Each year when Pitchfork posts their annual Top 100 Songs Of XXXX you can be sure to find a number of hip-hop and popular radio tracks filtered into the electronic and indie stuff. Makes sense: Those genres and/or sensibilities can result in great singles. You generally see less harsh noise or heavy metal or whatever… This year you see no metal. Not even the more popular stuff. Which is strange when you consider how good certain individual tracks are on Blue Record (or how much some folks love Crack The Skye), but not surprising. What’s also not surprising is which song landed at No. 1. We like to joke about the Animal Collective > Grizzly Bear thing, but it comes into play heavily when you hit the Top 25. As do Phoenix. Personally, I’m glad a darker (and at times gothier) vibe reared its head again in ’09 via popular artists like Fever Ray, Bat For Lashes, HEALTH, Pictureplane, etc. I’m also happy to see Destroyer’s “Bay Of Pigs” because that song’s incredible. Girls make a deservedly strong showing. tUnE-yArDs pops up on the heels of her ecstatic Dirty Projectors opening sets. (Of course, DP are in there, too.) If you find yourself stressing the results, no worries: You’ll get plenty of “chillwave” to calm you down.
100 Darkstar – “Aidy’s Girl’s a Computer”
99 Julianna Barwick – “Bode”
98 Future of the Left – “Arming Eritrea”
97 The Smith Westerns – “Be My Girl”
96 Gucci Mane [Feat. Plies] – “Wasted”
95 The Thermals – “Now We Can See”
94 Best Coast – “Sun Was High (So Was I)”
93 Morrissey – “Something is Squeezing My Skull”
92 Cam’ron – “I Hate My Job”
91 HEALTH – “Die Slow”
90 The-Dream – “Rockin’ That Shit”
89 No Age – “You’re a Target”
88 Passion Pit – “Moth’s Wings”
87 Here We Go Magic – “Fangela”
86 Drake – “Best I Ever Had”
85 Wavves – “No Hope Kids”
84 Junior Boys – “Parallel Lines”
83 Lady Gaga – “Paparazzi”
82 DJ Kaos – “Love the Nite Away (Tiedye remix)”
81 Bowerbirds – “Northern Lights”
80 YACHT – “Psychic City (Voodoo City)”
79 Pictureplane – “Goth Star”
78 Charlotte Gainsbourg – “IRM”
77 Frida Hyvönen – “Jesus Was a Cross Maker”
76 The Rural Alberta Advantage – “Don’t Haunt This Place”
75 Gold Panda – “Quitter’s Raga”
74 Neon Indian – “Should Have Taken Acid With You”
73 Woods – “Rain On”
72 Matt & Kim – “Daylight”
71 A Sunny Day in Glasgow – “Close Chorus”
70 Discovery – “Orange Shirt”
69 Taylor Swift – “You Belong With Me”
68 Röyksopp [Feat. Robyn] – “The Girl and the Robot”
67 Arctic Monkeys – “Cornerstone”
66 Julian Casablancas – “11th Dimension”
65 The Tough Alliance – “A New Chance (The Juan MacLean Remix)”
64 Annie – “Songs Remind Me of You”
63 Real Estate – “Fake Blues”
62 Volcano Choir – “Island, IS”
61 Atlas Sound [Feat. Lætitia Sadier] – “Quick Canal”
60 Kurt Vile – “Freeway”
59 tUnE-yArDs – “Sunlight”
58 Fever Ray – “If I Had a Heart”
57 Sleigh Bells – “Crown on the Ground”
56 John Talabot – “Sunshine”
55 Bat For Lashes – “Glass”
54 Joker & Ginz – “Purple City”
53 The xx – “Islands”
52 St. Vincent – “Actor Out of Work”
51 Antony and the Johnsons – “Aeon”
50 Matias Aguayo – “Rollerskate”
49 Yo La Tengo – “Here to Fall”
48 Destroyer – “Bay of Pigs”
47 Yeah Yeah Yeahs -”Heads Will Roll”
46 Memory Tapes – “Bicycle”
45 The Flaming Lips [Feat. Karen O] – “Watching the Planets”
44 Jay-Z [Feat. Alicia Keys] – “Empire State of Mind”
