Rubbing my leg in pain on the ride, I had a revelation: this summer is going to be it. You know what I mean? We’re going to do it, guys. We’re going to do it! Like all of it. I’m actually going to go to the Purple Rain singalong (look out; “I would sooner die than watch a movie with Prince” isn’t going to be compelling enough to prevent me from dragging you this year), and I’m going to teach DFJacobs how to eat oysters. That’s all there is to a compelling summer, y’all.

Actually, that’s not entirely true. Because eating oysters often involves slurping noises, and those can get uncomfortable if you don’t have some background noise. And that’s where I come in. Summers need mixtapes. Fact. Mixtapes need songs. Double fact. I have all those songs. Your honor, the jury rests.

I was reading some Nick Hornby earlier today (and by that, I mean I saw High Fidelity last week, and was thinking about that while tooling around Virginia in a hijacked cab), and I realized that songs are powerful. I’d tell you more, but it’s so hot in Nashville that typing this much has already made me work up a really repulsive sweat. And besides, the songs speak for themselves, like a fine Montepulciano D’Abruzzo or a kick-ass USA Today infographic.

REDACT: it occurs to me that even a graph of “What We’re Recycling” inevitably has a key, so let me give you a brief guide to understanding these massively complicated songs. First comes the eardrum-blasting noisy perfection of Sleigh Bells, whose debut still kicks ass. Then we slow it down with a retried version of Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros’ “Home”, one of 2009’s favorite songs made fresh again with a new backing track that reinvents the song while leaving its catchy-as-hell soul intact. Finally, a great track from perennial summer favorites The National, which you may have missed when it came out on last summer’s Dressner brothers-produced Dark as the Night compilation.

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Sleigh Bells – Tell Em (YSI)

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Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros – Home (Alternate Version) (YSI)

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The National – So Far Around the Bend (YSI)

Related posts:

1. It was the best of times, it was the worst of times
2. Rock is off to a shitty start in 2010
3. BEST ALBUMS OF 2009 — #15-11

It’s time to refocus, kids. Yes, we’re all excited that it’s finally 2010 and Lost will be returning soon and that maybe the Apple tablet will be released and hovercrafts, etc. But the Show is not done looking back. No, in vintage .org form, we have returned to the task at hand much later than promised. I would make another promise to continue to post regularly, but I don’t make promises I can’t keep (New Year’s Resolution 20-10, y’all). Today we bring you our 10 favorite songs of 09, and tomorrow you’ll get our favorite mashups. It was one smash-banger of a year, and I’m sure I speak for all of us when I say I miss the hell out of it. Oasis, you may be gone, but you will never be forgotten. You and I are gonna live forever, Noel. Team Noel forever. Liam can go straight to h-e-double-hell.

Oh, and here are the songs we liked:

#10: Drake – “Best I Ever Had”

The best thing about the year-end lists, in my opinion, is that it often gives us a chance to talk about guilty pleasures we would otherwise be too embarrassed to share. By my count, there are 3 such songs on this list; I’m writing about 2 of them. Drake has it all, ladies and gentlemen: the blessing of Lil’ Wayne and Kanye, the sort of street cred attainable only by appearing as a regular character on Degrassi: The Next Generation,  and a voice that could make angels shit their pants (do angels wear pants?). “Best I Ever Had” is derivative, it’s repetitive, and it will stay with you, so that whenever anyone does anything you appreciate you find yourself saying (depending on whether you favor the radio-friendly version, or, like this foul-mouthed writer, the real version), “you da fuckin’ best” in your best Drizzy voice. It’s a hot jam, and leads me to believe that the R. Kelly signature only-somewhat-subtly-sexual-song approach to music may actually be the apex of musical composition. -Edward

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Drake – Best I Ever Had (YSI)

#9: Grizzly Bear – “While You Wait for the Others”

