“Greetings, my name’s Skrillex! You might recognise me from the Young Person’s Music, where my asymmetric hairdo and NHS Specs are getting plenty of ‘wub’! Anyway, the charming lot behind Freaky Trigger have asked me to introduce the first part of this year’s Readers’ Poll – these tracks have certainly made a splash with you all, or a ‘drop’, as we call it here in Dubstep Land. Do check them out!”
Thanks Skrillex. I was going to have a Top 40 list but there were two tracks with equal scores at #40 so technically we have 41. Onwards!
=40. Nicki Minaj – Stupid Hoe (Youtube)
The first half of Roman Reloaded is full of this sort of ridiculous (i.e. awesome) nonsense – incredibly radio-unfriendly diss/brag tracks made up of bits of string and frogs and plastic daleks Nicki has found in her coat pocket after a pub crawl, careering all over the place just like Nicki’s attention span.
=40. Angel Haze – New York (Vimeo)
Angel does a great job of turning handclaps and Computer-Says-No error noises into a super-menacing backdrop for her super-impressive rapping. Utterly convincing as a crime overlord of NY.
39. Taylor Swift – Begin Again (Youtube)
You almost certainly know already if you’re going to like this or not (clue: it is not a banger). Taylor’s had approximately a grillion different songs nominated this year, so be warned there’s more where this came from.
38. Tame Impala – Elephant (Youtube)
Not a cover of the Alexandra Burke pachyderm ‘classic’ but in fact a heffalump fuzz-stomper that wouldn’t be out of place in an episode of TOTP 1973. Or a wildlife documentary narrated by David Attenborough.
37. Le1f – Wut (Youtube)
Pokémon fan Le1f raps like he’s starring in a Strepsils advert as the ‘before’. Highly recommended.
36. Frank Ocean – Thinkin Bout You (Youtube)
Out of all the Emo’n’B dudes putting out records this year, Frank may have the silliest falsetto voice. But that is apparently totally fine by you lot!
35. Blur – Under The Westway (Youtube)
As any fool know, the only things under the actual Westway are a great big climbing wall and a lot of empty Coke cans. I sincerely doubt it sounds like Procul Harum down there but what do I know?
=33. Dev – Take Her From You (Youtube)
Remember that lass from Like A G6? Well she’s done a whole album of reasonably good stuff this year. This tracks sounds weirdly late-90s post-Britpop indie to me though.
=33. Alunageorge – You Know You Like It (Youtube)
When I say she sounds like a microgoth Ellie Goulding I mean that in a GOOD way.
32. Grimes – Genesis (Youtube)
‘Oblivion’ got a couple of votes but incomprehensible electro-bibbler Grimes’ tribute to Peter Gabriel was the eventual reader favourite. I don’t think Peter Gabriel ever had a sword fight in the desert while wearing an outfit made of leftover bits of spaceship.
31. Dawn Richard – Pretty Wicked Things (Youtube)
One third of Diddy Dirty Money, Dawn now has her picture in the dictionary next to the entry for ‘SRS BSNS’. Despite that, this song has some ‘dub’ ‘step’ in it! WUBBBB.
30-21 coming up soon!