43 Camera Obscura – “French Navy”
42 The Big Pink – “Velvet”
41 Major Lazer [Feat. Nina Sky and Ricky Blaze] – “Keep It Goin’ Louder”
40 Bear in Heaven – “Lovesick Teenagers”
39 Lady Gaga – “Bad Romance”
38 Dirty Projectors and David Byrne -”Knotty Pine”
37 Surfer Blood – “Swim”
36 Fever Ray – “When I Grow Up”
35 Micachu and the Shapes – “Golden Phone”
34 Atlas Sound [Feat. Noah Lennox] – “Walkabout”
33 DJ Quik and Kurupt – “9x’s Outta 10″
32 The Very Best [Feat. Ezra Koenig] – “Warm Heart of Africa”
31 Lily Allen – “The Fear”
30 The Pains of Being Pure at Heart – “Young Adult Friction”
29 jj – “Ecstasy”
28 Neko Case – “This Tornado Loves You”
27 Four Tet – “Love Cry”
26 Bon Iver – “Blood Bank”
25 Cass McCombs – “You Saved My Life”
24 Basement Jaxx – “Raindrops”
23 Animal Collective – “Brother Sport”
22 Delorean – “Seasun”
21 Raekwon [Feat. Ghostface Killah, Inspectah Deck, & Method Man] – “House of Flying Daggers”
20 Japandroids – “Young Hearts Spark Fire”
19 Joker – “Digidesgin”
18 The Big Pink – “Dominos”
17 Fuck Buttons – “Surf Solar”
16 The xx – “Crystalised”
15 Girls – “Hellhole Ratrace”
14 Joy Orbison – “Hyph Mngo”
13 Neon Indian – “Deadbeat Summer”
12 Grizzly Bear – “While You Wait for the Others”
11 Animal Collective – “What Would I Want? Sky”
10 Washed Out – “Feel It All Around”
09 Girls – “Lust for Life”
08 Phoenix – “Lisztomania”
07 Big Boi [Feat. Gucci Mane] – “Shine Blockas”
06 Yeah Yeah Yeahs – “Zero”
05 Grizzly Bear – “Two Weeks”
04 Bat For Lashes – “Daniel”
03 Phoenix – “1901″
02 Dirty Projectors – “Stillness Is the Move”
01 Animal Collective – “My Girls”
You can dig into the accompanying blurbs at P4K.
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Kurt Vile – Freeway. Best song this year. Can I get a witness?
I don’t know about the best, but he definitely had some killer tunes. I can’t pick my favorite of his.
No. You can get a witness for “Dominos” by the Big Pink.
You cannot get a witness on Kurt Vile’s “Freeway.” Constant Hitmaker was released in 2008, or believe me, Kurt Vile would be MUCH CLOSER to the top of my list since I really wasn’t feeling Childish Prodigy. Try again.
ZIP! ZIP! ZIP???
Seriously, who’s gonna be a gem and post a zip? It would be much appreciated.
yes, zip please.
adam from madison, we need you
LOL. Note to Videogum — we have memes too.
http://bit.ly/4Zw1l6
Hah!
per usual, no end-of-the-year ‘fork love for Krug. “idiot heart”???!?!?!
Not enough wrong with it to raise a beef really…
I’ll be the first to say it, This list sucks balls.
Summertime Clothes and No More Runnin are easily better than brothersport my girls
Why no Black Lips?
Wild Beasts?
^ BEEF RAISED.
I’m gonna second this beef, No More Runnin has been one of my favorite tracks off MPP.
I second the Wild Beasts. I expected to at least see All the King’s Men, but so show. Sad
well, it doesnt totally suck balls. but its pretty close. anything with lady gaga AND wavves is asking for me to puke. so yeah, i dont know what they were thinking. and at this point im thinking they put my girls as number one because everyone else did? its not a bad song.. but there are songs i like better.
daily routine (phaseone remix?) is most defiantly better then brothersport.
and i think turn my swag on should get some love.
also, cool knowledge may have been the best song of the year.
