It is at about this time of year that every magazine, website, blog and publication under the sun begin to publish their end of year lists. NME, The Fly, Mojo and Q are just some of the publications that have already issued their lists. Others will inevitably follow in the next few days. I have to admit I for one really do rate a good list. I have made my own end of year lists for a few years now and I am quite aware it is somewhat of a strange practice (perhaps even verging on slightly OCD) but for me it is a thoroughly enjoyable and worthwhile exercise even verging on cathartic. Listening to certain tracks reminds me of both high and low lights of the past twelve months. You can’t beat, especially during the brutal weather we are enduring presently, being taken back to a beautiful day in the summer by a certain track. Songs that remind me of some of the truly astonishing places I have been lucky enough to travel to this year or some of the utterly amazing people I have met. So if I have done my calculations correctly if I blog about roughly two tracks a day, by Christmas Day I will have my ‘Top 52 Tracks of 2010’. As for why 52, the simple answer is why not? Other publications usually all vary between a top 100, 75 or 50 so I guess I am just making a simple statement and varying it slightly. Plus there are of course 52 weeks in a year, a song for every week of the year. I hope whoever reads this enjoys my list and perhaps even discovers a song or two they in time will come to love as much as I do.
52) M.I.A. - Born Free
Such was the level of the hype about the video for M.I.A.’s Born Free, that the track itself was completely overshadowed. Roman Gavras’s nine minute long video featured not only nudity and explicit violence but also a bizarre plot where adolescent gingers were rounded up into a van, driven to the country and executed by either gunshot or even more disturbingly made to run through a minefield. As for the song itself, it is far, far noisier than anything from Arular or Kala, it samples Ghost Rider from Suicide’s self titled 1977 album, and also seems somewhat indebted to Brooklyn’s noisiest duo Sleigh Bells who are signed to M.I.A’s record label N.E.E.T. From the first few seconds onwards the drums are completely relentless and work perfectly with M.I.A’s shouty vocals, the Suicide sample and the various other distorted instruments to create a perfect four minute racket. Below is the nine minute version that was removed from Youtube.
M.I.A - BORN FREE VIDEO OFFICIAL (real and explicit version)
51) Nas & Damian Marley - As We Enter
As We Enter was the first single released from the pair’s collaboration album Distant Relatives. While not the strangest collaboration of the year by a long shot (see Kanye West and co) I was dubious as to whether Nas and Marley’s contrasting styles would manage to co-exist effectively on a whole album. And while the record as a whole does suffer in places this song itself works magnificently well. The track does not feature a whole verse at least in the traditional way of thinking. Instead Nas and Marley take turns each rapping a bar before the other returns with their response. As I said it works fantastically well, both of their vocal deliveries are fast and furious, the pace not letting up for the entire 3 minutes of the song. The production from Marley is also worth pointing out (the beat is nothing short of suberb) ensuring the track flows particularly well. Overall, excellent collaboration from two of the most talented men in modern urban music.
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