XMAS MIX 2013: rizzle kicks - happy that you're here (christmas song)

rizzle kicks - happy that you're here (christmas song)
trying to take a shot at the UK xmas #1, hip hop duo vie for the top spot with this drunken jazzy hip hop number. not sure if it has the chops, but it's a wacky alternative to your usual fare.

WEEKEND MIX: rizzle kicks - skip to the good bit

rizzle kicks - skip to the good bit
we buzzed about this last week with their lyric video, but now the rizzle kicks boys unveil their wonderfully silly party jam featuring the hilarious will poulter (we're the millers) in a cameo. love the song!

THIS WEEKS MIX: rizzle kicks - skip to the good bit (lyric video)

rizzle kicks - skip to the good bit (lyric video)
though i haven't been that impressed with the new singles supporting rizzle kicks' new album 'roaring 20's', THIS is a fun track especially with the emf 'unbelievable' sample as it's center piece. turn it up and go crazy when the skip to the good bit chorus kicks in, you won't be sorry!

NEW RIZZLE KICKS!: rizzle kicks - travellers chant (young favourite remix) / travellers chant

rizzle kicks - travellers chant (young favourite remix)
[what a lovely remix by young favourite! dreamy and laid back, it totally reminds me of PM Dawn (remember them?). hopefully they'll release this version as an official single cause it's so much better than the original!]

just for comparison, here is the official video version which i'm not feeling as much.

rizzle kicks - travellers chant

BEST OF 2011: best songs #26-50

#26-50 (the youtube player has all the videos above in a playlist, press >> for the next song)
26. Jessie J – Nobody’s Perfect / Abracadabra / Domino
[though i'm a fan of the jessie j, i do feel that the hard selling of this talented artist (the harsh image, the overproduced videos, the way she sings so hard live that she goes sharp) has turned me against her by the end of the year (but still not enough to showcase three wonderful highlights from her album). it's a shame cause this girl can be great... she just needs to tone it down a notch!]

27. Bombay Bicycle Club – Lights Out, Words Gone
[featuring the lovely harmony of lucy rose, this dreamy indie pop number has a disarmingly mature groove underneath that showcases just how solid their music really is. brilliant!]

28. Young The Giant – Cough Syrup / My Body
[what a wonderful debut from this irvine, cali band! lead singer sameer gadhia has a killer caberet-esque quality to his vocals that draws you in instantly. throw in the fact that they write incredibly catchy hooks and you've got one of the better new acts of the year.]

29. Rizzle Kicks – Mama Do The Hump
[you gotta give it up to the rizzle kicks boys as they cranked out one sweet gem after another in 2011 (they also collaborated very nicely to #1 with olly murs). but it was this norman cook (fatboy slim) produced number that made the best impression... i mean they even got their mum's to perform in the video! do the hump mama!]

30. Maroon 5 feat Christina Aguilera – Moves Like Jagger
[one of the peppiest songs of the year reminded us that both maroon 5 and christina still had it in them to be a part of the pop zeitgeist. it was instant love during the summer and remained a crowd pleaser for the rest of 2011]

31. David Guetta feat Sia - Titanium
[though david guetta had alot of solid collaborations on his hit friendly album 'nothing but the beat', it was this awesome number with the always smashing sia that kicked them all to the curb. i'm a sucker for defiant anthems and this one really made the cut for 2011!]

32. Wretch 32 feat Josh Kimbra – Don’t Go
[my fave british rapper of the year, wretch 32 not only brought grime into the mainstream but still managed to produce this beautiful mid tempo breakup ballad to the top of the UK charts. sweetness!]

33. Calvin Harris – Feel So Close / feat Kelis - Bounce
[calvin just cranks out the hits doesn't he? producing smart dance songs that also translate to the top of the charts, this DJ/producer made a massive impact in 2011, but more on that in the next half of my year end list!]

34. Lady Antebellum – We Owned The Night
[if there is any such thing as a 'stadium' song for lady antebellum, this is it. three part harmonies, bygone lyrics and a sentiment that just asks for collective 'whoa'-ing at the end!]

35. Professor Green feat Emeli Sande – Read All About It
[emeli's part in this massive hit is easily my favorite vocal hook of the year! but as for professor green's lyrics about his daddy... i don't really have any strong opinion about it. oh well, back to emeli! i wanna sing... i wanna shooooout...]
 
36. M83 – Midnight City
[anthony gonzalez really knows how to make shoegaze electronica with a strong nod to the 80's! the layers of vocals and riffs is just one of the most glorious sounds of the year. love!]

37. Robyn – Call Your Girlfriend
[robyn is the only electro dance diva that comes up with lyrics that is filled with such yearning. she ruled the 'best of' list (#1 yo!)  last year and then came back in june with this insta-love experience! desperation never sounded so good!]

38. Joe Goddard feat Valentina - Gabriel
[just like hot chip member joe goddard to throw down beats and grooves to make valentina's vocals into a house anthem with lo-fi leanings. genius!]

39. Switch feat Andrea Martin – I Still Love You
[a heartbreaking soulful song wrapped around a minimalist beat and yelp loop made this song into one of the saddest club tracks of the year. brilliant]

40. Kanye West and Jay Z – Niggas in Paris
[the back track is so balls hard that shit crazy! easily my fave track from their solid 'watch the throne' album.]

