Another 11 of your Top However-Many-It-Is-Now, bringing us into the Top 20 in the poll.
22. KANYE WEST – “Power”: While I’ve waned and waxed on some of the Kanye tracks, this bit of unashamed art-rock is one which I think I like more every play. This is, of course, the “video portrait” so for the full track go to Spotify (which I will update, I promise!)
21. ARIEL PINK’S HAUNTED GRAFFITI – “Round And Round”: Diffuse soft-rockin’ stylings which managed to scoop Pitchfork’s track of the year. The main hook doesn’t land until just after 2 minutes in. I ended up playing this a lot while never being quite convinced it worked, so it’s obviously got something, but….
20. NICKI MINAJ ft KANYE WEST and friends – “Monster”: Oh alright that’s not the actual billing. This isn’t the actual video either, though well worth a look if you’ve not seen it. And safe for work (errr… with headphones), which the real one almost certainly isn’t.
19. WILEY ft CHEW FU – “Take That”: Murderously banging electropop which I hoped might place higher, but the question remains – which member of the group Take That??
18. CARIBOU – “Odessa”: Pretty great before the main vocals start, I’d like an instrumental of this lots, with the wild animal noises and clanging and stuff. But the singer is mimsy, though he can’t entirely spoil it.
17. THESE NEW PURITANS – “We Want War”: Here’s where my hypocrisy re.vocals stands revealed, as I adore this and it has the flattest vocals imaginable. This was my preferred walking music for most of the Autumn and Winter, it makes you particularly insular and bug-eyed. Er, I’m not really selling this one, I think. The combination of enormous drum sounds, cheap dancehall keyboards, choir and woodwind is just glorious though.
16. RUMER – “Slow”: Time for a change of pace, eh? Survived being John Prescott’s pop pick to win high placements from a bunch of you, and definitely this is seductively classy pop-soul, just right for the advanced hour at which I’m drafting this post.
15. RIHANNA – “Rude Boy”: Still feels like a 2009 track to me but no denying its presence this summer and its dancehall-trance mix is as cutting-edge as any other international smash. What a terrific video too!
14. GABRIELLA CILMI – “On A Mission”: Do you know, I think I managed not to hear this at all? This sounds marvellously early 00s – classic Popjustice type pop. I think it starts really well – the bit which rips off “Emerge”, or is it “Stepping Out” – and then the “I am woman!!” chorus comes a bit out of nowhere.
13. RIHANNA – “Only Girl In The World”: This is gradually bludgeoning me into liking it – its commitment to enormity on the chorus is kind of admirable and she sounds super-fierce on it. But less trancey stuff next year in general – please? Please?
12. MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE – “Na Na Na”: Punk-pop as the best 2000AD strip you ever read. Unless the best 2000AD strip you ever read was Halo Jones, I guess. THOUGHT YOU WAS BATMAN!
And a nice wham-bam intro to the top 10, er, 11 in your 2010 readers poll, which we’ll have up tomorrow.