Top 111 Songs of 2011, #10 - 1

All good things come to an end. The full list stands revealed so take a look at our complete top 111 songs of 2011. Make sure you listen to all the songs too. We think they're pretty darn good.


111. Clare Maguire - Ain't Nobody
110. Ball Park Music - It's Nice To Be Alive
109. The Strokes - Under Cover of Darkness
108. Coldplay ft. Rihanna - Princess of China
107. Coldplay - Paradise
106. Jennifer Lopez ft. Pitbull - On The Floor
105. Foster the People - Pumped Up Kicks
104. Professor Green ft. Emeli Sande - Read All About It
103. Cage the Elephant - Around My Head
102. Warpaint - Warpaint
101. Adele - Rumour Has It
100. Beirut - East Harlem
99. Ida Maria - Cherry Red
98. Digitalism - 2 Hearts
97. Washington - High Treason
96. Ben Lee - Get Used To It
95. Oh Land - Sun Of A Gun
94. Wolfram ft. Hercules and Love Affair - Fireworks
93. David Guetta ft. Sia - Titanium
92. Kimbra - Old Flame
91. Little Dragon Nightlight
90. The Rapture - How Deep Is Your Love?
89. Beirut - Santa Fe
88. Architecture in Helsinki ft. Sally Seltmann - W.O.W (Invisible Version)
87. PJ Harvey - The Last Living Rose
86. Emeli Sande - Heaven
85. TV On The Radio - Will Do
84. Dr. Dre ft. Eminem and Skylar Grey - I Need A Doctor
83. Boy and Bear - Feeding Line
82. Monarchy ft. Britt Love - You Don't Want to Dance With Me
81. Gotye - I Feel Better
80. The Drums - Money
79. Liam Finn - The Struggle
78. Little Boots - Shake
77. Neon Indian - Polish Girl
76. Kitty Daisy and Lewis - Don't Make A Fool Out Of Me
75. Beastie Boys ft. Santigold - Don't Play No Game That I Can't Win
74. Bon Iver - Holocene
73. Lykke Li - I Know Places
72. Florence + The Machine - What The Water Gave Me
71. The Black Keys - Run Right Back
70. Sneaky Sound System - Big
69. Rihanna - We Found Love
68. Florence + The Machine - Only If For A Night
67. The Naked and Famous - Punching In A Dream
66. Slow Club - Two Cousins
65. Kasabian - Switchblade Smile
64. The Ting Tings - Hang It Up
63. The Good Natured - Skeleton
62. Fever Ray - The Wolf
61. Kaiser Chiefs - I Dare You
60. Hercules and Love Affair - Painted Eyes
59. Jay-Z and Kanye West ft. Otis Redding - Otis
58. Justice - Civilization
57. Blaqstarr ft. Talib Kweli - War Of The Roses
56. Evanescence - Lost In Paradise
55. Britney Spears - Till The World Ends
54. Amanda Palmer ft. The Young Punx - Map Of Tasmania
53. Kimbra - Good Intent
52. Feist - How Come You Never Go There?
51. Yelle - Quex Veux-Tu
50. The Grates - Turn Me On
49. Lana Del Rey - Blue Jeans
48. Seeker Lover Keeper - Light All My Lights
47. Matt Walters - St. Peter's Gate
46. San Cisco - Awkward
45. Red Hot Chili Peppers - The Adventures of Rain Dance Maggie
44. Adele - Turning Tables
43. Florence + The Machine - No Light, No Light
42. Kate Bush - Snowflake
41. Sneaky Sound System - We Love
40. The Wombats - Techno Fan
39. Asteroids Galaxy Tour - Major
38. Beth Ditto - I Wrote The Book
37. Rachael Yamagata - Starlight
36. Clare Maguire - The Last Dance
35. Does It Offend You, Yeah? - Pull Out My Insides
34. Seeker Lover Keeper - If The Night Is Dark
33. David Guetta ft. Jennifer Hudson - Night Of My Life
32. Pnau - Solid Ground
31. The Black Keys - Lonely Boy
30. Marina and the Diamonds - Radioactive
29. Lady Gaga - Judas
28. Zowie - Bite Back
27. Little Dragon - Crystalfilm
26. Rachael Yamagata - Even If I Don't
25. M.I.A - Generation N.E.Y
24. Eddie Vedder and Cat Power - Tonight You Belong To Me
23. Bag Raiders - Sunlight
22. The Jezabels - Endless Summer
21. Lana Del Rey - Video Games
20. PJ Harvey - The Words That Maketh Murder
19. Emma Louise - Jungle
18. Bjork - Crystalline
17. Howling Bells - Into The Sky
16. Arctic Monkeys - Don't Sit Down ('Cause I've Moved Your Chair)
15. The Naked and Famous - Young Blood
14. Lady Gaga - The Edge of Glory
13. Washington - Holy Moses
12. Adele - Someone Like You
11. Lykke Li - I Follow Rivers

#10 - The Truth

by Pnau

You say you lost your lover,

And that you miss your best friend...

