The one thousand and eighth song: Super Bass – Nicki Minaj
It still feels odd to move from Queen Latifah's debut album yesterday to today's modern rap song, where the rap is at a speed no music was in at the time. I don't love Nicki Minaj's style, but musically this sounds good, the skill is there and it's impressive how it all fits together into a really great and memorable track
The one thousand and ninth song: 212 – Azaelia Banks
On the other side, Azaelia Banks' mechanical rap goes the other way. The lyrics are clear, the references come often and the mechanical beat stands out against the more flowing style. It's precise, in a way that works quite well.
The one thousand and tenth song: Written On The Forehead – PJ Harvey
The slow build up of this pop song focuses on PJ Harvey's light vocals, tuned to sound disconcerting as it addresses a world on fire. It embraces a fatalistic view on the world, in a way that's unsettling but also attractive.
The one thousand and eleventh song: Video Games – Lana Del Rey
The dreamy, distant sound of Lana Del Rey's voice sets the atmosphere for the song, a languid sound that sets up a relationship that's unsatisfying but also comfortable, something sweet but not in a way that feels entirely right. Are you happy there? It's just not clear, but the song sounds so seductive still.
The one thousand and twelfth song: Holocene – Bon Iver
Even more ethereal, Holocene doesn't really do much, but its sparse instruments, soft vocals and distant sound create a distant atmosphere that sets a beautiflu, longing sound. It's small but also just lovely.
The one thousand and thirteenth song: Death To My Hometown – Bruce Springsteen
After decades, Bruce Springsteen can still send a message, as this seems to have, one that continues to comment on mid-western American life. It's removed from me - both the setitng and the impact of the music - but the power is still in there, even more with the folk bend this track takes it back down with.
The one thousand and fourteenth song: Happy – Pharrell Williams
Pharrell Williams' feels simpler, but also gives you a song that can have its own impact. It doesn't feel like there are many songs just about being happy - especially in this era - but it is such a simple tracks that gets you clapping along and feeling a bit better - more than doing what the track sets out to do.
The one thousand and fifteenth song: Digital Witness – St. Vincent
St. Vincent's art pop style works to its advantage here to create a new sound. The song combines an electronic pop sound, a lot of brass and lyrics that don't allude to as much to create an elegant and enticing mix of a song.
The one thousand and sixteenth song: Two Weeks – FKA Twigs
The dark backing track for this song creates a counter balance to FKA Twigs' light vocals, supporting the anger of the lyrics that wouldn't otherwise come through. It sounds like it could be sweet, but the amount of swearing in this plays counter to that. It's a large, gorgeous composition that's at work here.
The one thousand and seventeenth song: Lazaretto – Jack White
There's a lot of chaos in this rock song, throwing everything at it to create a noise that doesn't feel like it belongs in this era with a mix of styles that it keeps veering between. In the end, it does feel like it's too much - without anything to hone in on, there's just nothing to grab you and it just becomes a lot of noise aimed at you.
The one thousand and eighteenth song: Eyes To The Wind – The War On Drugs
This is a simple, effective rock song, a bit poppy, some folk rock style lyrics but with music that has a bit more to it, and this feels like just a pleasant sound to listen to.
The one thousand and nineteenth song: Hunger Of The Pine – Alt-J
Starting off with just the vocals and beeps to give a rhythm, Hunger of the Pine slowly builds its elements until it gets its full, impressive instrumentation going - just those bits extras, but not too much. The song features a Miley Cyrus sample, whose bold sound contrasts aggressively with the smooth and subdued regular vocals, in a way that sets up a conversation in its own way. While complex, the track never leans into that, and it just feels like it all makes sense together.
The one thousand and twentieth song: Shake It Off – Taylor Swift
Shake It Off is a hit for a reason, it's a strong positive message that alludes to darker sides, but moves past it - and encourages you to move past it. It's an engaging sound that sticks with you.
The one thousand and twenty-first song: FourFiveSeconds – Rihanna, Kanye West and Paul McCartney
This is a pretty straight forward pop song, made by some big names, but I'm not sure if I felt the power coming through from this track to the point where I'd want it to.