Music & Films for
Common People
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100
CMYK
James Blake (2010)
Distorted and repeated samples from Kelis and Aaliyah, a menacing tingling metronome and dark electronic effects were Blake's way of saying that he arrived to redefine the rules of the whole music game.
Also listen: Juana Molina - Eras /// Massive Attack feat. Young Fathers - Voodoo in my Blood
99
KING
Years & Years (2015)
King is a superb pop moment because it draws its influences from the true queer trailblazers like Pet Shop Boys or Scissor Sisters, rather than from the manufactured straight singers marketed as gay icons.
Also listen: Troye Sivan - My My My! /// The 1975 - The Sound
98
THE OPENER
Camp Cope (2018)
Empowering garage rock that attacks the sexism reigning in the music industry, The Opener points out some of the mysoginistic moments that every single female musician has experienced during their career.
Also listen: Purple Mountains - All my Happiness is Gone /// Perfect Pussy - I
97
I'VE SEEN FOOTAGE
Death Grips (2012)
From the opening seconds, I've Seen Footage demands you to stop doing and pay attention to its disruptive beat. By mixing rap and noise, they capture how ghetto life is so brutal that almost feels unreal.
Also listen: tUnE-yArDs - Bizness /// Fauxe - Gaut
96
BLOODBUZZ OHIO
The National (2010)
The National pens an ode to their home state, but it is not warm or melancholic. There's a cold distance and a recognition of the lack of affection that supposedly should inspire the memories of old times.
Also listen: The National - Terrible Love /// The National - Sea of Love
95
BAD GUY
Billie Eilish (2019)
Heavy on bass, with a dead-pan performance only broken by a sarcastic "duh", and insane undulating synths in the bridge, Bad Guy was the first time that Eilish proved that there's true talent in all that hype.
Also listen: Miley Cyrus - Wrecking Ball /// Zola Jesus - Dangerous Days
94
DNA.
Kendrick Lamar (2017)
DNA. traces a personal and social history of race fights to define black identities, to take pride of who you are and where you come from, and to keep fighting for your right to don't be a second-class citizen.
Also listen: Noname - Blaxploitation /// DJ Shadow feat. Run the Jewels - Nobody Speak
93
HOLOCENE
Bon Iver (2011)
Holocene finds a man drunk on Halloween night in a bar in Portland, finding how insignificant his life is in the global picture. But that discovery liberates him and makes him wiser; now he can see for miles.
Also listen: Fleet Foxes - Helplessness Blues /// Natalia Lafourcade - Hasta la Raíz
92
BAGS
Clairo (2019)
A pristine pop moment of pure vulnerability about overthinking every moment spent with a crush, Bags it is the moment when Clairo stops sounding amateurish and brings Internet pop musicians to the big leagues.
Also listen: サカナクション (Sakanaction) - ミュージック(Myujikku) /// San Cisco - Awkward
91
SAY SOMETHING LOVING
The XX (2017)
Say Something Loving shows an evolution in the sound of the band (now a cult one), while remaining true to their dark minimal electronics, and letting the three parts of the equation shine in the same measure.
Also listen: The XX - I Dare You /// The XX - A Violent Noise
90
I LOVE YOU HONEYBEAR
Father John Misty (2015)
Father John Misty was one of the wittiest lyricists of the decade and on the title track of his second album, he penned a love letter that mocks romantic commonplaces and creates an awkward love code of his own.
Also listen: Father John Misty - Chateau Lobby #4 (in C for Two Virgins) // Father John Misty - Pure Comedy
89
TIGHTROPE
Janelle Monáe feat. Big Boi (2010)
Monáe's debut was a true fire bolt, she wanted to make sure to make an indelible impression and she achieved that with a funky, bouncy, loony explosion of textures and rhythms to get us on our feet dancing.
Also listen: Pulp - After You /// Kaytranada - Lite spots
88
FOREVER
Haim (2012)
In Haim's DNA you'll find traces of The Pretenders, Fleetwood Mac and The Beach Boys, and the break-out single for these sisters was a refreshing indie tune that was perfect for an evening on Venice Beach.
