A handful of Australian artists have received an impressive honour, being named amongst Pitchfork’s list of best songs of the 2010s.
Ever since they first burst onto the scene back in 1995, Pitchfork have undoubtedly been on the forefront of the music scene, delivering news, reviews, and feature articles about the ins an outs of the music industry.
One of their more common lists though is their retrospective features that take a look back at where we’ve just been, and thinking about the music to have been released within the year or decade that was.
Now, as the 2010s come to a close, Pitchfork have offered up their decennial list that ranks the best music of the decade.
With the publication holding much sway over the music industry as a whole, to be included on the list is a huge achievement for any musician, which is why it’s so good to point out that a handful of Aussie artists have found their own tunes rubbing shoulders with other great tracks from the past ten years.
Check out the list on Spotify:
Between recent tracks from the likes of Lana Del Rey and Thom Yorke, and artists of various styles such as Björk, Gil Scott-Heron, and Sleep, Aussies like Tame Impala, Camp Cope, and Courtney Barnett have all managed to score a look-in.
Tame Impala just about kicks off the list with 2012’s ‘Feels Like We Only Go Backwards’, before being seen again near the other end with 2015’s ‘Let It Happen’ at #47.
However, this is apparently the place to be for local artists, with Camp Cope’s ‘The Opener’ slotting in nicely at #52, while fellow Melburnian Courtney Barnett follows at #41 with breakout single ‘Avant Gardener’.
Interestingly, both Courtney Barnett and Tame Impala made Pitchfork’s mid-decade list back in 2014, with ‘Avant Gardener’ hitting #121, and ‘Feels Like We Only Go Backwards’ reaching a mighty #11.
However, if you’re wondering just what could have topped these chunks of homemade gold this time around, then you don’t have to wonder too much, with tracks from the likes of Vampire Weekend, Kanye West, and Rihanna, helping to fill out the top 20, with Kendrick Lamar taking it out with ‘Alright’.
Surprisingly, Azealia Banks manages to hit #6 with her 2011 anthem ‘212’, proving that even if her headline-grabbing behaviour of the past few years has somewhat tarnished her reputation, her music still kills close to a decade later.
Check out the top 20 below, and check out the full list at Pitchfork before it all goes behind a paywall later this year.
Check out ‘The Opener’ by Camp Cope:
Pitchfork’s 200 Best Songs of the 2010s – Top 20
20. M83 – ‘Midnight City’
19. Vampire Weekend – ‘Hannah Hunt’
18. Kanye West – ‘Runaway’ (feat. Pusha T)
17. Jamie xx – ‘Gosh’
16. The 1975 – ‘Love It If We Made It’
15. Rihanna – ‘Work’ (feat. Drake)
14. Angel Olsen – ‘Shut Up Kiss Me’
13. Chief Keef – ‘I Don’t Like’ (feat. Lil Reese)
12. Sky Ferreira – ‘Everything Is Embarrassing’
11. Bill Callahan – ‘Riding For The Feeling’
10. Lil Uzi Vert – ‘XO TOUR Llif3’
9. Lana Del Rey – ‘Video Games’
8. Solange – ‘Cranes In The Sky’
7. Mitski – ‘Your Best American Girl’
6. Azealia Banks – ‘212’
5. Frank Ocean – ‘Thinkin Bout You’
4. Beyonce – ‘Formation’
3. Robyn – ‘Dancing On My Own’
2. Grimes – ‘Oblivion’
1. Kendrick Lamar – ‘Alright’
