Mix Tape of the Day: February 13, 2015 - The Best of 2009

Here it is.  2009.  The best year ever.  The best songs ever.

1. Fireflies - Owl City (2009) I almost included this in my Australia mix since a dear friend from Australia introduced me to this song.  But then I remembered that she shared it with me right after we had all returned back home to America.  Still, it reminds me of that wonderful year.

2. Poker Face - Lady Gaga (2008) 2009 was when we all started realizing, "Oh dang, this Lady Gaga lady is something special."  And this song me filled with such amazing frisson the first time that I knew it would be one of my top songs of the year.

3. Fallin' for You - Colbie Caillat (2009) Aww, I hate when they don't have the official video on Youtube.  I liked that Bobby Moynihan was the object of desire in an unironic comedic fashion.

4. Green Light - John Legend ft. Andre 3000 (2008) This is just a fun song.  And it's nice to have a song that's about asking for consent.  Other contemporary songs should take note.

5. 21 Guns - Green Day (2009) Green Day! Finally!  This means that my Green Day mix should be on it's way, lest I use them all to fill slots on my best of the year mixes.  I love the Full House intro breakdown in the middle of this one.

6. Down - Jay Sean ft. Lil Wayne (2009) Thanks to DJ Puppies and Kittens, I will never forget this song.

7. If U Seek Amy - Britney Spears (2008) Ah, finally, Britney Spears has arrived.  I am an unashamed Spears fan, and she had a lot of good choices for 2009.  Soon, I'll be unleashing my Britney Spears megamix.  This one earned the spot on the mix for being able to sneak curse words past the censors.  And songs about Amy are always great.

8. Please Don't Leave Me - Pink (2008) I like Pink a lot more than I realized.  I feel like she keeps showing up on all of these year-end lists.

9. Love Drunk - Boys Like Girls (2009) This song reminds me of "Somebody Told Me" by the Killers.  That's good enough for me.

10. Don't Trust Me - 3OH!3 (2008) I'm assuming this song is being ironic with it's lyrics and subject material.  Because it's a lot of fun to sing and I don't want to get in trouble.

11. You Belong With Me - Taylor Swift (2008) I've held off on using this song so often.  This is my favorite Taylor Swift song and it convinced me to give her a shot as an artist.  It's cliché, but this song speaks to me so much that I'd consider it one of my top 13 personal anthems.  Maybe one day, I'll compile that list for you.

12. Halo - Beyoncé (2008) Man, I think this is one of the most beautiful sounding songs in existence.  And maybe Kelly Clarkson was upset because it sounded exactly like "Already Gone," but hey, she'd get her own great song of 2009.  Let "Halo" be.

13. My Life Would Suck Without You - Kelly Clarkson (2009) Okay, I was so tempted to put the Glee version on this list, because it introduced me to the song. (I was aware of it, but the title turned me off and I'd never listen to it the whole way through.) I'll save that version for later, so let's just enjoy the original for now.

Mix Tape of the Day: January 10, 2015 - The Best of 2014, Part 2: The Rest

These are the songs I listened to a lot over the past year.  For a song to be eligible on this mix, it must have either been published in 2014 or hit its peak on one of Billboard's Year-End genre charts in 2014.  (That means "Blank Space" will have to wait.)

1. Everything Is Awesome - Tegan and Sara ft. The Lonely Island (2014) Aren't you glad 2014 kicked things off with an awesome movie like The Lego Movie.  In the film, this song was used to keep everyone in line, but when it sounds this fun, you can appreciate totalitarianism.  (Judging from all the positivity heard in pop music last year, maybe this song was trying to warn us that we are being subliminally pacified through our mass media.)

2. The Walker - Fitz and the Tantrums (2013) And then we were forced to listen to this song for a month as we geared up for the Oscars.  Another upbeat piece, but this time, we're encouraged to break away from the confines of society.  Mixed messages much?  (And the background music for this song keeps giving me déjà vu for some reason.  Have we heard it before somewhere?)

3. Word Crimes - "Weird Al" Yankovic (2014) Speaking of mandatory fun, that was the theme of Weird Al's latest album.  While I don't feel it was his strongest offering, I did love this grammar stickler song.  Not only was it clever and funny, but it also allowed us to appreciate the melody of "Blurred Lines" without ever having to listen to that song again.

4. I'm Only Joking - Kongos (2011) With this song and "Come with Me Now," I'm happy that Kongos was finally discovered (were finally discovered?).  Finally, someone has captured the hardcore intensity of joking with someone.

5. Dangerous - Big Data ft. Joywave (2013) This is one of those songs that I enjoy just because of how it sounds.  It reminds me of an instrumental piece that I'll share later this year, but it's something about that unnerving beat that makes you feel like you're living inside a video game that draws me to this song.

6. Girls Chase Boys - Ingrid Michaelson (2014) I just like that popular music is continuing to break down gender barriers.  Also, it was always welcome to listen to after whatever my latest relationship drama was.

7. Stolen Dance - Milky Chance (2013) This! It kept reminding me of the Flight of the Conchords theme song every time it came on, which drew me in.  Then it hit me with it's lyrics.  Big dances are the best and worst thing in life.  So when the next big dance of my life was coming up, I listened to this song to calm my nerves.  We don't need to talk about it.

8. The Troubles - U2 (2014) Remember how U2 just gave everyone a free new album?  It just showed up one day like a present from Santa (or it appeared like a cold sore if you aren't a fan of U2).  I was in the former category.  However, this was the only song I found myself coming back to with any regularity.  It just sounded so different from their usual sound and I appreciated the experiment.

9. Take Me to Church - Hozier (2013) As with "Girls Chase Boys," we have another popular alternative love song.  Here we focus on the conflict between rigid beliefs and natural feelings.  For all the current problems in the world, at least we still get works of art like this out to a wide audience.

10. Try - Colbie Caillat (2014) Colbie Caillat is pretty hit or miss with me.  Fortunately, she hit with this one.  Like Christina Aguilera's "Beautiful" before it, we have another positive self image anthem.  It may be cliche in all the wrong ways, and the message may get muddled at times, it's the thought that counts.  And I appreciate that.

11. Push - "Lorde" (2014) Is it sad that one of the best songs of the year was just a minute and a half South Park parody?  Those creators have always been musical geniuses, and this centerpiece of the best episode of the season stuck with me.  Although the conceit is that Lorde is actually Stan's father using autotune, Sia provided her voice for this inspirational song that encourages people to be themselves and fight through the struggles of sitting in a bathroom stall.  Help me unload the car.

12. Best - Neil Cicierega (2014) While all of the Smash Mouth mashups on Mouth Sounds were fantastic, Neil Cicierega really showed is mashup skills on Mouth Silence. I was so impressed that he could use music (and music only) in a comedic fashion.  Every song was great, but this one was "Best."

13. On Top of the World - Imagine Dragons (2012) I kind of had to fudge my rules a bit to get this on the 2014 mix.  Yes, it charted in 2013, but it was so omnipresent last year.  And it was a perfect way to cap the Year of Positivity when, especially that one day towards the end of the year when I was literally on top of the world.