1. Viva la Vida - Coldplay
This was a massive commercial hit, but who cares? I love its sad yet uplifting momentum. When you do what I do every day, throwing 500 things against the wall and hoping one sticks, canned hope in the form of a very catchy tune goes a long way.
2. Time to Pretend - MGMT
I love the unapologetically cheesy but effective synthesiser riff on this song. It feels morally and aesthetically wrong to enjoy it. But I do. My 12-year son turned me on to this band.
3. Glitter Freeze - Gorillaz
After I saw the Gorillaz in concert in December, I became totally obsessed with their addictive album, Plastic Beach. It's a near-faultless mash-up of blues-rock-pop-digital-world music influences. The sophistication and catholicity of the Gorillaz's references doesn't exist anywhere else.