After much deliberation, several migranes and a few packets of the strongest over-the-counter sedatives I could find, my list of the Top 209 Songs of 2009 is ready for public viewing. You’ll find some slight commentary for the first 50 entires which, really, are all Song-of-the-year worthy candidates. I hope you enjoy reading through the list nearly half as much as I’ve enjoyed listening to all of the songs on it.

001 LADY GAGA – Bad Romance
Never did I think that Lady GaGa, not in a million years, would be the person to craft the years ultimate love song. And I truly see it as that; An honestly remarkable, astonishing love song. It will forever remain an important staple in whatever legacy GaGa may bestow upon us in years to come, but it also signals – for me personally – the perfect way to kiss-off 2009 which, in itself, was a Bad Romance in its own right. Singing of a bad romance (something I certainly encountered a few times over the year), Lady GaGa took all of that urgency, that burning desire of infatuation, and threw it into a loud, primal nutbag love-affair, the kind where the mind may not be the one making all the decisions; “I want your ugly, I want your disease. I want your everything as long as it’s free; I want your love.” But perhaps the songs greatest moment; both musically and lyrically, is the astonishing middle-8; “I want your love; I don’t wanna be friends” – she cries amidst some French, before lunging into the heartbreaking banshee cries of “I don’t wanna be friends! Want your Bad Romance!” – It’s spine-tingling stuff, and identifiable for those of us with a little bit more, er, ‘passion’ than most (hem hem). But more importantly, it was the first truly exciting chapter in the making of a pop culture Icon, right before our eyes. There is something so incredibly special about pop music when it’s executed as brilliantly as “Bad Romance” was, and that is why there is absolutely no question whatsoever that it is the Greatest Song of 2009.

002 FREEMASONS feat. SOPHIE ELLIS-BEXTOR – Heartbreak (Club Mix)
I sparrowed on all year about THIS being my prime candidate for Song of the Year status. Then GaGa happened and, well, you all know how this story ends. But credit does need to go where credit is due; and this song is major, in particular this club mix. The song, which popped up well over a year (almost two even?) ago in demo form, was taken to glamorous heights by the Freemasons; their re-swizz and production-tweaking lead to one of the most sensational disco songs of the decade. And those strings; oh, those strings! Orgasmic.

003 GOSSIP – Heavy Cross (Fred Falke Remix)
When the original version of Gossip’s lead single from their Music For Men LP surfaced, I was sort-of nonplussed by it. The lyrics and Ditto’s vocal execution were all dynamite, but the actual music was where it suffered. It sounded hurried and, to be honest, a little ugly. In comes Fred Falke, who turns the angry, chaotic mess of an original into, well; a beautiful swan. Falke turning “Heavy Cross” into an epic nightclub destroyer (one who had its proverbial heart in-toe with its feet on the disco-floor) opened the vulnerability of Beth’s lyrics up in the most beautiful of ways. The absolute highpoint in both artist and remixers careers.

004 FAGGET FAIRYS – Oci
Clare, a best friend of mine, introduced the imaginatively named Fagget Fairys to me earlier in the year. The two girls, Elena (vocals) and Carla (the DJ), although Copenhagen based actually hail from my families mother-country; Bosnia. With clever balkan-riffs, Elena and Carla stew the Eastern-block flavour with heavy electro and hip-hop beats in this, a song when translated into English tells the story of a lost love of the Lesbian Variety. Oci, in Bosnian, means ‘eyes’, and the song details this beautiful girl with green eyes; “My heart sings her name for her.” Overlooked, but hopefully they’ll get a bit more love in 2010.

005 ANTIGONE – To Be Real
In a year when a lot got me down (and where the music seemed to comply with that), it was nice to find a song like the majestic “To Be Real” – the kind of song that gives you affirmation. I often turned to Antigone’s debut album Antigone Land for that necessary lift over the year, but this song in particular played an important part in reminding me that life is to be lived AND loved, particular the line “Turn my anger to production, be true to my groove and prove me on horizon! To. Be. Real.” It was a lovely way to remind myself that nobody likes the company of a sooky-sally, but also to remember that the positives often do outweigh the negative; so long as you’re being yourself.

006 YEAH YEAH YEAHS – Runaway
Oh look; another sad song. I won’t go on about all of this too much but it’s here for a reason, the reason being that it’s a truly phenomenal song that gives the bands own magnum opus, “Maps”, a very solid run for its money.

007 LADY GAGA – So Happy I Could Die
I have a theory that there’s more to this song than it just being an ode to masturbation. Club, friend references, combined with the use of “up in the clouds coz we’re higher than ever”; it’s obvious this song is not just about masturbation. Drugs and Masturbation more like it, which is a likely case seeing as GaGa herself has admitted to being the fan of ‘enhancing’ her celebrations with some chemical fun. Top song but.

008 MATT VAN SCHIE – Two Love (Demo)
This, in demo form alone, is Song of the Year-worthy. A dreamy slice of electropop by the equally as dreamy Matt from Van She, I cannot wait to hear the final and finished product of this bonzapop. With his upcoming solo side-project, Matt’s set to plant his feet firmly in the world of Pop as the Male answer to Ladyhawke; euphoric, luscious love songs (”with eyes like that, you don’t need to hide”), with sure-fire choruses and killer production.

009 ARCTIC MONKEYS – Cornerstone
“Can I call you her name?” Perhaps the cheekiest Monkeys frontman Alex Turner has sounded on record, which showcased furthermore how strong his work as a lyricist is.

010 BAT FOR LASHES – Daniel
“Daniel” reminds me of Bertine Zetlitz’s equally as magnificent single “Midnite” from a few years back; that fresh’n'crisp, yet almost dated sound? They both execute it really well. Gorgeous gorgeous gorgeous, particularly so driving home as the sun is rising after a night out.

Numbers 11 – 209; after the jump >>>
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