Top Songs of 2015: 61-80

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Spotify link

80. "Hotline Bling" by Drake (single) 

"Ever since I left the city / you"

2015 was the year we learned to stop worrying and like Drake. The nonstop memes coming out of the video (pizza!, tennis!, Donald Trump not being an asshat!) didn't hurt.   

79. "Get Out" by Autre Ne Veut (from Age of Transparency)
"So you want to get out / and if there's one way to try to experience nothing"

Their second album doesn't hits highs anywhere close to "Play by Play" (#8 song of 2013), but the experimental soul/gospel hybrid of Arthur Ashin does its thing here.

78. "My Baby Don't Understand My Anymore" by Natalie Prass (from Natalie Prass)
"Our love is a long goodbye"

Joanna Newsom with brass instruments instead of the harp. And a better voice. 

77. "Disappointing" by John Grant (from Grey Tickles, Black Pressures)
"There's nothing more beautiful than your smile as it conquers your face"

There are many things that John Grant finds disappointing  compared to you. These include ballet dancers (regardless of their tights situation), the women of SNL, and Russia's most renowned musicians/writers. This does not, however, include bath salts. You are garbage compared to bath salts.

76. "Undone" by Cœur de Pirate (from Roses)
"And if there is a fight, you said / I won't face it alone"

Sometimes it's easy to get caught in the indie music echo chamber, so it's nice to find something that is neither top 40 nor part of the Pitchfork coverage universe (though Beatrice Martin is apparently huge in Quebec). 

75. "Let Go" by The Very Best (from Makes a King)
<in Chichewa>

With 3 proper albums and plenty of mixtapes, our favorite band from Malawi is getting close to earning its inevitably titled greatest hits album. 

74. "Never Ending Wave" by My Own Pet Radio (from Goodlum)
"Is this an early's 20's thing? / feels like an early 20's thing"

Side project of Ball Park Music frontman Sam Cromack. Yeah, we haven't heard of them either. Maybe we should fix that...

73. "Ever Had a Little Faith" by Belle & Sebastian (from Girls in Peacetime Want to Dance)
"Something good will come from nothing"

We finally got around to seeing Stuart Murdoch's directorial / screenwriting debut (God Help the Girl) and it is exactly as twee as eff as you'd expect. The music is good, of course.   

72. "Anna, Please Don't Go" by Life in Film (from Here it Comes)
"Your heart's in the right place"

Simple but effective.

71. "Scud Books" by Hudson Mohawke (from Lantern)

<instrumental>

Ironic that it is named after an airborne weapon, because -- to misquote Apocalypse Now -- it sounds like victory. (Kid #1 calls this "computer music" and has decided it is better than instrument music) 

70. "Let Your Heart Break" by Ark Life (from The Dream of You and Me)

"It's so tough to judge what is just enough"

These United States may be the band that got the most goodwill (and repeated CD purchases) from us due to a single song ("First Sight"), so it is nice to see their frontman with an interesting new outfit. Solid debut. 

69. "Queen's Speech 4" by Lady Leshurr (single)

"I got a dark-skinned friend that looks like Rachel Dolezal / and I got a light-skinned friend that looks like Rachel Dolezal"

Brush your teeth.   

68. "Catch" by Dresses (from The Let Down EP)

"This is a two way street / not a cul-de-sac"

A trifle, but a catch-y one. <elbows ribs>

67. "Nightclub Amnesia" by Ratatat (from Magnifique)

<instrumental>

Ratatat continues to sound a hell of a lot like Ratatat.  

66. "Water" by Ra Ra Riot & Rostam (from Need Your Light)

"Don't punish me for what I feel"

Vampire Weekend's Rostam and the Ra Ra Riot crew go back to their Discovery days (essential reworking of "I Want You Back" here), but we'd still rather see a solo album . Get on it Rostam! 

65. "Home" by Heems (from Eat Pray Thug)

"Shorty listen / quite your bitchin' / be my remix to ignition"

Clever album title, but we know you went to Wesleyan dude. And studied economics. (not on Spotify: youtube clip)

64. "Hello" by Adele (from 25)

"But it don't matter / it clearly / doesn't tear you apart any more"

It's wonderful that 10 million people tried to buy tickets for Adele's North American tour. She is a such a stiff and non-emotive performer, and yet there is no hotter ticket. It is a nice case of sheer talent winning out. 

63. "Bohemian Groove" by Nick Diamonds (from City of Quartz)

"You're on the way out / we're on the way in"

We're struggling to think of an artist whose solo work sounds any less different than their proper band (Nick leads ATHoM favorite Islands). Tom Petty, maybe? The Heartbreakers are such an afterthought most of them still play on his solo albums. 

62. "Teenage Talk" by St. Vincent (single)

"Never mind the albatross / smoldering on my shoulder"

If that is Annie Clark herself as a teenager, we are deeply disappointed by the non mesmerizing nature of her hair.  

61. "I Know There's Gonna Be (Good Times)" by Jamie XX (from In Colour)

<Basically, there is the song title, and then some unprintable stuff from Young Thug>

xx member Jamie Smith could have been a bit more creative in coming up with the band name for his side project. We'd have suggested "Superfluous Parenthetical" because 1) it's awesome and 2) what the hell is going on with the song title. You aren't Junior Walker, man.