Wanna know what the best music of the decade so far is? Well, right on cue, along comes US online tastemakers Pitchfork who have announced plans to take a look a retrospective look at the best songs, albums, and music videos of the last five years.
Why? Well, aside from marking the drastic changes in the way we digest music, Pitchfork explains it’s also because “in just four more months, we’ll begin staring down the 2020s” – so what better time? Plus what music fan doesn’t love a supposedly definitive list to chew the fat over?
Pitchfork has kickstarted things with a list of the 200 best tracks from 2010-2014, and it’s bound to start more than a few arguments over what it’s left out as much as it has included. But first the good news for fans Down Under: two Australian artists have made the rankings.
Tame Impala managed to score three positions on the list – one cut from their debut LP Innerspeaker (‘Solitude Is Bliss’ at #161) and two from sophomore effort Lonerism. ‘Apocalypse Dreams’ sits at #90 while the Perth psych-rock exports’ biggest song ‘Feels Like We Only Go Backwards’ made it all the way to #11 – sandwiched between Drake and Beyoncé; the honours timed just after accusations that the tune may or may not have been a rip-off of a 14-year-old Argentinian pop star.
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Melbourne songsmith Courtney Barnett also makes the grade, with her international name-making hit ‘Avant Gardener’ praised by Pitchfork as a “blow-by-blow recap of the panic created by that existential tightrope-walk of being young and avoiding basic responsibilities.”
It’s DIY Canadian futurist pop that’s been crowned as the #1 best song of the last five years however, with Grimes’ ‘Oblivion’ taking out the top position, pipping Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti to the top spot, as well as ‘Runaway’ from Kanye West at #3, the fourth and highest entry from the rapper (five if you include ‘Niggas In Paris’ with Jay Z).
Other top-performing artists in the rankings include Arcade Fire, with four tracks in the list; Frank Ocean, with three cuts in the Top 150; ‘jizz jazz’ goof rocker Mac DeMarco, with two rankings, and Bon Iver also landing two tracks from his 10-track 2011 sophomore album (four appearances if you include his cameos on Kanye’s ‘Monster’ and ‘Lost In The World).
You can view the Top 25 rankings and view the full 200 best tracks here.
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Pitchfork’s 200 Best Tracks Of The Decade
1. Grimes – ‘Oblivion’
2. Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti – ‘Round and Round’
3. Kanye West – ‘Runaway’ [ft. Pusha T]
4. M83 – ‘Midnight City’
5. Kendrick Lamar – ‘Bitch, Don’t Kill My Vibe’
6. Robyn – ‘Dancing on My Own’
7. Azealia Banks – ‘212’ [ft. Lazy Jay]
8. Frank Ocean – ‘Pyramids’
9. Deerhunter – ‘Helicopter’
10. Drake – ‘Hold On We’re Going Home’
11. Tame Impala – ‘Feels Like We Only Go Backwards’
12. Beyoncé – ‘Countdown’
13. Usher – ‘Climax’
14. Sky Ferreira – ‘Everything Is Embarrassing’
15. Nicki Minaj – Super Bass’ [ft. Ester Dean]
16. Todd Terje – ‘Inspector Norse’
17. LCD Soundsystem – ‘Dance Yrself Clean’
18. Kanye West – ‘Monster’ [ft. Justin Vernon, Rick Ross, Jay-Z, and Nicki Minaj]
19. Beach House – ‘Zebra’
20. Daft Punk – ‘Get Lucky’ [ft. Pharrell]
21. Real Estate – ‘It’s Real’
22. Arcade Fire – ‘Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains)’
23. Solange – ‘Losing You’
24. Drake – ‘Worst Behavior’
25. Disclosure – ‘Latch’ [ft. Sam Smith]
