classic pop single of 2010. And while over the next twelve months thirty songs emerged which I thought were ultimately better, I still pretty much stand by what I said. One thing is certain: it still boasts one of the best hooks of the year, especially because Ke$ha sounds absolutely ridiculous while singing it. “YA LAV, YA LAV, YA LAV” she yells, completely free and unconcerned with staying within any limits or boundaries. And seriously, “I like your beard”? My heart explodes with joy every time. I can’t even.

The 100 Best Songs Of 2010: #60-51

CHRISTINA AGUILERA

‘Not Myself Tonight’

from the album Bionic

I feel pretty bad for everyone involved with ‘Not Myself Tonight’, because I assume they lived with the song for so long that they came to understand how good it really was, but it is very much a “grower”. In an age where many people will listen to a song once on YouTube before making a decision on how good or bad it is, ‘Not Myself Tonight’ was destined to sound underwhelming. But there are so many little bits here that take time to make themselves known: “I don’t give a OWWW”, the rapid fire bridge, that middle eight where Christina gets to have a proper wail – only for it to be broken up by an electro stutter, not to mention the chorus, which followed me around in my head for weeks before I gave in and admitted that it was, like the rest of this song, actually amazing.

ROBYN

‘Hang With Me’

from the album Body Talk Pt. 2

This might have the best chorus of all the Body Talk singles, coasting along on Robyn’s trademark bleeps with just the right amount of weariness and excitement. While she plays the victim on ‘Be Mine!’ and ‘Dancing On My Own’, on ‘Hang With Me’ Robyn takes charge of the relationship. This time she’ll be one breaking hearts. “I know what’s on your mind/There will be time for that too/If you hang with me” – perhaps in the past, rampant sexual desire led to an unstable relationship, and that won’t be happening again. But does she really want to “hang” with this guy for ages just to protect her own heart? There’s a hint in the uncertainty of that vocal.

EMINEM ft. LIL’ WAYNE

‘No Love’

from the album Recovery

One of the most chilling moments on Recovery, ‘No Love’ bases itself around a Haddaway sample and strikes a perfect balance between the trademark styles of both Eminem and Lil’ Wayne. The first half sees Wayne laidback but disappointed, betrayed and yet confident, ready to cut out anyone who crosses him. His icy demeanour is threatening enough, but Eminem goes even harder, trading Wayne’s cool for intense anger, in true Slim Shady style. The slight failure of Relapse seemed to spurn Eminem into some of his most vicious raps in 2010, at least in delivery if not lyrics, and ‘No Love’ is one of the best songs he lent his voice to this year.

PROFESSOR GREEN ft. LILY ALLEN

‘Just Be Good To Green’

from the album Alive Till I’m Dead

Like a good pair of leads in a film, Professor Green and Lily Allen exploit their characters so well in ‘Just Be Good To Green’, playing off each other and disappearing so far into their chosen personas that it almost becomes parody. Apart from their vocal duel, one of the most underrated aspects of ‘Just Be Good To Green’ is the instrumental, which takes tiny little elements from the retro revival from a few years back, mixes them with a hip-hop beat and then lifts it all up into the chorus perfectly. That we get lines delivered as wonderfully as the “I ain’t never gonna change, are you ever gonna realise?” bit is just a bonus.

KE$HA

‘Take It Off’

from the album Animal

In an explosion of Auto-Tuned bliss, ‘Take It Off’ explodes out of the speakers, grabs you by the neck and slams you face first into the dance floor. Watch out there aren’t any stray bottles down there though, because that could hurt. With one of the classic screamalong choruses of the year, you forget all the questions that come with this song (why isn’t anybody slipping over in all that glitter on the floor? does she ever brush her teeth with a toothbr-oh wait that was ‘Tik Tok’) and just lose yourself like Eminem in 8 Mile.

BENNY BENASSI ft. KELIS, APL.DE.AP & JEAN-BAPTISTE

‘Spaceship’

In just over three minutes, we get the only Benny Benassi single to catch my attention since ‘Able To Love’, featuring Apl.De.Ap in the best thing he’s been involved in since ‘Boom Boom Pow’, and Kelis in her best song since… well, the last amazing one. This is a club song, for sure, with those endless repetitions of “get high”, but Kelis gives it a bit of a “mystical” twist with her floaty vocals, which suit the track perfectly and elevate it above your average dance floor anthem.

HURTS

‘Better Than Love’

from the album Happiness

The deep, dramatic vocals, the soaring chorus, the frantic ‘I Feel Love’-style bits: it’s all been said before I need to say it again, this is totally eighties. Like the atmosphere of Tears For Fears had a baby with the pop sensibilities of Culture Club, which then grew up to marry early Eurythmics, ‘Better Than Love’ manages to be an affectionate nod to the sounds of yesteryear while never sounding like a mere tribute. Buried underneath all the “is this from 1983 or 2010?” is a really, really fantastic song.

