Since U Been Gone: Music for a Return Missionary

     This Tuesday, my brother Boston gets back from serving a two year mission in Houston, Texas.  During that time, he didn't watch movies, kiss girls, check Facebook, or listen to music.  Instead, he talked to people about Jesus and restored Christianity, selflessly served others, and changed people's lives.  Now that he's back, I feel that it's my duty to help him adjust to post-mission life, and to do that, I made a mix of some of the music he missed in those two years.  Most of the songs are good, some of them are not as good, but I'd like to think that they paint a pretty accurate snapshot of what music was like in the past two years.  Some songs are from Schwarz brother's staples like Kanye, Coldplay, and the Killers and then others are inescapable time stamps of pop culture ("I Gotta Feeling", "Single Ladies", "TiK Tok").  Check out the list after the jump.  Any songs from June 2008-June 2010 that deserved to make the cut but didn't?

17 Tracks Presents the Top 25 Songs of 2009

The 2000s were a decade ripe with fragmentation and it saw old ways of doing things crumble and fail, yet 2009 was full of instances of cultural unity. The Black Eyed Peas dominated the Billboard Hot 100 for six whole months. Michael Jackson's death resulted in wall-to-wall coverage and commemoration that will continue well into next year. The world collectively glared at Kanye, comforted Taylor, and applauded Beyonce following the MTV Video Music Awards. Gagamania swept the globe becoming the biggest pop phenomenon since the teen pop reached its peak at the turn of the century. It was quite the year.


Below are the top 25 songs of 2009. Each song has an embedded video below so you can enjoy the sights and sounds of each song. Most of the videos are provided by Vevo, something that wasn't even available a few short weeks ago when 17 Tracks counted down the top 100 songs of the decade. Basically, its a way for record companies to monetize the vast Internet frontier that is YouTube. The bad thing is you might get commercials prior to watching the video, but just keep watching because it will show up. The good thing is now bloggers everywhere can embed high quality music videos put out by the record labels without them being blocked or getting yanked hours later. I support Vevo.


And with that, I humbly present to you for your consideration, the 17 Tracks Top 25 Songs of 2009. Enjoy.

1. Lady Gaga - "Poker Face"

When Lady Gaga made her debut last year, she seemed destined for indie electro-pop greatness. She would be hailed as the savior of pop on such sites as Popjustice, mentioned on Pitchfork every once in a while, and would develop a cult following among music fans who are obsessed with obscure Scandinavian pop stars. Boy, was I wrong.

Although Lady Gaga ended 2008 as an underground artist, 2009 saw her rocket to a world famous superstar. "Just Dance" became a No. 1 hit in January, but any notion that the singer would be a flash in the pan ended when "Poker Face" followed its predecessor into the penthouse in April.

While "Just Dance" was an amazing pop single (and 17 Track's No. 7 song of 2008), "Poker Face" has quickly become Gaga's signature song. Its grinding synth as suggestive lyrics that use poker as a metaphor for bisexuality cemented her status as one of the 2000s definitive pop stars despite emerging in its final eighteen months.

2. Kasabian - "Underdog"

"Underdog" manages to combine post-punk sensibilities with electro-crunch and a slightly western folk swagger in "Underdog". The results are an anthemic and defiant opener to their horribly titled West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum.

3. Girls Aloud - "The Loving Kind"

"The Loving Kind" is Girls Aloud's twentieth and final (so far) top ten single, and one of the best songs they've recorded. A desperate plea for a final shot at love, the track has enough bounce to make it danceable, but enough sophistication to keep it classy.

4. Phoenix - "1901"

I can't hear Phoenix's "1901" without thinking of the Cadillac commercial it soundtracks. "All designed to reignite the soul," the announcer says about 2009 SRX, but it can also be said about the song that features synth reminiscent on 1970s "high-tech" sound effects.

5. Cheryl Cole feat. Will.I.Am - "3 Words"

Former Girls Aloud singer takes a break from her award winning group to make music with Will.I.Am. Earlier this year, that didn't exactly sound like a recipe for success, but both Cheryl Cole and "the new Bob Dylan" proved us wrong with this haunting hypnotic masterpiece.

Cheryl Cole '3 Words' from Tom Lindsay on Vimeo.

6. MPHO - "Box N Locks"

"Box N Locks" was this year's "L.E.S. Artiste", a new wave tune by a female black singer that challenged the idea that she has to make a certain type of music singing, "Supposed to be this ghetto chick making all this urban music...bet you never knew that I could do this too."

7. Kanye West feat. Kid Cudi - "Welcome To Heartbreak"

Kanye West made Taylor Swift cry so he's keeping a low profile for a while. Chris Brown physically assaulted Rihanna and he's got a new album out. Doesn't make much sense, but it also doesn't take away from the greatness of "Welcome To Heartbreak", the thesis for 808s & Heartbreak.

