#30. ELEPHANT
by Tame Impala
by Tame Impala
He knows that you're dreaming about being loved by him
Too bad your chances are slim.
'Elephant' is my kind of Tame Impala. It's got those throwback vibes the kids all love. It's moderately trippy, but unlike most of their catalogue it doesn't make me shrug and want to dismiss it as music for druggies. I'm sure it goes great with acid, but I'll never know these sorts of things. Each to their own etc. etc. But when you've got the most infectious bluesy guitar riffs going on and borderline ridiculous/amazing lyrics about shaking your big, grey trunk for the hell of it you don't need any help with feeling the goodness of the music. Those guitar lines dominate the track and make you want to get up off your feet and shake it around. That can't just be me, right? The track might have been a little out of place on the ARIA Award winning Lonerism, but that doesn't mean it wasn't the best track on it. I'm hoping they sneak a little something like it onto their upcoming third LP, Currents. (Matt Bond)
#29. GO!
by Santigold
That means I'm really hot
I rap and make hits
And I'll never stop.
There is very little chance that I was going to dislike a song that involved one of my favourite women of…what shall we call it? Rock? Indie? Pop? Any of those; she’s Karen O, and also one of my favourite women of…what shall we call it? Electronica? Hip hop? Dance? Pop? Any of those; she’s Santigold and the two of them produced one of my favourite tracks of…let’s say this millennium, not just the last five years. There’s nothing not to love; Santigold’s typically confident sneer pushing itself in between manic beats driving the track right through to Karen O’s verse, as perfectly vicious as Karen O wants to be. When all of those talents met…what did I call it? Perfection. (Jo Michelmore)
#28. I'M A FANTASTIC WRECK
by Montaigne
by Montaigne
And if nothing else can change me
And I am just this way then
Would you love me?
When songs work their way into your existence like they’ve been watching you, seeing what you’ve been doing and how you’ve been feeling, there’s a special something that happens. Sometimes it’s a tingle on the back of your neck, sometimes it’s a weakness in the back of your knees, sometimes its three minutes and sixteen seconds that lay themselves upon your shoulders and keep you warm on your darkest of days. When songs know who you are, when songs speak words that have been silently screaming from your heart and when songs understand your journey, they place themselves in your consciousness and they don’t let go. When songs expose your weakness and when songs accept your flaws, they become you for a little while. They become everything you need to make everything alright and when songs like Montaigne’s come along, everything may not be alright, but everything is a little easier, and that’s exactly and everything ‘I’m A Fanstastic Wreck’ is. (Jo Michelmore)
#27. JOSIE
by Go Violets
If you ever feel so sad
If you ever feel so bad
You can come to me
Every night of the week.
I know they only broke up last year, but reunions are all the rage and if there's one band that should get back together and make sweet, sweet music again it's Go Violets. Alright, it's probably not going to happen because they've all moved on to new projects. One can dream though... because Go Violets gave us tracks like 'Josie' and it was all very 90s rock and catchy lyrics like, "this is not the end or as the Spanish would say fin." You wish you wrote lyrics like that. Oh well, these four gals from Brisbane gave us what will be one of our all time faves in 'Josie' and we'll always be thankful for that. But yeah, if they do want to get back together and release a totally awesome album full of 'Josie' like hits, that would work for us too. (Matt Bond)
#26. Q.U.E.E.N.
by Janelle Monae
And am I weird to dance alone late at night?
And is it true we're all insane?
"It's hard to stop rebels that time travel." I've loved everything about 'Q.U.E.E.N.' from the first time I saw its emotion picture. I love that Janelle Monae calls her videos emotion pictures. How could you not love everything about Janelle Monae? Her music is chock full with messages of self empowerment masked within funky beats and soulful vocal performances. And nothing's delivered in quite the way 'Q.U.E.E.N.' did back in 2013. It's the 'Shake It Off' before 'Shake It Off' was ever a thing, not that empowering anthems are anything new, but when Janelle Monae does it, it's just better because it feels a whole lot more genuine. And she brought Erykah Badu along to the party... so that definitely works in her favour. Badu's segment is too much fun and leads into a political Monae rap that you won't soon forget. One of the best tracks of the past five years? One of the best tracks of ever. (Matt Bond)
#25. DANCING ON MY OWN
by Robyn
Somebody said you got a new friend
Does she love you better than I can?