41. Amy Winehouse – Our Day Will Come
[sigh... we miss you amy]

42. Nero feat Alana - Promises
[easily my fave crossover dubstep track of the year due to the awesome waawaawaa bass line that kicks in during the chorus. solid!]

43. Sugarland and Matt Nathanson – Run / Tonight
[jennifer nettles is one of my favorite female vocalists around at the moment and i openly claim my love for sugarland and everything she does. so there!]

44. Lianne La Havas – Age / Final Form (Everything Everything cover)
[many of us fell in love with lianne's jazzy vocal sway on jools holland with the confident simplicity of her 'age' performance. so much so that i have strong anticipation for 2012 when lianne will show us just how potentially incredible her talents will be. bring it!]
 
45. James Vincent McMorrow – Higher Love (Steve Winwood cover)
[nothing like folkie james to bring back the love to this steve winwood classic. simply beautiful.]

46. Kelly Clarkson – What Doesn’t Kill You (Stronger)
[one of pop strongest voices returned this year with this solid dance rock electro disco mash anthem. try not to fist bump to this when you hear it at your next bar mitzfah/wedding/top 40 party!]

47. Laura Marling - Sophia
[oh laura... fast becoming the folk voice of our generation... finally finding the confidence in her music to create something so very 'laura marling'. the gut feeling is that the next album will be the definitive example of her true talents, this is just a teaser.]

48. Washed Out – Amor Fati
[chill out 80's electronica made all the better with the accompanying journeyman video shot entirely in iceland. just so dreamy!!]

49. Birdy – Skinny Love (Bon Iver cover) / White Winter Hymnal (Fleet Foxes cover)
[at only 16, young birdy offered up a collection of indie covers with sparse arrangements and haunting innocent vocals. an obvious marketing hook, but yet worked quite lovely in the long run.]

50. Flux Pavillion and Doctor P – Supabad / Bass Cannon
[bringing the stankface to the mainstream! i LOVE the breakdowns of flux pavillion, heck they even make 70's blacksploitation stankface cool!]

BEST OF 2011: guilty pleasures #11-20

11. Olly Murs feat Rizzle Kicks – Heart Skips A Beat / Dance With Me Tonight
[alot of my newfound love of olly murs stems from his co-hosting gig on the UK xtra factor. his affable demeanor and catchy retro pop sound is just too crowd pleasing to ignore!]

12. Chris Brown feat Benny Bennasi – Beautiful People / Chris Brown feat Lil Wayne and Busta Rhymes – Look At Me Now
[the open club silliness of 'beautiful people' is just too brilliant to ignore. with a pulsating beat and preposterous lyrics about inner beauty, it's definitely a gem unto itself! flip side to 'look at me now' and chris brown turns into a swagger filled lyrical hoodlum with the help of busta and lil wayne. the end result is two diverse sides to a fabulous coin that deserves props for 2011]

13. Bruno Mars – It Will Rain
[it's probably the most overproduced, over the top, oversung ballad of the year and yet it still managed to be one of the best cheesy songs o the year. bravo!!!]

14. Lady Gaga – The Edge of Glory
[to be honest, i love this song cause i sound like a real dude when singing this at karaoke. (fist pump) alright! alright! alright!]

15. Labrinth feat Tinie Tempah – Earthquake
[the best bassline for a pop song i've heard all year also has the stupidest lyrics about earthquakes and bombs and groundbreakers. it's rare that one can offer stank face grooves and still be awesomely silly in one go. brilliant!]

16. LMFAO – I’m Sexy And I Know It
[i love that the lmfao guys are basically a club clown act and own it (plus they work out!). wiggle wiggle wiggle wiggle wiggle yeah!]

17. Nicole Scherzinger – Don’t Hold Your Breath / Right There
[nicole offered two perfectly derivative songs for the year and proved that if you pay big bucks for strong songs you will be part of the music landscape... no matter how meh you are in real life!]

18. Cobra Starship feat Sabi – You Make Me Feel
[it's just so damm catchy... i have no other reason!]

19. Pitbull feat Neyo, Afrojack and Nayer – Give Me Everything
[i'm convinced that the lyric is 'grab somebody sexy time so hey!']

20. Gym Class Heroes feat Adam Levine – Stereo Hearts
[every time i hear a GCH track it takes me ages to admit that i like it. throw in the fact that i'm lukewarm about adam levine and well... it's only taken me til the end of the year to admit that this is a solid pop song for the guilty pleasure section]

WONGIE FUN SONG OF THE WEEK: rizzle kicks - mama do the hump

rizzle kicks - mama do the hump
[this fun song could actually end up on my year end list cause it's just so much fun! written and produced by a certain norman cook (aka fatboy slim) no wonder the track is so catchy! now grab your mama and do the hump!]

WONGIE FUN SONG OF THE WEEK: rizzle kicks - when i was a youngster

rizzle kicks - when i was a youngster
[it's like two little fresh princes UK style! fun raps, catchy hooks and an ed sheeran cameo! i'm in!]

WONGIE (joint) POP SONG OF THE WEEK: rizzle kicks - down with the trumpets

rizzle kicks - down with the trumpets
[while the uk rap duo offer up some fun on the infectious olly murs track, they throw down the party with their own current single. turn it up cause you'll be smiling the whole way through with this pop gem!]

WONGIE POP SONG OF THE WEEK: olly murs feat rizzle kicks - heart skips a beat

olly murs feat rizzle kicks - heart skips a beat
[the x-factor boy comes up with a pop ditty that you don't need to listen in secret! nice one!]