2009: Top Songs

1. Pet Shop Boys- All Over The World
Just about anything off the astounding Yes could have claimed this spot but this ode to pop music found a special place in my heart when my daughter IDed the riff sampled from Tchaikovsky's 1892 hit as being from that song I liked as the classic featured in a Little Einsteins episode. Also the chorus is amazing to shout along with in the car.

2. Yeah Yeah Yeahs- Zero
They had written amazing songs, just ask Kelly Clarkson, and flirted with electronics before but I never expected the Yeah Yeah Yeahs to take a left turn into my musical territory with such command. Truly the surprise of the year.

3. La Roux- Bulletproof
Earlier in the decade LCD Soundsystem sang about wanting to make a Yaz record, but Elly Jackson & Ben Langmaid followed through and actually made one. A good one too.

4. Tiga- Shoes
What's that sound? The most off the wall lyrics of the year, in a year that brought us "Combination Pizza Hut And Taco Bell", paired with the catchiest bassline of the year. Sheer genius.

5. Annie- Songs Remind Me Of You
Richard X returns in a big way on track that was apparently leaked years ago. The pure electro adrenaline of this song is timeless.

6. Calvin Harris- Flashback
It seems every few months over the past year there was another strong Calvin Harris single being released. After the dust settled "Flashback" ended up my favorite.

7. Little Boots- Love Kills
Found on the superb Illuminations EP this Freddie Mercury/Giorgio Moroder cover trumps Little Boots original material by thinnest margin as it directly connects the current wave of electropop to it's 80s roots with the cause of Mercury's death adding an unexpected poignant touch to a forgotten song.

8. Jay-Z- Death Of Autotune
The only entry on my list you can't tie into electropop on some level takes a killer backing track based on a funky jazz loop and add lyrics like "we facin' a recession/but the music y'all makin' gonna make it the great depression". Anytime you do that I'm hooked.

9. Röyksopp- The Girl And The Robot
I tend to be a bit hot and cold on both Röyksopp and Robyn which put me off this track when it was first released. Fortunately I gave it a second chance as I got into the rewarding Junior a bit late. Still they should have wrangled a Daft Punk remix to really make the song complete.

10. The Crystal Method- Drown In The Now
The Crystal Method tend to be very hit and miss (Divided By Night is heavily in miss column) and I generally dislike Matisyahu but this a strong song that was overlooked by just about everyone. Give it a listen.

Video: Pet Shop Boys "It Often Doesn't Snow At Christmas"

The Pet Shop Boys performing their new single nine years ago:



An amped up new version is available on the Christmas EP. Merry Christmas.

Top 50 Tracks Of 2003

Rescued from my now dead Geocities page is this list of songs featured on from my now dead internet radio station back in 2003.  Since that time I have decided that blogging is the new djing and that twittering is the blogging but I thought this worth posting for the sake of posterity.  Those interested in the 2004 & 2005 radio station lists can click on those links.  Here is what I had to say at the end of 2003:


Compiling a list of the most-worthy songs of 2003 that were featured on the Box proved to be a difficult task. An amazing amount of great music has been released in the past year, much of it a return to electronic pop from artists with different approaches and musical backgrounds. A technical note: Not all the songs on the countdown were originally released this past year, some tracks were singles, but all received plenty of "air" play on the Box. Enjoy and please let me know where I went wrong.

1. Ladytron- Blue Jeans
2. Tomcraft- Loneliness
3. Pet Shop Boys- Miracles
4. Audio Bullys- We Don't Care
5. Client- Rock And Roll Machine
6. Goldfrapp- Strict Machine
7. Electric Six- Danger! (High Voltage)
8. Primal Scream- Some Velvet Morning
9. Chemical Brothers- The Golden Path
10. Groove Armada- Easy
11. Richard X vs Liberty X- Being Nobody
12. BT- Somnabulist
13. Jay-Jay Johanson- Automatic Lover
14. Freeland- We Want Your Soul
15. The Droyds- Take Me I'm Yours
16. Cause & Effect- Into The Light
17. Dave Gahan- I Need You
18. Erland Oye- A Sudden Rush
19. Dandy Warhols- We Used To Be Friends
20. Fluke- Zion
21. Alpinestars- Burning Up
22. Pet Shop Boys- Somebody Else's Business
23. Beth Orton- Anywhere
24. Massive Attack- Special Cases
25. Junkie XL featuring Robert Smith- Perfect Blue Sky
26. Chicks On Speed- We Don't Play Guitars
27. Client- Price Of Love
28. Groove Armada- Groove Is On
29. Tomcraft- Overdose
30. The Streets- Weak Become Heroes
31. Ladytron- Evil
32. Erasure- Solsbury Hill
33. Johnny Marr + The Healers- Down On The Corner
34. Richard X- Rock Jacket
35. Benny Benassi- Satisfaction
36. Placebo- The Bitter End
37. Goldfrapp- Train
38. My Robot Friend- We're The Pet Shop Boys
39. Cloudless- Some Distant Memory
40. Blank & Jones featuring Robert Smith- Forest
41. Massive Attack- What Your Soul Sings
42. Camouflage- Me And You
43. Miss Kittin & The Hacker- Stock Exchange
44. Martin Gore- Loverman
45. Royksopp- Sparks
46. Moonlife- Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow
47. Junior Senior- Rhythm Bandits
48. The Sounds- Dance With Me
49. Basement Jaxx- Cish Cash
50. The Dysfunctionals- Payback Time

Video: Hot Chip "One Life Stand"

Just a few years ago Hot Chip's unique sound was so far out there no one would have guessed how quickly it would be appropriated by acts getting heavy alt-rock radio play (see Passion Pit). Fortunately the band have the songwriting skills to match their roles as sonic innovators since "Ready For The Floor" and "Over And Over" are some of the finest electropop songs of the decade. "One Life Stand" follows in that tradition of great pop songs and has one of their signature quirky videos:




: "One Life Stand" is the title track from their forthcoming album which is due in February. More info is available at Hot Chip's myspace.