After a couple of previews, my top 100 songs of the last decade (2010 to 2019) can begin in earnest.
100. Garfunkel and Oates - The Loophole
YouTube (NSFW WARNING)// Spotify
Track length: 4:41
UK release date: 25th June 2013
UK chart position: N/A
Listens as at 8th October: 9
Off to a nice gentle start, aren't we? Kicking things off with an absolutely filthy peon to Christian abstinence from two character actors you're never quite sure if you recognise or not. No bones about it, this is not the sort of song to play out loud around...anyone, really, and one of the worst songs to get stuck in your head. It's also fun!
99. Avril Lavigne - Here's To Never Growing Up
YouTube // Spotify
Track length: 3:34
UK release date: 9th April 2013
UK chart position: 14
Last decade's chart: 35
Listens as at 8th October: 15
Like Peter Pan, Avril never grows up. She's found a niche that works for her and is loathe to deviate from it (until she does, and you end up with the bland mush of her last album). Bratty pop punk works for her, even in her late 20s, and I'm still hoping that in 2027 we get a Best Damn Thing 20th anniversary tour where she plays the album in full!
98. Now, Now - Oh. Hi.
YouTube // Spotify
Track length: 3:29
UK release date: 6th March 2012
UK chart position: N/A
Listens as at 8th October: 14
A long standing joke of mine (which is probably getting a bit wearing on Dana now) is to deliberately confuse two similar artists, e.g. Boyzone and Westlife, N-Sync and Backstreet Boys. This occasionally backfires on me, as Now, Now are a band who I continually confuse with Oh Wonder - both being boy/girl duos with a similar sound. Now, Now have the sonic edge, with their wide sweeping sound, and this is the best example.
97. Cherri Bomb - Shake The Ground
YouTube // Spotify
Track length: 2:40
UK release date: 1st May 2012
UK chart position: N/A
Listens as at 8th October: 20
A band that filled the "Donnas" shaped hole in my life, between Pretty Reckless albums. They later renamed themselves Hey Violet, and the two sisters took over the band, leading to a drop in the maturity of their sound, but for a time they had the potential to be the next big all girl rock band.
96. Florence + The Machine - Shake It Out
YouTube // Spotify
Track length: 4:37
UK release date: 14th September 2011
UK chart position: 12
Last decade's chart: 22
Listens as at 8th October: 10
"Redhead who sings big epic songs while wearing floaty dresses and boots" is a genre that ticks an awful lot of my boxes, but I've never clicked properly with Flo. This is the first song - but almost certainly not the last - that I initially ignored, then revisited after hearing it on Glee and appreciating the original more. It's a huge song, one that needs you to sit for a bit and catch your breath after listening to it.
95. Melissa Benoist & Grant Gustin - Super Friend
YouTube // Spotify
Track length: 2:14
UK release date: 21st March 2017
UK chart position: N/A
Listens as at 8th October: 7
And from a song I heard in Glee, to two Glee cast members proving that life after the show is possible. It's almost like I planned this! With most of the cast of your superhero shows having a musical background, and a canonical music related super villain to draw from, it's practically printing money to have a musical episode. Throw in the song-writing talents of Rachel Bloom (who we will revisit later in the countdown) and you get this duet that allows the charm of the two leads to properly shine through.
94. Bon Jovi - Saturday Night Gave Me Sunday Morning
YouTube // Spotify
Track length: 3:23
UK release date: 31st July 2015
UK chart position: N/A
Listens as at 8th October: 7
Gigs this decade: 1
There's not a lot of male vocalists on this list, reflective of my tastes over the last decade, and the majority of blokes I've listened to have been from the classic rock genre. Not a lot of them have released songs this decade but New Jersey's favourite sons came through with this proper, arms in the air stonker.
93. Selena Gomez & The Scene - Love You Like A Love Song
YouTube // Spotify
Track length: 3:08
UK release date: 28th June 2011
UK chart position: 58
Listens as at 8th October: 69 (nice.)
Gigs this decade: 1
Aha, the first song that I've used a loophole for! Selena started the decade taking a small step away from her Disney career, and releasing music with her backing band. (If only Bruce Springsteen gave the E Street Band more credit, he could get more entries in this clearly prestigious list.) A fun track, the video hints at the 80s revival that would kick into gear later in the decade.
92. Iggy Azalea ft. Charli XCX - Fancy
YouTube // Spotify
Track length: 3:19
UK release date: 4th June 2014
UK chart position: 5
Listens as at 8th October: 17
Of course, the 80s weren't the only decade shamelessly stolen from in the 2010s, as this video inspired by the 90s film Clueless shows. This track launched Charli XCX into the mainstream, great for her career but perhaps not for the music she actually wanted to release (she's since disavowed the entire era), and was a surprisingly early high-water mark for I-g-g-y. Her career's never really hit the same heights, even with including Britney Spears and JLo on her songs, and now if you mention her name to the average member of the general public they'll just reply "who dat?"
91. Machine Gun Kelly ft. Camila Cabello - Bad Things
YouTube // Spotify
Track length: 3:59
UK release date: 14th October 2016
UK chart position: 16
Listens as at 8th October: 6
Wow, I probably should've spaced this list out a bit better so that I don't get three blatant loophole abusing songs in a row. A newer version of Eminem ft. Rihanna's "Love The Way You Lie" (a song that just missed out on this list) the counter play between the two voices works really well, and hints that Camila's decision to quit Fifth Harmony and work from home might not have been as short-sighted as many people expected. (I shouldn't make jokes based on Fifth Harmony song titles, but that was worth it. (So was that one.))
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