Swedish pop sensation, Robyn. Is there anything she can't do? Her love for sad disco songs led her to writing 'Dancing On My Own' and while I never thought I'd love someone with a deep love of sad disco songs, stranger things have happened. Because I've got a lot of love for Robyn and it really started with this track. Sure, she'd been kicking around since the 90s, asking us to show her love and her reinvention to electro-pop Queen began with 'Be Mine', but 'Dancing On My Own' was Robyn securing her status as one of the best pop acts in the world. Maybe even the best. An argument could be made is all I'm saying. It feels like forever since the release of her Body Talk series. I know, we got the Royksopp colab EP last year. But I wants some new Robyn goodness. Don't we all? (Matt Bond)
#24. DO I WANNA KNOW
by Arctic Monkeys
There's this tune I found that makes me think of you somehow
When I play it on repeat.
I’m not sure how to phrase this. I mean, how do you put into words the mouth open deep breath exhale type thing that happens when you hear those drums of Matt Helder’s at the beginning of this track, because you know the rootsy guitars and voice of Alex Turner are going to kick in seconds later? I don’t know, but I do know that the exhale happens every time I press play the lyrics begin; “have you got colour in your cheeks?” and why yes Alex, I do, because this song is so damn sexy. I thought it the very first time I heard it and I hear it every single time I listen. There’s just no other way to say it. That mouth open deep breath exhale thing I was trying to describe is caused by that one word, which is everything ‘Do I Wanna Know’ is. It’s awesome, it’s rock, it’s guitars and snarling vocals and it is great and it was great, but most of all it’s that one word; it’s hot. (Jo Michelmore)
#23. IS THIS HOW YOU FEEL?
by The Preatures
Bright lights
Feel alright
I'm gonna see her again tonight.
Here we go, come with me on another ride where I tell you how much I love all things vintage, because that’s probably one theme that has come up again and again and again over the last five years. Well, it’s true. Like I’ve said before, I was raised on a diet of all genres of all music from all decades, which means when bands like The Preatures release songs like ‘Is This How You Feel?’ I have an automatic attraction to them. The 60s groove would have sat perfectly well in the 60s as it did in 2013 and now that we’re talking about it, see how good it still sounds now, in 2015? Yep, you’ll be hearing it again and again and again over the next five years, so get used it. I love things old as much as I love things new which means I love songs like this and bands like The Preatures. (Jo Michelmore)
#22. CHANDELIER
by Sia
Sun is up, I'm a mess
Gotta get out now, gotta run from this
Here comes the shame, here comes the shame.
Remember all those years we spent wishing and hoping that Sia would get the recognition she deserved for her talents? After the release of 'Chandelier' she's become one of the most celebrated acts in music. It's one of the best stories in pop. The hardworking artist that took some time off to write for the biggest names in music, who kept the best tracks she wrote for herself and then triumphantly stepped back into the spotlight (without showing her, uh, face or anything), becoming one of the biggest names in music. It's awesome and Sia deserves all of the success she's now enjoying. Who cares if she wants to hide behind wigs? We get amazing pop songs played on the radio. If the price of that is Sia hiding her (beautiful) face, so be it. (Matt Bond)
#21. FAR FROM VIEW
by Jack Colwell
by Jack Colwell
And the night shines through
And the night shines through...
We have written about so many amazing artists over the last five years, but there are certain names that come to mind when I think about this little blog of ours, because there are certain artists we’ve written about that have such a talent they’ve made a real impression on this little heart of mine. Certain musicians have managed to write songs that are not just strings and harmonies, not just words and sounds but intense feelings of heartache and voyages of despair, stories of hopelessness that have meant more than just another song to write about, but a journey of emotion with each and every listen, and that’s a journey we desperately hope someone else will love taking as much as we do. When artists like Jack Colwell and the Owls come into our lives, we write about them, because we love writing about music, but also in the hope we can introduce this kind of talent to one or two other people as well. If writing for all these years means only one thing, then I’d be happy if that one thing meant hearing an artist like Jack Colwell; and sharing songs like ‘Far From View’ makes the hours of sitting in front of my laptop, blogging with all of that little heart of mine, totally worthwhile. (Jo Michelmore)
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