What Would Be On Your “2009 Awesomeness” Playlist Right Now?

July 17th, 2009 // 23 Comments

As promised: The state of my “2009 awesomeness” playlist, in which I collect the songs that catch my ear as the year progresses in order to not make my best-of list a last-minute-of-December clusterfuck sort of thing. (It inevitably winds up being like that, but you know, I have noble intentions.) It’s after the jump, and has some contextual links added in. Feel free to make your own and share it here!


The Joy Formidable, “Cradle”
Vistoso Bosses, “Delirious”
Lily Allen, “Everyone’s At It”
Brandy feat. Ne-Yo, “Decisions”
Annie, “Anthonio”
Anthonio, “Angel Face (feat. Annie)”
The Breeders, “Fate To Fatal”
Chrisette Michele, “What You Do (feat. Ne-Yo)”
The Dead Weather, “Are Friends Electric?”
Depeche Mode, “Wrong”
Dum Dum Girls, “Catholicked”
Kelly Clarkson, “Don’t Let Me Stop You”
Laura Izibor, “From My Heart To Yours”
Maxwell, “Pretty Wings”
Miranda Lambert, “Dead Flowers”
Moby, “Shot In The Back Of The Head”
Wye Oak, “I Want For Nothing”
Yeah Yeah Yeahs, “Zero”
Micachu & The Shapes, “Golden Phone”


  1. Thanks for the prior Joy Formidable recommendation, by the way. I ended up buying the disc in London and then it sparked a ten-minute discussion on my podcast as well. It’s definitely some 2009 awesomeness.

    BTW, when we discussed your blog, we disagreed on the pronunciation. How do you pronounce your blog title? I-DOLL-a-tuhr or I-dull-ATE-uhr?

  2. Green River Ordinance – Outside
    Kelly clarkson – I Do Not Hook Up
    Tyrone Wells – More
    The Lonely Island – I’m On a Boat
    The Audition – Love With a Motive
    Cobra Starship – Good Girls Go Bad (feat. Leighton Meester)

  3. Highlife — F Kenya Rip
    Jack Penate — Tonight’s Today
    Phoenix — 1901
    Chrisette Michele — Epiphany

    And I’ll co-sign with Maura on the tracks by YYY and Micachu

  4. Job

    Do you want the whole Top 106?

  5. Job

    OK, here are twenty-three.

    1. Jack Peñate – “Tonight’s Today”
    2. The Very Best featuring Ezra Koenig – “Warm Heart of Africa“
    3. Golden Silvers – “True Romance (True No. 9 Blues)”
    4. Fever Ray – “Triangle Walks”
    5. Permanent Vacation featuring Kathy Diamond – “Tic Toc”
    6. Le Le – “Luxe Benen”
    7. Fever Ray – “When I Grow Up (D. Lissvik Version)”
    8. R. Kelly – “Tip the Waiter”
    9. La Roux – “Bulletproof”
    10. Japandroids – “Young Hearts Spark Fire”
    11. Camera Obscura – “French Navy”
    12. 2000F & J Kamata – “You Don’t Know What Love is”
    13. Das Glow – “I Want to Wake Up With You”
    14. Marco & Orpheo – “Mach 4”
    15. Nebraska – “The Other Side”
    16. Damaru – “Mi Rowsu (Tuintje in Mijn Hart)”
    17. Lost Valentinos – “Serio”
    18. Tom Trago – “Voyage Direct”
    19. Junior Boys – “Hazel (Ewan Pearson’s Extended Disco Edit)”
    20. Le Le – “Number 1 Girl”
    21. Fever Ray – “Seven”
    22. Lost Valentinos – “Midnights”
    23. La Roux – “As If by Magic”

  6. The Boxer Rebellion, Gliss, The Pains of Being Pure at Heart…..the rest of the list at our website: The Dumbing of America
    http://tinyurl.com/ms52rl

  7. Orange Shirt by Discovery and Keep it Goin’ Louder by Major Lazer would both have to be on there.

  8. “Alright (ft. Kanye West)”, Twista
    “Beggars Bowl”, Polvo
    “Cream N Ya Panties”, DJ Quik & Kurupt
    “Eyes On Me (ft. Keri Hilson)”, Clipse
    “Gucci Bandana (ft. Gucci Mane and Shawty Lo)”, Soulja Boy
    “Leaky Lifeboat (For Gregory Corso)”, Sonic Youth
    “She’s A Killer (Ft. Ron Browz)”, Ghostface
    “Throw it in the Bag (ft. The Dream)”, Fabolous
    “Wu Ooh (feat. Ghostface Killah & Method Man)”, Raekwon
    “You’re a Jerk”, New Boyz

  9. “I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend” – Discovery ft. Angel Deradoorian
    “Die Slow” – HEALTH
    “Warm Heart of Africa” – The Very Best
    “Something is Squeezing my Skull” – Morrissey
    and pretty much anything from Bitte Orca, because obviously

  10. “Arming Eritrea” by Future of the Left
    “Time” by Right On Dynamite (the whole ep!)
    “Range War” by Patterson Hood (Todd Rundgren cover)
    “1901″ by Phoenix (as mentioned previously)

  11. Favs not mentioned yet:

    Young Dro – “Clean With It”
    House of House – “Rushing to Paradise (Walkin’ These Streets)”
    Fuzzy Logic ft/ Egypt – “In the Morning”
    the-Dream – “Take U Home 2 My Mama”
    the Juan Maclean – “One Day”
    Electrik Red – “Friend Lover”
    Moody/Jose James – “Desire”
    Tensnake – “In the End (I Want You to Cry)”
    Jamie Foxx – “Blame It (ft. T-Pain)”
    Gorilla Zoe – “Dope Boy”
    Crazy Cousinz – “Inflation”
    Keri Hilson – “Turnin’ Me On (ft. Lil’ Wayne)”
    Jacek Sienkiewicz – “All Yours”
    Soulja Boy – “Cold Summer”
    DJ Paul – “Pop A Pill”
    Fever Ray – “When I Grow Up”