MICHAEL JACKSON

‘Much Too Soon’

from the album Michael

As I said in my review of Michael, ‘Much Too Soon’ lives up to that simple title. We all know Michael and his producers had a tendency to overproduce – for better and for worse, usually better – but on ‘Much Too Soon’, there is not too much to speak of other than a quiet few instruments and Michael’s voice. Like one of his classic Motown ballads, except with his adult voice, ‘Much Too Soon’ is lyrically slight and vocally very fragile and subtle. “And would you like to go with me?/And she answered no to me” is an awkwardly structured pair of lines but it works so well with the other elements of the song – it is perhaps the most “classic Michael” moment on the new album.

JANELLE MONÁE

‘Cold War’

from the album The ArchAndroid: Suites II & III

‘Cold War’ and ‘Tightrope’ are like part one and part two, and while ‘Tightrope’ is cooler and more relaxed, ‘Cold War’ screeches along on huge, amazing drums, while Janelle rampages over the top. “This is a cooooold waaar, you better know what you’re fighting for” she tells us, and while guitars appear for a quick solo here and there, instruments and beats drop in and out all over the place. A complicated hot mess, ‘Cold War’ was one of the most exhilirating singles of the year.

MASSIVE ATTACK & TUNDE ADEBIMPE

‘Pray For Rain’

from the album Heligoland

The standout track on Heligoland was the album opener, which manages to translate that feeling of an impending storm into music. Featuring vocals from TV On The Radio’s Tunde Adebimpe, the song unfolds slowly and quietly, with lyrics full of beautiful imagery and an insistent drum pattern which guides everything forward. Reminiscent of the best tracks from 100th Window, like ‘Butterfly Caught’, ‘Future Proof’ and ‘A Prayer For England’, ‘Pray For Rain’ uses haunting vocals to build an otherworldly atmosphere like only Massive Attack can.

The 100 Best Songs Of 2010: #100-91

IRON MAIDEN

‘El Dorado’

from the album The Final Frontier

Opening with the same little instrumental sounds that made the Dance Of Death album catch my attention seven years ago, ‘El Dorado’ crunches along with the trademark heavy-but-melodic guitars, Bruce Dickinson’s unmistakeable voice singing lyrics that (grandpa alert) I can actually hear, which I always appreciate in rock music like this. The Final Frontier is a great album if not a career high and this song is an easy standout to demonstrate how solid it was.

KATIE NOONAN & THE CAPTAINS

‘Page One’

from the album Emperor’s Box

Katie Noonan has done so many genres over the past decade that sometimes it is hard to keep up – is she doing pop, rock, jazz, classical or house this time? But with her new band The Captains she goes back to the sound she became famous for with her first outfit George – symphonic rock with her unique voice up front soaring along beautifully. ‘Page One’ was the first single from Emperor’s Box and recalls the best George track, ‘Release’, which is also one of the greatest songs I’ve ever heard, so that’s quite a compliment in my book.

DURAN DURAN

‘All You Need Is Now’

from the album All You Need Is Now

Everything Duran Duran have done post-’Electric Barbarella’, with the exception of ‘(Reach Up For The) Sunrise’, has completely passed me by, so I’m not sure how much of a return to form this actually is, but it certainly sounds a lot like their early eighties material from classic albums like Rio and Seven And The Ragged Tiger. Those big choruses and that signature sound facilitated some of the best songs to come out of the eighties, and ‘All You Need Is Now’ continues that legacy quite brilliantly into Duran Durans fourth decade.

MEAT LOAF

‘Los Angeloser’

from the album Hang Cool Teddy Bear

There were plently of great moments on Hang Cool Teddy Bear (“I can barely fit my dick in my pants”, anyone?), but Meat Loaf is at his best when he plays the everyman, even within the bombastic production he is known for. Over the years he has given hope to men like him that they can get with women like Cher, Patti Russo and Marion Raven, but here he embraces the loser within over one of his catchiest choruses. A bit understated for a Meat Loaf song, but excellent nonetheless.

ROBYN

‘Indestructible’

from the album Body Talk

First appearing as a gorgeous acoustic/orchestral ballad on Body Talk Pt. 2, ‘Indestructible’ was then updated to become one of Robyn’s classic singles. “I’m gonna love you like I’ve never been hurt before” is up there with her best lyrics, and evokes the heartbreak that made “you never were, and you never will be mine” and “I don’t look back, but I’m dying with every step I take” two of the most emotional moments in the history of pop. Completing the 2010 Robyn Trilogy of Brilliance that began with ‘Dancing On My Own’ and ‘Hang With Me’, ‘Indestructible’ is an obvious highlight of the Body Talk series.

