Ten kick-ass songs in no particular order:

10) Radiohead – Knives Out
Still, there’s no point in letting it go to waste.
Song is haunting, well written and absolutely vicious.

9) Madison Strays – Last Train
Why am I not living in New York? Why am I not in some club watching these guys grow into a great band?

8) Modest Mouse – Bukowski
My God, this is a good song. From the background screams, the dark voice, the strumming banjos, the beat generation references and the general theme. I love it.
Well I want a better place, or just a better way to fall

7) MIA – Galang
I like how Pitchfork sets her up:

M.I.A’s moniker, on the other hand, appropriately suggests rootlessness. She’s not exploring subcultures so much as visiting them, grabbing souvenirs and laying them out on acetate: The favela trumpet on “Bucky Done Gone”, the London slang of “Galang”, the disco sample on “Sunshowers”, the steel drums of “Bingo”, the electro-fueled vocal edits of “Hombre”.

6) Jem – They
Long live le pop. I love the Brits for bringing me people like this one. Song is both haunting and energetic, as well as modern and classic at the same time. Well done and well balanced.

5) Scissor Sisters – Take Your Mama Out
I’ve had these guys on the iPod for a while. One of the downsides of having 4 thousand songs and regularly downloading a lot of stuff all at once is that some songs/bands slip through the crack. I was studying two days ago and this song came up. Hot damn it’s good.

4) The Killers – Mr. Brightside
Again, a band that encourages me with the idea of Rock surviving and growing. Bands like the Killers, Interpol, Franz Ferdinand, Bloc Party, Idelwild, and Madison Strays.

3) R.E.M. – Leaving New York
Stipes has that ability of kicking ass with the romantic songs. It’s a lot less subtle than the classics, but a wonderful song nonetheless.

2) The Decembrists – Sixteen Military Lives
I love the irony of this song. The happy up-beat song against the fact that the world is going to hell in a handbasket.

1) Bloc Party – This Modern Love
Just listen to it. Sad melancholy and doomed to heartbreak.