Also listen: Haim - Falling /// Haim - The Wire
87
NO WOMAN
Whitney (2016)
Like many folk tracks, No Woman is about the life on the road to find yourself, but what sets Whitney appart is having one foot on country and one foot on indie rock, and getting a balanced smooth melancholy.
Also listen: Kevin Morby - I Have Been to the Mountain /// Rodrigo Amarante - Tardei
86
RUN AWAY WITH ME
Carly Rae Jepsen (2015)
It's quite normal to have indie kids that sell out to mainstream after some success, but Jepsen is a rare case of the opposite, and Run Away With Me might be the most underrated pure pop track of the decade.
Also listen: Carly Rae Jepsen - Call Me Maybe /// Giorgio Moroder feat. Kylie Minogue - Right Here, Right Now
85
TORO
El Columpio Asesino (2011)
Toro traces a crazy X-rated roadtrip from Spain to Berlin, full of speed lines on the road and sexual encounters in public bathrooms. The raw guitars clash with dark synths and explode in an insane ending.
Also listen: Parquet Courts - Wide Awake /// King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard - People-Vultures
84
NOT THE NEWS
Thom Yorke (2019)
Not the News is crafted as a mapped light installation, the synths pulsating in waves, the silences and the stridency creating a suffocating atmosphere, and cryptic lyrics that might be the diary of a mad person.
Also listen: Thom Yorke - Dawn Chorus /// John Maus - Believer
83
GOSH
Jamie XX (2015)
If we already were aware, via some remixes and a few solo tracks, that Jamie XX's talent was broader than his amazing work on The XX, Gosh showed that we were dealing with a mastermind of electronic music.
Also listen: Jamie XX feat. Romy - Loud Places /// Jamie XX - Far Nearer
82
ROUND AND ROUND
Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti (2010)
Round and Round isn't a sad song, although it's quite clear that is not a happy one. Overall there's a sense of overwhelming melancholy, an absurdist approach to the cyclical patterns we find in life and love.
Also listen: Zoo Kid - Out Getting Ribs /// Amen Dunes - Blue Rose
81
THINKIN BOUT YOU
Frank Ocean (2012)
It's hard to dissociate this track from the public letter that came a little after, but in both, Ocean puts all his heart and honesty to share his first love story with a man, and changes many things in music on the way.
Also listen: Blood Orange - Charcoal Baby /// Jai Paul - He
80
MOTION SICKNESS
Phoebe Bridgers (2017)
Released on the year when #MeToo movement exploded, Motion Sickness' lyrics are an honest and sad recount of an abusive relationship that are harsher when paired with Bridgers' accusations to Ryan Adams.
Also listen: Julia Jacklin - Body /// Waxahatchee - Never Been Wrong
79
I FINK U FREEKY
Die Antwoord (2012)
One of the weirdest acts that emerged on the 10's was this duo of nutcases with an aesthetic that made Lady Gaga look childish, and their crazy hip-hop track that jumps, explodes and defies any sense of logic.
Also listen: Fever Ray - IDK About You /// Tshegué - Muanapoto
78
SAFE AND SOUND
Capital Cities (2013)
For most of their catalogue, Capital Cities are an average pleasant indie pop band, but from the moment the trumpets break into Safe and Sound, a magical world of hope and love blossoms before our eyes.
Also listen: Dënver - Los adolescentes /// San Cisco - Fred Astaire
77
REALITI (DEMO)
Grimes (2015)
There was a point in time (before Elon, of course) when Grimes among the most creative individuals and she could just throw an unfinished demo that was better than most of what was being made at the time.
Also listen: Let's Eat Grandma - Falling into Me /// Yaeji - Drink I'm Sippin' On
76
FUCK YOU
Cee-Lo Green (2010)
The former Gnarls Barkley singer went full swearing in one of the bubbliest soul tracks in recent memory. Those words could be very well used for anyone who drugs and rapes a woman, like Cee-Lo himself.
