Top 10 Songs of 2011 - Why Did I Pick Them?

So there you have it, my Top 10 Songs of 2011:

#10 Foster The People - Pumped Up Kicks

-An unexpected anthem of early 2011, this song has the rare kind of innocence you don't find too often in decent garage bands.

#9 The Lonely Island - Jack Sparrow

-Does this need an explanation? It's a perfect, bizarre lampoon that's a catchy song in its own right.

#8 Those Darlins - Be Your Bro

-Those Darlins Have a warm place in my heart for their unapologetic country-indie-Nashville sound.

#7 Pitbull - Give Me Everything

-Since listening to his Spanish-language pop albums, Pitbull has grown on me in spite of myself - it's probably the Cuban connection. His swagger is very genuine.

#6 The Strange Boys - Punk's Pajamas

-One of the best "indie bands" out there, The Strange Boys have a voice and a sound (harmonica and all) that makes them one of the most unique things to come out of Austin recently - and that's saying something.

#5 The Black Keys - Lonely Boy

-This song just rocks, and they get props for attracting millions of viewers to a video of a man dancing outside a motel.

#4 The Muppets - Life's A Happy Song

-Smart and sentimental, this song stays in your head long after it's over. Maybe the most memorable song of the year.

#3 Nicki Minaj - Super Bass

-Nicki Minaj is one of my guilty pleasures, and this song is one of her best. Listen to that cadence; she tears it up. Rhyming "polo" with "mogul"? Fantastic.

#2 Deer Tick - Main Street

-From my home base of Providence, these guys rock in a way that reminds me of 1970s Springsteen or somesuch. Some kinda raw energy that needs to be bottled.

#1 Beirut - East Harlem

-The most low-key, operatic of the bunch, East Harlem is Beirut being Beirut: they get under my skin in a way that rock, pop - all the rest of it - can't, precisely because the music is practically off on its own island.