The Top 100 Songs of 2010, 100-71

       Here we go: my first ever stab at making a top songs of the year list! Just as with albums, a great many details effect my likings: the song's function on its given disc, the degree to which it has been over-played, and the inclination of any music lover to grab a handful of tracks off of their favorite LPs. I'm a victim of all of these, the last one especially, and because of that, there's a distinct possibility that there might appear to be fewer artists mentioned on this list than on many other publications' rundowns. But I'm ok with that. These 100+ tracks represent pretty accurately what I was listening to this year, and because of that I have made minimal attempts to add extra artists for variety's sake. If you like a group's sound, then you do, and year-end-list-making is a terrible time to apologize for that. This also accounts for the fact that many artist's songs are listed in bunches here: It's only logical that the difference in quality between the various songs of one artist would be lesser than that of selected songs from the whole field. It should also be noted that this list contains some songs that actually met the world last year, but were not released on an LP. This categorization leads to the noteworthy inclusion of some older songs (Crown on the Ground, Ambling Alp) as well as some eye-catching omissions (all of Panda Bear's singles). Just throwing it out there. Enjoy: 


100. Galaxy in Janaki---Flying Lotus*
        Cosmogramma’s closer is a shimmering sway, perfect for drives home after long, surreal nights.
99. Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains)---Arcade Fire
        The Suburbs last proper track is joyously defiant and youthfully vivacious, alluding to Blondie, and summing up the album as a whole in even measure.
98. Lost in the World feat. Bon Iver/Who Will Survive in America---Kanye West
        Wow, maybe I only like final tracks. MBDTF’s two-part finale is just as grand as the album itself, fist-pumping beat and fight-the-morning celebration in full-force, all encased in Bon Iver's most unlikely of samples.
97. Stay Close---Delorean*
        On an album full of sunny moments, it only makes sense that the brightest would be the best.
96. Hand Me Downs---The Morning Benders
        The serious-minded antithesis to the rest of Big Echo is bold, tense and dramatic in all the right ways.

95. Screens---Animal Collective

        Perfectly set to a single man canoeing on a moonlit lake in the band’s visual album ODDSAC, Screens is a Beatles-style acoustic journey into a dark and dazzling land.

94. I Can't Feel---Matthew Dear

        In breaking with opener Honey’s eerie, airy vibe, I Can’t Feel confirms that there is indeed something to fear in the Black City, but also something dirty and bass-driven to dance to.

93. Brain Storm (For Erin)---Mark McGuire

        One plucking electric guitar’s swell to sublime catharsis.

92. Me and My Devil---Gil Scott-Heron*     

        Gritty and dirty from first to last, Me and My Devil is a snarling, slow-tempo trip down to hell, and I mean that in the best of ways.

91. Oliver Twist---Avey Tare
        The most distinctive tune on an album far more focused on the whole, Oliver Twist’s electronic pulse gels brilliantly with Tare’s ever-present tendency towards messing with our expectations vocally in a catchy and fun way.

90. Red Lights---Holy Fuck

        Funky in a way that seeps down into your bones, Red Lights will have you dancing or nodding, or it’s your money back.

89. Take It In---Hot Chip*

        The unrelenting overcast of Take It In’s verses shouldn’t fit with the brightening uplift of its chorus, but the fact that they do makes the song just as mesmerizing as it is fun.

88. Tell 'em---Sleigh Bells
       Treats’ lead-off single is all that we have now come to expect from them: Loud, jagged, exciting, loud, and loud.
87. Lewis Takes His Shirt Off---Owen Pallet*
        In an album full of studied orchestral beauty, LTHSO stands out for marrying Pallet’s string-drenched aesthetic with something poppy and bright.

86. Daisy---Fang Island*

        Proof that Fang Island only kind of needs lyrics, Daisy is a chant-packed rock-out session, forsaking standard verse-chorus-verse for unpredictable, free-spirited jamming.

85. Take it Easy---Surfer Blood

        Another jam off an album full of them, Take it Easy has a playful gallop that sets it apart from the rest.

84. Let it Out---Girl Talk
        The Jay-Z opening, the Rihanna/Fugazi combo, anything involving Mr. Blue Sky: Just about all of my favorite moments in All Day are within Let it Out.

83. Abglanz---Pantha du Prince
        Abglanz plays with your ears in ways that songs seldom do, its bass shifts unlike anything on this planet, its otherworldly sway undeniable.
82. Dog Days Are Over---Florence and the Machine*
        This is what anthems are supposed to do: build and build until you can’t help but sing along.
81. Airplanes---Local Natives
        As ready an example of LN’s vocal prowess as any, Airplanes’ harmonies are among the year’s very most gorgeous.

80. The Motion Makes Me Last---Eluvium

       The finest use of Matthew Cooper’s voice to date, TMMML reminds us of how hypnotically beautiful his music can be on an otherwise unflattering album.

79. Solitude is Bliss---Tame Impala*

        Innerspeaker’s best balance of trippy-harmonics and chest-pounding rock.

78. When I'm Small---Phantogram*

        The greatest realization of all that Eyelid Movies is: Dark, Sexy, Bass-Heavy, Beat-Driven, and sultrily-sung by Sarah Barthel.

77. INTIL---Menomena

        On an album full of studied and perfected beauty, this is the real breath-taker.

76. Ready to Start---Arcade Fire

        Swelling perhaps unlike any other song this year, Ready to Start holds out on saying its whole name until just before its fiery churn is over, and when it gets there, you’ll be ready too.

75. Mingus and Pike---The Ruby Suns*

        MaP may take its middle section off, but the colorful euphoria of its opening and the gentle march of its conclusion more than make up for it.

74. Closet Astrologer---The Ruby Suns*

        CA is grand and expansive, the sun-set evening wedged right in the middle of Fight Softly’s afternoon fun.

73. Some Kind of Nature---Gorillaz feat. Lou Reid

        My favorite guest appearance on Plastic Beach, the years and use behind Lou Reid’s voice cause the familiar to sound vaguely foreign, making him the perfect narrorator for SKoN’s bouncy, pastel nightmare.

72. Total Life Forever---Foals*

        Kinda-cheesy, totally awesome ode to friendship in the form of simple chants and pulsating drums and guitar

71. Cranberry---The Ruby Suns

        Fight Softly’s main single is a lush and summer-tinged dance-march in three sections, the middle of which being the album’s most unabashedly blissful.

Hype Starts Here's Top 50 Albums of 2010:

50-41

40-31

30-21

20-11

10-1

Hype Starts Here's Top 100 Songs of 2010:

100-71

70-46

45-26

25-11

10-1