8. Jay-Z feat. Alicia Keys - "Empire State of Mind"

Jay-Z has never had a No. 1 single without the help of a leading lady, and even though Hova has lead credits on "Empire State of Mind", it wouldn't have become the smash hit that it is without Alicia Key's and her larger than life hook.

9. Bat For Lashes - "Daniel"

"Daniel" is the most instant track British-Pakistani singer Bat for Lashes has ever recorded. The mystic track channels Stevie Nicks with poetic lyrics about love, loss, and the fictional character Daniel who may or may not be the karate kid.

Daniel from Bat for Lashes on Vimeo.

10. Beyonce - "Diva"

A diva is a female version of a hustler, and "Diva" is a female version of "A Milli", Lil Wayne's freestyle critic charming rap. Beyonce's foray into rapping comes as no surprise considering who her husband is. The track oozes swagger and attitude.

11. Kid Cudi - "Day 'N' Nite"

Kanye West protege Kid Cudi proved he deserved Ye's praise with his debut single. Both the laid back album version and the dancefloor pleasing Crookers remix are steller, telling the tale of "the lonely stoner" and his quest for happiness.

12. Lady Gaga - "Paparazzi"

Lady Gaga capitalized on her two No. 1 hits with "Paparazzi". The insistent beat and obsessive lyrics were set to a stunning music video that clocked in just under eight minutes and provided commentary on the fatal cost of fame. And then you have the blood drenched VMA performance. Lady Gaga was only beginning.

13. La Roux - "Bulletproof"
La Roux lead singer Eleanor Jackson has weird hair and an...interesting...voice. I originally compared it to an electric drill to the head. A few months later, her voice has grown on me, and its definitely not bad enough that you can't enjoy their marvelous "Bulletproof" for three minutes and thirty seconds.

14. Lily Allen - "The Fear"

As a self made Myspace celebrity, British singer Lily Allen has a few things to say about fame. "I want to be rich and I want lots of money, I don't care about clever, I don't care about funny," she sings. Drowning in irony and poking fun at the notion of 15 minutes of fame, the track won over critics' hearts and consumers' wallets in the UK.

Lily Allen - The Fear from Alex Gilbert on Vimeo.

15. Girls Aloud - "Untouchable"
Its a shame that Girls Aloud's 6:44 epic had to be edited for radio. Still, this icy neo-disco track finds the Girls waxing poetic over blissfully pulsing synth. "Without any meaning, we're just skin and bones, like beautiful robots dancing alone." Amen.

Untouchable - Girls Aloud from Mark Adcock on Vimeo.
16. Beyonce - "Halo"

Ryan Tedder has got a lot of flack this year, but can you write songs as good as "Halo", "Apologize", "Bleeding Love", or "Already Gone"? This single was the most beautiful song to pass from Beyonce's lips, especially juxtaposed with her fire breathing Sasha Fierce stuff she did.

17. Shakira feat. Lil Wayne - "Give It Up To Me"

It's a mystery how Shakira's She Wolf never took off with singles like "She Wolf", "Did It Again", and "Give It Up To Me". "Up" features the ubiquitous Lil Wayne and was produced by Timbaland. It should have been a homerun. What does the average American know about good music though anyways?

18. Annie - "Anthonio"

"This may come as a surprise, my baby has your eyes," says Annie to her one time lover over a sophisticated thumping beat. Despite being dropped by her record label, Annie has maintained near universal popularity and acclaim from major music sites and minor blogs alike, and with songs like "Anthonio", it's not hard to hear why.

19. Kasabian - "Fire"

"Fire" is an extremely overused word in the post-punk genre. How else do you show how edgy you are? I'm on fire, you're on fire, sex is on fire. Still, I'll give it to Kasabian for putting the word to good use in their propulsive yet twangy track.

20. Basement Jaxx - "Raindrops"

"Raindrops" made 17 Tracks Summer mix and was then called an Amazonian rainstorm from the future. There's no better way to describe this song which packs primitive beats, colossal synth, and electric guitar into one euphoric track.

21. Lady Gaga - "Bad Romance"

Lady Gaga turned her stage name into a primal chant that has become a catch phrase that you can become a fan of on Facebook, as well as made a music video with a dance that's the closest thing to becoming a cultural phenomenon since "Single Ladies". The dark and danceable beat of "Bad Romance" continued her streak of critic charming hit songs.

22. Rihanna feat. Young Jeezy - "Hard"
Rihanna proves she stronger than before in "Hard". The musical middle finger incorpirates lyrical elements from her recent hit with Jay-Z, "Run This Town", and is the darkest and...well hardest song she's ever recorded.

