#10: I'll Never Let Go - Snow Patrol (2012)
#9: All at Once - The Airborne Toxic Event (2011)
Most of their songs are good, and they get bonus points for covering a Magnetic Fields song (Book of Love). Here's a nice acoustic version of this one.
#8: Be Calm - fun. (2010)
So I understand these guys have gotten pretty popular. They must have, because I heard them on the music system while I got my last haircut.
#7: Job's Tears - The Incredible String Band (1968)
ISB is really not everyone's cup of tea, especially if you don't like off-key voices and late '60s folk rock. But that particular era is my favorite, and these guys were an overlooked find for me.
#6: The Enemy Guns - Devotchka (2004)
Saw them open for The Magnetic Fields having never heard of them and they kinda' blew me away.
#5: Civilian - Wye Oak (2011)
I liked this song right away, but it took a while for me to love it. Here's a version of the two Baltimore kids on a rooftop in Amsterdam, because why not?
#4: Had Me a Real Good Time - Faces (1971)
Back when Rod Stewart was doing really good songs, he and the boys belted out this one.
#3: The Luckiest - Ben Folds (2001)
About a year ago I bought myself an electronic piano. I had several years of lessons as a kid but hadn't played much since high school, and had never played much contemporary stuff. How fortuitous that I'd discover Ben's stuff about the same time. This was a fun one to learn to play.
#2: Crush - Sleigh Bells (2012)
This duo had two of my favorite songs of 2010 (Tell 'Em and Crown on the Ground) and get my second spot this year too. What a great concept, taking a guy who shreds fuzz guitars and pairing him up with a former girl band front person who sings like a cheerleader?
#1: Jump On Stage - Girl Talk (2010)
All Day is a full album designed to be listened to as such, so there aren't any songs per se. The whole thing is the greatest thing I've heard in a couple years, a series of mashups of hip hop lyrics onto songs from the '60s through today. "Bust a Move" over "Can't Get You Out of My Head?" How about Wiz Khalifa on the Stones (the best one, I think) or Jay-Z set to Modern English? There are several hundred samples on this fabulously produced album, and did I mention it's free? Get it here. In the meantime, "Jump On Stage" is as good as any other song on it (wait until you get to ODB singing over "Creep" and then a mix of Beastie Boys, Iggy Pop, and Lady Gaga at the end), so here you go:
