We're not restricted to official releases
This blogger loves whatever she pleases
Thus we played and repeated without being confined
Here we go, turn it up, its' the...


As mentioned, I didn't want to limit myself to only including songs or singles with official releases, on major labels and the like. Instead, each of these were and are still repeatedly played, loved loads more with each listen, and continue to be a staple of my sincerest adorations.

mp3: My Gold Mask - Bitches

Gretta groans while Jack owns...vocals and guitar, respectively. This duo from Chicago wowed us with the hauntingly eerie opening chords of this song, and kept our interest at a pulse-racing peak over the course of this beat-heavy thriller.


mp3: Yuksek (featuring Amanda Blank) - Extraball

Dreamy bending synths introduce what turns out to be a raging romp through boy vs girl vocals, complete with hand clap encouragements. The horn rises? Amazing. The deep bass? Swoon-worthy. Yuksek's debut single? Beastly.


mp3: The Sounds - No One Sleeps When I'm Awake

I actually tried to outplay this to tire of it...only the more I listened, the more I loved. The lead single from the band's third studio album immediately carved a home in my heart with it's pre-chorus build-ups and tweenage angst-ridden desires.


mp3: Sleigh Bells - Ring Ring

Sultry moans and finger snaps anchor this kickback track from this as-yet-unsigned Brooklyn pair. Musical sensibilty at it's best, this song could easily have been crafted anywhere from the roaring twenties through today's modern mayhem, and it would still be the hit it is now.


mp3: MEN - Off Our Backs

This trio hit me like no one else this year, and it all started with a chance stumbling across some demos rooted through social networking. Music with a message, this slice of electropop pie never fails to slap a smile on my face and get the feet a'flyin.


mp3: Major Lazer (featuring Nina Sky and Ricky Blaze) - Keep It Goin' Louder

Easily appealing to mainstream media and dirty dubhall dancers all in the same, it's hard to deny the impact that Major Lazer had this year. This song actually led to a confrontation on the subway between me and another "less energetic" passenger. Try and not move to this track...I dare you.


mp3: The Golden Filter - Thunderbird

A super wet and rubbery bass anchors the second single from this disco-delicious duo. Carefree and whispering vocals float atop some of the funkiest riffing we heard all year. Dramatic drumming and shrieking keys call out as if to say "I'll be stuck in your head for days", and honestly, we'd have it no other way.


mp3: Ellie Goulding - Under The Sheets

From that first drum hit, this moving tale of distress buried itself in my heart and vowed never to leave. Goulding's gripping vocal style pairs with the emotional journey through "all the boys before". Something about the innocence of the song spoke so deeply, I actually had to swear off listening to it for some time. It's back for good now.


mp3: Peaches - I Feel Cream

With help from producers Drums of Death and Simian Mobile Disco, Peaches' title track off her 5th studio album is a dark mix of house beats and sexily-sung tones. Just when you think the gal's gone soft, a deep drum bangs and the rapped rapport begins: "Let's get suspect, let's get wet...every little defect gets respect!" Perfection.


mp3: Fever Ray - Seven

I can't even drum up the proper phrasings to verbally applaud this effort. I will say, however, that I've never failed to cry every single time I listen to this gorgeous arrangement. For this year, Seven is the MOST RAD.

Tomorrow, I'll lay out my BE[a]ST Randoms of 2009, for example, those concerts, happenings, songs, artists, etc...that don't particularly fall into one category or another. Stay rad!