Also listen: Gil Scott-Heron - New York is Killing Me /// Ariana Grande feat. Iggy Azalea - Problem
75
VENICE BITCH
Lana del Rey (2018)
Del Rey gets risky with a track of almost ten minutes and derails her melancholic love song in a psychedelic trip heavy with electric guitar noise and a second part that breaks all structural conventions.
Also listen: Jenny Lewis - Red Bull & Hennessy /// (Sandy) Alex G - Gretel
74
22 (OVER S∞∞N)
Bon Iver (2016)
22 was a song so incredibly different to anything that Bon Iver did before, but so beautiful in its own terms, that not even the hardcore folk fans could have been disappointed by this haunting experimentation.
Also listen: Bon Iver - Hey, Ma /// Tops - Outside
73
MIRRORS
Justin Timberlake (2013)
The boldest movement from Timberlake to shake the image of boyband member was this clever and elegant track of seven minutes and three structural breaks to plead forgiveness and swears eternal love.
Also listen: The Preatures - Is This how you Feel? /// Kylie Minogue - Get Outta my Way
72
KILL FOR LOVE
Chromatics (2012)
Romance, despair and violence are mixed in this revival of Italian Disco music. Clever and on point with its lo-fi production with touches of minimal psychedelia, and very cinematic in its film noir imagery and mood.
Also listen: Beach House - Zebra /// Kavinsky - Night Call
71
THIS IS AMERICA
Childish Gambino (2018)
In a track about the states of shock and elation that media is provoking in people, Glover contrasts the funky gospel opening with broken dark trap beats on the chorus to get his idea of the state of the nation.
Also listen: Anderson .Paak - Come down /// Major Lazer feat. Amber Coffman - Get Free
70
FEELS LIKE WE ONLY GO BACKWARDS
Tame Impala (2012)
A psychedelic trip through the river of disillusionment, the hard realization that no matter how much we're investing in a relationship it just keeps spiraling to a hard fail. Unlucky at love, but lucky in creativity.
Also listen: Real Estate - Talking Backwards /// The Avalanches feat. Camp Lo - Because I'm Me
69
NOT
Big Thief (2019)
The rawest track in their folk catalogue achieves a poetic lyricism by negating a list of things, and by that denial is that all those elements (the meat of your thigh, your spine tattoo) take corporeality.
Also listen: Big Thief - Mythological Beauty /// Nilüfer Yanya - In your Head
68
DO YOU
Spoon (2014)
On a decade when rock was overwhelmingly surpassed by other genres, a track of pure rock energy about an accidental encounter with a former lover like Do You felt even more powerful, electric and refreshing.
Also listen: The Shins - Simple Song /// 10,000 Russos - Karl Burns
67
GET LUCKY
Daft Punk feat. Pharrell Williams & Nile Rodgers (2013)
Rather thank keep reinventing electronic music as they did in their previous albums, Daft Punk goes back to the origins of the genre to offer us an elegant and enjoyable piece of classic disco music.
Also listen: Daft Punk feat. Panda Bear - Doin' it right /// Breakbot feat. Irfane - Baby I'm yours
66
THE BAY
Metronomy (2011)
Metronomy transformed themselves into indietronica darlings with a sleek and breezy track about a B-list beach town, that was an unexpected dancefloor banger in every single hipster party of the decade.
Also listen: Metronomy - The Look /// Hot Chip - I Feel Better
65
GREEN LIGHT
Lorde (2017)
Nobody expected from gloomy Lorde a dance tune about a break-up. There's a sense of new sonic possibilities floating all along, and the Green Light is a synesthetic symbol for freedom and redemption.
Also listen: Georgia - About Work the Dancefloor /// Ceo - Come With Me
64
FULL OF FIRE
The Knife (2013)
Industrial and dark, as if it was an abandoned fabric set on fire and used for pagan rituals. The Knife are cryptic as always but now they are frontal in their confrontation of gender norms and structures.
Also listen: Arca - Desafío /// Kedr Livanskiy - киска (Kiska)
63
BREEZEBLOCKS
Alt-J (∆) (2012)
The first clear adopters of The XX's dark and seductive sound, Alt-J also added computerized sounds and square mathematical structures to get their own personality. Geeky had never sounded so dangerous.
