My Favorite Songs of 2010 - #10 - 6

By Paul Steven Brown

We've entered the Top Ten of my personal favorite songs of  2010. Here's #10 though #6:

10. "Out Go the Lights"
Spoon

There's a simplicity and subtleness to "Out Go the Lights" that makes it so different compared to the rest of the songs in Spoon's catalogue. It's very moving yet almost meditative. A strange explosion of emotion conveyed with wonderful restraint.

9. "Empty Room"
Arcade Fire

This song had me at the intro with the Owen Pallett strings, but than "Empty Room" explodes into a multi-instrumental attack. Regine Chassange's fiery vocals (with wonderful support from Win Butler) push this song faster and harder, intensifying the urgency. One of the few real rockers on The Suburbs.

8. "Nothing Like You"
Frightened Rabbit

Here's another thundering urgent song. And my God, I do love a thick Scottish accent on a rock song and Scott Hutchinson delivers. Too bad the rest of the album did match the awesomeness of "Nothing Like You".

7. "Conversation 16"
The National

While "Bloodbuzz Ohio" was the big hit off of High Violet, "Conversation 16" was the album's most potent and memorial song for me. A tense and mature look at a relationship under a microscope. Accusational and self-deprecating. Also, it's about eating brains, which I find kind of awesome.

6. "Hamburg, Noon"
Land of Talk

Elizabeth Powell's vocals are amazing. Strong and sexy, and longing, like a siren calling you towards the rocks. Drummer Andrew Barr almost steals the show on this one though with perfectly timed drop outs and return fills that elevate the emotional level of "Hamburg, Noon".