Top 50 Songs of 2008: Pt. 1

50. Andrew W.K. "McLaughlin Groove" Scott Plagenhoef of Pitchfork Media says while introducing track number 100 on Pitchfork's 100 Best Tracks of 2008 "I wanted to pull rank and sneak that Chunklet David Lee Roth vocal track or the Andrew WK 'McLaughlin Group' song in here, but fair is fair." I can't think of any reason not to pull rank since I'm the only person who writes around her, so here at track number 50 is Andrew WK's "McLaughlin Groove" not "McLaughin Group". Geez, check your facts Scott. MP3: Andrew W.K. "McLaughlin Groove" 49. Lykke Li "I'm Good, I'm Gone" Blogs jumped all over the 22-year-old British songstress this year. The second single from her debut album Youth Novels was also the album's best track. The stompy piano and distorted vocals made for a very catchy and downtempo dance track. MP3: Lykke Li "I'm Good, I'm Gone" 48. Usher featuring Young Jeezy "Love in this Club" Usher hasn't released a song this good since "Yeah". The Polow da Don-produced "Love in the Club" is made up of nothing but mid-tempo stock loops from GarageBand, but damnit if Usher doesn't do something special on it. The midtempo song about wanting to have sex in the club is only enhanced by Young Jeezy's superior verse. MP3: Usher ft. Young Jeezy "Love in the Club" 47. Common "Gladiator" So "Gladiator" is not a single, but damn it should be. The first singles from Common's Universal Mind Control "Announcement" and "Universal Mind Control" both show Common's new direction but don't do it in nearly the fun and tempo changing way that "Gladiator" does. Pharrell guests on the track. MP3: Common "Gladiator" 46. T-Pain featuring Ludacris "Chopped and Screwed" I'm not generally a huge fan of R&B, but T-Pain's "Chopped and Screwed" really did something for me this year. T-Pain's style of autotune has created a plague on hip hop, but he knows how to use the technique right. Also, the bonus of the track is Luda's excellent verse. MP3: T-Pain feat. Ludacris "Chopped and Screwed" 45. Hercules and Love Affair "Blind" It was Pitchfork Media's number one song of the year. I think that was over stating it a little, but there is definitely something undeniably catchy about "Blind". Antony Hegarty vocals cap the track dance style and make it into the catchiest melancholy track possible. MP3: Hercules and Love Affair "Blind" 44. Nas featuring Keri Hilson "Hero" When the Def Jam told Nas he couldn't name his album Nigger, you knew it was only a matter of time before he put the experience into song. That song was "Hero". Nas raps "So untitled it is/I never change nothing!/But people remember this/ If Nas can't say it think about these talented kids/ With new ideas being told of what they can and can't spit/ I can't sit and watch it/ So shit I'm a drop it!/ Like it or not". That's hot no matter how you look at it. MP3: Nas feat. Keri Hilson "Hero" 43. Kanye West "Heartless" Kanye West risked a lot this year. He released, arguably, the worst album of his career. The standout track of the album was also the album's second single "Heartless". Like all of 808 and Heartbreak the song contains Kanye's auto-tuned vocals but it also contains the line "how could you be so Dr. Evil?" which really puts it ahead of the rest. MP3: Kanye West "Heartless" 42. The Mae Shi "Run To Your Grave" I really wasn't hip to the Mae Shi until recently. The Los Angeles experimental punk band released two albums previous to 2008's HLLLYH. The album's stand out track is the anthematic "Run to Your Grave". Keyboard bleeps, chanted group vocals, and the feel-good lyrical content makes the song an easy track of the year. MP3: The Mae Shi "Run To Your Grave" 41. Walter Meego "Forever Dance-rock trio Walter Meego have been releasing music since 2005, but never really broke until this year when "Forever" became a licensing dream. "Forever" could be heard in a Heineken commercial as well as in the series Ugly Betty. The laid back dance track made for great background music, etching it into the American TV watcher's psyche. MP3: Walter Meego "Forever"