20
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Cheryl Cole - Fight For This Love
I'm not the world's biggest Girls Aloud fan (I've just checked and I only have one track on my iPod) and probably take pride in not listening to much of the Top 40 on a regular basis. But with Cheryl Cole joining the X-Factor judging panel, things have changed. I'm not a paid-up member of the Cheryl Cole fan-club or anything, but how can you not enjoy her Geordie niceness on a Sunday evening? (People who moan about her are probably just jealous). So when "Fight For This Love" was released, I paid it a bit more attention than I would normally have done for the début solo single from a girl-band member. OK, so her singing is fairly ordinary and the lyrics are pretty pants, but it's a really good tune nonetheless. It's annoyingly catchy, good to dance to - my top guilty pleasure for 2009!
Milly H
No of votes: 9, Score:
53, Highest vote: 1st
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19
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Bat For Lashes - Daniel
Natasha Khan's, for Bat for Lashes is she, Daniel is both a paen to The Karate Kid and a throwback to early eighties synth mystique. Wrapped up in a smokey atmosphere and served with wide-eyed synesthesia it hits the spot reserved for Kate Bush, Cocteau Twins and a stoned Fleetwood Mac. A fine way to be introduced to the Bat for Lashes canon, Daniel shows off all the dexterity, ambition and scale found there.
Paul M
No of votes: 9, Score:
57, Highest vote: 1st
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18
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Doves - Kingdom Of Rust
Artist link: 12 13  36  44
Sometimes in your life, you need a bit of melancholy - you've just been dumped, the washing up is piled to the ceiling, someone eats the last chocolate digestive in the biscuit barrel, you know how it goes. The radio offers up either mindless optimism, or outright rage - neither really fit the bill. What you really need is a song that befits a persistent drizzle that shows no sign of abating. This is where I welcome Doves back with open arms, this the title track from a glorious comeback album has atmosphere that you can wade in, poignant, mournful, but also guaranteed to keep you coming back to it time and time again. Why Channel 4 didn't make this the soundtrack to Red Riding, I'm not sure, it would have been the perfect partner.
Jason M
No of votes: 9, Score:
62, Highest vote: 2nd
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17
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Muse - Undisclosed Desires
Artist link: 16 19  25 27 39  44  44
Over the 10 years that I've run this poll, there are not many bands that keep on returning, but it is a testament to Muse that they have notched up a top 50 entry for at least one single off every album. I'd attribute this to their uncanny ability to nail a belting lead single, and put out an endearing slowie to back it up. So what could provide a suitable juxtaposition to Uprising? The Right Honourable Denizen of Darkness for Devon (and Minister For Soaring Falsettos) has surpassed himself on this one, deftly layering a string section, rumbling synth undertones and a harmony laden chorus that the late Freddie Mercury would exhume himself for. They won't appreciate the comparison to Queen - both expressing a lot of emotion, and similarly being radio-friendly unit shifters without fail, but honestly, it is a compliment.
Jason M
No of votes: 9, Score:
68, Highest vote: 1st
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16
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Kasabian - Fire
Artist link:41
Whilst I'll be the first to admit with their albums I've found that Kasabian tend to be slightly disappointing, when it comes to delivering quality singles, their reputation rates as one of the best rock outfits going. I've always felt they've slightly underperformed on this site, so what's got this in where others of theirs have failed? Once again, their ability to come up with something truly distinctive certainly contributes - that verse sounds like it could have been drafted out of a spaghetti western. But I reckon it's got to be down to the chorus, the anthemic cry that brings on the good times, whether it be because you've just bluffed king-high at poker and raked it in, or you've just negotiated a pay-rise that banking boardroom executives would be proud of. Undeniably, unashamedly, unabashed cocksure buggers that they are, you know there's more up their sleeves where that came from. Can't wait.