GORILLAZ

‘Stylo’

from the album Plastic Beach

Compared to their last two lead singles, ‘Clint Eastwood’ and ‘Feel Good Inc.’, ‘Stylo’ might seem a bit too subtle, but it ushers in a new sound for Gorillaz while making sure they keep that identity they’ve been cultivating for the past ten years. Bouncing along on a relentless beat that worms its way into your brain, various layers of sung and rapped vocals intertwine with all sorts of little noises and bleeps and sound effects to make a little symphony, and one that might take a few listens to reveal itself.

COURT YARD HOUNDS

‘The Coast’

from the album Court Yard Hounds

The biggest revelation that came with the release of Court Yard Hounds was just how good the voices of Emily Robison and Martie Maguire really are, and even though in the Dixie Chicks they can’t help but be vocally overshadowed by Natalie Maines, it is nice to hear them shine on their side-project. ‘The Coast’ is a breezy little country-pop number that reminds me of the carefree early Natalie-era Dixie Chicks material, with a maturity that comes from age and from spending a long time making country music. I’m holding out for a new Chicks album soon but I’d still be eager to hear more from these two on their own.

TRACEY THORN

‘Why Does The Wind?’

from the album Love And Its Opposite

It makes sense that within the simple, suburban landscape of Love And Its Opposite, ‘Why Does The Wind?’ would sound like it is played on a very cheap or very old keyboard. It completely works in this context, and gives the song a special atmosphere that not only sets it apart from the rest of the album, but apart from pretty much every other song I heard this year. First single ‘Oh, The Divorces!’ was more quiet and sad, but ‘Why Does The Wind?’ takes us back to the pre-house nineties recordings of Everything But The Girl. “Why does the wind blow through my house at night?” is the lyric that defines one of the most interesting albums of 2010.

KYLIE MINOGUE

‘Aphrodite’

from the album Aphrodite

Kylie has flirted with R&B beats over her career but from the first few seconds of ‘Aphrodite’, you almost expect a rapper to enter rather than a high female voice asking “Can you feel me on your stereo?” and then launching into one of the more adventurous tracks on Kylie’s eleventh album. “I’m fierce and I’m feeling mighty/I’m a golden girl, I’m an aphrodite” she sings, with abandon and confidence that was missing on some of the songs from previous record X.

ANTONY AND THE JOHNSONS

‘Thank You For Your Love’

from the album Swanlights

There is a certain comfort that I get from songs like ‘Thank You For Your Love’ – they sound exactly like they should. Sometimes, just an artist doing what they do best is completely enough to make a song great, and Antony floats through ‘Thank You For Your Love’ with such ease that it almost feels too easy to praise it. The voice, all the instrumental flourishes, all the cryptic lyrics we’ve come to expect: they’re all here and they all sound as lovely as they did four albums ago.

The 26 Best Albums Of 2010: #6. Robyn – Body Talk Pt. 1

Released June 14, 2010

1. Don’t Fucking Tell Me What To Do
2. Fembot
3. Dancing On My Own
4. Cry When You Get Older
5. Dancehall Queen
6. None Of Dem ft. Röyksopp
7. Hang With Me (Acoustic Version)
8. Jag Vet En Dejlig Rosa

Robyn’s 2005 self-titled album was a work of such staggering brilliance that it seems any follow-up would be a disappointment. Maybe as a way to try and avoid this, Robyn planned three albums in 2010: Body Talk Pt. 1, Body Talk Pt. 2, and then a “best of Body Talk” style compilation with new songs. This approach has pros and cons galore, but overall it’s been great for her artistically.

The best song from the entire saga opens Body Talk Pt. 1, which is also the best album Robyn put out this year. ‘Don’t Fucking Tell Me What To Do’ is one of those “celebrity has a whinge” songs, but with a difference – instead of crying about the paparazzi or the horrid pressures of being an international “songstress”, Robyn simply deadpans a list of all the things that are killing her. Her label, her drinking, her smoking, her mother. There is no plea for sympathy, just a matter-of-fact presentation. Take it or leave it. The fact that the instrumental is absolutely brilliant makes this song even better and more enjoyable. After all her perfect hit singles on the previous album, who would have thought the best song on Body Talk would be the least commercial?

‘Fembot’ should be a cliché-ridden mess on paper but Robyn takes the so-played-out-it’s-not-even-funny popstar-as-robot trend and makes it work yet again. ‘Dancing On My Own’ is a ‘With Every Heartbeat’-style electroballad that manages to form it’s own identity while recalling past glory, and the three songs that anchor the middle of the record each keep it moving in the forward direction quite nicely. ‘Dancing On My Own’ was the big single but it could have been any of the songs from ‘Fembot’ through ‘None Of Dem’ – and you can’t help but think they wouldn’t all sound so amazing if they were featured on a longer, full-length album. There’s no chance for the brilliance to get watered down here.

Two lovely ballads later and Body Talk Pt. 1 is over. Thirty minutes, eight songs, one of the albums of the year. Regardless of how the other albums sounded and ignoring whether the overall project was a success or not, this is the example of how to make a great pop album: no filler, not a second wasted, and nothing but great songs.