fav of the year: erykah badu – soldier

a simple drum beat, an even simpler flute sample, i don’t quite understand how she can much manage such warmth and righteous indignation at the exact same time.  enmeshing the personal with the political, it touches on 9/11, iraq and katrina, while celebrating a new history that she couldn’t even have imagined at the time (the album came out in february, only two weeks after obama announced his candidacy).  soldier marks the end of one era and the beginning of another, a new amerykah indeed.

in addition to that squeal that joanna newsom lets out before a big note, particularly on cosmia, my favourite female vocal sound ever is erykah badu’s ‘eeeeha’ at the 2:01 mark…

the rest, in alphabetical order, give or take:

air france – collapsing at your doorstep
beck – gamma ray
be your own pet – becky
brazilian girls – good time
css – ratt is dead
crystal castles – crimewave
crystal castles – Xxzcuzx Me
cut copy – midnight runner
deerhunter – nothing ever happened
fleet foxes – mykonos
fleet foxes – english house
girl talk – let me see you
hayden – where and when
Hercules and Love Affair – Blind
land of talk – some are lakes
lykke li – little bit
M83 – kim and jessie
no age – brain burner
portishead – nylon smile
santogold – shove it
times new viking – (my head)
times new viking – call & respond
the hold steady – slapped actress
the raconteurs – top yourself
tv on the radio – red dress
vivian girls – tell the world

here’s a zip with all of them