The Horrors have really gotten screwed this year. the album may be somewhat derivative, but it is still some great songwriting. “Sea within a Sea” should have been some where on here. Am I the only one who really likes Bitte Orca, but am kind of meh on “Stillness is the Move”?
No, you’re right. Primary Colours is my album of the year. “Sea Within a Sea” and “Who Can Say” deserved far better. Who cares if they were biting on MBV? Almost all the artists here wear their influences on their sleeve.
Also kinda sad HEALTH and Pictureplane were as low as they were. Two of my favorites. And Diamond Rings. I get that “All Yr Songs” was a jokey one-off, but fuck, that was an awesome blast of stupid fun.
Count me in for loving Bitte Orca, but ‘meh’ing Stillness. It’s not that I don’t like the song, it’s that I like almost every song on the album more. Cannibal Resource, the Bride, and Useful Chamber are probably my three favorites from that album.
Nice to see Golden Phone on there, but I relieved loved Foreign Born this year, and was hoping they’d be on the list somewhere. No SFA song either, but I don’t think their latest was their best album, so that’s not too upsetting.
I think it is ridiculous that Pitchfork has treated The Horrors as they don’t exist. I have Sea Within a Sea and Three Decades on my list. I think Allmusic is the best hope to truely promoting the best albums of each year.
yes, i think you might be.
The list is solid and typical P4K. Argue all you want, “My Girls” was the jam of the year.
Pitchfork gave “Divinations” a 9/10, heralded it as best new music, and Taylor Swift makes this list while Mastodon is left off? What?
2 each in the top 15 from grizzly bear, animal collective, girls and phoenix?? way too representative of this years buzz bands.
Well, yeah. It IS a buzz-website. Therefore, they most likely will have buzz bands.
What did everyone expect? Songs so obscure that no one knows them?
These are the top 100 songs (singles) from ‘indie’ artists.
since when are jay-z and taylor swift and lady gaygay “indie”…this list is funny. does rolling stone own pitchfork?
WHEEEEEERE’S Handsome Furs on all of these liaSts? “I’m Confused” is SO GREAT YAYAY.
I’m politely upping the count to Top 101 and adding Elvis Perkins in Dearland’s “Shampoo” firmly in at 101. There, I feel better now.
May I suggest a “Best Song” category for the Gummys next year?
Bottomline is sometimes you love a song and you don’t like the album as much. Those great songs deserve recognition!
We’re considering it. It is insanely time consuming to tally the Gummys, so either we get a new system with limited nominees (as opposed to write-in fields) or hire some interns. I’m more of a song person than an album person so I totally see why folks want it.
I hope there’s a way to keep it all write-in! If I’m participating in a poll I want to pick whatever I want, not limit myself to whatever the site’s staff THINKS I like.
(No, I’ve never written “no longer Zooey Deschannel :(” in a field. I go to the point. Artist – Album)
hell, i’ll help tally for free
The most glaring, unforgivable omission is definitely “Percussion Gun” by White Rabbits.
upvoted
Holy Crap.There are definitely quite a handful of brainfarts on this list.
I cannot believe there isn’t at least one Mew song on there. Introducing Palace Players definitely deserves to be on there somewhere. Also, as much as I love the top 10 or so, it seems pretty redundant.
Antonys, ‘Another World’ should be high on the list, instead of ‘Aeon’ being 51.
Saying that they would consider everything that was released this year, along with old music, kind of makes this list a bit stupid. Like for instance, Girls’ Hellhole Ratrace was near the bottom last year, fast-forward 12 months and now is #15. Huh? Also, Lust For Life was released last year as well.
I think it’s best to limit these things to the year’s singles. Most artists have their best songs unreleased.
Another World was on the Another World EP which came out in 2008, so uh, stop living in the past.
Not sure about Hellhole Ratrace being #15 and definitely would have had Raekwon ft. Ghostface in the top 10. That track is hot.
Overall pretty decent list. Nothing surprising from Pitchfork, as usual. And I’m pretty sure I can already figure out Pitchfork’s soon to be released top 5 Albums of 2009.
