Tracks of the Year 2009

Okay so it's that time again!

2009 is about as over as its going to get but these are the tracks that will live on for me from this year.

Artist of the Year
Florence + The Machine

Florence has really taken off this year and deservedly so. Her strong voice and the variety of her music has been one of the highlights of the year. She really cemented herself in my mind over the summer as I watched coverage of all the festivals and live gigs she did and Florence was usually the highlight!



Hype of the Year
Lady Gaga

Who else could it be! She arrived with a fully formed marketing machine behind her, which turned a lot of people off, but by the end of the year I think its safe to say a lot of people's heads were turned just because she overwhelmed you with her musical and visual ideas. The future of pop? I doubt it, but expect lots of mini gaga's in the next year or two!



Track of the Summer
Dizzee Rascal - Bonkers

No contest here! Amazing track from Dizzee and Armand Van Helden which totally rocked the summer! I can't imagine anyone being able to sit still and not enjoy this track. It's influence has alread spawned Dizzee's mate Wiley to do a spiritual follow up!



Overlords of the Year
The Black Eyed Peas

Can you believe how much BEP has taken over the airwaves this year? Will.i.am has become the Simon Cowell of cool as everything he touches turns to musical gold! It's not that they don't deserve to be at the top though. BEP have just gotten better and better with each album and this year they deserve to be top of the pile. Who'da thunk that 'Where is the Love' would spawn a freight train this unstoppable! They've got talent and character and a great sense of fun too. All Hail The Black Eyed Peas!



The one that should never have happened
Mika - We Are Golden

Just when I though he might have disappeared down the toilet pan of obscurity Mika popped back up floated around the charts again. I can't quite put my finger on what it is I don't like. All the ingredients for good pop seem to be there but it all just seems a little off, a bit too forced and self-conscious. Maybe it was all in his debut 'Grace Kelly' where all he really wants is to be liked. I guess it's needy pop! It jumps in front of your face with a big grin demanding to be liked or it'll have a tantrum. Stamp your foot all you want Little Miss Mika, I ain't listening!



Comeback of the Year
The Prodigy

One of my all time favourite acts returned with a classic sound and possibly their best album yet. Every track released had the same energy and attitude that have always put them head and shoulders above every other techno wannabe out there. Top Stuff!

The Prodigy - Invaders Must Die
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Genre of the Year
Grime

The UK's urban underground left the trenches this year and took over the charts with Dizzee Rascal, Tinchy Strider, N-Dubz, Wiley, and Chipmunk leading the way. UK Hip Hop and R'n'B has always had a different flavour than its american inspirations and the last few years have seen it mature and become more mainstream. This is definitely where all the excitement has been for me this year in finding new music.

The Best Track of 2009
Lily Allen - The Fear

I've already listed this somewhere else on the blog but suffice to say not a lot else has surpassed its pop perfection. Maybe my mind has been on other things this year and a lack of purchasing power means my influences have come mainly from radio and TV playlists rather than whats on my MP3 player but nevertheless it shouldn't detract too much from the enjoyment I get everytime I hear this song and singalong! Honourable mentions go to Muse, Friendly Fires, The Saturdays, as well as those who I've managed to represent in some other way on this list.





My favourite 'best of' list is always the NME's top 50. Especially with John Peel's Festive 50's no more. Check 'em out!

Happy New Year!



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Now playing: David Essex - The Artilleryman and The Fighting Machine
via FoxyTunes