As the New Year approaches many of you are probably looking back on the last 12 months and reflecting. What happened? Not only in your personal life, but in the social network dominated, everything is public, world of viral communication and media. 

Luckily, for us, this year picked up momentum musically and finally found its groove in an upbeat positive vibe after a somewhat dreary 2009. Today, I found this wonderful mashup, of Billboard magazine’s top 25 songs of the year, by DJ Earwom titled “Don’t Stop the POP”. It pretty much sums up my 2010 experience. 

DJ Earworm himself describes the last year in music for us:

“In 2010, pop has gone into serious all-out party mode. In 2009 the music was encouraging us to pick ourselves back up after being knocked down again, and to rock out to some great dance music while your at it. This year’s music tells us to keep going now that we’re up and having fun. In fact, the fun seems to be in such overdrive that it borders on recklessness. Usher urges us to ‘dance like it’s the last night of your life”, and Katy Perry wants us to “run away and don’t ever look back”. Even the songs that aren’t about parties have parties in their videos, like this year’s entries from Mike Posner and Lady” Antebellum.”

 Here are all the songs in the mashup for your further enjoyment:

• Ke$ha – Tik Tok
• Lady Antebellum – Need You Now
• Train – Hey, Soul Sister
• Katy Perry Featuring Snoop Dogg – California Gurls
• Usher Featuring will.i.am – OMG
• B.O.B. Featuring Hayley Williams – Airplanes
• Eminem Featuring Rihanna – Love the Way You Lie
• Lady Gaga – Bad Romance
• Taio Cruz – Dynamite
• Taio Cruz Featuring Ludacris – Break Your Heart
• B.O.B. Featuring Bruno Mars – Nothin’ On You
• Enrique Iglesias Featuring Pitbull – I Like It
• Young Money Featuring Lloyd – Bedrock
• Jason Derulo – In My Head
• Rihanna – Rude Boy
• Lady Gaga Featuring Beyonce – Telephone
• Katy Perry – Teenage Dream
• Bruno Mars – Just the Way You Are
• Mike Posner – Cooler Than Me
• The Black Eyed Peas – Imma Be
• Jay-Z + Alicia Keys – Empire State of Mind
• Usher Featuring Pitbull – DJ Got Us Fallin’ In Love
• Travie McCoy Featuring Bruno Mars – Billionaire
• Eminem – Not Afraid
• Iyaz – Replay

The only thing I gobble up during the winter months faster than Hershey kisses is some good ol’ fashioned indie pop. I was looking through the albums that I’ve checked out over the year and got an extra warm feelin’ when I got to give Lisbon (by The Walkmen) a fresh listen—they’ve got a tight sound and prescient, self aware lyrics that’ll strike a chord in any complicated heart. This album reminds me of a mixture of Simon & Garfunkel and Rufus Wainwright (If you haven’t given either of those artists a solid listen yet, get thee to a record store STAT.).

 

The mid-week blues are a common affliction among dreamers like us fashion girls, so I thought I’d provide a few tunes that should keep you motivated and amped through the rest of the week. Some of you are doing finals, and although I don’t miss being in school, I do remember and kind of envy the end of finals bliss that spreads like wildfire as soon as they’re over. 

SO without further ado, I present Grace Potter & The Nocturnals!

 I caught my first hint of Grace Potter’s awetastic style in these music videos. Then I read an article about her in The Washington Post where she flat out confirmed my suspicion that she was a fellow fashion obsessed artist. Potter says this of her stage garb: ”What I’m wearing changes everything about how the show goes,” she proclaims. “If I’m wearing blue jeans and flannel, it’s going to be a country show and I’m going to get my twang on. But if I’m wearing a flapper dress, fringe or sequins, I’m rocking out, Tina Turner style.”

Hope you enjoyed Grace Potter & The Nocturnals as much as I did!