I thought 10 Bricks was going to be on the list. The top track on the new Raekwon is Ason Jones. That is a Dilla production for the ages there.
DAN DEACON? As Seth and Amy would say, REALLY?! SERIOUSLY?! Also, I second that concern about Sunset Rubdown; that album is AMAZING!
Also, let’s be honest: I don’t care if you hate it, but Living Thing by PB&J had some awesome jams.
Totally agree with Dan Deacon being snubbed. “Snookered” is flat-out brilliant, as is Bromst in general.
I would appreciate some Edward Sharpe on there, “Home” was such a refreshing change from all the electro noise.
abso-fucking-lutely. Their stuff was the fresh air jaded music fiends like us desperately needed towards the end of the year. Check this: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=113758518
2009 was a terrific year for music. A few of my favorites were left off the list (Percussion Gun, Cuddle Fuddle, Daily Routine/ Summertime Clothes, Pretty Wings) but overall, a solid list. Very few surprises.
where are the antlers???? where?
Agree people “Two” is one of the best songs this year and so was “Snookered” and they got snubbed
these list are stupid anyway, how can one group speak for everybody for what is the best songs, its all about personel prefrences….. But if i had to pick, The Dodo’s ” Acorn factory”, great fucking song
My thoughts exactly. If I remember correctly, they loved Hospice, they reviewed “Bear” very favorably, and “Two” is an even better song, in my humble opinion (I would even say it’s better than at least half of the songs on the list) – so what gives? I’m reasonably sure Pitchfork’s target audience wouldn’t have missed that Taylor Swift song, for example (seriously, wtf?) if they left it off in favor of an Antlers’ single.
I honestly don’t know why more people aren’t all over the “Here We Go Magic” record. I saw them open up for Grizzly Bear in Boston and they absolutely blew GB out of the water – they sounded soooo good. I was honestly really bored w/GB and never looked @ their album the same after seeing them – their performance would be voted “Most Enjoyable to take a Nap At” for me right behind the Tindersticks show in Somerville (talk about boring…).
They just seemed like a lame modern version of the beach boys….but yea, this is a tangent but….HWGM > GB
you is the dumb and the wrong both at the same time. NO. FAIL. WRONG. NEXT.
@jubie – Somebody set us up the bomb?
Yes. For great justice.
I almost care enough to comment on this.
Wow, my two favourite songs of the year by a mile, Antlers’ Two and Dan Deacon’s Snookered, are not on there. I kind of expected both out of P4k.
I totally agree with epicgrandeur, Krug really hit it out of the park this year with Idiot Heart (and the rest of Dragonslayer).
Where is Handsome Furs? “Radio Kaliningrad”!!! I’m confused. Is Pitchfork exercising some sort of Face Control? All I want, Pitchfork is Everything to do with this band. Thy Will Be Done.
I’ma let you finish, but Sunset Rubdown had one of the best albums of the year! Am I the only one who listens to them?
I’m with you. They are almost the best.
Agreed. Krug’s a god.
no pitchfork, youre wrong.
Jesus Christ, is there enough Animal Collective?
I understand these lists can never please everyone, but where’s Modest Mouse’s “The Whale Song” ?
yawn.
Its not entirely bad…though some of the better tunes are on the rear end of their list while most of the headline indie dribble landed near the top, as per usual. I feel a bit of disconnect from indie music this year than most.
Taylor Swift got higher on the list than Morrissey?! Say what?!
Taylor Swift made the list, PERIOD?!?! Say WTF?!!
Sorry Pitchfork, but it’s literally not possible to make her music acceptable to anyone with decent taste.
Go away Lady GaGa, just go away…
Glad this is finally out. I’ve been waiting all year to be told what I should like and what order I should like it in.
I am not surprised at this pretentious list at all. Should I expect Antlers and Sunset Rubdown songs on here? Yes. But why hasn’t Pitchdorks included some of these songs? Because they are too busy trying to find ultra hipster songs – hence Neon Indian & AC having multiple songs on the list.
St. Vincent’s “The Strangers” was on the top 500 of the decade, but its not in the top 100 of 2009? My brain hurts.