  12. And def co-sign on “I Do Not Hook Up” and “Arming Eritrea” and “Zero” and “Dead Flowers” and “Pretty Wings”

  13. “New in Town” – Little Boots
    “Blood from a Stone” – Hanne Hukkelberg
    “Golden Phone” – Micachu and the Shapes
    “Love Letter to Japan”- The Bird and the Bee
    “Taller Children” – Elizabeth and the Catapult
    “The Fear” – Lily Allen
    “Wake Me Up” – The Mummers
    “No More Words” – Jenny Owen Youngs
    “Not Over You” – Chester French

  14. “Remedy” – Little Boots
    “21 Guns” – Green Day
    “Pretty Wings” – Maxwell
    “I Gotta Feeling” – BEP
    “The Reeling” – Passion Pit
    “Half Mast” – Empire Of The Sun
    “unusual You” Britney Spears
    “Rabbit Heart” – Florence + The Machine

    So Far

    Predict: “I got U” – Leona Lewis. (When it get released.)

  15. in no particular order:

    peaches – talk to me
    peaches – lose you
    ciara – when I
    cassie – keep on lovin’ me
    mariah carey – obsessed
    black eyed peas – meet me halfway
    shakira – she wolf
    yeah yeah yeahs – heads will roll
    kelly clarkson – my life would suck without you
    annie – anthonio (designer drugs remix)
    little boots – meddle
    pitbull – I know you want me

    this list is very pop/dance oriented. but I have also been listening to a good deal of Phoenix, saw them live and they’re great.

  16. @brasstax: I-dull-ATE-uhr.
    I-DOLL-a-tuhr makes it sound like it’s an AI website.

    I’m on a Boat – The Lonely Island is the song i listen to when I need to laugh:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D_9vy1guTcg

  17. Already did this for one site:
    Animal Collective – My Girls
    Arctic Monkeys – Crying Lightning
    Bishop Allen – Dimmer
    Camera Obscura – French Navy
    Cymbals Eat Guitars – Wind Phoenix
    Dananananaykroyd – Black Wax
    The Decemberists – The Rake’s Song
    Doves – Kingdom of Rust
    Florence and the Machine – Rabbit Heart
    Franz Ferdinand – What She Came For
    Grizzly Bear – Two Weeks
    The Horrors – Who Can Say
    Kasabian – Vlad the Impaler
    Manic Street Preachers – Jackie Collins Existential Question Time
    Metric – Help, I’m Alive
    Mew – Introducing Palace Players
    Passion Pit – The Reeling
    Phish – Time Turns Elastic
    Phoenix – 1901 (my current pick for song of the year)
    P.O.S. – Optimist
    Röyksopp – Happy Up Here
    The Soft Pack – Extinction
    Super Furry Animals – The Very Best of Neil Diamond
    White Rabbits – Percussion Gun

    Yes, that IS extremely indie rock leaning.

  18. @anibundel: Sorry, you’re wrong. But I guess you can pronounce however makes you feel happiest.

    I’ve got a bunch of songs in my head from this year I like, but it’s such a jumble I don’t know if I can throw them down in list form. *sigh* I used to LIVE for making these lists.

  19. Here’s mine!

    Daniel – Bat for Lashes
    Raindrops – Basement Jaxx
    Tuve Sol – Bajofondo Tango Club
    Loba – Shakira (OMG that song is the hotness)
    Ella es Bonita – Natalia Lafourcade

    If you don’t know Natalia Lafourcade, check her out. Her new album is just amazing.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UXzJfiopFzs

  20. So many of what I would have picked has already been said (that’s what I get for waiting until Sunday night). But I would add:

    Green Day- East Jesus Nowhere
    Franz Ferdinand- Can’t Stop Feeling
    Kelly Clarkson- All I Ever Wanted (it sounds like Spoon!)
    Lily Allen- 22 (it’s really grown on me. Though I think the already-stated “Fear” is the best)
    I guess technically it came out in 2008, but since I never got around to her album until this year: Beyonce- Radio

    Also, I never thought this place was pronounced anything other than I-dull-la-tore. Like idolize, but with “ator” instead. I do feel like the dispute comes up in the comments every few months, though, which is mildly amusing,

  21. The Thermals “I Let It Go”
    Chairlift “Bruises”
    Trey Songz “LOL :)”
    Cam’ron “Cookin’ Up”
    Black Eyed Peas “Boom Boom Pow” or “Imma Be”
    The Lonely Island feat. T-Pain “I’m On a Boat”
    Lotus Plaza “What Grows?”
    Anni Rossi “Ecology”
    Phoenix “Lisztomania”
    Mirah “The River”
    Lars Horntveth “Kaleidoscopic”
    Depeche Mode “Wrong”
    Joker’s Daughter “first track”
    Suckers “Afterthoughts & TV”
    Speak Onion “Brecht Forum 1-10-09″
    Yeah Yeah Yeahs “Zero”
    Eat Ckull “Cooking Our Way To Be Happy”
    Jamie Foxx feat. T-Pain “Blame It”
    N.A.S.A. feat. ODB and Karen O “Strange Enough”
    Caddywhompus “Fun Times at Whiskey Bay”
    Cryptacize “Mythomania”
    Jason Crumer “Perfect Comfort”

  22. oh, and pretty much every song on Atlas Sound’s LOGOS.

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