2010 was a great year for music.  Sadly, this often occurs...  When the world is falling to shit, people (artists especially) really get their creative juices flowing.  The upside is that the bars for innovation and artistic expression are raised higher and higher.

Following are five of my ten favorite songs (with video) from 2010.  I hope you enjoy them as much as I.

“Soldier of Love” – Sade

As soon as word came down from the mount, that Sade had deigned to grace us with a new album, millions of fans (yours truly among them) ran to i-Tunes and pre-ordered it, sight unseen (or heard, as the case may be).  It had been ten years, and even if “Soldier of Love” had been the only song on the entire album, we still would’ve paid through the teeth to have the familiarly hypnotic sounds of that sultry siren’s song wash over us, once again.  That the video was as gorgeous as the melody – well, that was just a bonus. 

“Tighten Up” – The Black Keys

Testifying to the sticky, dirty, Southern funk of these two Midwestern prepsters is the hit single from The Black Keys’ Brothers album.  A versatile number, “Tighten Up” would be just as comfortable blaring in THX on the soundtrack to a Quentin Tarantino film as playing on your hi-fi during an intimate candlelit dinner at home.  And if you’re really into it, catch their act live, when they perform on February 19th and 20th at The Chelsea at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas.

“Coldwar” – Janelle Monáe

Monáe is fresh, exciting, and unique while remaining accessible.  She’s fun and though her arrangements are multi-layered and sophisticated, the beat is there for everyone to enjoy.  With a style and flair co-opted from those she admires but reimagined in a form truly her own, she exemplifies all that is good in the world of creative expression.  Even when taking a stand on political issues, as she does in “Coldwar,” she does so with verve and passion and never succumbs to preachiness.  Carry on, Lady!

“Just the Way You Are” – Bruno Mars

Okay.  So I erroneously thought BM was a FTM tranny.  That doesn’t mean I thought any less of this amazing ballad that harkens back to another era – when songs were valued for their melodies and were penned as messages.  The music, the lyrics, the vibe – it all works here, and Mars delivers it all, wrapped-up in a pretty little (and I maintain, slightly gender-ambiguous) package. 

“Teenage Dream” – Katy Perry (as performed on Glee by the Tufts University a cappella group, The Beezlebubs, feat. Darren Criss)

Katy Perry really doesn’t do much for me aurally (although I think that visually, she’s a hoot to peep).  Maybe her voice just doesn’t resonate with me, because when I heard “Teenage Dream” on Glee as sung by the fictional all-male Dalton Academy Warblers, I was blown-away.  Of course, I’m a sucker for a dozen guys in blazers, singing in six-part harmony. 

 The Music of 2010

Get into it!