Decade Songs - Missing Out

As a prelude to the countdown of my favourite songs of the 2010s, have a short piece on tracks that almost but not quite made the shortlist, for various reasons. Some of these are notable because they're strong enough to have made the list, were it not for the artist releasing a better song, but I still want to bring them to your attention (and preserve them for posterity); others are great songs hindered only by time being measured in a linear fashion, while there's a third category for "songs which made the list because the video featured a cameo from someone I like but it's not really a track I listen to often".

I'll leave it to you to decide who is who.

Katy Perry - Roulette
YouTube // Spotify
Length: 3 minutes 18 seconds
Release date: 9th June 2017

My opinions on Katy have changed over the last ten years. Without wanting to spoil too much of the forthcoming countdown, I loved Teenage Dream, was unimpressed by Prism, fell for a calculated teasing comment in Rolling Stone intended to stoke flames between two female artists, was perturbed by the single Bon Appetit, and then was drawn back in by a combination of Witness being better than expected and the Witness tour featuring a strong support act. This track is one of the deeper cuts on the album and it's bloody stupid that it was never released as a single as it's one of the better songs she's done since Teenage Dream. (That said, the tour visuals featured more dice and playing card motifs than a James Bond credit sequence, so it's possible Katy doesn't know what the game of Roulette actually is, and that's what hindered the release).

Lana Del Rey - Summertime Sadness (Cedric Gervais remix)
YouTube // Spotify
3:34
11th June 2013
UK chart position: 4

Again, another person on whom my views have changed over the last ten years. Previously having described her as dull and dreary, this remix caught my eye (/ear) after it introduced some pep into the song. It cropped up on a random running playlist and made its way onto my own running playlists, and then onto the longlist for this decade. It was earmarked for a place in the 60s or 70s, position-wise, until a run-through of Lana's newest album at the end of August changed my view on her completely, and made me view her discography in a new light. This track dropped out purely by virtue of a single from the new album shooting Lana way up my charts - even if you think of her as music for basic white people to be melodramatic to, it's still worth giving this a listen.

Metric - Black Sheep 
YouTube // Spotify
4:57
10th August 2010

A band from whom I've drifted over the last decade, this track made the list purely because of a cover by Brie Larson from the movie Scott Pilgrim Vs The World. While that's the only officially released song by Brie this decade, I've found a better song with an excuse to sneak her in the top 100, so this track - rejected by Metric for being too Metric sounding - misses out. The video for Brie's cover can be found here and is worth watching to see just how many big name stars were in this small Canadian comic book adaptation.

Desire - Under Your Spell
YouTube // Spotify
4:56
30th June 2009

This was well on the way to having a great chart position in my top 100 until I checked the date of release. While it came to my attention on the Drive soundtrack - one of the few good parts of a film that I found disappointing - it had been released six months prior to the cut-off date for this rundown. I allowed myself a three month grace period (so October - December 2009) to cover any songs released while running down last decade's countdown but I couldn't squeeze this in. Shame though, it's a great song to listen to while playing GTA!

The Joy Formidable - Whirring
YouTube // Spotify
6:47
May 2009

Another song released just too early to make it in. An argument could have been made that as it only came to my attention (and more widespread attention) with the 2011 re-release then it could've been justified - but the rules for this countdown are mine and mine alone, and if I don't stick to them then nobody will! Another great song, that builds and builds to an epic finish. Sadly there are fewer of those songs about these days, a downside of the streaming bubble - with artists being paid per stream, you'll get twice as many fractions of a penny for someone streaming two 3-minute songs than one 6-minute one!

Lady Gaga - Edge Of Glory
YouTube // Spotify
5:20
9th May 2011
UK chart position: 6

Here we have a pair of songs that made the list for spurious reasons. I've never been a Gaga stan - while The Fame Monster is an album that still holds up, most of my brushes with her over the last decade have been casual, either from songs appearing on Glee, her (impressive) SNL appearance, or this track. The saxophonist is Clarence Clemons, who sadly suffered a stroke and passed away about a month after this track was released. He's better known (to some) as a member of the E Street Band, the backing group on all of Bruce Springsteen's better albums - it's his saxophone that plays out the coda on Thunder Road.


The Rolling Stones - Ride 'Em On Down
YouTube // Spotify
2:48
25th November 2016

Included purely because the video has Kristen Stewart, one of my favourite actresses, dancing around in a t-shirt and jeans. Couldn't tell you what the song sounds like. There's a better song in the rundown featuring Kristen - as well as two other big name actresses - in the video, so that made the cut instead of this one; when you see who that song was by, you'll realise that Kent's biggest band were never going to beat it!