100 Songs for 2009: Contenders

So I don't want to make it seem like I enjoy Finals Week or anything (note: Finals Week actually seventeen days long ... awesome), but it does come with a few positives:

- Sleeping in
- Not going to the Tenderloin
- Listening to amazing conversations in coffee shops ... like this one:

Five Year Old Boy: Mom! Mom! Remember last time we came here ... and I got an egg ... and then I threw up?!?
Mother: Yes, I remember that (rolls eyes). What do you want to eat today?
Boy: (thinks about it for an inordinate amount of time, like this is the most important decision he has ever made) Um ... an egg.

- Downloading a bunch of new music, then listening to it over and over while staring at the Corps script
- Blogging about said music instead of staring at the Corps script

So here's the rundown on some awesome new songs I've been listening to lately roughly in the order of how much I like them (though the hip-hop is at the end so the list flows better as a continuous mix). All have been added to the Contenders playlist for easy streaming. If you're looking for a late-spring Finals studying soundtrack, I hope this helps.

1) Matt and Kim - Lessons Learned

Like Mates of State, if the guy sang instead, and they occasionally got naked in their videos.

2) Discovery - Osaka Loop Line

Side project featuring members of Vampire Weekend and Ra Ra Riot. Since those bands sound mostly identical, you'd think this would be more of the same. Somehow, though, it's completely different.

3) Basement Jaxx - Raindrops

4) Wave Machines - Keep the Lights On

Scissor Sisters-like half-speed vaguely gay white-boy funk. Wow that's a lot of adjectives.

5) Internet Forever - Break Bones

Ignore stupid band name. Enjoy excellent twee-fuzz single.

6) Dreamdate - How Low are You?

Oakland girl band, playing the Knockout May 9 if anybody's interested.

7) Tinted Windows - Kind of a Girl

If you were the guy who wrote "Stacy's Mom," why wouldn't you start a supergroup with the singer from Hanson, the bass player who got kicked out of Smashing Pumpkins, and the drummer from Cheap Trick. I mean, that's totally what I would do. And here we are ...

8) One for the Team - Best Supporting Actress

9) Conor Oberst - Nikorette

This one's here mostly for Curt. And because it's awesome.

10) White Lies - From the Stars

Every British band wants to be a more depressing version of the Killers.

11) Peter Bjorn and John - Nothing to Worry About

A slowed-down indie rock version of "D.A.N.C.E." by JUSTICE

12) K-os - I Wish I Knew Natalie Portman

I think this song was created just for me. Canadian underground rapper samples the theme from The OC, quotes lines from "When Doves Cry." I mean, who else would enjoy something like that?

13) Cam'ron - I Hate My Job

I'm torn here. Elliot told me about this song, so I should give him some credit for it. One the other hand, Elliot hated Cam and Juelz and all of Dipset in college, and it took me years of staunch advocacy to finally steer him in the right direction. So really, he should be giving me credit here.

14) Clipse f/ Kanye West - Kind of Like a Big Deal

Pros: Beat is incredible, Kanye is not singing
Cons: No chorus at all, Kanye is apparently rapping about having sex with mentally handicapped schoolgirls
Advantage: Push

15) Auto-Tune the News (click for YouTube link)

Don't know if this counts as a song, but I've listened to it at least 20 times in the last three days, so I'm listing it here. I would totally buy Katie Couric's album.

16) The Hold Steady - 40 Bucks

This song was a bonus track on the band's recent live album, A Positive Rage. It's not earth-shatteringly good, but it's The Hold Steady, so it's worth a mention. For some reason, it won't load on LaLa, but you can listen to it here.