Every year there are a ton of tracks that you hear over and
over again on the radio and blasting out of car windows. You may hate those
songs with a white-hot passion (“I Kissed a Girl”), but you still know every
word since they’re constantly being drilled into your head while you’re trying
to buy a burrito or when that girl from your office gets a call on her cell.
Even when it’s a song you like (“American Boy”), sometimes, you just need a
break.
Luckily, those that are willing to look have plenty of great
material to enjoy at those times. Some are obscure remixes or from lesser-known
artists. Some are from people you know well, but since you never got around to
listening to their album, you only really caught the singles. Maybe they’re
more deserving of the attention than the stuff that everyone actually listened
to, but in a way, their obscurity is part of what makes them fun.
You’ve surely got your own mix, but here are ten (ish) of
the top tracks on ours.
Honorable Mention: Jackie Moon – “Love Me Sexy”
from Semi-Pro
Nobody’s gonna confuse Will Ferrell with John Legend anytime
soon but this brassy, ‘70s-style slow jam would’ve been a classic if it was an
Earth Wind & Fire single.
10. Madonna – “Ring My Bell” from Hard Candy
(Bonus Editions)
A bonus track from Madonna’s album (depending on which
version you bought), the leftover Neptunes beat is way better than any of that
bullsh*t that Timbaland gave her.
9. Erykah Badu – Honey (Seiji Remix) (12” Only)
Seiji jumps back and forth between big, broken beats and
black-hole bass on this trippy remix of Erykah’s single-turned-bonus-track.
8. Vampire Weekend – “The Kids Don’t Stand a
Chance” (Chromeo Remix) (B-Side)
Just the right amount of Chromeo’s ‘80s Pop layered on top
of Vampire Weekend’s Baroque Rock single is a fun last-minute entry for two
great bands who should be back on ‘09.
7. Raphael Saadiq – 100 Yard Dash from The Way I
See It
Saadiq executed his Motown era concept perfectly for his
album and if you slipped this in to your auntie’s record collection, you could
easily convince her it was a long-lost Smokey cut.
6. Santogold – “Get It Up” (Radioclit Remix) ft.
M.I.A. & Gorilla Zoe from the Top Ranking mixtape
Who knows how an old Gorilla Zoe verse ended up on this
otherwise new track from Santi and Maya but it’s still dope. The embrace of
Afrobeat was one of the best things to happen to American pop lately.
5. Nikka Costa – “Loving You” from Pebble to a
Pearl
Long before you’d ever heard of Amy Winehouse, Nikka Costa
was injecting her modern attitude into classic R&B and she continues to do
so with this perfect cover of another slept-on classic from Johnny “Guitar”
Watson.
4. Solange – “Valentine’s Day” from Sol-Angel
and the Hadley St. Dreams
A strange little love child of Diana Ross and Andre 3000
that was way better than anything Sasha sang this year – it’s time to
stop calling her “Beyoncé’s little sister.”
3. Diplo – Brew Barrymore from MadDecent.com
Diplo flips the “Mystic Brew” sample that Tribe used for
“Electric Relaxation” into something for the dance floors from Baltimore to
Brazil.
2. Warrior Queen – “Things Change” (12” Only)
Attention DJs: when you do that Dancehall part of your set
where you play Patra, Capleton and Chaka Demus and then blend out with B.I.G.’s
verse from “Dolly My Baby”, start throwing this somewhere in there just to mix
it up.
1. 88-Keys – Wasting My Minutes ft. KiD CuDi from
the Adam’s Care Files mixtape
A hilarious internal debate over whether of not CuDi should
leave his incredibly fine girlfriend who also happens to be as dumb as a brick
– a great pairing of one of the year’s most underrated vets with one if
it’s most promising rookies.