When people ask me what dance music I'm into, my future response will sound a little something like, "anything that resembles 'The Truth' by Pnau." It's a mess of contradictions that I can't help loving. When the track begins, there's this feeling of triumph being played out through the music. You can lose yourself in it for a couple of listens and really get a feel for it. Once you've got that out of the way, you start listening to the lyrics. There's nothing triumphant about the lyrics at all. In fact, they're just a tad morose... and perfect. Nick Littlemore and Peter Mayes did good. How about the chorus? It's as anthemic a chorus as any big pop song of 2011 and leaves you ready to press repeat the second 'The Truth' comes to a close. Who needs Empire of the Sun? Long live Pnau!

#9 - Contact High

by Architecture in Helsinki

If one of these two walls could speak,

I'd turn the lights down long enough to hit repeat... babe.

Another song that left me instantly hooked, 'Contact High' had me at, "T-T-T-T-T-T-T-Touuuch." Annoyingly, I wrote something I thought was awesome about the song, but Blogger decided to make it disappear. Jerks. The jist of it was, Architecture In Helsinki go from strength to strength and evolve with each new release. 'Contact High' sees them grow into one of Australia's greatest exports and stands as their best single to date. Blogger... I am so mad at you right now.

#8 - Midnight City

by M83

Look and see her eyes, they glow...

Oh so dreamy. M83 are definitely one of the top contenders for breakthrough act of 2011, with 'Midnight City' earning them a place in the hearts of many music lovers throughout the world. You can make this song work in any setting. Parties, clubs, chilling out, Sunday sessions, long drives, short drives... this song is that rare song that can come on anywhere and bring a smile to your face. Unless you hate saxophone solos, but that just makes you a monster. There's always a place for some sweet, sweet sax. What makes the song fit into the 'anytime, anywhere' category is the timeless feel it evokes, despite the use of modern electronic instrumentation and distortion techniques. Anyone could believe they loved this song at some stage of their life, even if you're a bajillion years old. Slight exaggeration, but you get what I'm saying. Wait... do you?

#7 - Helplessness Blues

by Fleet Foxes

Yeah, I'm tongue-tied and dizzy and I can't keep it to myself,

What good is it to sing helplessness blues, why should I wait for anyone else?

Get your folk on! I tip my hat to Fleet Foxes' Robin Pecknold for creating a folk song that doesn't stink of douchey-superiority, hippie ideals or sending a message to the man. Well, there is that whole, "if I had an orchid," bit, but who doesn't want to own an orchard? Me for one, but then again I don't own a hat so I guess I bend the truth (lie?) about a lot of things. 'Helplessness Blues' is a tool you can use to demonstrate how to create meaningful music. Music that starts your brain thinking, music that gets your heart beating, music that just makes you love music more; even though you didn't think you could. Great... I'm starting to sound like a dirty hippie. Thanks, Fleet Foxes.

#6 - Go

by Santigold ft. Karen O

People want my power and they want my station,

Stormed my winter palace, but they couldn't take it.

If I was to sum up Santigold in one word it would have to be unpredictable. Not in a bad way, but it just seems to fit. When 2011 began, fans had been waiting three long years for her to unleash a follow-up LP to her much loved debut, Santogold. Sure, there's been some collaborations since then, but what we really wanted was Santigold. In April, our prayers were seemingly answered when a little track named 'Go' started popping up all over the interwebs. It was amazing. It also gave more of a sinister edge to a Santi song than we'd heard in the past. Could super special guest star, Karen O have had something to do with that? Maybe, but bottom line was, 'Go' was a sign that the long wait was over and (as I believe I wrote in the original song review) our saviour had returned to bestow upon us the gift of 'report to the dance floor' music. What happened next, or more accurately what didn't happen next was unexplainable. No video. No airplay. No definite date for an album release. What's up with that? This is the type of song that gets one psyched for an album's release. Hopefully that release will come very early in 2012.

#5 - Hits Me Like A Rock

by CSS ft. Bobby Gillespie

But then you say we always lose our edge,

But baby, baby is that too bad?

If music be your hot, hot sex, you would have had a special place in your heart for 'Hits Me Like A Rock.' The referenced CSS song, 'Music Is My Hot, Hot Sex,' was a love letter from a music fan, written to music and everything associated with it. Essentially, the track was a reference to music's ability to be everything to some people out there. And... it was loads of fun and a party necessity for a very long time. Time appears to have mellowed Brazil's favourite pop act, as 'Hits Me Like A Rock' explores similar themes from a more relaxed viewpoint which will leave an even longer lasting impression than 'Music Is My Hot, Hot Sex.' If that's not good enough for you, maybe you'll give the song bonus points for wrangling in Primal Scream's Bobby Gillespie as a guest vocalist. That sort of thing doesn't happen every day.

