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1. Charlotte Gainsbourg, “The Songs That We Sing.” Recorded with Air, this is a beautifully timeless pop song from last year’s 5:55. Gainsbourg is the daughter of one of pop music’s most brilliant dirty old men, the late Serge Gainsbourg, and an accomplished actress who gave a great but largely overlooked performance in I’m Not There.  

2. Sufjan Stevens, “Opie’s Funeral Song.”

3. The Clientele, “E.M.P.T.Y.”

4. Klaxons, “It’s Not Over Yet.”

5. The Besnard Lakes, “For Agent 13.”

 

6. Antibalas, “War Hero.” Brooklyn’s 12-piece Antibalas was modeled stylistically and structurally after Fela Kuti’s Africa 70, and has been around for a decade but finally gained prominence with its 2007 disc, Security.

7. Ghostface Killah, “Be Easy.”

8. Crowded House, “People Are Like Suns.”

9. The National, “Mr. November.”

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