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Checking it Twice - Favorite Records of the Year
Salon.com | by Thomas Bartlett
Devendra in Top Ten Records and Top 25 Free Downloads
It’s listmaking time, and I’ve got three of them for you. The list of my favorite records of the year ranges from the nearly universally praised (Arcade Fire, Madvillain), to the underrated (Cee-lo), to the unknown (Flashpapr).As for pop and hip-hop, I’m focusing on what it continues to do best, which is singles, not records. If you read my article yesterday, you know that I don’t think it was a particularly exciting or adventurous year for popular music. But even if it wasn’t a great year as a whole, there were plenty of spectacular songs. My ten favorite are below, and some of you may be scandalized to see that Britney, Maroon 5, and (gasp!) even Ashlee made the list. But these are great songs, not guilty or ironic pleasures, so even if you’re allergic to commercial radio, listen exclusively to NPR, do your best to shield yourself from the corrupting influence and soullessness of mass culture—even if all those things are true, give them a listen, because they’re brilliant.
Lastly, since this column is all about downloads, I’ve included a list of my 25 favorite free mp3s of the year. Devoted readers have probably downloaded them all already, but for the rest of you, it’s a nice little mixtape of some of the year’s best music.
Top Ten Records
1. “Cherry Tree EP,†The National
A near perfect EP, both delicate and rugged—like a beaten and battered
but very butch butterfly. Profoundly moving, but without any big
emotional gestures, any trace of sentimentality. I expect great things
from this band.
2. “Funeral,†the Arcade Fire
Passionate, unashamed, and bold, arranged with precision and performed
with joyful, sloppy fervor. A record worthy of all the hype.
3. “Real Gone,†Tom Waits
It all started with Waits beatboxing into a tape recorder in his
bathroom—how badass is that—and out comes this clanging, clattering run
down steamroller of a record, welcome proof that Tom isn’t losing his
edge. His best in over a decade.
4. “Flashpapr,†Flashpapr
A hushed, retiring record, all muted sounds melted together, evoking a
delicate sweet/sad emotion.
5. “Madvillain,†Madvillain
The best of underground hip-hop in 2004, with Madlib’s lush, gently
counter-intuitive beats, and MF Doom’s hypnotic dream logic raps.
6. “La Maison de Mon Reve,†Cocorosie
The atmosphere piece of the year, a cloistered, rainy day reverie of a
record made in a Parisian apartment by two sisters with the voices of
mournful, aged cats.
7. “Cee-lo Green Is The Soul Machine,†Cee-lo
It’s a mystery that Cee-lo, one of the great producers and rappers in
today’s hip-hop scene, not to mention hands down the best singer, has
yet to achieve greater success. An up and down record, but with some of
the highest highs of the year, including brilliant tracks from
Timbaland and the Neptunes—although the best were produced by Cee-lo
himself.
8. “Rejoicing In the Hands,†Devendra Banhart
A legend in the making, the charismatic, enigmatic young songwriter is
the locus of a burgeoning new folk movement. His perfect miniatures are
by turns profound, naïve, mystifying, and almost always touching.
9. “Abattoir Blues/ The Lyre of Orpheus,†Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds
The songwriting record of the year, an extraordinary display by a
master of the craft, the poetry all banged out and burnished, and
shining with the kind of workmanship that only obsessive drive combined
with genius can achieve.
10. “Misery Is A Butterfly,†Blonde Redhead
The most cerebral of bands gives in to long repressed romantic urges
and creates a dark, cinematic beauty.
Honorable mentions: “Medulla,†Bjork; “Not Going Anywhere,†Keren Ann;
“Desperate Youth, Blood Thirsty Babes,†TV On the Radio; “Heroes To
Zeroes,†the Beta Band; “The College Dropout,†Kanye West, “Uh Huh
Her,†PJ Harvey.
Top Ten Singles
1. “This Love,†Maroon 5
2. “Naughty Girl,†Beyonce
3. “99 Problems,†Jay-Z
4. “Toxic,†Britney Spears
5. “Art of Noise,†Cee-lo feat. Pharell
6. “Slow Jamz,†Twista feat. Jaime Foxx and Kanye West
7. “Happy People,†R. Kelly
8. “Through the Wire,†Kanye West
9. “Pieces of Me,†Ashlee Simpson
10. “Over and Over,†Nelly feat. Tim McGraw
Top 25 Free Downloads
1. “You Can’t Blame Me,†Johnson, Hawkins, Tatum & Durr, Salon Exclusive Free Download
2. “Wasp Nest,†the National, Free
Download
3. “Track One,†Panda Bear, Free Download
4. “Accordion,†Madvillain, Salon Exclusive Free Download
5. :The River,†Mârz, Free Download
6. “Neighborhood #2,†the Arcade Fire, Free
Download
7. “Misery Is A Butterfly,†Blonde Redhead, Free
Download
8. “Leave The Place,†Flashpapr, Free Download
9. “Me And Mia,†Ted Leo and the Pharmacists, Free
Download
10. “Paul Ha’Penny,†Martin Hayes & Dennis Cahill, Salon Exclusive Free Download
11. “Run Into Flowers,†M83, Salon Exclusive Free Download
12. “Motel Sex,†Danny Cohen, Free Download
13. “Static On The Radio,†Jim White w/ Aimee Mann, Free Download
14. “It’s Gonna Take An Airplane,†Destroyer, Free Download
15. “The Body Breaks,†Devendra Banhart, Free
Download
16. “Somersault,†Danger Mouse, Free
Download
17. “Live Like A River Town, by Stars Like Fleas,†Free
Download
18. “Last Walk Around Mirror Lake,†Boards of Canada (remix of Boom
Bip), Free
Download
19. “Legacy,†Maylay Sparks, Free
Download
20. “You Make Me Feel,†Milosh Free
Download
21. “On Vacation,†The Robot Ate Me, Free Download
22. “Diamond Day,†Vashti Bunyan, Free
Download
23. “One More Time,†the French Kicks, Free Download
24. “Support Our Troops,†Xiu Xiu, Salon Exclusive Free Download
25. “BMFA,†Martha Wainwright, Free Download