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Best Songs of the Decade

songsdecade
[graphic by Copycat]

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[list by Jon Behm]

#1) Talib Kweli “Get By” (live performance review)
Close to my favorite hip hop song ever, Kweli combines a positive message with a stunning Nina Simone sample. I will never get tired of this song.
Purchase | Official | MySpace | Wikipedia

#2) Beirut “A Sunday Smile” (live performance review)
My favorite track from one of the best bands of the decade, this song is a perfect combination of sweet and melancholy.
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#3) Justice “D.A.N.C.E.” (live performance review)
Edges out M.I.A.’s “Paper Planes” as the best dance jam of the decade.
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#4) Sufjan Stevens “Casimir Pulaski Day” (live performance review)
A song so beautiful that I don’t even mind the serious religious undertones.
Purchase | Official | Twitter | MySpace | Wikipedia

#5) DeVotchKa “Queen of the Surface Streets”
I was a bit lost in the early-oughts and this song helped me learn to love music again.
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#6) Bon Iver “Skinny Love”
I am not sure what happened out at Justin Vernon’s Wisconsin cabin, but whatever it was produced this heart-breakingly spare and gorgeous tune.
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Bon Iver “Skinny Love” [MP3]

#7) Sigur Rós “Staralfur”
The power of this song is so great it made even a silly moment in The Life Aquatic seem deep and profound. The slow musical build is nothing short of breathtaking.
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#8) Les Savy Fav “The Lowest Bitter”
Most of my songs on here are kind of depressing, luckily this one rocks them all out of the water.
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#9) Andrew Bird “A Nervous Tic Motion of the Head to the Left” (live performance review)
Andrew Bird is pretty much a musical virtuoso. I have always preferred his live show to his albums but this song is the one exception that always sounds better on record. It is truly exceptional.
Purchase | Official | Twitter | MySpace | Wikipedia

#10) Jolie Holland “Mexican Blue” (artist interview)
The loveliest song off of a tragically underrated album. For some reason Holland unfortunately never plays it live.
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Honorable mentions: Madcon “Beggin’” & Cat Power “The Greatest.”

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[list by Adam Bubolz]

#1) Radiohead “Idioteque”
Purchase | Official | MySpace | Wikipedia

#2) Ted Leo & the Pharmacists “Where Have All The Rude Boys Gone?”
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Ted Leo & the Pharmacists “Where Have All The Rude Boys Gone?” [MP3]

#3) TV On The Radio “Staring At The Sun”
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#4) The Mountain Goats “The Best Ever Death Metal Band in Denton”
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#5) Sparklehorse (feat. PJ Harvey) “Piano Fire”
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#6) Guided By Voices “Glad Girls”
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#7) The Notwist “Pilot”
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#8) Luna “Speedbumps”
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#9) Meneguar “House Of Cats”
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Meneguar “House of Cats” [MP3]

#10) The Knife “Heartbeats”
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#11) LCD Soundsystem “All My Friends” (album review)
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#12) Vivian Girls “Where Do You Run To?” (live performance review)
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#13) Fog “Pneumonia”
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#14) Burial “Archangel” (album review)
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#15) Mclusky “Lightsaber Cocksucking Blues”
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[list by Josh Keller]

#1) LCD Soundsystem “All My Friends” (album review)
Purchase | Official | MySpace | Wikipedia

#2) Ghostface Killah “Big Girl”
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#3) TV on the Radio “I Was a Lover” (album review)
Purchase | Official | MySpace | Wikipedia

#4) Wilco “Jesus, etc.” (album review)
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#5) Why? “The Hollows” (live performance review)
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#6) The Roots “The Seed 2.0″
Purchase | Official | Twitter | MySpace | Wikipedia

#7) Sufjan Stevens “Jacksonville” (live performance review)
Purchase | Official | Twitter | MySpace | Wikipedia

#8) The Coral “Dreaming of You” (track review)
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#9) The Walkmen “In the New Year”
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#10) Grizzly Bear “While You Wait for the Others” (album review)
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Grizzly Bear “While You Wait For The Others (live on KCRW)” [MP3]

#11) Cut Copy “Out There on the Ice”
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#12) Grizzly Bear “The Knife (Girl Talk remix)”
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Grizzly Bear “The Knife (Girl Talk remix)” [MP3]

#13) Peter and the Wolf “Safe Travels” (track review)
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#14) Hercules and the Love Affair “Blind” (album review)
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#15) The Mountain Goats “No Children” (track review)
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Honorable mentions: LCD Soundsystem “Losing My Edge,” Gorillaz “Clint Eastwood,” The Flaming Lips “Do You Realize,” Bob Dylan “Mississippi,” Outkast “Hey Ya,” Bright Eyes “First Day of My Life,” Gnarls Barkley “Crazy,” Wolf Parade “Kissing the Beehive,” Phoenix “Listzomania,” Band of Horses “The Funeral,” Antony and the Johnsons “Hope There’s Someone,” Hold Steady “Positive Jam,” Ted Leo “Timorous Me,” Handsome Furs “I’m Confused,” Burial “Archangel.”

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Top Songs of 2008 | Top Songs of 2009

4 Comments

    Great lists. Being the hip-hop head that I am, I’d be inclined to add Jay-Z’s “99 Problems.”

  • I love the seed 2.0

  • Jon Behm, I’m really interested in some of your choices from other years. Are there archives for them? There’s some really insightful descriptions you’ve made here.

    Particularly the Bon Iver, Sufjan Stevens and Jolie Holland ones. Thanks for that.

  • hahaha insightful…. lol

    more songs for the lists would equal more of my interest

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