So I have been thinking about the songs that made my year this year. All of these songs have video’s posted elsewhere on this blog so I won’t repost. With the exception of the throwback of the year, these were all new for 2009. I would be a fool not to share;

Hip Hop – K-os "4,3,2,1"

I’ve followed this guy for a couple of years now. Certainly my favorite Canadian artist. Why can’t more rappers be successful with his formula? With the old school break to begin the track tucking under a smooth upright bass line this song is by far the smoothest sounding thing off of K-oS’s album YES. The video takes place in a Canadian mall where you see hockey, mannequins, break dancing, and kung fu action. The song is great and I was happy to play it over and over again in the car and at home. This one still gets stuck in my head and unlike most songs, I have no complaints.

House – Freeland "Under Control" (original mix)

I saw a video clip somewhere of Adam Freeland grabbing a mic before his set and saying “TONIGHT, THE BRITTISH WILL ROCK YOU”. Well, the short guy from the UK definitely knocked it out of the park with this song. It’s a house track that I first heard on Radio 538’s Dance Department podcast. What immediately strikes you is how it’s got a palette of sounds that belongs in a rock song instead. The drums feel live and the bass isn’t on some disco bullsh#t. With Kurt Baumann singing the vocal and a house full of models in the video, this song sounds and looks rowdy. Love it. The album, COPE was recorded in LA with the help of Alex Metric and features musical contributions from Devo, Tommy Lee, Twiggy, and more. None of that sounds like it should add up to an awesome dance track but you’d be surprised. As a bonus, the Alex Metric remix of this song is off the wall. It was almost my remix of the year…

Remix – Kid Sister "Right Hand Hi" (Kill the Noise remix)

I’d like to thank Tim from T2 Films for pointing this song out to me. Kid Sister is from Chicago and Kill the Noise is from Los Angeles. That makes this the only real American song in this short list. The original mix of Right Hand HI is, to be honest, not very good in my opinion. Kill the Noise breathed new life into the song rearranging it and making it way hype. I think Kid Sister is one of those artists who is doomed to mediocrity on her own but will is amazingly remixed as long as she’s recording (Chromeo anyone?). This song sounds great at a party and has just enough rap in it to keep the hipsters happy.

Throwback – Cheek "Venus (Sunshine People)"

France is the place where house music really got up to a new level in the 90’s. This was a song I heard at raves, in clubs, and later on TV occasionally. When Keith found the video for this song in a guest post this year, I was ecstatic. Cheek is Gilbert Cohen and this is undoubtedly his biggest track. It’s filtered, it’s loud, it’s over compressed, and it’s magic. The sample is from Brass Construction’s “Happy People” and now I think I’m going to have to go listen to that song…

I thought about categories for gangster rap, metal, rock and roll, and pop, but then I decided against them because I don’t listen to them that much anyway.