The 20.9 Best Songs of 2009… So Far / Jan.-June

Art by Odili Donald Odita

How freaking crazy is it that 2009 is already halfway over? What a crazy year so far, in so many ways, the least of which is all of the fantastic, surprising, and sometimes disappointing music that has come our way. TBE will be 5 months old in a week and we have been chronicling most of the year’s jams. Here are my top 20.9. I guarantee you wont agree with all of them but doesn’t that just make our friendship that much more deep and meaningful? Just so we are clear how I arrived at this particular order, I’ve selected my favorites from my top listens each month and then ordered them purely by total play count. I know that’s confusing but whatever, the list is after the jump.

20.9 – Das Racist – Combination Pizza Hut And Taco Bell (Wallpaper. Remix) / This gets .9 status because it’s a remix but whatever, this song is so crazy fresh/funky/catchy/fantastic that I have a feeling it’s ony going to creep higher up the list by year’s end. Uness it becomes a new ad campaign and becomes crazy annoying… which is possible/brilliant. (Original Post)

20 – Datarock – Give It Up / It’s tricky business when a song is introduced with a remix (see Little Boot’s disappointing album version follow up to Fred Falke’s killer remix of “New In Town”) but luckily Datarock pulled out all the stops for this great jam. Too bad they didn’t have any more juice left to make the rest of RED listenable. (Original Post)

19 – The Sounds – Dorchester Hotel / “Dorchester Hotel” beats lead single “Nobody Sleeps When I’m Awake” but luckily it leaked into my inbox first and thus it IS the single in TBE world. Deal? (Original Post)

18 – Phoenix – Lisztomania / This song should have gotten more plays but when its buried in such a fantastic album it’s hard to give it too much attention. I guess I like it more than “1901”… although I regret that as I type it. Damn. (Original Post)

17 – N.A.S.A. – Gifted ft.Kanye, Santogold, & Lykke Li / What’s better for 2009 than a straight-up love child of 2008’s biggest acts? Plus Kanye basically says he invented tight jeans, which is awesome. Thanks Kanye! (Original Post)

16 – The Dance Party – Sasha Don’t Sleep / My little brother heard this song the other day and though the dude was singing about a “soft shirt!” That’s funny because there is nothing soft about this track. Pure hard-rocking Saturday night dance-party-in-front-of-the-mirror business right here. (Original Post)

15 – Wild Light – California On My Mind / I still feel a bit weird belting out “Fuck California!” when I sing along. Sorry Golden State, I actually do love you. (Original Post)

14 – The Mae Shi – R U Professional? (For Xtian) / Yes, I listened to this song more than anything from Royksopp, Bat For Lashes, Animal Collective, Grizzly Bear, or any of the other blog-porn out there. This song was literally made by the internet and for the internet and it’s perfect. Unlike Christian Bale, who clearly needs counseling. (Original Post)

13 – Simian Mobile Disco – Audacity Of Huge ft. Chris Keating / This song should be called “Audacity Of Creating The Hugest Song Ever With Also The Best Lyrics Boasting About Awesome Shit And That Crazy Bouncy Beat I Really Love.” Simian Mobile peeps, what you think? (Original Post)

12 – Lee Fields & The Expressions – Ladies / Speaking of perfect? “My Girls” can suck one because this is the perfect ode to fairer sex. And pretty much the perfect summer jam. (Original Post)

11 – Harlem Shakes – Strictly Game / “This will be a better year” Lexy sings. “Well,” I reply, “My favorite song off of one of the year’s best albums just got a fantastic video treatment which is all up in TBE TV, so I’m not sure it could be ‘better!’ Ahh, but “A better year than the last one,” he corrects me. “Oh.” (Original Post)

10 – La Roux – Bulletproof / “Quicksand” was always a bit too downer to be a fave but “Bulletproof” nails it. And with the wait for the full album finally over I have to say that I am pleasantly pleased. Super-pleased, really. (Original Post)

9 – Passion Pit – Little Secrets / Anticipation was so high when “The Reeling” came out that even though I loved it the song almost stressed me out. Unwrapping the awesomeness of “Little Secrets” in the context of the whole album was much more fun. And it had 1 more play in my iTunes, so it wins. (Original Post for “The Reeling”)

8 – Project Jenny, Project Jan – Pins and Needles (w/ Fujiya & Miyagi) / That creeping beat and funked out guitar are just awesome. Can we get some more love for this song, people? I mean, really! The whole EP wasn’t fantastic but this song! This Song! (Original Post)

7 – The Maccabees – Love You Better / Oh boy, what a song, what a voice, what an album! Don’t love me any better Orlando, I won’t handle it! You will set the bar so high that other bands will always be compared to you and I will be too picky and end up growing old and dying in sonic loneliness. (Original Post)

6 –The Hundred In The Hands – Dressed In Dresden / The perfect song for driving. It’s propulsive, has spastic beats that soundtrack things zipping by, lyrics that boast of knowing better, and basically just rocks. Although I guess the “in and out” lyric could make it a good song for other things… I dunno, hamburgers I guess. (Original Post)

5 – Daniel Merriweather – Change ft. Wale / Although I cant get into either of these dudes when they are solo I can’t get enough of this track. And now we have crazy fresh remixes dropping!? Also, I always think of the incorrect lyric that Sam and I found online where the “welfare man” had a “smoothie” in his hand instead of a “spoon.” Awesome. Swap them out on your next listen for a whole new take on poverty, blended fruit, and America’s favorite pie. (Original Post)

4 – Miike Snow – Animal / What a song, what a set of production credits, what a weird mascot/logo! Seriously though, this song is should definitely be higher on the list. Number 1 even, if you count all the remixes I listen to. Sorry Miike Snow, you guys are just too awesome for your own good. (Original Post)

3 – Filthy Dukes – Nonsense In The Dark (Ft. Orlando Weeks) / Since I haven’t seen any mention of it out in the blogosphere I’m not sure if anyone else on the planet is in love with song as much as me but since I’m the boss in these parts here it is at number three. 6.5 Minutes and it is still my third most listened to song of 2009. Deal with that! (Original Post)

2 – Bombay Bicycle Club – Always Like This / Holy crap I love this song. The guitar riff? The quavering vocals? The bass line? The perfectly simple drums? That long echo-y “oooooh”? It’s like all the parts to the perfect woman except it’s for the perfect song. But at just over 4 minutes, the enjoyment level is about the same. (Don’t get your panties in a bunch, people, go back to #12 for my real thoughts on Ladies.) (Original Post)

1 – Bike For Three! – All There Is To Say About Love / When I first heard this song I would have ever guessed it would be sitting here as the best song so far of 2009. However, writing that just now doesn’t feel strange at all. This song is damn fantastic and with nothing else out there like it, it’s no surprise it rose to the top. I still get excited when I hear that long drifting intro and then the beat kicks in and Buck 65 starts murdering it. Awesome. (Original Post)

Well that’s it, feel free to berate me in the comments. I am curious what the rest of team TBE (that’s you!) couldn’t stop listening to this year.

Get The Best Songs of 2009 Pt. 1 in a zip file!

Looking for the original posts on these jams or just more by these artists? Use the “Tagged as:” links below!

Be sure to catch all the 2009 round-ups.

• Best Albums / The Top 15
• Best Albums / Honorable Mention & EPs – YOU ARE HERE!
• Best Songs – Pt. 1 (Jan-June) – YOU ARE HERE!
• Best Songs – Pt.2 (July-Dec)
• Best Remixes
• Biggest Disappointments (coming soon)