#4 - Even Though I'm A Woman

by Seeker Lover Keeper

That's why I go away all the time,

That's why I travel the world and roam free.

This time you're leaving me.

Say this countdown was titled 'Best Written Songs of 2011.' We're dealing in a complex hypothetical situation here, but try to stay with me. If it were titled 'Best Written Songs of 2011,' the number one song would be 'Even Though I'm A Woman' by Seeker Lover Keeper. This isn't any old song, it's a masterclass in storytelling. Sally Seltmann wrote a song that manages to be heartbreaking and humourous, thoughtful, rewarding and universally relatable (even though I'm not a woman). Holly Throsby's selection as primary vocalist for the track was the right choice as she took the ball and ran a marathon with it. What I'm about to say seems so cliched, but she brought Setlmann's words to life and ensured you wouldn't be forgetting 'Even Though I'm A Woman' ever. Seriously... ever. Now let me take the time to remind you that this beautiful work of art was overlooked for an ARIA song of the year nomination in favour of Guy Sebastian's 'Who's That Girl.' Yep.

#3 - Shake It Out

by Florence + The Machine

And I'm damned if I do and I"m damned if I don't,

So here's to drinks in the dark at the end of my road...

When you can write a song this good in half an hour while hungover, you'll forever be a hero to me. 'Shake It Out' is the anthem for 2011, with a chorus so epic you'll find yourself in need of a word stronger than epic to describe it. Four-and-a-half minutes feels more like forty seconds as Florence relentlessly belts her way through the track, virtually reaching through your speakers and screaming at you to shake yourself off, kick the devil in the face and start celebrating! Well, you get the idea. 'Shake It Out' was our first real indication that Florence hadn't used up her best works for Lungs. Proof that there were songs still left unrevealed that would stand alongside 'Dog Days Are Over,' 'Cosmic Love' and 'You've Got the Love' as extraordinary pieces of pop music. Most importantly, it's all the proof you need that Florence and The Machine can be major players for a long time to come. I couldn't be happier.

#2 - Cameo Lover

by Kimbra

'Cause everyday's like talking in your sleep,

Love is like a silhouette in dreams,

So open up your heart, open up your heart...

Pop music has been lacking in one major area for the past couple of years... fun. There's so much focus on sex (or being a slut) or everything has to be super serious and have this important message to it. Then you've got to be heading in an electronic direction to get noticed. It doesn't matter if your songs sound the same as everyone else... everyone will love it anyway because it has a beat you can dance to. You know what that kind of music isn't? Fun. Enter Kimbra, party hostess... gauranteed to bring a smile to your dial. When I first heard 'Cameo Lover' I couldn't stop smiling. I thought there must have been something wrong with me, so I listened to it again. Strangely, I was still smiling after the second play! To this day, I'll listen to 'Cameo Lover' and not be able to stop myself from distorting my face into what I can get away with as a smile. This is fun pop music that there needs to be more of. Kimbra shows us how brilliant the 60s were, taking inspiration from girl groups from music's golden age, like The Supremes, The Ronettes and Martha and the Vandellas. It's quirky, it's catchy, but most importantly... it's fun! Of course, this wasn't Kimbra's greatest contribution to music in 2011...

#1 - Somebody That I Used To Know

by Gotye ft. Kimbra

And I don't want to live that way, reading into every word you say,

You said that you could let it go,

And I wouldn't catch you hung up on somebody that you used to know.

Song of the year at the ARIAs, future #1 on the JJJ Hottest 100, longest running #1 song in Australia since Savage Garden's 'Truly, Madly, Deeply' and the #1 song on It's My Kind of Scene's top 111 songs of 2011. In Australia, it's been at the same level as Adele's 'Rolling In The Deep' throughout the rest of the world... you can hear it all day, every day and everywhere. There's a reason for that; it's really that good. Not good, mind blowing amazing with a sound that defies all conventional pop logic, brought to you by two relatively unknown acts who are now the great hopes for the future of music. Gotye. Kimbra. A match made in heaven. There isn't a single person I know that hasn't found something they love about 'Somebody That I Used To Know. Gotye's segment, the chorus, Kimbra's showstealing verse (my personal opinion), the video. Most people happen to love it all. Those people are awesome. Naming any other song as the #1 song of the year would just be me trying to be cool and if there's one thing you've probably learnt over the course of the countdown, it's that I'm not cool. What? Let's all go listen to 'Somebody That I Used To Know!'