15. Goldfrapp – Melancholy Sky / Yellow Halo
Sure, they’re technically two different songs BUT one was a single without a video, the other has a video without a release, so for the sake of my writing and Spice Girls methodology, 2 become 1.
Realistically, Goldfrapp is probably my favourite artist of all time. Controversial to throw it out there on the table, but she has provided four stunning albums (Felt Mountain, Black Cherry, Supernature and Seventh Tree) that touch on everything from disco to folk and ambient to electronica. Head First was a disappointment of sorts, for while its 80s glam feel was fun, it was camper than Project Runway: The Musical.
Goldfrapp’s next step was to release an incredible Best Of, which showcased (with a few missed exceptions) a solid body of work…but not without two impossibly brilliant singles. Melancholy Sky and Yellow Halo are back-to-basics Goldfrapp. Minimalist, acoustic and gorgeous, it meant that the Best Of has more favourites than my Grindr profile in a Turkish prison.
14. Rudimental – Feel the Love
When a song comes out with more musical genres than I have friends on Facebook, the result should be a hot mess.
Instead, Feel the Love is like rocky road ice-cream or dessert pizza – all your favourite things together to make an ultra-favourite thing. Somehow, the best elements of jazzy horns, soul vocals, drum n bass and (I can’t believe I’m saying this) even dupstep, fuse into one of the most uplifting tracks of the English Summer.
Despite being the antithesis of pop, Feel The Love has peaked at no.1 on the UK Singles Chart and is likely to celebrate similar success in Australia. If Rudimental can make dubstep sound good, I hope they have nothing to do with Tony Abbot’s political campaign.
13. Major Lazer – Get Free
The thing about parading that I know more about music than ANYONE ELSE IN THE HISTORY OF ANYTHING, is that I hate it when people put me on to something that ends up being my favourite song.
Sometimes pop, sometimes calypso, sometimes electronic but always amazing, Get Free is scarily good. The anti-establishment lyrics make me want to burn down my apartment, change my name to Rain and become one of those freaks that only eat things that die naturally.
Major Lazer may have not released hit after hit, but Get Free proves that Hold the Line wasn’t a fluke.
12. Calvin Harris – Feel So Close
While I loved both, the Kelis duet Bounce and Rihanna’s We Found Love rubbed a lot of Calvinites the wrong way. Personally I love a dance song sung by a diva, but I must admit, this track feels so close to the sound of Calvin.
His almost clumsy vocals fit perfectly with the breezy piano chords but it’s the synthy lyric-less chorus that’s so epic, that if you play this at a party and people aren’t dancing – you need new friends.
A career peak for Calvin.
11. Nicola Roberts – Memory of You
There are four things that I know about Memory of You.
1. It is technically not a new song. Girls Aloud (of which Nicola originates) sang the original four years ago.
2. It technically wasn’t a single, but rather a B-side to the lacklustre Nicola single Yo-Yo.
3. The song is the only one in the Top 20 without a video. It is actually so amazing, that it breaks all the rules. It also only has 6,894 views on YouTube, which means more people have slept with me than watched this video…and neither lasts more than four minutes.
Memory of You is almost the perfect pop song. Synthy, dreamy and with that chorus, Nicola seduces us assuredly. This is a pretty remarkable feat for someone that looks like a Cabbage Patch Doll.