You beat me to the punch. Where the hell is The Strangers at on that list? I wonder if they forgot about that?
The Strangers and Marrow completely blow Actor Out of Work out of the water. Pitchfork needs to check themselves on that.
Few complaints:
No “Two” by the Antlers: FAIL
No “I Felt Stupid” by the Drums: FAIL
“Bicycle” by Memory Tapes is far too low
Any Taylor Swift song is = FAIL
&
“Feel It All Around” by Washed Out doesn’t deserve a number 10 spot
Kurt Vile – Freeway is the song of the year. I’m a witness
Does anyone else think Summertime Clothes is the best song of the year? Or am I just lame?
that last track on hazards of love is pretty good. glad to see popular songs finally included on a list.
you know what would really fuck this list is if Radiohead dropped and EP or new song
Any chance the 2008 Top 100 is still floating around? Lost mine when my PC died…..
phoenix’s hits are rightly recognized as being the best…. daniel by bat for lashes and zero by yeah yeah yeahs i think are rightfully placed. daniel might even be #1. i still like grizzly bear’s while you wait for the others much more than ‘two weeks’
two from antlers has to be on here… yes its a crime.
sunset rubdown, handsome furs, and wolf parade never get their due.. so im used to it. doesnt phase me even though they are my favorite.
they got neko case’s tornado song but not ‘people got a lot of nerve’ which is just as pretty.
i wouldve liked to see ‘hell’ from tegan and sara actually .. they deserve the props and more this year for sainthood.. much better than their last… tight and well executed thanks to death cab.
nice to see destroyer get mentioned knowing how long his songs are on that EP
wouldve been nise to see sunset rubdown’s ‘apollo’ song.. i just loving singing to that one.. one of my favs this year
No Dan Deacon, Handsome Furs, Dinosaur Jr, Cymbals Eat Guitars, Miike Snow, Thom Yorke, The Harlem Shakes…!?!?
Some great songs in 2009 by these bands that appear neglected this year for multiple songs by some artists and pop songs that although popular this year aren’t very good.
shit list. If i remember correctly they rated hellhole ratrace really low 08 because it was originally released in that year. Now they get hyped out the ass and the song receives a top 25 spot. Fuckem
just checked the 08 list and hellhole ratrace was number 100, awesome
if there was going to be a handsome furs song on this list.. id put in kalingrad over im cofused.. kalingrad just has a nice racey feel to it. my favorite on that album
Needs Dinosaur Jr!!
yeah, where’s “Over It?” It’s the catchiest J Mascis tune since “Freak Scene”. Seems like an obvious choice to make top 50, at least.
Answer: they didn’t review it as a track, so it probably wasn’t up for a vote (which is totally idiotic).
WHERE’S FIREFLIES????
One thing. Knotty Pine got dicked.
wait a sec!!!!! no ‘help im alive’ from Metric???????? cmon. how can you not love that song
More to the point, why is the superior song ‘Gimme Sympathy’ not included?
“My Girls” was the best song of the year, but Veckatimest was the best album.
Hardly. GB will probably be way up there on P4K’s list because they’ve been sweating them so hard, but they should get teh award for most overrated act. AC and Dirty Projectors are moving music forward.
i’m sorry but how the f is it possible for anyone to enjoy the song “stillness is the move”? it is grating on the senses!
The National – So Far around the bend ??????
Can someone PLEASE post the zip link?
Nope, but I’ll one-up the zip file, and give you a hint: g2p.org, then tweak around the keywords they enter into Google. I generally find Mediafire to be best digital storage space site, in terms of both selection and download time.
Washed Out does deserve the top 10. “I feel it all around” makes me feel good. Must be the song I’ve listened to the most this year with Violens “Already over”.
Here are my top 20 songs of the decade, in a video playlist, on MusicVagabond:
http://musicvagabond.tumblr.com/post/283274317/songs-of-the-decade-during-the-past-10-years-i
Yet again everyone here expects every list to contain all THEIR favourites.
In that case: “WTF, No Patton?!? Screw you pitchfork!!!”
Let’s all just agree that there were more than 100 amazing songs this year, and even our own top 100 list would have songs missing that would make us say “What about…!!”
