What?  Are you kidding me?  It’s hard to believe this decade is over.  I remember the Y2K craze like it was yesterday or where I was when the Twin Towers dropped in NYC,  how about the Tsunami that hit in Thailand or Barack Obama becoming President.   Also who could forget New Orleans or where they were when they heard MJ died.  Through all the news good or bad, there is one constant force that keeps us moving (literally).  That force is Music.  Check out Pitchfork’s top 500 songs from this past decade.

We include the top 20.  But if you want to skim through all 500 songs (equipped with audio) head to pitchfork (here).

20. The Walkmen, “The Rat”
19. R. Kelly, “Ignition (Remix)”
18. Hercules and Love Affair, “Blind”
17. Annie, “Heartbeat”
16. The Rapture, “House of Jealous Lovers”
15. The Knife, “Heartbeats”
14. Jay-Z, “99 Problems”
13. LCD Soundsystem, “Losing My Edge”
12. OutKast, “Hey Ya!”
11. Gnarls Barkley, “Crazy”
10. Arcade Fire, “Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels)”
9. Animal Collective, “My Girls”
8. Radiohead, “Idioteque”
7. Missy Elliott, “Get Ur Freak On”
6. Yeah Yeah Yeahs, “Maps”
5. Daft Punk, “One More Time”
4. Beyoncé [ft. Jay-Z], “Crazy in Love”
3. M.I.A. [ft. Bun B and Rich Boy], “Paper Planes (Diplo Remix)”
2. LCD Soundsystem, “All My Friends”
1. OutKast, “B.O.B.”

Santigold is someone I use to hate with a passion.  The first time I heard her music and saw her style, I labeled her a M.I.A. rip off (Hollywood Q will tell you).   But after hearing her voice sampled in a few songs (Brooklyn We Go Hard w/ Jay – Z and Unstoppable w/ Drake) and then seeing her at the Roots Concert, I warmed up to her.  She is her own person, and now for some reason she reminds me of a young Nelly Furtado.  Basement Jaxx has recruited Santigold on Saga, a track off of their forthcoming album, Scars.  This track sounds like something Bradley Nowell and his crew (Sublime) would vibe to.

Natasha Khan stopped by what is slowly replacing Jimmy Fallon and Conan O’Brien as my favorite late night music show, Later with Jools Holland.  If you haven’t gotten Bat for Lashes, Two Suns, run out and get it now.  It debuted at #5 in the UK.  We hope it doesn’t take a movie soundtrack for the rest of the world (cough *the US*) to realize her talent, a la M.I.A.

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We just watched the first two episodes on Jimmy Fallon on Hulu.com, and surprisingly it’s not that bad.  However, the jury is still out though, it’s to early for me to critique.  Last night’s musical guest was Sanitgold.  Some one who I (London D) use to hate on because she sounds a little bit like M.I.A. But upon further review, her album isn’t that bad and neither is this performance.

We’ve all been there before, you know those weird years of being a teenager, not knowing a thing about the word “life” and having fun is all that matters. Then there’s times when dark moments arise and music is the only outlet to express yourself. Enter Soko, the 18 year old French Folk/Pop artist who sings spoken word style and in a very wittingly charming manner. As her music continues to gain notoriety, mostly in Europe & Denmark, the Ukelele playing teenstress with a slight raspy accent, may be well away from vocal progression, but right on time with a track surely needed for some of us here at the cafe. Here’s “I Will Never Love You More” from her upcoming debut “Not Sokute.”

Soko-I Will Never Love You More

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The 51st Grammy Awards took place last night and once again we’ve lost over three hours of our lives that we won’t get back.  Despite all the mashed up performances that went wrong & M.I.A. setting her race back a few decades, you missed nothing.  Here’s a list of the winners below.

Album of the year
Robert Plant and Allison Krauss, Raising Sand

Rap album
Lil Wayne, Tha Carter III

Pop male vocal performance
John Mayer, Say

Record of the year
Robert Plant and Allison Krauss, Please Read the Letter

New artist
Adele

Rock album
Coldplay, Viva La Vida

R&B album
Jennifer Hudson, Jennifer Hudson

View the full list here

February 27th!! Say it again. February 27th! That’s the due date for N.A.S.A’s ‘The Spirit of Apollo.’ The track listing has us hyped at the cafe. Santogold and M.I.A. on the same song? It’s like when Jean Claude Van Dam, went back and saw himself in Timecop. Is it possible to have the same person occupying the same spot. If you can tell the difference between the two on this track let us know.  Check the track below…

N.A.S.A. | Whachadoin f. M.I.A., Santogold, Spank Rock & Nick Zinner

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M.I.A. and Blaqstarr have collaborate on the cheapest video you will ever see, ‘Save Ur Soul.’  S.U.S is a spine off of Tom Waits, ‘Way Down In The Hole.’  A track that became famous thanks to HBO classic series ‘The Wire.’   We expected a little more from the song and video, when she said they spent $9.95 to make this…we  believe them.  Video after the jump.

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Part 2 is up! We try to beat Pitchfork to the punch, but we realized they were the ones who interviewed M.I.A. This interview they discussed her upcoming cover of Tom Waits’ “Way Down in the Hole” (Theme from HBO’s The Wire), Pineapple Express using her Paper Planes for the trailer, her belly bump, and being embraced by the Hip Hop community.

Pitchfork’s Jessica Suarez sat down with M.I.A. this past weekend at the Disel XXX Party (How come we weren’t invited?) They spoke about her retirement, introduced her (first?) label signee (Baltimore’s Rye Rye), dropping a baby (not literally…..well kinda), her clearing rumors of her being a terrorist, and making up with Diplo. This is part one of two parts. Stay tuned to this url or Pitchforks for part two.