After a great year in music, “The Patriot” is bringing you its editor in chief’s Top 50 Songs of 2009 to go along with the Top 25 Albums of 2009.
49. “The Sound” – Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson
48. “Hate Everyone” – Say Anything
47. “Coast of Carolina” – Telekinesis!
46. “Wilco (The Song) – Wilco
45. “I Cut Like A Buffalo” – The Dead Weather
44. “Fatima” – K’naan
43. “RefRain” – Lean Horse Marathon
42. “Combination Pizza Hut and Taco Bell” – Das Racist and Wallpaper.
41. “Rain On” – Woods
40. “I Want You To Know” – Dinosaur Jr.
39. “Tik Tok” – Ke$ha
38. “Meet Me on the Equinox” – Death Cab for Cutie
37. “Empire State of Mind (feat. Alicia Keys)” – Jay-Z
36. “Light of Local Eyes” – Polar Bear Club
35. “The End” – Vivian Girls
34. “Famous Last Words” – Deerhunter
33. “Paddling Ghost” – Dan Deacon
32. “Day ‘N’ Nite (Crookers Remix)” – Kid Cudi
31. “Sovereignty” – Japandroids
30. “Zero” – Yeah Yeah Yeahs
29. “Actor Out of Work” – St. Vincent
28. “Sleepwalking” – The Jaguar Club
27. “Lust for Life” – Girls
26. “Seasun” – Delorean
24. “Come Saturday” – The Pains of Being Pure at Heart
23. “Now We Can See” – The Thermals
22. “Percussion Gun” – White Rabbits
21. “What Would I Want? Sky” – Animal Collective
20. “Lovesick Teenagers” – Bear in Heaven
19. “While You Wait For the Others” – Grizzly Bear
18. “Crown On the Ground” – Sleigh Bells
17. “Islands” – The xx
16. “ecstasy” – jj
15. “Shelia” – Atlas Sound
14. “You’re A Target” – No Age
13. “What We Know” – Sonic Youth
12. “No Hope Kids” – Wavves
11. “Deadbeat Summer” – Neon Indian
10. “11th Dimension” – Julian Casablancas
Totally different from anything he has ever done with The Strokes before, Casablancas explores the world of synthesizers and world percussion on this track. While the rest of “Phrazes For The Young” didn’t live up to this song, Casablancas had an opportunity to showcase his versatility with a 1980’s dance beat that’s impossible to ignore.
9. “Young Hearts Spark Fire” – Japandroids
Lyrically, this is the third best song of the year (behind “Walkabout” and “Living Saints”). The Japandroids reach down to raw emotion and says things that the listener only wishes they could have thought of. Lines like “Well you can keep tomorrow / After tonight we’re not gonna need it” and “We used to dream / Now we worry about dying” present an entrancing sense of urgency throughout the whole song and seemingly embody what it means to be a teenager.
8. “Little Secrets” – Passion Pit
From the first note of this song, there is an immediate party -like atmosphere. The pounding drums and falsetto vocals can put any listener in a good mood, and the song never gets old. The urge to shout the chorus of “Higher and higher and higher” right along with the music is nearly unavoidable.
7. “1901” – Phoenix
While “Little Secrets” has “Higher and higher and higher,” “1901” has “Falling, falling, falling, falling.” Phoenix conditions this song to climax right at the chorus, while still keeping a quick tempo in the rhythm section.
6. “Stillness Is the Move” – Dirty Projectors
The most noticeable trait of “Stillness Is The Move” is the quality of the voice of Amber Coffman. Her angelic tones are layered over a technical but catchy guitar riff and a tribal drum beat. Additionally, Coffman’s lyrics can make any listener question the meaning of life: “Isn’t life just a mirage of the world before the world?”
5. “My Girls” – Animal Collective
“I just want four walls and adobe slabs for my girls.” That is the line that propelled Animal Collective into indie rock stardom. “My Girls” helped kick start an epic year for these Baltimoreans, now based in Brooklyn, and became an instant defining track of the year.
4. “Living Saints” – Polar Bear Club
Because of their sound, Polar Bear Club has been known as one of the more insightful bands over the years. On “Living Saints,” the single from 2009’s “Chasing Hamburg,” the band looks deeper into friendship. Lines like “All my friends are living saints” and “Growing up isn’t moving on” stay with the listener along with imagery like “It’s been killing me for weeks / A garden weed that cracks concrete / It hasn’t been fair for long / Growing up isn’t moving on.”
3. “Two Weeks” – Grizzly Bear
The brainchild of Edward Droste, Grizzly Bear has evolved from one man’s solo project into a full-fledged band creating intricate pop songs at every opportunity. “Two Weeks” is the crowning achievement off of “Veckatimest” and is easily Grizzly Bear’s most accessible song to the masses. The backing vocals of Daniel Rossen, Chris Taylor, and Christopher Bear create an atmosphere that is rarely heard anywhere else. Plus, Grizzly Bear and “Two Weeks” are appealing to any age bracket. Just ask this kid.
2. “Daylight” – Matt & Kim
From the first notes of “Daylight,” it’s easy to feel that the song is going to stay with the listener for a long time, even after the final chants of “’Cause in the daylight anywhere feels like home” fade away. Kim Schifino’s drums push the pace of the song at breakneck speeds that pull the listener in, while Matt Johnson’s vocals and perky keyboard playing make it impossible for anyone within a 10-mile radius of this song to be depressed.
1. “Walkabout (feat. Noah Lennox)” – Atlas Sound
The ultimate summer song, “Walkabout”, is lyrically and musically the best song of 2009. Noah Lennox (aka Panda Bear) from Animal Collective adds so much to the production with his keyboard loop that is omnipotent throughout the entire song. At the same time, the beat of the song feels almost disjointed, but it is enough to keep the listener’s attention. Lyrically, Bradford Cox reflects on his childhood while offering advice to others that are also looking back. “What did you want to see? / What did you want to be when you grew up?” set up Cox and Lennox’s summery sounds before Cox cautions others at the closing: “Forget the things you’ve left behind / By looking back you may go blind.” Cox creates a commentary on the seemingly constant retrospective nature of society by saying that it prevents people from being able to move on.
Dan Gallen can be reached for comment at [email protected]