Instant pop omniscience – and the 20 songs you should download this month.
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20. “Shake a Fist,” Hot Chip (DFA/Astralwerks)U.K. electro-croon team assembles a rumbling, ominous dance track — then takes it apart.
19. “Ceremony,” Radiohead (Online)Gloom king Thom Yorke covers gloom kings New Order. Frowns for everyone!
18. “Keep Bleeding,” Leona Lewis (J)X-Factor champ belts (and hemorrhages) like hell.
17. “Break Another,” Blake Lewis (Arista)The argyle-lovin’ Idol calls out hit-and-run scuzzbags on his percolating funk-hop debut.
16. “Livin’ in the Future,” Bruce Springsteen (Columbia)From His Bossness, a saxtastic jam about everything going to crap.
15. “Grand Canyon,” Kavinsky (Record Makers)Giorgio Moroder fans, take note of this Daft Punk pal.
14. “Everybody’s Down,” No Age (Sub Pop) Lo-fi groove-rawk that only gets more charming the further off-key the singers get …
13. “Tengazako,” Esau Mwamwaya (Online)M.I.A.’s “Paper Planes” becomes a jubilant Malawian sing-along.
12. “Williamsburg,” Armor for Sleep (
Sire/Warner Bros.)Emo-popsters scold either dirty hipsters or Colonial-era preservationists in Virginia.
11. “Run-Away,” Super Furry Animals (Rough Trade)U.K. weirdos serve up some reverb-rich psychedelic rock, thick with Fender Rhodes groove and afternoon-sex haziness.
10. “Speedin’,” Rick Ross Feat. R. Kelly (Def Jam)Doing 100 mph in a $500,000 car with an AK-47 in the passenger seat? Just another daily commute for Rick Ross!
9. “Almost Easy,” Avenged Sevenfold (Warner Bros.)SoCal
metalheads softly stroke a piano and coo about herbal tea. Just
kidding—they shred like crazy and sing about suicide and S&M.
8. “Time to Pretend,” MGMT (Red Ink/Columbia)From Brooklyn, a burbling synth-pop epic.
7. “Down,” Chris Brown Feat. Kanye West (Jive)One euphoric booty call, complete withspiraling -----rock riffs and shimmering vocoder effects.
6. “Surviving the Times,” Nas (Columbia)
Poignant piano loops + ’80s nostalgia = gold.
5. “Superstar,” Lupe Fiasco (
Atlantic)Dazzling wordsmithery about that fly V.I.P. section called “the afterlife.”
4. “Tha Stepper,” Sammy Bananas (Fool’s Gold)Ini Kamoze gets a sleek techno-disco overhaul. Excuse me, Mr. Offica!
3. “Hello Brooklyn,” Jay-Z Feat. Lil Wayne (Def Jam)
Two of the biggest egos in rap rock the mic.
2. “Dat Girl Right There,” Usher Feat. Ludacris (Jive)Alien synth squall meets loverman suavity. Bizarre and awesome!
1. “Ditch That,” The Dream (Def Jam)Translation: Don’t you wish your boyfriend was hot (and portly and horny and rich) like me?