Well, Looky Here

It's a link to download Pitchfork's Top 100 Tracks of 2009. Giddyup! It's like a cheat sheet for me because I'm too lazy to seek all these tracks out on my own. Not a bad way to spend a snowy Saturday.

Pitchfork'd and Zipped

Here's a cheat sheet for all of you oldheads like me who can't be bothered to snap up every blog-approved single: zip files of Pitchfork's Top 100 Singles of 2008. Get 'em while you can and check out what you could've/should've been checking out according to people you've never met.

#1-25
#26-50
#51-75
#76-100

'Forked, With a Spoonful of Tunes

So, Pitchfork has released their picks for the Top 100 Tracks of 2007. My first thoughts on perusing the list: Jeez, I'm out of touch. Honestly, I haven't heard most of the bands listed. After I recovered from my sheepishness, I realized how useful this list could be. And, Pitchfork took pity on me by handily posting links to the songs they chose to highlight. This was a low-stress way for me to finally check out some of these bands that I've been sleeping on all year.

I've been sorting through the songs casually, the audio equivalent of rifling through a thrift store bin. And, just like a thrift store bin, there are some gems hidden in the pile.

Clearly, the breakout hit for me has been "Rise Above" by the Dirty Projectors. Part-lullaby, part-freakout, this song is fully arresting. The singer, Dave Longstreth, sounds unhinged in this "re-imagining" of a classic Black Flag track. His backup singers smooth things over with their sodapop, poodle-skirted coos. They lend a stability and sweetness to his vulnerability, like how frosting can mend a broken cake. I have a crush on this song. Here it is. Go ahead, check it out.



Another song that I dug was "Bros" by Panda Bear. I don't really know anything about them, but they remind me of a "Pet Sounds"-era Beach Boys. This isn't something I would sing-along in the shower to, but I would put it on as a soundtrack to baking brownies or entertaining some buddies. It started to test my patience around the 8-minute mark but whatevs.


LCD Soundsystem took home the big honors, with two of their songs placing in the top ten: "Someone Great" at #7 and "All My Friends" sitting pretty in the #1 spot. I have no idea what criteria they used to come to these conclusions, but there they are. Personally, I don't think this deserves the top spot at all. In fact, this has motivated me to create my own year end top ten list. Check back for that soon. In the meantime, here's the entire LCD Soundsystem album "Sound of Silver" for you cause what the hell, I'm feeling nice.