23. Beyonce - "Sweet Dreams"

Beyonce's first electro-song shares a title with one of the most famous electro-songs ever. That's always a gamble, but B pulls it off, singing about a love that's either, "a sweet dream or a beautiful nightmare," that she doesn't want to wake up from.


24. Taylor Swift - "You Belong With Me"
Love rarley seems to work out the way you wish it would. You like someone who likes someone else who likes someone else, and no one's happy. That's why "You Belong With Me" works. That, and its perfect blend of Nashville and Kelly Clarkson which made it a radio smash.


25. Britney Spears - "Circus"
Although it became evident this year that Britney isn't into being a pop star like she used to, when the heavy breathing and guitars kick on in the pre-chorus of "Circus", it's impossible to not be excited. And has she ever had lyrics as thought provoking as, "There's only two types of people in the world: The ones that entertain and the ones that observe"?

Take a look back at: 17 Tracks presents the Top 25 Songs of 2008

The Decade: A Retrospective The Best Songs 85-71

"Ms. Jackson"
OutKast
Stakonia (2000)

OutKast's first No. 1 single brought this innovative, largley sample-free hip-hop duo to the general public's attention and marked the first step towards the genre's domination of America. While Andre 3000 apologized to his baby mama's mama, Big Boi stuck up for himself telling her that her grandchild is a baby and not a paycheck. The woeful account of of post-break up politics in a post-nuclear family world is for reeeeal.

"Without Me"
Eminem
The Eminem Show (2001)

"I'm not the first king of controversy, I am the worst thing since Elvis Presley to do black music so selfishly and use it to get myself wealthy," rapped Eminem in 2000. The biggest white rapper became one of the most important musical forces on the planet at the turn of the century. A cross-over star, his incredible talent made critics look the other way as he celebrated drugs and murder and bashed women and homosexuals.

"Sexyback"
Justin Timberlake
Futuresex/Lovesounds (2006)

It's a pretty bold claim to say you brought sexy back, especially if no one is really sure wthat it left in the first place. Dropping the new Michael Jackson schtick for a song, Timberlake channeled Prince in his fiersest, cockiest, and sexiest song yet. The haphazard and hypnotic synth grooves along with vocals that sound like they were recorded over a cell phone and gives the song an apocolyptic futuresex sheen.

"Viva La Vida"
Coldplay
Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends (2008)

Its not often that a song that doesn't use its title anywhere in its lyrics becomes a trans-Atlantic No. 1 smash. Of course, most of those songs don't get massive exposure via an iPod commercial or come as heavily anticipated as anything Coldplay puts out. Religious references and church bells raise "Viva La Vida" to the level of a rock hymn which, put out by the band at its peak of popularity, ironically chronicles a man recollecting his past glories.

"Underdog"
Kasabian
West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum (2009)
Competing with the hordes of post-punk bands in the United Kingdom, Kasabian needed to keep the caffinated in-your-face rock songs coming while still evolving their sound.They did so on "Underdog" which used pulsating droid synth, hip-hop-like percussion beats, and fuzzed out country guitar riffs. The song, an ode to sticking it to the man, is defiant and danceable, angry and energetic, and ensures that Kasabian is no underdog in the battle for Brit rock supremacy.

"I'm A Slave 4 U"
Britney Spears
Britney (2001)
Britney Spears completely shed her squeaky clean Mickey Mouse club image with her Prince influenced, N.E.R.D. produced single. A radical shift in her sound, "I'm A Slave 4 U" succeeded in sounding dirty before Spears even starts panting thanks to the off-kilter minimalistic backing track. Just as you start to get dizzy, Spears begins demanding respect. "All you people look at me like I'm a little girl but did you ever think it would be OK for me to step into this world?" No Britney, we expected it.

"Beautiful Day"
U2
All That You Can't Leave Behind (2000)
With an opening is reminiscent of the "Chariot of Fire" theme , and a simplicity that enhances its beauty, "Beautiful Day" is not only one of U2's most triumphant moment of the decade, but one of the greatest moments of their career. Bono said the song was about a man who was optimistic despite losing everything. It seems to encapsulate everything the band stands for. It's epic, it's beautiful, it's love, and it's hopeful.

"No One"
Alicia Keys
As I Am (2007)
Alicia Keys is hip enough and catchy enough to win over mainstream radio yet friendly enough for your mom to go out and buy her album, which is exactly what Clive Davis was hoping for. "No One" is a song that you hear for the first time but you swear you've heard it before; an instant classic. The soulful and melodic Stevie Wonder-esque tune charms you with its emphatic declaration that, "no one can get in the way of what I'm feeling".

