The top 20 tracks of 2009 January 7, 2010

Here are my top 20 tracks of 2009. This time I didn’t exclude anything (though I did try to avoid overlap with my albums list), and each track has a very good reason for being here, which is usually because of an extremely high play count due to leaving the song on repeat. There’s a link at the bottom of the post to download the whole bunch for your perusal.

20. Tonstartssbandht – “Little April Showers”

Tonstartssbandht give the Bambi song the remix treatment, adding dubby, bubbling synths beneath the original vocals for their modern take on a Disney classic.

19. Franz Ferdinand – “Live Alone (Delorean Remix)”

Delorean kept quite busy this year, offering a ton of remixes and the spectacular Ayrton Senna EP. This is my favorite of the bunch just for its pulsing piano beat.

18. Beirut – “No Dice”

This one’s quite different from anything Zach Condon has written under the Beirut moniker, but its an excellent piece of danceable electronic pop that definitely shows his versatility as an artist.

17. Toro Y Moi – “Blessa”

I wish I could say this was a preview of things to come from Toro Y Moi, but unfortunately the rest of the album seems dull and uninspired compared to this blissed-out and sample-heavy wonder of a track.

16. Super Furry Animals – “Inaugural Trams”

The Super Furries’ nod to early synth pioneers Kraftwerk deals with the same kind of man vs. machine tensions, though in a much more fun and playful manner.

15. Danger Mouse & Sparklehorse – “Star Eyes (I Can Catch It)”

It’s only fitting that the weirdest, trippiest, and best track from the Danger Mouse and Sparklehorse collaboration features distorted vocals from David Lynch.

14. ABX – “I Love Friction”

The clash between the crass vocals from Asher Roth’s somewhat offensive single and one of the year’s cutest instrumentals (courtesy of The Pains of Being Pure at Heart) makes for the Hood Internet’s best mash-up of 2009.

13. Memory Tapes – “Pink Stones”

The only thing I don’t like about Memory Tapes is Dayve Hawk’s voice. Luckily, this is one of the only tracks that is purely instrumental. Its use of what sound like old Nintendo sound effects gives the track tremendous appeal.

12. Atlas Sound – “Walkabout”

This shiny dream-team collaboration between Bradford Cox and Noah Lennox pretty much speaks for itself. Anything with Panda Bear’s highly emotive voice is bound to be good, and this looping exercise is no exception.

11. Major Lazer – “Zumbi”

This electro-dancehall track is a zombie’s thought process in rap form. But what’s even scarier than a zombie eating your brain is when you realize that the voice you thought was an androgynous robot is actually Andy Milonakis.

10. Bon Iver – “Woods”

Though this track was revamped with additional instrumentation on Volcano Choir’s Unmap, this early version has a much more powerful effect as it highlights Justin Vernon’s multi-tracked, auto-tuned falsetto choir.

9. tUnE-yArDs – “Fiya”

What starts as a playful romp in the form of a lo-fi percussive beat quickly escalates into a whirlwind of emotion as Merrill Garbus shows that her voice is a powerful force to be reckoned with.

8. Animal Collective – “What Would I Want? Sky (BBC Session)”

I’ve been conflicted for awhile over the studio version of this, but I think I prefer the accentuated percussive blasts and the more patient sound layering of the BBC session.

7. Fuck Buttons – “Surf Solar”

Though the entire album is spectacular, the first track of Tarot Sport exemplifies the group’s bizarre integration of noise with danceable beats, showcasing both the energy of the night out and the grit of the morning after.

6. Yeasayer – “Tightrope”

The pulsating, shimmery guitar bursts of Yeasayer’s contribution to this year’s best compilation album begin the band’s move closer to Animal Collective’s sound that will be completed on their upcoming Odd Blood.

5. A Sunny Day In Glasgow – “Failure”

Though this is a list of single tracks, its actually better to hear “Failure” in the context of its album, Ashes Grammar, as its organic rhythms emerge from the hazy ether of the preceding atmospheric tracks.

4. Passion Pit – “Moth’s Wings”

Another song that I initially liked only because of its similarity to Animal Collective, the endearing “Moth’s Wings” has been rapidly climbing my list of all-time favorite tracks with each listen I gave it this year.

3. Destroyer – “Bay Of Pigs”

Destroyer has made some epic ballads, but “Bay Of Pigs” is the most epic and sonically brilliant Destroyer song I’ve heard yet, and it’s nice to see Dan Bejar dabbling in the less familiar worlds of ambient and disco music.

2. Vampire Weekend – “California English Pt. 2”

When I finally found an mp3 of this track, I sat down and listened to it on repeat for almost seven hours, propelling it to the top of my most-played iTunes list. Its glitchy vocal backdrop makes this b-side deserving of the spot.

1. Phoenix – “Love Like A Sunset (Animal Collective Remix)”

So this is what Deakin’s been up to lately. His “jam” takes the best of both bands, layering vocals from Avey, Panda, and Thomas Mars with a subtle wash of guitars, synths, and percussion in the best remix and track of 2009.

And so the countdowns conclude. Here’s the link I promised to a zip file of all 20 tracks (normally I would put it on MediaFire but they’re being a bit moody right now.) Let me know what you think!