There are many reasons why a song is the most popular song off of the album, and many times, they are not the same reasons why a song is the best song off of the album.  But, in the case of “While You Wait For The Others,” these reasons do seem to be in concert.  I’ll explain.  <em>Veckatimest</em> is a very good album.  What keeps it from greatness is an inability to put together all of their skills—good orchestration, dynamic contrast, catchy melody—in the same song on a consistent basis.  Incidentally, these are the same reasons that many songs get radio play, because put together, these traits form a sweeping melody with emotion to carry it along.  “While You Wait For The Others” is one of the few places where Grizzly Bear gets it all together, and it sounds great.  It makes it the best song off of a good album, radio worthy, and shoo in for top ten tracks of the year. -Dave

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Grizzly Bear – While You Wait for the Others (YSI)

#8: Edward Sharpe and Magnetic Zeros – “Home”

Look at them in that picture.  They’re so happy!  All that energy and excitement you see in that picture, I feel in this song.  The driving backbeat under whistling and trumpets give the feeling of trekking over previously unchartered territory, but Edward Sharpe and the gang are willing to take you along for the ride.  You’re in the wagon, and they tell you a story with folksy honesty, evident from the girl/boy interplay to the less-is-more philosophy in the simple chorus of, “Home/Let me go home/Home is wherever I’m with you.”  You tap your feet, hum along, sing along, and before you know it, you’re smiling.  “Home” is a prescription dose of happy pills shot right through your ear canals into your brain, and while you’re smiling, you’re thinking that there’s nothing wrong with that.  -Dave

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Edward Sharpe and Magnetic Zeros – Home (YSI)

#7: The Black Eyed Peas – “I Gotta Feelin’”

This song is completely retarded! But you knew that already; negative reviews, serious and comedic, abound for this track. Its inclusion in this list is thanks to the uncanny way that it touches any listener with the same reassuring and convincing message: tonight IS going to be a good night. Just watch the Oprah season opener again with any individual middle-aged or better  — they’ve seen it already — and observe them boogie modestly to the inescapable beat. While you’re at it, notice that the Peas lack talent as live performers, but immediately forgive them because they gave the world a song that delivers unfailingly the message that it is now time to party. -Icebergxc

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Black Eyed Peas – I Gotta Feelin’ (YSI)

#6: Girls – “Lust For Life”

Late in 2009, Edward sent me a message that was like “hey have you heard of Girls you tend to like things that people desribe as ‘jangly’ so you might like this.” I was like “well yeah I’ve heard of Girls they’re all over Pitchfork’s best new everything list how could I not have heard of Girls numbnuts?” But the problem was, while I had heard of Girls I had not heard Girls. And so I went and got myself a copy of The Animal Show’s 8th favorite album of the year, ‘Album’. I listened to it. And the first thing I said to Edward after hearing the album in it’s entirety was ‘man, I wish they had just released a 7″ EP of Girls/Laura.” And that’s because every track after “Lust For Life” is totally forgettable due to “Lust For Life”’s greatness. You hear it, and its catchy jangling guitars rip apart any want or will to hear anything else. You must hear the bizarre croon of Christopher Owens over and over again as he sings about the harsh reality that clashes with our most desirable dreams. You must feel the beams of sun hit your face again and again as you travel about in San Franciso’s Mission District. And right as the repetitive garage-surf riffs start to get slightly annoying, the song jumps off the pool deck and into an aquatic sounding, finger-picked soft outro. Simply sublime. -Marquis Meowmers

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Girls – Lust for Life (YSI)

#5: Miley Cyrus – “Party in the USA”

Could every person who has never lost their voice singing to this at a party please raise their hand? If you’re raising your hand, congratulations, you probably look like a moron. I hope nobody’s watching. The nice thing about “Party in the USA” was that it was a guilty pleasure you didn’t have to hide. Everyone loved this song. Everyone loves this song. Everyone will continue to love this song. Oldies stations will devote entire hour-long blocks to this song in 2020, and we’ll still be sad when the hour’s up. This song reminded us that it’s cool to love our country. We stood and saluted Wal-Mart, KFC, and liposuction, and the tears rolled silently down our cheeks. We danced pantsless around a fire of Dixie Chicks albums, and we were glad. We tea-partied, surged, and gave shout-outs to God in our tweets. We stuck our thumbs in our belt-loops and hootenanied like there was no tomorrow. It was a damn good year, and it’s all thanks to Miley. (Oh, and also the poor nameless male-pattern-baldness sap stuck somewhere in a 1960’s office building who wrote the song under the flickering hum of a flourescent light.) We salute y’all. -Edward

