Songs of the Year 2011

11. The Weeknd - “Wicked Games” - House of Balloons

NSFW song. This was the song that got me on an R&B kick. That being said, it suffers a bit from my complex feelings about rap lyrics, as this is a song sung to prostitute after a bender.

You can really feel this song though, from the beats, to the sensations of the narrator. He feels tortured, so you do too. I am not overly concerned with lyrical meaning most of the time, but when a song just makes you feel it does something. I notice it when hair raises on my neck or some heightened sense of connection. This song did that to me on the first listen, even if I can’t connect to the subject matter I can connect to how it is being said.