However, there is one thing I did not see on the list or in the comments that has me a bit disapointed with everyone’s musical memory. Sufjan Stevens – “You Are The Blood”.
I also agree with everyone’s Sunset Rubdown love. My guess is there were just too many great tracks on that album for any one of them to get a clear vote. But that theory will be blown away tomorrow when Sunset Rubdown mearly gets an Honorable Mention from the fork before the list even starts.
This list is missing “Rainwater Cassette Exchange”, “To Kingdom Come”, “Cousins” and “Fostercare” by Burial. Glad to see “Daniel” so high. Surprised that nothing from Band Of Skulls made it either.
Where’s my ‘Anonanimal’?
That was the best and most overlooked song of the year.
Swan Lake: Spanish Gold, 2044 was the song of the year.
Man, I can’t wait to hear that forthcoming Four Tet. “Love Cry” was good, but I’ve got a feeling he’s got some much more interesting goodies in his bag
Hate to be another one of those “WHAT ABOUT…?!?!”, but DM Stith’s debut album came out this year, right? It seems like all of these end-year lists have forgotten it entirely.
spanish gold yes good mention! :) maybe even cloud of evil under mercer side project #5478
where’s summertime clothes?
nope, guess not!
The creatively daring and adventerous taking the two top spots…don’t the emmy’s look like shit…
Pretty predictable list (that’s not a bad thing, but I was just hoping for more surprises like last years list). There are only 3 songs in the Top 25 that I haven’t heard of.
My two cents of some omissions:
Cave Singers – VV
Obits – Pine On
Raveonettes – Heart of Stone
Woods – The Rain
Blitzen Trapper – Silver Moon
Dutchess & The Duke – Hands
King Kahn & BBQ Show – I’ll Be Lovin You
The Horrors – A number of jams off Primary Colours, a killer record…
I think some Andrew Bird and WHY? would have been nice. And The Love Language’s “Lalita” is one of the bestest pop songs of the year.
finally…someone who listens out of the stupid indie box. i get it, ya, and i love the shit, but c’mon people…there’s more fun in art when it’s not as generic.
WHY? is one of the best bands ever, hands down…so stop smelling your farts and check out anticon records. that’s just one of many awesome bands that are too trip-hop for the media. but the media sucks so fuck the lists.
i saw them with grizzly bear too in philly. Im also surprised cause i think they’re awsome. i actually saw them twice, with the walkmen a few months later. I dont think they are better than G bear though
I feel like Pitchfork has made some good singles lists from weak music years before, so I guess it’s fitting that they produce a crap singles list from a strong year in music. But then, I’m pretty cool on Phoenix, Girls, and dubstep.
Some of these omissions people have mentioned (most notably Snookered), as well as a distinct lack of Bill Callahan, is pretty stinky. As is the attempt to convince me that there were only a handful of tracks better than freaking LUST FOR LIFE all year. Lust For Life is a decent enough song, but there are hundreds of songs on its level every single year.
Really happy to see Joker and Joy Orbison get high ratings. Hyph Mngo is one of my favorite tunes of the year.
“Anonanimal” and “You are the Blood” are glaring omissions.
I have like 50 of these songs if anyone has the exact other 50 we will be rocking some rep between the two of us.
Where is Summertime Clothes – AC? (better than my girls)
Where is The Drop I Hold – Black Lips?
Where is No More Runnin – AC? (better than brothersport)
Where is All the Kings Men – wild beasts?
Where is So Far Around the Bend? – The National
Where is Lakeside? – BLK JKS
Where is Percussion Gun? – White rabbits
Where is any other Dirty Projectors Song? (could have put any of about 7 on here)
brother sport gets song of the year from me
i agree. i’ve played it more than any other track this year and was quite disappointed not to see it on the list.
why do they always ignore underground hip hop! i agree with them on most these, but they seriously snub hip hop unless its something they can write an aesthetically pleasing article about it.