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Miley Cyrus – Party in the USA (YSI)

#4: Jay-Z featuring Alicia Keys – “Empire State of Mind”

As a New Yorker, Jigga’s unendingly epic ode to the greatest city in the world was an integral part of my year. Getting to blast, “Shit, I made the Yankee hat more famous than the Yankees can/ You should know I bleed blue but I ain’t a crip though” as I popped bottles to celebrate the Yankees was a fantastic gift. Who cares if it was played at Game 2, the ticker-tape parade, every other NYC event, and on every radio station in the country 237 times too many. Does that detract from how incredible it is? No way. This track has too many extraordinary rhymes to be ignored, from “Mommy took a bus trip and now she got her bust out/ Everybody ride her, just like a bus route” all the way to “MDMA got you feeling like a champion/The city never sleeps better slip you a Ambien.” Not to mention how Alicia Keys belts the inspired chorus, and Stephen Colbert’s rap debut for “Empire State of Mind Part 2″. All in all, this song will forever be associated with ’09 and its ass-kicking greatness. – DFJacobs

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Jay-Z feat. Alicia Keys – Empire State of Mind (YSI)

#3: Kid Cudi featuring Kanye West and Common – “Make Her Say”

Every facet of the hella hot “Make Her Say” screams best rap song of the year. The beat, like the song itself, is catchy and imaginative, improving upon everyone’s favorite Lady, the Gagski. Cudi’s supporting cast is top notch with Kanyeezy and Common spitting sweltering hot verses. And while both are impressive, Kanye’s submission is possibly his best since he signed up late for college. “I’ve got seniority with the sorority/ so that explains why I love college/ getting brains in the library ‘cause I love knowledge” and “fuck the bus, the Benz is parked like Rosa(osa)” explode out of his mouth and into your ear like one of Weezy’s hand guns (too soon?). “Make Her Say” was indubitably one of the more iconic and quintessential 2009 songs, and is more than worthy of its place near the top this list. – DFJacobs

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Kid Cudi ft. Kanye West & Common – Make Her Say (YSI)

#2: Phoenix – “1901″

Tainted as it was late in the year by its appearance in a Cadillac commercial, 1901 shines as an anthem. When it first dropped, many were predicting that it would be one of the big songs of the summer. However, by avoiding a seasonal meteoric rise, it has settled into a hot slow burn that will keep it fresh for a long time to come, despite its dangling above death by advertisement. – Icebergxc

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Phoenix – 1901 (YSI)

#1: Animal Collective – “My Girls”

Are you shocked? If you don’t like this song it’s probably because, “hey it’s pretty good but it just got overplayed” which is my own pretentious diatribe about brilliant songs that get too popular, and thus are not cool to like anymore (’Paper Planes’, I’m sorry). So, yeah, Animal Collective isn’t making ‘Sung Tongs’ anymore. Bummer. And everyone (and I mean everyone) likes them now. Bummer. But you have to face the truth at some point: bands that are THIS good will almost certainly get mainstream exposure sooner or later. In the animal kingdom that is popular music, bands can either evolve or die. Part of evolving is exposure. And, yup, Animal Collective evolved. But what they haven’t evolved into is shitty husk of their former greatness, crapping out the same mediocre money maker after the other. Instead, Animal Collective has evolved into an unstoppable pop machine capable of ruling the earth with an iron fist of infectious rhythms, catchy hooks, and brilliant song composition.

