20
Fleet Foxes “Sim Sala Bim”
What makes me love you, despite the reservations
What do I see in your eyes?
Besides my reflection hanging high?
Do you see your flaws in those eyes? Do they complete you? One of the amazing things about love is that it challenges us to do better. It can also be terrifying, because it makes you feel out of control, like someone is whispering incantations softly in your ear.
Sim Sala Bim on your tongue
19
Frank Ocean “Bad Religion”
Leading up to his release of Channel Orange, Frank Ocean posted this candid confession on his tumblr, coming out as bisexual. Some cynics complained it was a marketing ploy, but I think it was his way of finally embracing his freedom from an unrequited love. A true R&B masterpiece, “Bad Religion” deals with all of those emotions.
This unrequited love To me it’s nothing but A one-man cult And cyanide in my styrofoam cup I could never make him love me Never make him love me
18
Arcade Fire “Here Comes The Night Time”
I’ll just leave this verse here for you to read/sing along to. It speaks to my soul.
They say, heaven’s a place Yeah, heaven’s a place and they know where it is But you know where it is? It’s behind the gate, they won’t let you in And when they hear the beat, coming from the street, they lock the door But if there’s no music up in heaven, then what’s it for?
17
Phosphorescent “Song For Zula”
Easily Matthew Houck’s best song, he quote’s Johnny Cash’s famous saying and turns it into his own immolation. “Love is a burning thing” can go either way, and the only romanticism here is that there are no punches withheld, nor any emotions buried deep. Reason has no place in this love torn world.
16
The Rapture “How Deep is Your Love?”
Dance music executed to perfection. It builds and builds and the whole time the lyrics tease out happy thoughts of those we want to go to so you can ask them that final climactic eponymous question. Once we get there, we realize that we knew the answer to the question the whole time. Then the saxophone comes in, rendering the words to that answer useless. The music conveys the feelings too well to be interrupted.
15
Run the Jewels “Close Your Eyes (And Count to Fuck)”
Run the Jewels is angry. This is why:
Unfortunately, the time for peaceful protests may have ended and perhaps change can only be obtained with a more powerful retaliation against systemic racial disparity. Even if you somehow manage to strip away that context, “Close Your Eyes” is a vitriolic yet magnificent display of artistic proficiency from the nation’s best rap duo.
14
Tallest Man on Earth “Like the Wheel”
There is no song this decade that is more beautiful, nor a song more poetic.
Oh I wish I was the sparrow in your kid’s eye That could fly above this summer all day long On an island in the heart he has to carry Past the many you have let into your song
…
And in the forest someone is whispering to a tree now This is all I am so please don’t follow me And it’s your brother in the shaft that I’m swinging Please let the kindness of forgetting set me free
13
Azealia Banks “212”
After Azealia Banks’ father died of pancreatic cancer when she was two years of age, her mom became abusive. For twelve years she was beaten with baseball bats, thrown against the wall, and while starving was forced to watch her mom throw out all the food in the fridge. Despite all that, Azealia Banks is one of the most confident and assertive musicians to come out of a broken household, and it doesn’t stop her from having fun. To that end, I present the most incredible dance song to ever grace a party three times a night. Minimum.
12
Dr. Dog “Humble Passenger”
I went to a Dr. Dog show in Baltimore with one of my roommates from college as well as one of his best friends from his childhood growing up in upstate New York. This mutual friend (let’s call him Phil) later committed suicide and although I only hung out with Phil twice and for the grand sum of maybe a day, I am overcome with emotion whenever Dr. Dog shows up on my iPod. I think about the power of Phil’s persona and how in the short time we spent together he left me happy knowing I had made another fantastic friend. I think about my roommate who in his sadness had to clear out all of Phil’s belongings from his apartment. I think about the two amazing people in my life who had close, beloved friends that took their own lives and I think how my feelings pale in comparison with theirs. I think about how grateful I am that I knew Phil, however brief a time.
The loneliness I felt right then was enough to make me weep
Then I heard a voice inside my head lit a fire under me
It said your fear is gonna cost a lot but your courage comes for free
So I thanked that little island I paddled off without a care
For I know not where I’m going but I’ll know it when I’m there
And I know that no ones a-missin’ me back in my home town
For together we will always be even though I’m not around
11
Kanye West “Runaway”
I highly recommend watching Kanye West’s entire 34 minute long short film Runaway because he is at his most humble, his most vulnerable, and his most artistic. It is a showcase from someone who struggles with self-identity and who has to live in constant judgement. Would you run away from those expectations and the haters putting you down? He acknowledges his shortcomings for nine whole minutes here, and therefore it is his best song of the last five years.
The Ponderings of a Deej 