What about Brother Ali? Blame One? Abstract Rude? K-Os? People Under The Stairs? Grayskul? Joe Budden? Eyedea & Abilities? Dj Vadim? Dalek? Antipop Consortium? Fresh Espresso? Champagne Champagne? State of The Artist? A.G. & O.C.? Marco Polo? Ugly Duckling? Guru? Thavius Beck?
the list goes on
How on God’s green earth can you come up with a “Top 100 Songs of 2009″ and NOT include White Rabbits’ track Percussion Gun?!?!? The staff of Pitchfork is slipping badly!!!
ok im listening to all the songs ive never heard of.. and all i can think is ‘who listens to some of this garbage?’ this list is really watered down.
1.four tet- love cry (yuck!)
2.tune yards (ouch my ears!)
3.beer in heaven (are these guys drunk?)
4.micachu and the shapes (is that screech from saved by the bell in that music video?)
5.dj quck and corrupt (dont have anything against rap.. just dont listen to it)
6.the very best (cmon sunset rubdown should kill this band)
7.jj- (ok it sounds ok.. wouldnt consider this music though)
8.cass mccombs (does this guy sing or is he a hairdresser?)
9.basement jaxx (ugh this over wild beasts? uhh no)
10.delorean (sounds like joe shmo can create this song)
11.gucci mane (ok hes wasted.. i get it)
12.neon indian (13th best song really)
13.royksopp (a girl loving a robot…seriously)
14.joker (ok the jokes on me for listening to this)
15.rural alberta advantage (ok not bad.. but what kind of band name is this?)
16.gold panda (panda bear on acid i guess?)
17.joy orbison (the daughter roy orbison disowned?)
18.cam’ron (ha! not too shabby! pretty funny)
19.jay-z (deffinitely NOT indie rock)
20.lady gaga (doesnt belong here either)
dark element, I completely agree with all of those that you mentioned. But I’d give that tUnE-yArDs track another listen, as I did. Its pretty good.
You lost me at Four Tet, dude.
Super Furry Animals-”Inaugural Trans”
The Soundtrack of our lives-’Flipside”
Engineers-”Clean Coloured Wire”
Mew-”Introducing Palace Players”
Phantogram-”When I’m Small”
Asobi Seksu-”Transparence”
Burning Hearts-”I lost my colour vision”
Depreciation Guild-”Dream about me”
Great list. Loved that they got two Fever Rays, Kurt Vile, and Girls. And My Girls is the best song of 2009.
One of the only worthwhile lists thus far whether you like Pitchfork or not.
i think you’re missing the point, dark element.
Isn’t “Casa Bey” by Mos Def the best song of 2009? Need I present the evidence? http://bit.ly/Jh2ng
I have Casa Bey in my Top 10. That Big Boi song was complete BS to be on the list. That is the top Hip/Hop tune of this year? Give me a break
Swap out “Shine Blockas” and “Zero” with DOOM’s “Gazillion Ear” and Wild Beasts’ “All The Kings Men” and you have my top ten.
Another glaring omission: “Surprise Hotel” by Fool’s Gold. Here’s the greatest afropop track by white dudes since… well, before Vampire Weekend… since Paul Simon’s Graceland?? Be sure to watch their fantastic video if you haven’t already: http://bit.ly/1uMhZt
Main reason I’m surprised is that it seems like an essential piece of the “Endless Summer” of 2009 or whatever they’re calling it… so, you know, it was truly representative of the year and all that. But because it wasn’t on underwater peoples or from sweden, I guess it doesn’t count.
‘what would i want? sky’ was utter shit. 11, really? may as well just thrown another mpp track there.
Overall Pitchfork does the best. Here are my thoughts:
-The Big Boi tune was an awful selection for #7. It would of been awful for #100.
-The Very Best should of had two tracks in the top 100.
-I’m really happy for Natasha Khan. Hey does realize that Siren Song is the best song on Two Suns?
-Pictureplane: Goth Star- Top 20 track of 2009
-I like those Lady Gaga songs on the list… Keep them
-J Dilla is still the best producer in Hip/Hop even three years since his death. Want proof, listen to Raekwon’s newest
-Any two tracks from Fever Ray’s album would of worked on this list. I just happen to like Dry and Dusty and Keep The Streets Empty for Me a little more.