The first time I heard ‘My Girls’ was when it was inexplicably leaked on various blogs and music forums in the waning weeks of 2008. Having spent a solid month or two checking the internet twice a day for MPP leaks (and getting Rick Roll’d not once, but twice in the process), I finally got a hit around December 14th. I found a stream of ‘My Girls’ on a message board, and naturally, I listened to it. And then I listened to it again. And again. The first time had access to ‘My Girls’, I listened to it so many times that I was 20 minutes late to my first class. And then, in between classes, I listened to it two more times. Why? BECAUSE IT WAS THAT FUCKING GOOD. I wrote about it in my personal blog. I claimed that ‘My Girls’ would be the best song of 2009. And here we are. The best song of 2009.

I shouldn’t have to describe this song to you. You’ve heard it. You’ve rated it a ‘5′ on your iTunes, favorited it on you Last.FM, and clicked the ‘heart’ button next to it on HypeMachine. It was on every mixtape you gave to your crush, you heard it 5 times a day on your college radio station, and it got played at least thrice at every party you went to. It’s just that kind of song. The infectious bass brings together the layers of electronic melody in an amalgamation of ‘experimental sub-cultural capital’ and ‘pop accessibility’. In other words, this song has something for everyone: the synth nerd, the lyrics freak, the girl who ‘just wants to dance’, the guy who is trying to get with her, and all those people who have “everything” listed under the ‘music’ section of the Facebook ‘About Me’ page. And it’s because they all love this fucking song, regardless of whether or not it’s for the same reason you love it. So go ahead, scoff a little bit and then give it another listen. You and I both know it wont be your last. -Marquis Meowmers

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Animal Collective – My Girls (YSI)

Related posts:

1. BEST ALBUMS OF 2009 — #5-1
2. Top 5 Mashups of 2009
3. BEST ALBUMS OF 2009 — #10-6

Well, folks, that time of year is upon us yet again. The Animal Show returns from its examtime hibernation to bring you our favorite albums of 2009, giving you a handy guide for using all the iTunes, Amazon, and local independent record shop gift certificates you got for that holiday you just celebrated.

This is how this is going to go down: today, we’re counting down from #15 to #11. Tune in at this time tomorrow for numbers #10 to #6. Then, on the day after that, we’ll hit you up with #5-#1, and then finish out the week with our favorite songs and mashups of the year.

Unlike last year, this year’s list had input from all of the writers (even that asshole icebergxc, who cast votes for one album and 20 mashups). We split up the blurbs between writers, so that whoever was most excited about the albums at hand ended up writing about them. Make the jump to see the first five

#15: Tarot Sport – Fuck Buttons

Fuck Buttons won over my heart in 2008 with Street Horrsing by booming with an electro beat while humming with a brutal harsh noise that commanded you to turn your speakers to 12 or 13 or whatever was higher than your highest setting. Well executed and masterfully mixed, the record was unique in that the only critique I could launch at it was that it was too expansive, lacking the cohesiveness of a more mature album.

2009’s Tarot Sport accentuates the British duo’s spectacular ability to clash beautiful melodies with crushingly heavy drone and noise, while adding the sense of cohesiveness that their 2008 debut lacked. My favorite moment of the album comes two songs in: after establishing a sense of energy on the first two tracks, the album slows a bit, opening up into a deep groove on ‘The Lisbon Maru’, which builds upon itself in both layers of sound and intensity, until it explodes into a gooey and dreamy mess of high pitched screeches, low drones, and the continually marching melody. Be careful with this album, it’s easy to put it on only to realize that 58 minutes have slipped away from while you floated along with this masterpiece. – Marquis Meowmers IV

Fuck Buttons – The Lisbon Maru (YSI)

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#14: Up From Below – Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros

Edward Sharpe & rhe Magnetic Zeros blew up the only way a band playing a jangly brand of alt-country influenced pop could: by genuinely professing their emotions with simple vocal hooks and extremely catchy melodies. On From Below’s opening track, lead-vocalist Alex Ebert professes, “I’ve been sleeping for 60 days / nobody better pinch me / bitch I swear / I’ll go crazy,” a seemingly goofy line, with such honesty in his voice that it’s impossible to not feel an emotional connection with him (assuming that you have a. the capacity to feel and b. that you have experienced [or wish to experience] the kind of love he is describing). Of course, it helps that his female vocalist and frequent duet partner Jade Castrinos is his current love interest, making their chemistry on songs like ‘Carries On’ and epic closer ‘Om Nashi Me’ simply sublime to hear. The album’s peak is the mind-blowingly catchy ‘Home’, a track on which Jade and Alex trade expressions of  love for one another with such authenticity that it is nearly impossible to not feel the hairs on your neck stand on-end as you recall the last time you entangled your limbs with those of a significant other’s. This album is an ode to true love, and one of the most honest portrayals of an emotion that is notoriously difficult to express. – Marquis Meowmers IV