Also listen: Alt-J (Δ) - Tessellate /// Two Door Cinema Club - What you Know
62
SHAKE IT OUT
Florence + the Machine (2011)
It's incredibly rare to find a motivational song that it's not corny, but Florence Welch radiates the warmth of an ethereal nymph, so her words of wisdom convey true pain and sincere healing outside common places.
Also listen: Florence + the Machine - What Kind of Man /// Hozier - Take me to Church
61
TRUE LOVE WAITS
Radiohead (2016)
There's a parallel universe where bohemian white guys take their guitars and sing True Love Waits at every party, but there's superb wisdom in the patience the band took to reinterpret the track and make it whole.
Also listen: Radiohead - Daydreaming /// Radiohead - I promise
60
SEASONS (WAITING ON YOU)
Future Islands (2014)
A glorious moment of new wave revival, Seasons is the perfect balance between synthpop and Springsteen rock, and Herring's dramatic vocal performance elevates it to an epic serenade of lost love.
Also listen: Portugal. The Man - Feel it Still /// Cass McCombs - County line
59
DAMN, DIS-MOI
Christine and the Queens feat. Dâm Funk (2018)
It's difficult not to get a little bit tingly when Letissier sings verses about her sexual arousal in French, and by reversing the gender roles in courtship, she empowers women and mocks ridicule masculinity.
Also listen: Christine and the Queens - Christine /// Chromeo feat. Toro y Moi - Come Alive
58
EARFQUAKE
Tyler, the Creator (2019)
Tyler gave a 180° change in his style and embraced soul music to plead forgiveness to a male lover. Yet another big proof that when rapers cut ties with toxic masculinity, magic can finally start to happen.
Also listen: Blood Orange - Augustine /// Thundercat - Them Changes
57
YOUR BEST AMERICAN GIRL
Mitski (2016)
Mitski takes her own crosscultural identity struggles as the focal point of many of her songs, and here she tackles with fierceness how painful is to chose between your true self and normative social expectations.
Also listen: Charly Bliss - Capacity /// Tennis - Marathon
56
DIGITAL WITNESS
St. Vincent (2014)
A clash between obsessive synths and electrifying guitars that deals with the unbearable lightness of life 2.0 and our constant search for an identity simulation through the screens of our shiny devices.
Also listen: Father John Misty - Hollywood Forever Cemetery Sings /// Autre Ne Veut - Play by Play
55
WE USED TO WAIT
Arcade Fire (2010)
A nostalgic trip that contrast the good(?) times of our youth with the growing uncertainty of adult life as the future didn't deliver all it promised. There's constant in crescendo of anxiety, and then a final catharsis.
Also listen: The National - The System Only Dreams in Total Darkness /// Vampire Weekend - Giving up the Gun
54
ROYALS
Lorde (2013)
At 16 years old, Lorde questioned the whole pop plastic industry with a lo-tempo track that spoke about the lack of connection between the glamour sold and the disenchanted youth that will never access it.
Also listen: The XX - Angels // Tom Vek - A chore
53
JUICE
Lizzo (2019)
Sassy and uplifting in a way that infects self-confidence to everyone while carrying a message of body positivity, Juice displays Lizzo's huge charisma and is full of one-liners ready for your next Instagram post.
Also listen to: Lizzo - Boys /// Normani - Motivation
52
INFINITY GUITARS
Sleigh Bells (2010)
Infinity Guitars should always be played at top volume. It is disruptive, loud and aggressive guitar riffs contrasting with Krauss' distorted sweet voice to create an atmosphere of blissful chaos and chaotic bliss.
Also listen: Sleigh Bells - Tell 'em /// EMA - California
51
DIANE YOUNG
Vampire Weekend (2013)
Who said that one can't make philosophical introspection while having blasts of fun? Diane Young is an existential question about mortality, but you'd have never guessed from the playful way they play it.
Also listen: Vampire Weekend - Hannah Hunt /// Vampire Weekend - Harmony Hall