Top 10 favourite and least favourite songs from the Summer of 2009

Posted: September 20th, 2009 | Author: admin | Filed under: Music | Tags: Top 10 | 2 Comments »

As the internet continues its slow decay into a bottomless pit of Top 10 lists, I thought I’d do my part and offer up my Top 10 favourite and least favourite jams from the summer of 2009. I’ve probably forgotten a few on both sides, but beer will do that to a mental playlist. Anyway, summer’s over, so here we go.

*** Top 10 favourites from the Summer of 2009 ***

Gone, Gone, Gone, Joel Plaskett, Three
Probably my favourite track off Plaskett’s latest album, it’s got great harmonies and piano and slide guitar accompaniment. I saw him play twice this summer, but this tune never made his playlist. Pity.

Swimming in the Flood, Passion Pit, Manners
I heard fragments of this album all spring and it seemed too electro pop for my taste, but I fell for this track and it’s crescendo the first time I heard it all the way through.

Flashover, Howie Beck, How to Fall Down in Public
This song’s got a familiar, almost haunting sound. It’s a dangerous song to play while you’re getting ready to go out because you’ll be tempted to sit and listen to it all night.

New Goodbye, Hey Rosetta!, Into Your Lungs
Like a lot of people, I heard this band for the first time when I was exploring the finalists for this year’s Polaris Prize, and this song stuck. It’s nice to see there’s more to Newfoundland’s music scene than shitty Great Big Sea.

House of Flying Daggers, Raekwon feat. Ghostface Killah, GZA, Method Man & Inspectah Deck
Even though it appears on Raekwon’s album, this is basically a new Wu-Tang joint. Sure it’s missing living members like RZA and Cappadonna, but they’ve got quorum. Plus, it’s produced by J-Dilla, which means it’s certified fresh (although not really, since he died a few years ago of Lupus).

Zero, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, It’s Blitz!
I’ve always said Metric is the poor man’s Yeah Yeah Yeahs and this song reaffirmed that belief for me all summer long – especially with Emily Haines and the boys’ latest re-hashing of Live it Out clogging the airwaves.

Quiet Dog, Mos Def, The Ecstatic
This whole album is dope, but Quiet Dog is the sonic espresso I turn to when the Nabob doesn’t cut it.

My Hands, Jon-Rae Fletcher, Oh Maria
“Well I could kick the shit out of any motherfucker who crosses that line.” Sung over an oompah-band trombone. Gives me a music boner every time.

Death of Autotune, Jay Z, The Blueprint 3
I don’t know if it’s because I was jonesing for new Jay-Z, or because this track reminds me of “Takeover” off the Blueprint I, but I dug this all summer. I’m sick of it now, though.

Execution, Pink Mountaintops, Outside Love
A pretty song with an ugly name, this is another wicked band I discovered while going through the Polaris Prize list. A side project of Black Mountain, this album is full of music, but sometimes sounds like it was recorded with just a couple of mics. Great for when you’re feeling like a low if hipster.

*** Worst music from the Summer of 2009 ***

Hippy Drum Circles
I have hippies for neighbours and I live near a park that’s frequented by hippies and there’s never a fire hose around when you need one.

Birds Outside My Bedroom Window
It rained a lot last year, so I guess these birds didn’t hang around my place as much, but they’ve been out in force this summer, waking me up way too early most days. However, I’m told birds are descended from dinosaurs, so I don’t go near the motherfuckers.

All You Did Was Save My Life, Our Lady Peace, Burn, Burn
Oh man, I hate OLP. This song is the musical equivalent of head lice.

Run This Town, Jay-Z feat. Rihanna & Kanye West
Jay-Z’s one of my favourites of all time, but I hate it when he phones in the glue between cameo appearances on tracks like this. I also really don’t like Rihanna’s voice.

Help I’m Alive, Metric, Fantasies
I know people lover her, but to me, Emily Haines is a heroine addiction away from being Courtney Love. Her voice is nicer, but this band’s basically been re-recording the same song over and over again for years – kind of like what Nickelback does.

I’ll Go Crazy if I Don’t Go Crazy Tonight, U2, No Line on the Horizon
“Every generation has the chance to change the world, pity the nation who won’t listen to your boys and girls.” PUKE. It didn’t help that this song was a BlackBerry ad all summer. If idealist ’80s Bono could see today’s cellphone shilling Bono, he’d kick himself in the dick.

I Gotta Feeling, Black Eyed Peas, The E.N.D.
Holy shit, this song is like H1N1. It’s absolutely everywhere and there’s you can do to stop it. Almost makes me wish that Fergie’s late ’90s meth addiction had stuck.

I’m on a Boat, The Lonely Island, Incedibad
This hip hop parody featuring Andy Samberg and T-Pain was hilarious at first, and then the douchebags took it over and ruined if for everybody just like they did with Happy Gilmore and beers after work.

Live Your Life, T.I. feat. Rihanna
This song’s almost a year old, but it was featured in the hit movie, The Hangover, which I guess was enough for people to dig back out of their iTunes catalogs and blast it all summer. By the way, Rihanna is basically impersonating Cher’ Believe on this track.

Right Round, Flo Rida
If I was ’80s one hit wonders Dead or Alive, I would sue Flo Rida with defamation of character for what he did to this song. Dude makes Diddy look like Phil Spector (’60s genius Phil Spector, not homicidal maniac Phil Spector.)

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