Music for the end of a decade

TV on the Radio, "Dreams," from the album Desperate Youth, Blood Thirsty Babes

Everyone is doing an end of the decade best of list. I'm feeling a little too lazy to do that. Plus everyone else has already done it. I'll admit Santigold would be at the top list of the best music of the decade. Her 2008 debut brought about a major change in the cultural perception many may have of black female singers. She's no Beyonce. With Beyonce you get an overloaded of sex and pop and sizzle. Beyonce comes from a long musical line of black female singers who pour on the sex appeal from Tina Tuner to Josephine Baker.

Female performers in general have been forced to play up the sex and play down the realness. Santigold doesn't come from that line. She doesn't belt out notes or have a gospel background. Her voice is childlike and ephemeral. Her blending of new wave, post-punk, electronica and hip-hop produced a fresh sound that made her the darling of music critics and all we can do now is await the next album. Among my favorites from Santigold are "Shove It," "Creator," and "Starstruck."

"She sounds like M.I.A." is one of the first things critics have said when trying to describe Santigold, but this is a mis-statement. Only "Creator" sounds somewhat like M.I.A.

M.I.A. is thoroughly Asian in her roots with lyrics like "If you fuck with me I'm gone dash my curry." I don't even know what that means but it sounds scary. Her lyrics are sharp and short. Her delivery reminds me of a smart mouth little kid. She's ultra cool. Santigold's writing is more complex, but M.I.A. is close behind. We've all heard the "Paper Planes," but check out "Bird flu" from her album Kala and you'll how different she is from Santigold with her intense blend of African/Asian beats.

TV On The Radio may have gotten the most praise of all. I'll admit I came to this band late and I haven't even really heard most of their music. What I have heard makes me wonder what will become of this world. Their vibe is darkly prophetic, yet so melodic on "Dreams." Layers of harmony, sinister 80's Synths, and the wavy falsetto of Tunde Adebimpe blending and over lapping with Kyp Malone's voice make listening addictive.

"I grew up listening to Joy Division, New Order, Echo & the Bunnymen, the Cure, the Smiths and the Swans," Malone states on the bands official web site. "Some of that qualifies as 'goth' but it didn't make me depressed to listen to that music despite what my parents assumed. It didn't add to my 'angst' as a teenager. I simply identified with something in the music."

The darkness is there but it's this generation's darkness.