"Cry Me A River"
Justin Timberlake
Justified (2002)
Breaking up is hard enough, but having your ex tell you to cry a river and for the world to hear (not to mention make a music video where he breaks into your house and puts a video of him kissing another woman on your television) makes it a million times worse. The song is claustrophobic with Timberlake's falsetto traversing the organic soundscape created by Timbaland. Interestingly enough, Britney Spears responded to Justin Timberlake's attacks with an apology in the form of "Everytime".

"Whenever, Wherever"
Shakira
Laundry Service (2002)
Scoring hits in Spanish and English with equal ease, Shakira is the postergirl for international boundary-defying pop and "Whenever Wherever" is its theme song. Shakira's vocals are like a wild Latin version of Alanis Morisette singing over an orchestra of tribal drums and Australian didgeridoos. Her pleas that, "we're meant to be together" sound not only like a fiesta in your ears, but a call for world peace.

"In Da Club"
50 Cent
Get Rich or Die Tryin' (2003)
50 Cent has become so irrelevant that its hard to remember the time he was one of the most important rappers around, if only for a moment. "In Da Club" was a slurred club banger and a bold debut for the one time drug dealer. Even with Curtis Jackson's rough past, including being shot nine times, his invitation, "come give me a hug," as well as reminding us that everyday is someone's birthday somewhere, made him lovable.

"Beware of the Boys"
Panjabi MC feat. Jay-Z
Legalised (2002)
There was a time in the mid-2000s when every pop hit had an Eastern flavor to it. Jay-Z's "Beware of the Boys" with Panjabi MC is one of the reasons why. Hova outsourced his backing track, using "Mundian To Bach Ke" by Panjabi MC and adding a rap over it. Like a snake charmer, Jay brings Brooklyn and Lahore together for four unifying minutes. The chorus is sung in Punjabi (no, that's not a slur, Punjab is a region in India) and the instrumentation is of the hypnotic bhangra variation.

"The Scientist"
Coldplay
A Rush of Blood to the Head (2002)
I still don't understand how Chris Martin pulled off the video for "The Scientist". Singing the entire song forwards while time moves backwards, Martin delivers one of the most poignant songs in Coldplay's body of work. "Nobody said it was easy," he sings, "Take me back to start". The piano is simple and steady, the percussion light and understated. Written about man's powerlessness in the face of love, the song was inspired by the solo work of George Harrison.

"Don't Tell Me"
Madonna
Music (2000)
Madonna kick-started the decade with a tripped out electro-folk album and had the balls to simply name it Music. With "Don't Tell Me", the pop star waxes poetically over a stuttering guitar lick that was so ahead of its time that some listeners tried to return their copy of the album thinking it was faulty. Tell the bed not to make, take the black off a crow, but please, don't ever tell Madonna to stop.

Album Review: Kasabian "West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum

The fact that you are reading this review on 17 Tracks is proof that Facebook advertising works. In September, my Facebook account began telling me that as a fan of Bloc Party, I would also like British rock band Kasabian. It took seeing the ad a few times before I decided to give the band a try.

"Fire" was the first song of theirs I heard. It was country tinged single that explodes into a massive chorus that I fell in love at first listen. The folk influenced sound was only one piece of the band's third album, West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum, which is named after one of England's first mental institutions for the poor (Think that's weird? The band is named after Linda Kasabian, Charles Manson's getaway driver).

The album was described by Sergio Pizzorno, lead guitar and songwriter for the band, as "a soundtrack to an imaginary movie". It would end up being a pretty trippy movie if it were ever made. Slightly schizophrenic and demented, it borrows from Oasis, Rolling Stones, and Franz Ferdinand all with reckless abandon.

Kasabian enlisted Dan the Automater, tunesmith behind some of Gorillaz early work, which gives the album a hard edged electronic sound. Opener "Underdog" is the flagship example of this, drowning in fuzzed out guitars and throbbing synth. "Vlad the Impaler" finds lead singer Tom Meighan declaring, "we are the last beatnicks" over a rocked out hip-hop beat and "Take Aim" is a fashionable Franz Ferdinand-esque track with plenty of indie swagger.

In the end, Kasabian doesn't really sound like Bloc Party, but, like Kele and the gang, Kasabian is a band that chose to take a step towards electronica in an attempt to update their sound for their third album. And like Bloc Party, they succeeded.

Rating: 9/10

Must Download: Click to Preview
"Underdog"
"Fire"
"Vlad the Impaler"

Kasabian is on "Fire"

Facebook has been telling me for the past few weeks that because I'm a fan of Bloc Party I should listen to Kasabian. I finally got around to listening to them this weekend and Facebook was right! Kasabian is like Bloc Party in that they are both British and they both sound "indie" and they are both good. Kasabian is not like Bloc Party in that lead singer Tom Meighan doesn't sound British at all, their music has a folksy Western edge to it, and a cowboy talks to you at the beginning and end of the video.