Jason M
No of votes: 10, Score:
51, Highest vote: 1st
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15
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Noisettes - Don't Upset The Rhythm (Go Baby Go)
Sometimes, I look as groups of people and wonder how they met and found common ground. And looking at Noisettes, you'd have to wonder how the scruffy, nerdy-ish drummer who looks like an extra from Underworld 3: Rise of the Lycans except for the white suit, managed to initially hook up with the other two protagonists. Not least the striking bass playing lead singer who seems to be sci-fi hybrid of Eartha Kit and Grace Jones. And I don't say that like it's a bad thing. Maybe J.Drummer-man had a van (if he had drums, I suppose that's fairly likely) and that was how things started. Whatever the reason, it's a mighty fine blend of insistent beats, catchy hooks and chutzpah the three of them have created.
P Shoo
No of votes: 11, Score:
45, Highest vote: 5th
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14
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Lady Gaga - Paparazzi
Perhaps I'm overthinking it, but I do wonder if Lady Gaga is somehow wasted on music fans. As she writhes and gyrates onstage in a succession of increasingly outlandish and seemingly impractical costumes before a backdrop of silent movies, it's hard to escape the conclusion that she's casting pearls before swine. She's clearly an avant-garde performance artist, so what the hell is she doing wasting her time in front of these hordes of screaming teenagers? Take the video for this song: it's nearly eight minutes long. Given that the song itself is over in 3m28s, that leaves an awful lot of room to spare for a beautifully shot mini film noir featuring a plotting boyfriend, hidden photographers, a plunge from a balcony and then some groovy cripple dancing on crutches. This is art, dangnabbit, and Lady Gaga is an artist. Of all her ubiquitous singles, this is the one that has stayed with me the longest. For starters there's the delicious juxtaposition of this often photographed performer using the paparazzo who must dog her every step as a metaphor for an unrequited love; comparing the obsessive nature of that love with the photographers looking to get that upskirt shot as she gets out of a car. She stops short of saying that the love between camera and star is mutual, but the sadness in her voice as she sings tells its own story. All this and it's absurdly catchy and nigh-on impossible to shift from your brain. 2009 was the year of Gaga and this was her best song. Art has never looked or sounded better.......... yeah, you're right: I'm definitely overthinking it.
Swiss T
No of votes: 11, Score:
67, Highest vote: 1st
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13
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Lady Gaga - Bad Romance
There's more than an element of making hay while the sun shines with this release - those scheming record company execs, no doubt fully aware how fickle that jabbing finger of fame can be, wanting to get a little more mileage out of the Gaga bandwagon without having to wait another twelve months for that difficult second album. And what better way of doing that than recording a couple of new tracks and reissuing the original album as a special edition just in time for the Christmas surge? If you can see past the cynical mercenary nature of the conception of this release you'll find another thumping disco tune from New York's First Lady. She does wander dangerously close to self parody at times with all the "ra-ras" and "ooh-la-las", but let's be honest, isn't that why we love her?
Greg B
No of votes: 12, Score:
74, Highest vote: 1st
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12
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Florence + The Machine - Rabbit Heart (Raise It Up)
This song needs a write-up!
I'll do it
No of votes: 13, Score:
86, Highest vote: 1st
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11
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La Roux - In For The Kill
La Roux = the "red-haired one" - she's the third red-head whose music has won me over this year. Synthesizers. Electric keyboards. Drum machines. Echoed background vocals. Beats, melodies and a chorus that sticks. Flashback to early MTV. High school dances. Erasure, Soft Cell, Human League. Elly was born the year I graduated from high school. I'm glad she was born in the wrong generation because she's brought the sound back in full force for us to relive - sounding even better than I remember, I might add. So, this song: I'm enjoying it for what it is, singing it outloud, and basking in 80's nostalgia.
Jane B
No of votes: 15, Score:
92, Highest vote: 1st
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A MASSIVE THANKS also to all those who slaved over a hot keyboard to produce the write ups: Danny G, Paul M, Kat B, Isaac H, Milly H, P Shoo, Emyr I, Greg B, Veronica S, Jane B, John C, Swiss T, Faye P