9

Muse - Uprising

Artist link:16 19 25 27 39 44 44

There's an elephant in the room. I'll just come right out and say it: this song sounds as though classic era Suzi Quatro has had a concerted go at writing the Doctor Who theme. Now that's out of the way we can proceed with the proper analysis. Over the past few albums, Muse have gravitated towards the themes of struggle, conflict and responses to oppression. Not sure why. Maybe it's been in the news? Or perhaps the Cornish separatist movement is more advanced in its strategies than we'd thought. The song features a glam-rock drum beat, coupled with lyrics to exhort the downtrodden to rise up against tyranny, all underpinned by a pre-cynicism, early-seventies belief in the possible. As long as they have no plans to use the profits from their latest album to recreate Camelot as a rallying point for Kernowese insurgents we won't need special import licences for authentic area-of-origin clotted cream any time soon. Otherwise, I fear it wouldn't take Messrs Bellamy, Wolstenholme and Howard long to whip up a storm of revolutionary fervour on the western banks of the River Tamar.

P Shoo

No of votes: 15, Score: 103, Highest vote: 1st

7

Florence + The Machine - You've Got The Love

If I was Florence Welch, I'd probably be quite frustrated, not to say a little disappointed, at the way the general public has fallen in love with this track. That's not because it's a weak single - far from it - it's fantastic, with Florence's ethereal vocal caressing and wrestling the listener into blissful submission in equal measure. It would make a great B side or a nice little bonus track at the end of a an album (both of which it was), but - and it's a big but - our Florence has written an album chock full of brilliant, original songs like Dog Days Are Over and Rabbit Heart (Raise It Up), so I can't help but think she's just a little peeved that people seem to prefer a cover version of an early nineties dance track that she probably knocked-off in one take at the end of a session to one of her own carefully crafted creations. Still, a hit, as they say in the business, is a hit no matter where it comes from, and by that mark this track is solid gold.

Greg B

No of votes: 17, Score: 83, Highest vote: 1st

5

Jay-z feat. Alicia Keys - Empire State Of Mind

Jay-Z's buoyant and uplifting paen to New York gave him his first Billboard Number One single as a solo artist and climbed as high as Number Two in the UK Singles charts. Sampling "Love on a Two-Way Street" by The Moments and featuring a soaring contribution from Hell's Kitchen's very own Alicia Keys,"Empire State of Mind" is nothing more or less than a heartfelt love song to the Big Apple. Multi-millionaire executive Jay-Z is clearly now some distance from the street hustler who grew up in the grimy Marcy projects in Brooklyn: this self-proclaimed "new Sinatra" is married to Beyonce and sings here about highfiving Nicks and Nets players from his courtside seats at the game....but it seems that he's not entirely forgotten where he came from. As well as namechecking NYC's great and good, Jay-Z's New York is filled with dealers selling rocks on street corners, addicts and hookers. Even so, "Empire State of Mind" (is that title a nod to Billy Joel or what?) is a joyous celebration of the city that has most closely nurtured and symbolised the American Dream, whether welcoming in waves of immigrants past the Statue of Liberty or standing defiant at the fall of the World Trade Centre. If you can make it here, the old Sinatra told us, you can make it anywhere. Or, as the New Sinatra puts it, In New York, there's nothing you can't do....

Swiss T

No of votes: 17, Score: 117, Highest vote: 1st

3

Lily Allen - The Fear

Artist link:14 26

'The Fear' is Lily Allen at her absolute best, though she worryingly starts by proclaiming no time for either 'clever' or 'funny' - which is a shame because without these, she would be just another popstrel daughter with a reliable ear for melody. You are never quite sure where the sideways look at celebrity ends and the therapy begins, though by the time she starts worrying about her body image you've got a pretty good idea that you're now hiding behind the psychiatrist's couch. It's the most enduring satire of 2009; catchier than Ian Hislop, prettier than Charlie Brooker, more repeatable than Frankie Boyle. If Lily does follow through on her threat to leave the scene and become the poster girl for housewifery then pop will instantly become less clever and less funny. And we should all care about that.

Danny G

No of votes: 25, Score: 150, Highest vote: 1st

1

Dizzee Rascal feat. Armand Van Helden - Bonkers

I'm not sure what it is about Dizzee Rascal, but he's like some sort of lucky talisman for collaborators. This time it's American producer Armand Van Helden that's got an absolutely filthy house track tucked underneath his arm and decided he needed some good old fashioned British eccentricity dawbed all over it. Given that the phrase "Bonkers" got more than enough mileage in Smashey and Nicey skits from over a decade ago, Dizzee has been very 2009 in giving it a full Gok Wan makeover. I love the mantra that goes with it - "Some people think I'm bonkers, but I just think I'm free", just the sort of thing that's going to act as a catalyst to messy, noisy, boisterous nights out. Naturally, da kids were dancing themselves silly to it (and believe me, I use "kids" advisedly here) - frankly, if you didn't, you're one Blue WKD short of the crate.

Jason M

No of votes: 27, Score: 177, Highest vote: 1st