2010 Top Songs #25-#11

Here's some songs that were good this year.  Check out the songs on Grooveshark or YouTube them.  Top 10 songs sometime tomorrow.

25. Mumford and Sons-Little Lion Man - Like an English Bright Eyes with an Irish folk band backing him up, this song is strong.  The title is clever, too.  It's like being a "lion man" for admitting your wrong, but you're still wrong, so what's the glory in that?

24. The Heavy-How You Like Me Now? - Channeling James Brown into a rock and roll give and take, until it finally explodes, this song should be in MORE commercials and playing at MORE bars.
 
23. Ray Lamontagne and the Pariah Dogs-Beg, Steal, or Borrow - This guy is just a great song writer with a haunting voice who, despite a lot of early idolatry, has remained true to the game.  He's to the point where the listener can believe in the lessons his songs teach.  Those pipes don't hurt anything either.
 
22. Florence+the Machine-Dog Days are Over - This one is a blast to run to, like right out of the door, hit play, and go.  Good luck picking a next song in your mix though, because after the cannon this song shoots you out of, you may find yourself hoping for a red light to catch your breath.
 
21. OK Go-This Too Shall Pass - I didn't find a better track this year to come out and bow to after a show.  It's just an anthem.  And I dare you to watch the video and try not send it to all of your friends right after.





20. Everest-Let Go - The stomp of Spoon, meandering guitars of My Morning Jacket, and the vocals of someone familiar I just can't get my thumb on, this band (discovered by Neil Young) could slide into the niche of amazing roots-rock bands.  Hopefully.
 
19. Jamey Johnson-Macon - I felt guilty liking this song, and album as much as I did at first.  I grew up on country, loving REAL country, and although I was too young to understand Hank Williams' significance at the time, I loved Hank Jr.'s badass mentality, which Johnson brings on this track and the entire album.  It starts off like an Elton John ballad, before settling into some slide guitar, then takes off down the highway straight through Georgia.
 
18. Mavis Staples-You are Not Alone - Jeff Tweedy penned this one for Staples, whose husky voice takes it to places of lament and soothing compassion that Tweedy's never could.
 
17. Dr. Dog-Shadow People - The Dog at their "ooh and ahh" best, it starts simple, passing down a desolate street taking in desolate scenes, and contemplating how we fit into it all, or better yet, overcome it.  I'm a sucker for 2 things, bangs (like the hairstyle), and songs where the singer yells "Woo!" as the guitar solo really kick off.  This song has one of those two things.
 
16. Robert Plant-House of Cards - Plant has taken an adult contemporary turn compared to the Zep days, but still has more hits than misses.  This one, delving into that bluegrass sound that he nailed with Alison Krauss, with a stomp of a beat that is just quiet enough to make you not John Bonham's pounding behind the kit too much.
 
15. Sufjan Stevens-All Delighted People (Classic Rock Version) - From the opening banjo to the flourishes that follow, this is classic Sufjan: a lot of questions and doubt, answered with orchestration and melody.
 
14. MGMT-Flash Delirium - A manic response to the fame they achieved from the epic Oracular Spectacular, this is anything but a radio hit single, but for some reason, once it crawls inside you, you find yourself craving it.  Maybe it's because it is like 7 songs in one, from Monster Mash to the Canned Heat "Goin to the Country"-esque anti-solo in the bridge, to the maniacal climax at the end, it was my most listened to song of the first half of 2010.  If you're running to it, it will carry you faster and harder til the end before it leaves you hanging empty at its conclusion.
 
13. Roots ft. John Legend-I Wish I Knew How it Would Feel to be Free - Every once in awhile, someone covers a song and you just thank God that they brought it into your life.  This is as creamy smooth dose of soul with as simple and insightful lyrics as the more famous "I Can See Clearly Now."

12. Free Energy-Bang Pop - Just a bubblegum, 70's pop song.  It could play a hundred times straight and you'd still be smiling and shaking your head.  The soundtrack to the montage of all the good times you have in a night.
 
11. Beck/Feist/Wilco/Jamie Lidell-Weighted Down - These Beck sessions (where he gets together with a group of musicians to cover an entire album of tunes in 24 hours) turned up many masterpieces, but nothing close to this masterpiece.  Take Wilco's Nels Cline ripping out 1/64th notes over a Beck/Jamie Lidell synthesized beat and just butter on some Feist over it at her haunting, echo-ey best.  Then the Wall-of-Sound harmonies of everyone joining in on the fun carry the song off into the heavens.