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With the official Gangnam Style YouTube clip hitting 1 billion views just an hour or so ago, it seems a great time to discuss the best songs of the year.
Of course, the K-Pop hit has to be up there, along with Carly Rae Jepson’s Call Me Maybe. For me, Fun.’s We Are Young reminds me of my great summer holiday with friends and, living in Europe, I’ve come to appreciate club mixes more than I care to appreciate.
Check out a spectacular mash-up of the year’s hottest songs below and then let me know – what’s your song of the year?
Legendary rock band Queen is preparing for its 40th birthday – and they need a hand from your creative selves.
In partnership with Talenthouse, Queen is offering fashion designers, illustrators and graphic designers the chance to become part of history by creating a t-shirt design featuring the band’s famous logo.
The selected t-shirt will be sold in Queen’s online stores, on the band’s official site and on the Mercury Phoenix Trust website. The winning design will also be featured on the band’s Facebook page, which has over 7.5 million fans.
All proceeds will be donated to fighting AIDS worldwide through the Mercury Phoenix Trust, the charity set up in Freddie Mercury’s name – so not only will you be getting global recognition for your design, you’ll also be helping those less fortunate!
The winning artist will receive $1,500 and a further 10 designers who receive the most votes will share a prize pool of $1,500. All submitted designs will be reviewed and judged by Queen band members Brian May and Roger Taylor.
Submissions close 19 April 2011 so head over to the Talenthouse website for all the details.
Queen will also be collaborating with Talenthouse on two other creative initiatives – stay tuned for more details!
Here’s a little ditty to inspire you to greatness…
Angus and Julia Stone took out the number one spot in Triple J’s Hottest 100 for 2010 (an Australia Day institution for those readers from overseas). While it wasn’t one of my votes, its easy tune and sweet lyrics have been swirling around my head for the past two days – and the film clip is pretty cute too.
I’m actually a bit of a fan of this song at the moment for another reason – I’ll be taking my own one-way trip on a big jet plane shortly… more details to come!
Around this time each year, I search through my mind in an attempt to remember the ten best songs I rocked out to / belted out in my car / danced to all night / etc.
I take my voting in the Triple J Hottest 100 very seriously (some would say too seriously) so below is my eclectic collection of picks for this year in alphabetical order by band. Click on the song title to hear each song.
Caribou – Odessa: Everytime this one came on the radio, I wanted to dance. Love it!
Cee Lo Green – F* U: I love the juxtaposition of mo-town tune and coarse language. I also love any excuse to use the word juxtaposition.
Children Collide – My Eagle: This one was on Sunday morning high rotation and, really, who doesn’t want an eagle looking out for them?
Flight Facilities – Crave You: For some reason, this song was always on the radio when I got in the car and I love it. Perfectly sums up what I’m sure every girl has felt as some point.
Gypsy and the Cat – Jonah Vark: Awesome song by a great up-and-coming Australian band – as the band said themselves, it’s a little bit reminiscent of Fleetwood Mac.
Hot Chip – I Feel Better: A friend insisted on playing this song every time we got together so it reminds me of good times throughout the year. Plus the film clip is nuts – check it out below.
Massive Attack – Paradise Circus: Beautiful instrumentation and vocals. It’s not one to rock out to but this one really gives me goose bumps.
Pendulum – ABC News Theme Remix: Who would’ve thought the ABC news theme could become a dance floor hit? Points for quirkiness!
I’m a hopeless romantic so this sweet YouTube clip totally sucked me in, even though it screams “gimmick to promote the band”.
Walter C. May’s girlfriend moved away to Duke University for graduate school and to show her that the distance between them didn’t matter, May decided to write her a love letter. But this was no ordinary love letter.
May wrote her a song and got his friends, The Daylights, to perform it. Then, instead of sending it directly to her, he posted it on YouTube on 29 November. His friends tweeted about it and emailed the link around the world, hoping it would reach his girlfriend at Duke virally. According to Gizmodo, he wanted to show his girl that they “can feel close without having to be close every day,” and that their relationship can remain strong even though they’ll be thousands of miles apart over the next two years.
While his girlfriend saw it yesterday, the sentiment is too sweet not to share. Enjoy!
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