Edward Sharpe and The Magnetic Zeros – Home (YSI)

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#13: Dragonslayer – Sunset Rubdown

If I were to describe this album in one word, it’d be “epic.”  If you were to give me multiple words, I’d say, “Almost every song is like Bruce Springsteen’s ‘Jungleland’ in proportion and ambition.”  I’ll come back to the one word again.  “Epic.” – Dave

Sunset Rubdown – Silver Moons (YSI)

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#12: The Pains of Being Pure at Heart – The Pains of Being Pure at Heart

I can’t necessarily speak for their hearts, but their sound is pure.  And by pure, I mean pure The Cure-type alt-rock.  They almost sound late 80’s-mid 90’s to me.  Add some Cranberries to The Cure.  I don’t mean that to discount what they’ve accomplished here on their debut album.  This is an awesome album that’s great to listen to, and they’ve even managed to pull off the coming-of-age love story thing without seeming cliché.  They are lyrically clever on tracks like “Young Adult Friction.”  The sound is catchy and untiring, as there are many layers here, yet they all lie flat and seem distinct.  My main complaint with the album is that, unlike a debut album like Why There Are Mountains by Cymbals Eat Guitars, the diversity of the sound just isn’t there.  It feels like they picked one thing and stuck with it.  But why am I complaining?  What they stuck with is pretty damn good. – Dave

The Pains of Being Pure at Heart – Young Adult Friction (YSI)

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#11: When I See the Sun Always Shines on TV – Nadja

When I See the Sun Always Shines on TV is, indeed, Nadja’s attempt at a compilation of covers, an endeavor which often ends tragically for most artists. The album opens with a reinterpretation of dream-pop’s most iconic moment: the 1-2-3-4 count off on the snares before Kevin Shields and co. launch into the opening track of Loveless, ‘Only Shallow’. Nadja slows this to half-time, and reduces the dreamy nature of MBV’s layered guitars, replacing them with a simplistic heavy drone, which literally crushes the listener with an immense weight. This isn’t to suggest that the album is aggressive; on the contrary the only song which sounds remotely threatening is the Slayer cover (which is to be expected, it’s motherfucking Slayer). The album is simply heavy, using low tunings and tons of distortion (but never hitting the point of gratuity) to create a unique reading of each song’s source material. And, of course, the sources are unique. Acoustic numbers like Codeine’s ‘Pea’ and Elliott Smith’s ‘Needle in The Hay’ get elegantly loud drone metal treatments, while faster or upbeat numbers like the aforementioned cover of Slayer’s ‘Dead Skin Mask’ and A-Ha’s ‘The Sun Always Shines on TV’ are slowed down and reduced to slow and heavy melodies. The fantastic thing about Nadja’s sound on this album is that the Canadian duo refuses to remain rooted in drone or stoner or dream metal, adding in elements of shoegaze (‘Only Shallow’), grunge (‘The Sun Always Shines on TV’), death metal (‘Dead Skin Mask’), and straight rock (‘Needle in The Hay’) making each song sound unique while never losing a sense of cohesiveness. Having sampled some of Nadja’s other work, I can safely say that When I See The Sun Always Shines on TV is both their most accessible and accomplished album, and possibly one of my favorite albums of the decade. - Marquis Meowmers IV
Nadja – Only Shallow (My Bloody Valentine) (YSI)

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Related posts:

1. BEST ALBUMS OF 2009 — #5-1
2. BEST ALBUMS OF 2009 — #10-6
3. Top 10 Songs of 2009