-My biggest beef is this… Where the hell is Beach House’s “Norway” on this list? It was released in 2009 and is the best track the upcoming Teen Dream album that should get perfect ratings.
It took me a few hours but I finally finished finding all 100 songs. This is my first time trying to upload anything so hopefully it came out okay. Here is the link-
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=CBA7SC53
Enjoy!
Umm, I don’t think this is the album version of “Bad Romance.”
Seriously, though, thanks for putting this together!
class gesture. thanks AJack.
Just when I thought I had lost all hope in humanity AJackson comes along. I declare December 16th 2009 AJackson Day. Thanks.
what a joke.
edward sharpe and the magnetic zeros had 2 killer songs, “40 day dream”, “janglin”…is there seriously no manchester orchestra on here?? that is ridiculous, where is the love for that album ,is it anywhere?? NO Avett Brothers, how is that possible?? BLK JKS, Wild Beasts, Built To Spill, Them Crooked Vultures all no and I could go on. I mean am I missing these bands, i’ve looked it over a few times now?
There seems to be an awful amount of P4K bashing on this (and myriad other) sites. Why can’t people simply accept that musical preference – like taste in any other form of art – is subjective? There is no “correct” Best of 2009 list, and even if there were, trendy too-big-for-their-britches scensters would still find plenty to gripe about.
The thing that I find most ironic is that the majority of the anti-P4K crowd are still religious readers. Perhaps that’s because beneath all the vitriol they still realize that (for better or worse) Pitchfork has made an immeasurable contribution to modern music culture. Anyone reading this who claims that P4K didn’t have a major role in moulding their tastes is a liar. The fact is that the site has been doin’ its thang longer than any othe and, consequently, has played a major role in the development of independent music as a pop-culture phenomenon.
That said, I agree with whoever said that Sunset Rubdown is a glaring omission – if not for “Idiot Heart”, then at least for “You Go On Ahead”. Solid and worthy tunes both. But then again, that’s probably my subjective view masquerading as objectivity.
One can disagree or make semi-constructive criticisms (“why is this song not on the list?”) without bashing the site as a whole. Obviously, any publication best-of is simply an aggregate of their writers’ individual lists, and nothing more. You should never agree completely with a top 10 list; even the writers themselves would not agree. Still, I think the point made by some here is that there are a few songs that you’d think would have made the list, knowing what sort of music tends to place high with the pitchfork staff. Of course there’s no objective, “correct” list, but most of the fun of year-end lists is in arguing like there is.
I don’t understand the shame people have in admitting they follow pitchfork though. The site has been a tastemaker since at least early 2003 (Broken Social Scene). Get over it.
I think The Horrors and Bibio were left off Pitchfork’s list was because they said “No” to playing at the Pitchfork Festival. Girls on the other hand will be playing the next 15 years at the Pitchfork festival.
good point.
day ‘n’ nite
only the crookers remix. crookers is the bomb diggity.
AJackson, I salute you
What about Lightning Dust’s Antonia Jane? The whole album Infinite Light seems to be really underrated, it was one of my favorites of the year.
come on p4k, Dominos, the most annoying song of the year, in the top20?
Seriously, you people should stop whining about why your personal picks didn’t make it to the list. So sissy. You guys always do that every time a frigging list is featured here on gum. Not cool, mind u. :)
I gotta agree with all the fuss about Handsome Furs, they have been criminally overlooked on all these lists. Also, correct me if I’m wrong, but was Sleepyhead not released this year? That song is so fucking catchy!
Sleepyhead was released September ’08.
GUCCI MANE? ARE YOU EFFING KIDDING ME? No. No, siree.
one of the problems with this list (and others) is it’s obvious knack for choosing the singles from a good album and saying it’s the best song but it’s actually just the song that people tend to know better.
…and i know somebody already said this but SUFJAN! YOU ARE THE BLOOD!
biggest travesty this isn’t on the list. The National – So Far Around The Bend is a great great song.
in general i think Dark Was The Night allowed some artists a means to release a song that they had in the arsenal but didn’t really fit with their previous albums and it turned out as a really nice change of pace.